Separate Ways (Elvis Presley album)

Separate Ways is a compilation album by Elvis Presley from 1973. Released by RCA Records under its RCA-Camden subsidiary exactly one month after another compilation, Burning Love and Hits from His Movies, Volume 2, Separate Ways was the second and final attempt by RCA to repackage older Elvis recordings by pairing them with a recent hit single, in this case "Separate Ways" and its flipside "Always On My Mind". The remainder of the album -- which was not promoted as a compilation on the front cover -- consisted of a mixture of previously released recordings from Presley film soundtracks of the 1960's, plus one song, "Old Shep", dating back to 1956. The album was reissued by Pickwick/Camden utilizing the original cataloge number CAS-2611. The only apparent difference is the cover indicates Pickwick at the bottom center front, where as the original issue indicated RCA. The contents of the re-issue are exactly the same as the original issue.

It just missed the top 10 of the Billboard charts on its release and has since gone on to sell over 3 million copies world-wide. It was certified Gold on 3/27/1992 and Platinum on 1/6/2004 by the R.I.A.A.

Title track

Presley recorded "Separate Ways", written by Red West and Richard Mainegra, on March 27, 1972, and the country song "Always On My Mind" on March 29. They were released together as a single on October 31, 1972. It reached gold status in the US for sales of over half a million copies. It was listed as a double sided hit reaching #16 on Billboard magazine's Hot Country Singles chart in November 1972.^[1] In the UK "Always On My Mind" was the hit song and "Separate Ways" was the b-side.

Track listing

1. Separate Ways
2. Sentimental Me
3. In My Way
4. I Met Her Today
5. What Now, What Next, Where To
6. Always on My Mind
7. I Slipped, I Stumbled, I Fell
8. Is It So Strange
9. Forget Me Never
10. Old Shep

In 1995, shortly after the release of the boxed set "Walk a Mile in My Shoes", an enterprising record producer from the Pacific Northwest compiled his own version of the "Separate Ways" album, utilising 14 tracks from the boxed set into a vinyl LP, thus producing a far superior variation. The track listing was:

1. I'm Leavin'
2. Always On My Mind
3. For The Good Times
4. Where Did They Go, Lord
5. The Sound Of Your Cry
6. It's A Matter Of Time
7. Patch It Up
8. The Next Step Is Love
9. Separate Ways
10. It's Only Love
11. Rags To Riches
12. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
13. I've Lost You
14. Burning Love

References