Elvis Presley FTD CD reissues (part 6)

You know its funny, although Aloha From Hawaii is a great sonic experience by itself and of course I used to play the original vinyl edition of it all the time, once the deluxe DVD edition in 5.1 surround sound came out, I find I would so much rather watch the DVD and see Elvis actual perform the songs visually than just listen to the CD. And is not the sound fantastic on that DVD version? For some reason, I actually prefer the DVD over any CD I have ever heard of the Aloha concert.

 

Same here! I do the same with the '68 Comeback. I usually just watch the sit down shows and then scan around various other portions of the box set.

 

I am in total agreement here. Vic's ability to remix and remaster live recordings is underestimated, if that is even possible, in my opinion. I mean, we all know the stellar work he has done on Elvis studio recordings, but The Wonder Of You makes you wish he was able to remix and remaster a lot of Elvis's other live recordings, including Aloha From Hawaii as artfromtex has suggested.

 

Thanks for that. The new Off - On Stage FTD arrived today and if I recall correctly is mixed and mastered by Vic Anesini - great to see his name in the credits.

 

Perhaps some knowledgeable folk will leap in here but I always thought that DVDs play at a higher rate than cd so that might be why material which is the same on both might sound better on cd. A bit like video tape having better sound than cassette.

 

Just put it on (sorry been sorting out my ridiculously large Bruce collection - 8 cds of Darkness). CD player stated about 45 minutes long starts with a late starting I got a Woman followed by a nice Long Tall Sally. Yes credits definitely state mixed and mastered by Vic Anesini. Lovely version of Let It Be Me from the 16th Feb 1970 midnight show with a "play it James" before his lovely guitar work.

 

Gotta agree, also when it comes to 'Elvis In Concert' and deciding whether to watch or listen, I choose 'Aloha'...

 

Elvis Presley FTD Discography

Keith's absolutely excellent site has this (Off On Stage) up already with details of where the tracks are from.

 

Just had my confirmation 'order complete' from the Elvis Shop London, just hoping someone's at home either tomorrow or Monday otherwise it'll be a trip to the sorting office with my red card of disappointment on Thursday and that's too long to wait!!

 

I was lucky I ordered from Elvis London yesterday and it arrived today. I think it is spectacular and again short of going to David Gilmour's houseboat I do not think it could sound better (using my Arcam 92cd player which is my favourite for redbook stuff).

 

I'm only just across the M62 from your good self and the Northern bloke in me is also a little irked by not much VFM for this one but like a moth to the flame, off I flutter...

 

Yes £1 for 2 minutes! I shall forgive FTD but I really hope they release all these Feb 70 recordings mixed and mastered by Vic A. I shall have to check the websites and books to see how much of this season is left in the cans so to speak. At 45 minutes it makes it very playable like an old album though.

 

The playing time is an oddity to say the least. It can be the nature of Elvis fans to complain about various aspects of releases, but the CD playing time on this new release is a reasonable and justifiable concern. While FTD chose not to release two-CDs worth of material (which allegedly was a possibility), another 20-30 minutes of music from the February 1970 multitracks should have been strongly considered.

How does Vic's mix compare to his work on "The Wonder of You?"

 

Just checked my Arcam 45 minutes 23 seconds 16 tracks. Well I like the mix on this new FTD - you can hear Charlie at what I guess is the level that was wanted and as Elvis struggles with laughter on the Don't Cry Daddy tracks he helps hold things together. All the other instruments seem fine to me and there is a real power to singers and musicians at the right times. I really think most folk will be pleased and I would feel a bit of a fraud to comment too much on Vic's work but my feeling is folk will like this disc - short in length though it may be.

 

Has there been another FTD release this short? I can't think of one off the top of my head.

 

I don't know but possibly not. I hope my Arcam is roughly correct or folk from FTD will be beating down my door.
Re the January into February season were all those shows or parts of them really recorded on multi track? Keith's site has soundboard a tape log of the first show.

 

There have been some that have been under an hour, such as Burbank '68 (approximately 51 minutes), On Tour Rehearsals (approximately 51 minutes), Long Lonely Highway (approximately 57 minutes), In A Private Moment (approximately 57 minutes) and Stage Rehearsal (approximately 57 minutes). I remember a lot of fans were complaining about the relatively short length of the On Tour Rehearsals disc at the time of release.

 

Well, kind of... I'm in Haydock in Merseyside presently, though I do originally hail from Ashton-in-Makerfield, near Wigan in Lancashire and before they messed around with the boroughs etc. Haydock was in Lancashire. So yeah, Lancashire born and bred, I s'pose! Worked around Yorkshire for a few years though and I love Scarborough and Whitby...

 

I just got On Stage Season today and have just finished listening to it and I have to agree with you the performances are absolutely stellar. I haven't bought a soundboard before so I was a bit apprehensive about spending 23 quid on it but boy I'm glad I did