Promised Land (Elvis Presley album)
| Promised Land | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
RCA Victor | ||||
| Producer | Felton Jarvis | |||
| Elvis Presley chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Promised Land | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | B[2] |
| MusicHound |  [3] |
| Rough Guides | [4] |
Promised Land is the twenty-first
Content
The material was the second pick from the December 1973 session, as the songs considered strongest had been issued on Good Times. The title track, a cover of the 1965 hit by Chuck Berry, was issued earlier as a single on September 27, 1974, and hit number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK top ten. Its flip side, "It's Midnight", reached 9 on the Country Charts. Another hit single from the album was "If You Talk in Your Sleep" reaching 17 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Promised Land" was used for the 1997 film Men in Black.
Reissues
RCA reissued the album on CD in 2000, and it added all the tracks of the album Good Times as tracks 11–18 (except "Taking Care of Her" and "I've Got A Thing About You, Baby", which are from the July 1973 sessions) – in effect compiling the Stax sessions of December 1973. In 2011, the FTD (Follow That Dream) collectors label released an expanded, 48-track version of the album including outtakes.
Track listing
Original release
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Recording date | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | " Help Me" | Larry Gatlin | December 12, 1973 | 2:27 |
| 4. | "Mr. Songman" | Donnie Sumner | December 12, 1973 | 2:08 |
| 5. | "Love Song of the Year" | Chris Christian | December 12, 1973 | 3:33 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Recording date | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | " It's Midnight" | Billy Edd Wheeler and Jerry Chesnut | December 10, 1973 | 3:21 |
| 2. | "Your Love's Been a Long Time Coming" | Rory Bourke | December 15, 1973 | 3:47 |
| 3. | "If You Talk in Your Sleep" | Red West, Johnny Christopher | December 11, 1973 | 2:35 |
| 4. | "Thinking About You" | Tim Baty | December 12, 1973 | 3:00 |
| 5. | "You Asked Me To" | Waylon Jennings, Billy Joe Shaver | December 11, 1973 | 2:52 |
2000 CD reissue bonus tracks
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Recording date | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11. | " Bill Martin, Phil Coulter, Jean-Pierre Bourtayre, Claude François | December 13, 1973 | 3:21 | |
| 16. | "Spanish Eyes" | Bert Kaempfert, Eddie Snyder, Charles Singleton | December 16, 1973 | 2:22 |
| 17. | "Talk About the Good Times" | Jerry Reed | December 14, 1973 | 2:22 |
| 18. | "Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues" | Danny O'Keefe | December 13, 1973 | 3:09 |
Follow That Dream CD reissue
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Promised Land" | |
| 2. | "There's A Honky Tonk Angel" | |
| 3. | " It's Midnight " (take 11) | |
| 24. | "You Asked Me To" (take 2B) |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | " You Asked Me To " (take 3B) | |
| 14. | "There's A Honky Tonk Angel" (takes 6, 7, 8 rough mix) | |
| 15. | "Mr. Songman" (takes 3, 5) | |
| 16. | "Promised land" (take 6 undubbed) | |
| 17. | "Your Love's Been A Long Time Coming" (takes 8, 9 unedited undubbed) |
Personnel
- Elvis Presley – lead vocals, harmony vocals on "Promised Land"
- James Burton – lead guitar
- Johnny Christopher – rhythm guitar
- Charlie Hodge – acoustic rhythm guitar
- Jeannie Green – backing vocals
- David Briggs – piano, Hammond organ, overdubbed tambourine on "Promised Land"
- Wurlitzer electric piano on "I’ve Got a Feelin’ In My Body", clavineton "Promised Land"
- Mary and Ginger Holladay – backing vocals
- Susan Pilkington – backing vocals
- Norbert Putnam – bass guitar
- Ron Tutt – drums
- Voice (Donnie Sumner, Sherrill Nielsen, Tim Baty, Per Eric "Pete" Hallin) – backing vocals
- JD Sumner & The Stamps (Bill Baize, Ed Enoch, David Rowland) – backing vocals
- Kathy Westmoreland – backing vocals
Overdubbed
- Dennis Linde, Alan Rush – guitar on "Promised Land"
- Bobby Ogdin – piano on "Promised Land"
- Randy Cullers – cowbell on "Promised Land"
- Mike Leech– string and brass arrangements
- Bobby Taylor – oboe
Technical
- Felton Jarvis – producer
- Mike Moran, Dick Baxter, Al Pachucki, Mickey Crofford – engineers
Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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References
- ^ Allmusic review
- ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 10, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
- ISBN 1-57859-061-2.
- ISBN 1-84353-417-7.
- ^ "Elvis Presley Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
- ^ "Elvis Presley Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
- ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 1975". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
External links
- Promised Land at Discogs (list of releases)
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