Elvis Presley – Blue Hawaii: Mele Mai Ka Lani Mai | 3CD

Complete Studio Sessions – Hollywood, March 21–23, 1961 | Venus Productions
Take a fascinating trip inside the recording sessions for one of Elvis Presley's most famous movie soundtracks with Blue Hawaii – Mele Mai Ka Lani Mai, an extensive 3CD collector's edition from Venus Productions.
Released in 2019, this impressive set is devoted to the Blue Hawaii recording sessions held at Radio Recorders Studio B in Hollywood, California, from March 21 through March 23, 1961.
Across three CDs, the collection presents an extensive selection of complete takes, false starts, long false starts, alternate takes, masters and movie versions. Instead of simply hearing the familiar finished recordings, you can follow Elvis and the musicians as songs such as Can't Help Falling In Love, Blue Hawaii, Hawaiian Wedding Song, Rock-A-Hula Baby, Ku-U-I-Po and No More gradually take shape in the studio.
Venus Productions presented the material with an emphasis on uncut recordings and excellent studio sound, with all three discs housed in an attractive four-panel digipak.
Inside the Blue Hawaii Sessions
Blue Hawaii became one of the defining movies of Elvis Presley's Hollywood career, while its music remains among his most instantly recognisable soundtrack material.
Mele Mai Ka Lani Mai approaches these famous recordings from a collector's perspective. Rather than concentrating solely on the masters, the set explores the recording process itself.
You can hear songs developing from early attempts and false starts into increasingly polished performances. Arrangements change, Elvis experiments with his vocals and the musicians refine their parts as the sessions progress.
For anyone fascinated by Elvis in the recording studio, these differences can be every bit as interesting as the finished masters.
The Making of Can't Help Falling In Love
One of the highlights of the collection is the extensive session material for Can't Help Falling In Love.
CD 3 traces the song through numerous attempts, beginning with takes 1–4 and progressing through to master take 29. The movie version from take 23 is also included.
It offers a fascinating opportunity to hear the development of a recording that would ultimately become one of the most famous and enduring songs of Elvis Presley's career.
The title song Blue Hawaii receives similarly detailed treatment, while Rock-A-Hula Baby is represented by both mono and stereo session material.
Three CDs of Blue Hawaii Studio Material
CD 1 focuses on recordings including Hawaiian Sunset, Aloha Oe, Ku-U-I-Po, No More, Slicin' Sand and Blue Hawaii.
CD 2 continues with extensive session material for Ito Eats, Hawaiian Wedding Song, Island Of Love, Steppin' Out Of Line and Almost Always True.
CD 3 features Moonlight Swim, Can't Help Falling In Love, Beach Boy Blues and Rock-A-Hula Baby.
Together, the three discs provide an absorbing studio perspective on the making of the music for Blue Hawaii.
For the serious Elvis collector, Mele Mai Ka Lani Mai is much more than another soundtrack compilation – it is an opportunity to explore the creative process behind these classic recordings.
Tracklist
CD 1
1. Hawaiian Sunset – Take 1 Complete
2. Hawaiian Sunset – Take 2 Complete
3. Hawaiian Sunset – Take 3 Complete
4. Hawaiian Sunset – Master Takes 4, 7
5. Aloha Oe – Section #2, Take 1 Complete
6. Aloha Oe – Section #2, Take 2 Complete
7. Aloha Oe – Section #2, Take 3 Complete
8. Aloha Oe – Section #2, Takes 4, 6 Complete
9. Aloha Oe – Section #2, Master Takes 5, 7
10. Ku-U-I-Po – Take 1 Complete
11. Ku-U-I-Po – Take 2 LFS
12. Ku-U-I-Po – Takes 4, 5 LFS
13. Ku-U-I-Po – Takes 6, 7 LFS
14. Ku-U-I-Po – Take 8 LFS / Take 9 Master
15. Ku-U-I-Po – Master
16. No More – Takes 1, 2
17. No More – Take 3 LFS
18. No More – Take 4 LFS
19. No More – Take 5 LFS / Take 7 Complete
20. No More – Take 8 Complete
21. No More – Take 9 Complete
22. No More – Take 11 / End Of Take 5
23. No More – Master
24. Slicin' Sand – Take 4 with "I Had A Dream" Insert from Take 8
25. Slicin' Sand – Takes 15, 16
26. Slicin' Sand – Take 17 Complete
27. Slicin' Sand – Take 18 FS / Take 19 Complete
28. Slicin' Sand – Master
29. Blue Hawaii – Takes 1, 2 FS
30. Blue Hawaii – Take 3
31. Blue Hawaii – Take 4 FS
32. Blue Hawaii – Take 5 FS
33. Blue Hawaii – Take 6 LFS
34. Blue Hawaii – Take 7 Complete Master with Count-In
35. Blue Hawaii – Alternate Take 3
36. Blue Hawaii – Master
CD 2
1. Ito Eats – Take 1 FS / Take 2 LFS
2. Ito Eats – Takes 3, 4 FS
3. Ito Eats – Take 5 Complete
4. Ito Eats – Takes 6, 7, 8 FS / Take 9 Master
5. Ito Eats – Master
6. Ito Eats – Take 1 Complete Tag for Movie
7. Hawaiian Wedding Song – Take 1 Complete
8. Hawaiian Wedding Song – Take 2 Master with Count-In
9. Hawaiian Wedding Song – Master
10. Island Of Love – Takes 1, 2, 3, 4 FS
11. Island Of Love – Takes 5, 6, 7 FS / Take 8 Complete
12. Island Of Love – Take 9 LFS / Takes 10, 11, 12 FS
13. Island Of Love – Master Take
14. Island Of Love – Master
15. Steppin' Out Of Line – Takes 1–5 FS
16. Steppin' Out Of Line – Takes 6, 7 FS
17. Steppin' Out Of Line – Take 8 Complete
18. Steppin' Out Of Line – Takes 9, 10, 11 FS
19. Steppin' Out Of Line – Takes 12, 13, 14 FS / Take 15 Complete
20. Steppin' Out Of Line – Take 16 FS / Take 17 Complete
21. Steppin' Out Of Line – Take 18 LFS / Take 19 Complete
22. Steppin' Out Of Line – Master
23. Steppin' Out Of Line – Spliced Takes 8 & 19, Movie Version
24. Almost Always True – Take 1 LFS / Take 2 FS / Take 3
25. Almost Always True – Take 4 LFS / Take 5 Complete
26. Almost Always True – Take 6 LFS / Take 7 LFS
27. Almost Always True – Take 8 Master with Count-In
28. Almost Always True – Master
CD 3
1. Moonlight Swim – Take 1 FS / Take 2 LFS
2. Moonlight Swim – Take 3 Complete
3. Moonlight Swim – Take 4 Alternate Master
4. Aloha Oe – Section #1 Complete
5. Can't Help Falling In Love – Takes 1, 2, 3, 4 FS
6. Can't Help Falling In Love – Take 5 Complete
7. Can't Help Falling In Love – Takes 6, 7, 8 FS
8. Can't Help Falling In Love – Take 9 Complete
9. Can't Help Falling In Love – Takes 10, 11, 12 FS
10. Can't Help Falling In Love – Take 13 Complete
11. Can't Help Falling In Love – Takes 14, 15 FS / Take 16 Complete
12. Can't Help Falling In Love – Takes 17–22 FS
13. Can't Help Falling In Love – Take 24 Complete
14. Can't Help Falling In Love – Take 25 FS / Take 26 Complete
15. Can't Help Falling In Love – Take 29 Master with Count-In
16. Can't Help Falling In Love – Take 23 Movie Version
17. Beach Boy Blues – Take 1 FS / Take 2 Complete
18. Beach Boy Blues – Take 3 Complete
19. Beach Boy Blues – Record Version
20. Beach Boy Blues – Movie Version
21. Rock-A-Hula Baby – Mono, Takes 1, 2 FS
22. Rock-A-Hula Baby – Mono, Take 3 with Count-In
23. Rock-A-Hula Baby – Take 4 FS / Take 5 Complete
24. Rock-A-Hula Baby – Stereo, Takes 1, 2 FS
25. Rock-A-Hula Baby – Stereo, Take 3 Complete
FS = false start / LFS = long false start.
Product Details
Feature    Description
Artist    Elvis Presley
Title    Blue Hawaii – Mele Mai Ka Lani Mai
Label    Venus Productions
Catalogue Number    VP 2019-01
Release Year    2019
Format    3CD
Packaging    Four-panel digipak
Recording Type    Studio recordings
Recording Dates    March 21–23, 1961
Studio    Radio Recorders Studio B
Location    Hollywood, California
Contents    Complete takes, outtakes, masters, movie versions and alternates

With 89 tracks across three CDs, high-quality studio material and an attractive four-panel digipak presentation, this is a comprehensive collector's release devoted to one of the most famous periods of Elvis Presley's movie career.
Elvis Presley – Blue Hawaii: Mele Mai Ka Lani Mai 3CD is available from your Elvis specialist Bennies Fifties and the online Fifties Store.