Elvis Presley - I'm Leavin' - From First Take to the Master

There are some songs from the seventies which exist in Elvis' back catalogue, which have almost been forgotten and the quality of the recordings deserve wider recognition. One such song is "I'm Leavin'", which Elvis recorded in Nashville on 21 June 1971, and despite being issued as a single was never released on regular album in Elvis' lifetime. Indeed, as was far too often the case, received next to no publicity from his record label, probably on the assumption that Elvis' name alone would sell records, and whilst to an extent there is some truth in that, it would not amount to enough to make songs such as this the memorable hit that it merited.
In the light of Elvis' recording sessions being released in more and more completeness through a combination of bootleg and FTD albums, a further "tragedy" has come to light regarding "I'm Leavin'", in that almost all of the tapes from this session are missing, and we do not have the opportunity of hearing Elvis completely build this song into the final master. Fortunately, the first three takes do survive, but these only serve to whet the appetite for more of what seems to not exist, as the first take is breathtaking and then between takes 3 and 4 he acknowledged his fondness for the song, saying, 'Phew man, it's tough, but the thing is worth working on'. The song itself is moody and restrained, and Elvis did not rely on his pipes to carry this song, instead relying on his artistic sensibilities to get the song's story across ... Elvis and his group committed a good deal of hard, sustained effort to I'm Leavin', they were not rushing through this one. The missing tapes is so much of an issue that even RCA themselves are unsure of exactly which take constitutes the master, as it is the only take other than one to three which seems to still exist, and the following song recorded "We Can Make The Morning" only has the master and undubbed master in existence.
And from an interview with the song's composer, Michael Jarrett :
I came out of the shower 10 minutes later with the first two verses and the la la hook, and played it for Sonny. He suggested I repeat the build up to the I'm leavin' part, in other words do it twice, ah ah ah ah, then again, ah ah ah ah...I'm leavin'. I felt that suggestion was the key to the build and gave the song its impact, and I gave Sonny half writers credit because of this idea he had. Then the bridge had to be written and Sonny and I started throwing out ideas, and he would say things to me and give me ideas where to take it, we brain stormed for a half hour or so when all of a sudden the words started coming out of me, and they were all about my experience with this girl in Portland again. The song was complete by the end of that day... Small as Sonny's contribution might seem to some, it was huge to me in the writing I'm Leavin'....
Elvis added the song to the set list for his first Lake Tahoe engagement and this continued into his fifth Las Vegas Season from 9 August to 6 September. There are many good versions throughout that season, the first of which from opening night is included as a bonus.

As with all of these videos, to get the most out of the re-edited audio, I highly recommend you use ear /headphones and turn the volume up as much as you dare!

Видео Elvis Presley - I'm Leavin' - From First Take to the Master канала The Ultimate Elvis Channel by Leon