For the 24 July "x-rated" rehearsal version : https://youtu.be/p6pf6Jk896g
If social media and Elvis forums are a barometer, then “Heart of Rome” seems to be a favourite among Elvis fans. It was recorded by Elvis on 6 June 1970 during Elvis’ Nashville marathon recording session at RCA’s studio B.
The recording process was probably the most complicated of all thirty five masters recorded at the session. In addition, it was one of only three which were achieved by means of slicing parts of takes together.
In the first instance, Elvis ran through three takes, two of which were complete takes before the decision was taken to re-record the second part of the song only. On close inspection it is evident why this may have been the case as another wise perfect case is ruined by Elvis’ voice breaking during the final “Rome”. Unfortunately, this occurred before it would have been possible to impose an early fade and so Elvis re-recorded from the beginning of the final chorus and this was the spliced onto take three creating the master take.
On reflection it is probably little surprise that this occurred with his voice, as this had been a day’s recording which yielded songs like “You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me” and “Just Pretend”. Luckily “Heart of Rome” was the final song recorded on this day as Elvis’ throat was badly needing a rest and the band were struggling to keep awake.
As with all of these videos, to get the most out of the re-edited audio, I highly recommend you use ear /headphones and turn the volume up as much as you dare!