Album Of The Week - Volume 19

As with every other album of the week, all we ask you to do, it pull out your vinyl, 8 track cassette, cassette, or CD. Or even stream it from your favourite streaming site, or even download it, whichever is your preference to listen, just give the album a listen, then give us your thoughts and feedback. We would love you to actually listen to the album, just to refresh your memory.
Thanks.

Released    November 11, 1970

Recorded   June and August 1970

Genre   Country, pop, soft rock

Length   47:00

Label   RCA Records

Elvis: That's the Way It Is is an album by Elvis, released on RCA Records, LSP 4445, in November 1970. It consists of eight studio tracks recorded at RCA Studio B in Nashville, and four live in-concert tracks recorded at The International Hotel in Las Vegas. It accompanied the theatrical release of the documentary film of the same name (although it is not generally considered a soundtrack album), and peaked at number 21 on the Billboard 200 and at number eight on the country chart. It was certified Gold on June 28, 1973 by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Content

The original vinyl LP consisted of eight tracks recorded in the studio in Nashville at the marathon sessions in June 1970 that would also yield several singles and the Elvis Country album, and four tracks from his August 1970 engagement at The International Hotel in Las Vegas. The track "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" had been released as the advance single on October 6; its b-side, "Patch It Up", appears in a live version here. "The Next Step Is Love" had previously been released as a b-side in July 1970, and its A-side "I've Lost You" appears in a live version here as well. The concert version of "I Just Can't Help Believin'" from this album would be released as a single in the United Kingdom in November 1971 and go to number six on their charts. Its b-side "How the Web Was Woven" was also taken from this album. A rehearsal version of the latter song was featured in the 1970 documentary Elvis: That's the Way It Is.

Reissues

On June 11, 2000, a three-disc Special Edition was released. It contained the full album remastered, along with added bonus studio tracks recorded around the same time. The set also includes the full August 12, 1970 midnight show from The International Hotel and rehearsals from late July and early August prior to the engagement. The bonus tracks included an additional concert track previously released on Walk A Mile In My Shoes: The Essential 70s Masters, five tracks that appeared on Presley studio LPs from the 1970s, and the single "Rags to Riches" from February 1971.

In 2008, the collectors' label Follow That Dream released a two-disc special edition of the album, with a 20-page booklet. This edition contains the full original album plus bonus tracks and outtakes.

In 2009, the Follow That Dream label released The Wonder of You which contains the full concert from August 13, 1970. Some concert footage from that date was used in the documentary.

On July 6, 2012, Follow That Dream released a two-disc LP special edition of the album. This edition offers highlights from the 2-CD Follow That Dream release. It contains 21 tracks and features different takes of the songs.

Tracklist

I Just Can't Help Believin'
Twenty Days And Twenty Nights
How The Web Was Woven
Patch It Up
Mary In The Morning
You Don't Have To Say You Love Me
You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'
I've Lost You
Just Pretend
Stranger In The Crowd
The Next Step Is Love

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Below:

This album, That's The Way It Is, was ranked number 53 in the worst to best chart of Elvis albums, meaning it is ranked as the 4th worst album……

What do YOU say?

Vulture.com lists

All 57 Elvis Presley Albums Ranked, From Worst to Best

By Adam Litovitz

53. That’s the Way It Is (1970)
Elvis was cranking out records in 1970, and this one was a cocktail of Jumpsuit Elvis from his longstanding tenure at the International Hotel in Vegas and some Nashville studio stuff loosely tied to a documentary film. The concert material is mainly of the showy countrypolitan variety, smooth but less exciting than his earlier live albums.  However, we get Elvis tearing eagerly into “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” and “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” The studio tracks tend to be sluggish and overwrought, with lyrics about tasting the “icing on the cake we’ve been baking with the past,” on “The Next Step Is Love.”  As tragic songs about cake go, it’s no “MacArthur Park.”