Elvis Presley - True Love Travels on a Gravel Road - From First Take to the Master (and beyond)

The success of Elvis’ two recording sessions at American Sound in Memphis during January and February of 1969 can be attributed to many things and that those things came together all at the same time. Despite being in excellent form vocally and under the expert guidance of producer Chips Moman the final product still depended on the correct choice of material and at these sessions Elvis had almost unrestricted access to songs, a scenario which had not occurred before or since, meaning that the odds of the quality of those compositions was much higher. In addition with Elvis now being thirty four years old, married and with a young baby he was now well placed to tackle material with a more mature narrative. Instead of singing songs whose lyrics which reflected teen adolescent experiences and therefore appealed mostly to that particular demographic Elvis now had the life experience which gave him the credibility, in the eyes of the wider music consumer, and emotional nous to tackle material recounting su