From Florida To Hawaii - Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley –  From Florida To Hawaii  

Released 2025 

Reviewed by Jack Brown June 2025 

Review  

The latest public domain CD offering from the French RDM record label concerning the King Of Rock N Roll, Pat Boone. No of course not. They’ve specialized in mono-stereo remixes of Elvis 50s Material, remixing the first two LPS, a double shot of For LP Fans Only & A Date with Elvis, as well as a disc combining both of the first two Golden Records albums. Last year all this hard work culminated in a 4-CD box set called The Essential 50s Masters. It#s apparently sold out, but I still see copies up for sale so maybe have a look round if you want one. It took every 50s Presley master that falls under EU public domain rules, plus a few extra surprises & movie versions, converting the old mono recordings into a new stereo mix. All these releases have one man in common, Anthony Stuchbury. Hes a keen collector & really understands Elvis sessions, & sessions of that time period. Therefore he knows where instruments should be placed for a realistic stereo mix. Of course, as the producer he does take some decisions that deviate from what might have been done in the 50s if stereo was used, but this is only when he feels it makes for a more enjoyable listening experience. Having done the 50s, Mr Stuchbury now turns his attention to two soundtrack sessions from the early 60s. he’s now remixed the tracks from the Follow That Dream & Girls! Girls! Girls! Movie soundtracks into Stereo. 

The tech Anthony uses is known as digitally extracted stereo (DES) which uses computer software & AI to separate instruments & vocals, mainly but not exclusively, from old mono recordings. The results can then be reconstructed into a stereo mix. The MRS label has been using this to great effect on a number of Elvis’ 1970s concert soundboards. Now of course being the early 60s, these soundtracks were recorded in Stereo. The problem is; for Follow That Dream, though recorded at RCA Studio B in Nashville, engineered by the great Bill Porter (Elvis Is Back, His Hand in Mine, His Latest Flame, It’s Now Or Never etc) the masters were taken out of the session reel, never used, & subsequently lost. Apparently, they’re somewhere in the RCA tape vault, alas the chances of finding them are less than finding an honest politician. A bootleg CD claimed to have found the missing reel, but this was a fake. In fact, they siply copied the early stereo remix versions made by MRS for their Follow That Dream project last year. Those mixes were good; however, these are even better. MRS has more punch, but these sound more natural with better vocal separation. The Girls! Girls! Girls! Version was released in both mono & stereo, but because of technical limitations the stereo mix has always sounded quite weak. I don’t have as much of a problem with it as others, but this mix blows it out of the water. Because of how Paramount studios did overdubs, such as orchestration & sound-effects, for thie films, the band were mainly placed on one channel (left) with Elvis centered & the backing vocals right. This meant that there was no driving rhythm section in the middle making rockers especially sound weaker. So Anthony Stuchbury to the rescue. He’s now done a stereo-to-stereo remix with D E S software to make a more realistic sound for us to enjoy. In their CD review, the Elvis Information Network, correctly pointed out that there should have been two tape machines running. Paramount should have recorded the way they wanted, while RCA should have got Bill Porter in to make a better Stereo image for record release. But of course, that was not going to happen, that would cost money & Elvis fans would buy anything right!! Thankfully this wrong has now been righted & we can enjoy this rather fun soundtrack in glorious Stereo. 

Follow That Dream 

Elvis’ 9^th film overall, not one ive ever seen, but I think it comes somewhere in the middle for Elvis fans as to the best & worse films. I saw the last part of it once on TV, but other than him performing Angel, I barely remember any of it. The reason for the Stereo masters has never been used is that the four chosen songs were released on an Extended Play only in mono. Here Anthony has matched the positioning of the instruments to what we have on the outtakes, for which the stereo tapes have survived. Being recorded at Studio B, engineered by Bill Porter, the original stereo master’s would have sounded fantastic. The session also included many of the Nashville A-Team, such as Bob Moore on Base & Hank Garland on guitar. 

What A Wonderful Life 

 is a pleasant upbeat rocker that I confess I’ve never really listened to before, call myself a fan right. The stereo mix is great & realistic. A nice full sound, with the Jordanaires placed on the right where they belong. I’m Not the Marrying Kind is the weakest track, being a corny novelty rocker. Saying that Elvis gives it a committed vocal.  Sound Advice was not included on the original release, coming out on the 1965 comp Elvis For Everyone. But as it was used in the film it falls under public domain rules. Elvis was apparently embarrassed by this track, but I think it’s ok. Maybe it was the line where he tried to rhyme the boss with horse. The title track really rocks along with this new stereo mix. Sadly, there is a brief part on the last chorus where Elvis slips out of the center of the mix towards the backing vocals on the right. This technology does have its limitations, but aside from that the mix is perfect. Angel, a beautiful ballad, sounds delightful in stereo. Everything’s nicely separated & Elvis shines. Interestingly Cliff covered this in 1965 & it became a single in some international markets, though not in the UK. Back to Elvis, this mono-to=stereo is likely the best we’ve heard this material yet. As stated previously, the Memphis Recording Service remixed these master’s & their results were good. but the separation of Elvis & backing-vocals is better here, the MRS version had some digital artifacts & gating on Elvis’ voice in parts. However, both versions have their charm but for me this one wins. 

Girls! Girls! Girls! 

From 1961 to 1962 & Elvis’ 11^th film. I’ve never seen this one, but it’s considered the poorer cousin of Blue Hawaii, Having been set in Hawaii. They tried to recreate the formula but apparently it didn’t work quite as well, in this one I think Elvis plays a fisherman. It’s much better than Paradise Hawaiian Style though which sadly I have seen. I find the soundtrack to Girls! Girls! Girls! More enjoyable than Blue Hawaii, especially in this new Stereo mix. This time the sessions took place in Hollywood, but still with some great players. Barney Kessel & Tiny Timbrel on guitar, Ray Segal on base, & Hal Blane on percussion. Also present were Scotty Moore & D J Fontana, as well as sax curtosy of Boots Randolph. The title track opens this part of the disc & it really cooks. The rhythm section for this soundtrack is moved from the left channel to the Centre, making the rockers really move.  Placed behind Elvis, Hal’s percussion really moves things along & sounds much better. Boots Sax shines on the right. It’s a great rocker originally cut by The Coasters, before this disc I’d forgotten how long the instrumental break is in the middle, a great way of letting the musicians shine. I Don’t Wanna Be Tied is a so/so rocker, however it does sound better in this new mix. The band are playing a lot better that I originally realized in the original mix, making the track more enjoyable. Where Do You Come From is a lovely ballad. The base behind Elvis sounds lovely & Elvis’ vocal sounds intimate. This was chosen as the flip of Return To Sender. I Don’t Want To is another nice ballad. Here with the guitars on the left, piano right, Elvis’s middle, everything is given it’s time to shine & sounds fantastic. We’ll Be Together is an interesting Spanish influenced song. It was recorded a couple of months after the main session, as another song, Mama, was deemed unsuitable (thanks Elvis Information Network for that little fact) On all other songs the Jordinaires backed Elvis on vocals, but for this one the Amigos were used. Oddly they were placed on the left in the original mix, not on the right. Anthony has corrected this here & it sounds right. The Spanish guitar sounds great in this mix. d wA Boy Like Me  A Girl Like You is a really pretty ballad, this new mix widens everything & makes the sound fuller. Earth Boy is interesting. Elvis Information Network describes what Elvis sings as Chinglish & I agree. The lyrics sound absurd now, though he got away with them back in 62. Thankfully times have changed. TBH he probably shouldn’t have gotten away with it back then. It was written for the Chinese section of the movie. I’ve never seen it so I’ve no idea how that segment worked out, though I’m guessing not very well. However, the track does have charm with some interesting playing by the band. The new mix helps everything shine. In the previous official stereo mix, the band being placed on the left, a lot of the more interesting elements could be buried. 

Return To Sender 

 simply sounds fab in this new Stereo mix. The Drums drive things along behind Elvis in the middle, Boots sax sounds great on the left this time. It’s really given the song some balls & is a version I’ll be going to from now on. Because Of Love is a delightful pop number that sounds great here. Billy Fury was on the set of Girls!Girls! Girls! For a day & decided to cover this before Elvis’ version was even released. He had a top 20 hit  with it,  I doubt Elvis minded *again thanks Elvis Information Network) Thanks To The Rolling Sea is a sea Chante rocker, never thought id be writing that. The drums here sound great in the middle & though a novelty it’s  a fun rocker. Song Of The Shrimp is ridiculous & I don’t like it, though the mix is good. The Walls Have Ears is again daft, part my hair with a chair anyone, but Elvis’s vocal is delightful & the song has charm. Again the new mix gives the track a really full sound, nice Spanish guitars & castanets, a really great job. The album closer We’re Coming In Loaded is a fun rocker, sadly too short at 90 seconds, I love the base in that track. The album closes with an unreleased version of the film closer, a combination of Dainty Little Moonbeams & the Girls! Girls! Girls! Reprise. This version, provided by Keith Flin, has extra female backing & two endings not used on the released version. It’s a great mix & a really fun way to close things. You can tell some tape splices, but these were not created for this release, they were present on the original source. Dainty Little Moonbeams has a Chinese feel, I really need to see how bad the Chinese segment is here. 

Overall  

Anthony Stuchbury has done it again. He’s given us a great Stereo version of the Follow That Dream soundtrack. He’s also given us a fuller more realistic stereo experience for the Girls! Girls! Girls! Soundtrack. This will be the version I reach for from now on. Bring on the next project. 

https://youtu.be/tSKnL1uVNKM?t=4