Although not on many fans “favorites” lists, even I was scratching my head when this was released in 1973. Hot on the tail of  “As Recorded Live at Madison Square Garden”, this album was confusing for those expecting the excitement and joy of the Elvis experience. The album cover looked like little more than a camden budget release with not a hit single in sight.

Of course, in retrospect, These songs now carry more weight in the history of Elvis’ releases. Recording for the first time in the legendary Stax studios, the home of “Memphis Funk”, he’s a little uncomfortable in this unfamiliar environment. Add this to his pending marital issues, and it could have been a lost cause in lesser hands. Hat’s off to Felton Jarvis for collating and pulling these sessions together.

The 8 Track didn’t suffer too much with the poor cover design. The reformatted art looks pretty decent and more like a legitimate new release. And although the material is more low key, it plays real well in the car. This has become one of my moody favorites on those dark early mornings as I drive through the fog across the Golden Gate Bridge…

And the actual sound of the Stax Studio is amazing. I don’t think the world was quite ready for a funky Elvis album, but listen to the 8 track closer,  “If You Don’t Come Back”. You can hear the Issac Hayes influence with the trademark wah wah guitar and the stunning back up singers. Elvis as Shaft! Really! And, as you would expect, the gorgeous ballads “Are You Sincere”, “I Miss You” and “Sweet Angeline” don’t fail to deliver.

Unfortunately, this tape has one of the worst splices on a song, “Find Out What’s Happening” comes to a sudden stop on track 3, and starts back up just as abruptly again on track 4. They couldn’t have added the standard fade?

The Reel to Reel also looks better than its vinyl counterpart, looking again like a legitimate release for audiofile fans. A post RCA Magtec STEREOTAPE, it runs at the fast 7 ½ inch speed and is beautifully transferred from the RCA master. Well worth a listen.

Side note : Hot on the trail of Joan Deary’s auspicious debut producing  “As Recorded Live at Madison Square Garden”, RCA had her work on one of the first important retrospectives, “Legendary Performer Vol 1”. It was released at the same time and, no surprise, it outsells “Raised on Rock” by a lot and gives the fans more of what they’re looking for.