Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. I'll Never Stand in Your Way
2. That's All Right [Alternate Take]
3. Blue Moon [Alternate Take]
4. Good Rockin' Tonight
5. Mystery Train
6. I Got a Woman [Alternate Take]
7. Heartbreak Hotel [Alternate Take 6]
8. I'm Counting on You [Alternate Take 13]
9. Shake, Rattle & Roll/Flip Flop & Fly
10. Lawdy Miss Clawdy [Alternate Take 1]
11. I Want You, I Need You, I Love You [Alternate Take 4]
12. Hound Dog
13. Don't Be Cruel
14. Rip It Up [Alternate Take 15]
15. Love Me Tender
16. When the Saints Go Marching In
17. All Shook Up
18. Peace in the Valley [Alternate Take 3]
19. Blueberry Hill
20. (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear
21. Jailhouse Rock
22. New Orleans
23. I Need Your Love Tonight [Alternate Take][Take]
24. Big Hunk O' Love [Alternate Take 4]
25. Bad Nauheim Medley: I'll Take You Home Again Kathleen/I Will Be True/I

Disc 2:

1. Stuck on You
2. Fame and Fortune
3. It's Now or Never
4. It Feels So Right [Alternate Take 3]
5. Mess of Blues [Alternate Take 1]
6. Are You Lonesome Tonight?
7. Reconsider Baby
8. Tonight Is So Right for Love [Alternate Take 3]
9. His Hand in Mine [Alternate Take 2]
10. Milky White Way [Alternate Take 3]
11. I'm Comin' Home [Alternate Take 3]
12. I Feel So Bad [Alternate Take 1]
13. Can't Help Falling in Love
14. Something Blue [Alternate Take]
15. Return to Sender
16. Bossa Nova Baby [Alternate Take 2]
17. How Great Thou Art [Alternate Take 4]
18. Guitar Man [Alternate Take 4]
19. You'll Never Walk Alone [Alternate Take 2]
20. Oh, How I Love Jesus
21. Tennessee Waltz
22. Blowin' in the Wind
23. I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love With You)
24. I'm Beginning to Forget You
25. After Loving You

Disc 3:

1. I Got a Woman
2. Tiger Man
3. When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again
4. Trying to Get to You
5. If I Can Dream [Alternate Take 1]
6. In the Ghetto [Alternate Take 3]
7. Suspicious Minds [Alternate Take][Take]
8. Power of My Love [Alternate Take 3]
9. Baby, What You Want Me to Do
10. Words
11. Johnny B. Goode
12. Release Me
13. See See Rider
14. Wonder of You
15. Sound of Your Cry [Alternate Take 3]
16. You Don't Have to Say You Love Me
17. Funny How Time Slips Away
18. I Washed My Hands in Muddy Water
19. I Was the One
20. Cattle Call
21. Baby Let's Play House
22. Don't
23. Money Honey
24. What'd I Say
25. Bridge over Troubled Water

Disc 4:

1. Miracle of the Rosary [Alternate Take 1]
2. He Touched Me [Alternate Take 2]
3. Bosom of Abraham [Alternate Take 3]
4. I'll Be Home on Christmas Day [Alternate 4]
5. For the Good Times [Alternate Take 3]
6. Burning Love [Alternate Take]
7. Separate Ways [Alternate Take 25]
8. Always on My Mind [Alternate Take 2]
9. American Trilogy
10. Take Good Care of Her [Alternate Take 4]
11. I've Got a Thing About You Baby
12. Are You Sincere [Alternate Take 2]
13. It's Midnight [Alternate Take 10]
14. Promised Land [Alternate Take 5]
15. Steamroller Blues
16. And I Love You So [Alternate Take 2]
17. T-R-O-U-B-L-E
18. Danny Boy [Alternate Take 9]
19. Moody Blue
20. Hurt [Alternate Take 2]
21. For the Heart [Alternate Take 1]
22. Pledging My Love [Alternate Take 3]
23. Way Down [Alternate Take 2]
24. My Way
25. Jaycees Speech [Excerpt]

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #39575 in Music
• Released on: 1997-07-15
• Number of discs: 4
• Formats: Box set, Limited Edition
• Dimensions: .94 pounds

Amazon.com
The four-CD box-set Platinum was released to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Elvis's death. While much of the material here is made up of familiar hits, there are also 77 unreleased performances spread over the set. Of course, unreleased doesn't necessarily mean better. The original versions of "Heartbreak Hotel," "Rip It Up," and "That's All Right" are so firmly embedded as the foundations of rock & roll that the new versions here add little luster. But what makes Platinum a real treasure-trove is hearing Elvis off mic, whether off-duty or working up songs in the studio prior to recording. Presley had an instinctive grasp of all manner of music; as you can hear on these tracks, he could slip with ease from rock & roll to gospel, ballads, or the blues. Among the most revealing recordings are of Elvis relaxing at home, tackling such diverse material as "I'll Take You Home Again Kathleen," "Blowin' in the Wind," and "Blueberry Hill." Platinum may not be ideal as an introduction to the music of Presley, but--filled as it is with rare photos and a sensitively written song-by-song commentary--it provides an illuminating insight into the man whose shadow casts itself long into the 21st century. --Patrick Humphries

Customer Reviews

The first of the "unreleased" box sets
This was the first of three Elvis box sets to primarily include previously unreleased versions and performances (the others being "Today, Tomorrow, and Forever" and "Close Up"). BMG/RCA must have been unsure of the marketability of a set made up exclusively of unreleased material, so they hedged their bets with this set by including 23 hits along with 77 previously unreleased recordings. This is a very good collection and provides some interesting insight into Elvis' artistic and recording evolution. While most of the alternate versions are close to the final releases, they tend to have a less polished sound which in some cases I actually prefer. Closing the set with an excerpt from Elvis' JayCees speach was a nice touch - very moving.

Out of the three "previously unreleased" box sets, I would rank this one a close second to "Today, Tomorrow, and Forever", primarily because that one contains 100 previously unreleased recordings while this one only has 77. However, both are certainly worthwhile projects for avid Elvis fans - though they are overkill for average fans.

A Remarkable Life in Music
"Platinum" is a terrific 4-CD overview of Elvis Presley's artistry from 1954 to 1977. Along with the essential classics, this set includes a gold mine of previously unreleased material. The 1970 jam sessions on Disc 3 are a revelation - proving that Elvis could outrock all comers. Presley's hard-edged run-through of "What'd I Say" is a masterpiece. Other gems include alternate takes of later recordings such as "Burning Love," "Promised Land," "Hurt" and "Way Down." In retrospect, "Platinum" is the finest display of Elvis' creative scope - an indispensible chronicle of the man and his music.

Etched in Gold
The seemingly never ending stocktake of RCA's Presley vaults has uncovered a genuinely outstanding package of performances by the master. Included in this set are tracks which were deemed to be unworthy of release at the time, underlining a musical integrity not apparent in the welter of commercially-driven soundtracks.

Choice moments include a brilliant account of "What'd I Say" from rehearsals for "That's The Way It Is", replicating Ray Charles to a tee, while his commanding performance of "You'll Never Walk Alone" is gut wrenching, leaving Elvis, and the listener, drained.

A gritty, determinedly "down home" reading of "Blueberry Hill" (transferred from acetate) effortlessly overshadows the officially released version, while a rare live version of "Stuck on You" (from the Sinatra TV special) and the blistering Milton Berle show performance of "Hound Dog" are indispensable additions to any true fans' collection.

Also of note is an interesting, "looser" take of "Bossa Nova Baby", with the band blowing up a storm on the instrumental break, and Elvis resorting cheekily to the original lyric ("drink you fink, oh fiddly dink I can dance with a drink in my hand").