“The entire ‘Elvis’ music team has answered the fans’ call.” Elvis filmmaker Baz Lurhmann has released the deluxe edition of the film’s soundtrack, which includes a slew of previously unseen Austin Butler songs. “The whole Elvis music team has answered the call from fans with this new Deluxe Edition of the Elvis soundtrack,” stated Luhrmann in a release. “From previously unreleased Austin Butler recordings to contemporary takes on Elvis classics and a new mash-up with the Backstreet Boys, the Deluxe album reveals all the complex layers of Austin’s performance, Elvis’ music, and those who carry on his legacy.”
The deluxe edition has 52 tracks in total, 15 more than the ordinary edition, and is now available on music streaming platforms. Butler’s previously unreleased tracks include “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Heartbreak Hotel,” “Crawfish” (which was recorded live on set), and “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” The soundtrack also includes “Fly Away Weave” (a mash-up of “I’ll Fly Away” and “That’s All Right”) by Blind Lemon Jefferson, as well as Gary Clark Jr., Shannon Sanders, the Nashville Urban Choir, Shonka Dukureh, Lanesha Randolph, and the film’s composer Elliott Wheeler. Jamieson Shaw’s “Toxic Las Vegas” (a mash-up of Britney Spears’ “Toxic” and “Viva Las Vegas”), which appears in the film but was only recently released as a single, is another addition. ‘Backstreet Bossa Nova’ (Daisy O’Dell’s remix of the Backstreet Boys’ ‘Backstreet’s Back’ with Elvis’ ‘Bossa Nova Baby’) is also available.
G-Dragon’s cover of ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’ and Kacey Musgraves’ version of the same song with Mark Robson are two other modern takes on Elvis’ tunes. Austin Butler’s portrayal of Elvis Presley has garnered him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor this year. Brendan Fraser, Collin Farrell, Bill Nighy, and Paul Mescal are his fellow candidates in the category. NME said in a four-star review of Elvis, “The ‘Moulin Rouge!’ director throws up a big-screen epic we can’t help but fall in love with… Butler’s superb vocals alone are worth a covers album, but the current sounds serve to refresh a decades-old discography.”
