RCA Records and Legacy Recordings today release “T-R-O-U-B-L-E – Take 1,” the first-ever unveiling of Elvis Presley’s initial run-through of Jerry Chesnut’s rollicking anthem, captured during the Today album sessions on March 11, 1975. Newly mixed by four-time GRAMMY® winner Matt Ross-Spang, the track strips away later overdubs to place Presley’s powerhouse vocal and the legendary TCB band front and center, revealing the spontaneous electricity that erupted the moment the tape began to roll.
“T-R-O-U-B-L-E – Take 1” is the second advance taste of Sunset Boulevard, a comprehensive five-CD/digital box set arriving August 1 that documents Elvis’ 1970s work at RCA’s Los Angeles studios. Spanning 89 recordings—including masters, outtakes, and full rehearsal tapes—more than half of the material has never been issued in the United States. A two-LP highlights edition will be released simultaneously for vinyl fans.
Written by Nashville hitmaker Jerry Chesnut, “T-R-O-U-B-L-E” was envisioned for country singer Little David Wilkins until Chesnut recognized that its break-neck word-play and swagger demanded Elvis’ unmistakable touch. Presley dove into the song with trademark gusto, bridging his Sun Records rawness to mid-’70s country-rock and giving longtime vocal collaborator Sherrill Nielsen reason to recall, “Elvis loved that song.”
The forthcoming Sunset Boulevard set pairs Ross-Spang’s newly mixed studio recordings with rare rehearsal tapes that capture Presley refining arrangements and bonding with his band in real time. A 24-page booklet featuring unseen photographs, new liner notes by historian Colin Escott, and a foreword by close friend Jerry Schilling accompanies every physical edition.
▪ Stream “T-R-O-U-B-L-E – Take 1” and pre-save the digital box set: https://Elvis.lnk.to/TroubleTake1
▪ Pre-order CD, vinyl, and deluxe formats: Elvis.lnk.to/SunsetBoulevard
TRACKLIST HIGHLIGHTS
Sunset Boulevard (5-CD & digital)
• Newly mixed masters and outtakes from 1972–75 sessions
• Complete February 1972 and March 1975 rehearsal recordings
• More than 45 tracks previously unreleased in the U.S.
