Elvis Presley FTD CD reissues (part 6)

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by hodgo, Feb 15, 2015.

  1. RSteven

    RSteven Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brookings, Oregon
    Is there any consensus about the best sounding studio version of Bridge Over Troubled Water as I thought many prefer the un-dubbed studio version without applause on Heart and Soul or the Walk A Mile In My Shoes box set? I thought there was some criticism about the sound for BOTW on the TTWII FTD version IIRC.
     
    Last edited: Jun 8, 2018
  2. MEMPHISSUN

    MEMPHISSUN Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    Other FTD cd"s may have had sort times,but this is a mess ... Coughing and Laughing on most of the songs.

    Few years back a bl set came out and on it was the song"s (70) from ON STAGE as they were recorded ie,no over dubs,that would have taking the cd to around the hour mark.

    I hope they put up the JAN/FEB 1972 on MULTI/SOUNDBOARD ... Elvis Presley - Live 1972
     
  3. PacificOceanBlue

    PacificOceanBlue Senior Member

    Location:
    The Southwest
    I am certainly not justifying the 45 minute playing time, but there are a couple of things to consider. One, anyone familiar with the February 1970 season knows Elvis was prone to coughing and laughing, so it is no surprise that a number of songs contain those characteristics. Two, maybe that is a reason why the producers had reservations about releasing two full discs of performances that are plagued with those characteristics. That said, FTD has had no issue releasing two discs of uninspired soundboard concerts with Elvis in an impaired state; at least during February 1970, he was still in tremendous overall shape, regardless of the coughing and laughing.

    I agree that the undubbed version of "On Stage" would have been a viable inclusion, pushing this disc towards 80 minutes.
     
  4. When In Rome

    When In Rome It's far from being all over...

    Location:
    UK
    'The On Stage Season' and 'Return To Vegas' are two of my favourites FTD's, even though the engagements are otherwise covered by multi-tracks, there's something cool and raw about these releases...
     
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  5. MaestroDavros

    MaestroDavros Forum Resident

    Location:
    D.C. Metro Area
    Me too. In fact I'd go so far to say that the Febrary 1970 season closing show is my favorite Elvis Vegas concert: laid back, at the top of his game, even willing to take a couple requests and gives most of the songs a fair treatment. Excellent mastering by Vic Anesini too.
     
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  6. Flaming Torch

    Flaming Torch Forum Resident

    Was an undubbed On Stage ever considered for release back in the day? Re the laughing/coughing this might/must have made it hard to choose performances for possible release at least without overdubbing by Elvis. How many of these shows/parts of shows were taped by multi track?
     
  7. johnny q

    johnny q Forum Resident

    Location:
    Bergen County, NJ
    I would like to know as well, I have never done an a/b compare and I also prefer the "un-mucked with" non applause pure version.

    I believe there is also a no applause version on Elvis By The Presley's.

    Some additional information to add to the confusion :) Some titles are unofficial obviously:

    Take 1:Nashville Marathon
    Take 5: Essential Elvis Vol.4
    Master 8 without applause: 70`s Masters
    undubbed unrepaired master : Pure Diamonds Vol.4
    undubbed repaired master: Pure Diamonds Vol.2
     
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  8. shanebrown

    shanebrown Forum Resident

    Location:
    Norfolk, UK
    I haven't bought the release, and I don't intend to do so at £23 for 45 minutes, but it seems odd that there is still stuff in the vaults from this season and it wasn't included to make this a fuller disc. The idea that they don't want to include multiple versions of the same song seems ludicrous, considering how many takes we have had of some songs over the years. And the concept seems odd, too. They include one song originally released on Today, Tomorrow and Forever fifteen or so years ago, but the other two aren't included here and haven't been re-released over the years. They could also have included the songs from Writing for the King, just to try to pull various tracks together into one place. The whole concept seems a mess.
     
  9. MaestroDavros

    MaestroDavros Forum Resident

    Location:
    D.C. Metro Area
    I've given it some thought, and TBH this release really seems like something put out to fill a gap in the schedule. Like if we assume that Vic has worked on VLV, and there was a delay/didn't want to release another soundboard/etc. I can see Ernst pulling Vic aside and asking if he could do this as well.

    It doesn't excuse the overly short runtime, quality of material chosen, or the price tag, but it would make some sense and that kind of release is a typical stalling tactic in the business.

    I've since heard the release and while it's not as bad as some have implied (mixing/mastering work is impeccable, the performances when you get to the songs are actually quite good) but I hear it and all the more I believe it would have worked so much better in the context of "complete" (or, as complete as possible) concerts on a 2 disc set. When you set out to create a compilation such as this, the expectation is that the material chosen is of the highest caliber, and not of arguably poor quality leftovers. It's why I'll support a VLV complete sessions release and not this one, because with the former I appreciate that not everything is going to be 100% greatness. I expect flubs and fooling around because that what is expected out of a complete session. But with a compilation it should be something that you'd want to demo to someone; to show the best of what there is to offer, and this set simply does not accomplish either of those things.
     
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  10. Dave Hoos

    Dave Hoos Nothing is revealed

    I think judging by the learned comments on here, I shall be buying The Wonder Of You on my next visit to the Elvis Australia site.
    And Something For Everybody will be bought along with it. I like the track listing on that one, and if it sounds anywhere near as good as Elvis Is Back it's a must have.

    Thanks guys.
     
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  11. Dave Hoos

    Dave Hoos Nothing is revealed

    I've seen a couple of much more reasonably priced used copies on both Ebay and Discogs, so it's not going to be as expensive as I thought, thankfully!
     
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  12. MEMPHISSUN

    MEMPHISSUN Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    Superb sound on THE WONDER OF YOU and SOMETHING FOR EVERYBODY,so your on to a winner with those.

    Another one if you may not have it,is HIS HAND IN MINE.

    He and the band could do no wrong in 60 - 62.

    His Hand In Mine - FTD CD review - Elvis Information Network

    Elvis Presley Recording Sessions
     
  13. Flaming Torch

    Flaming Torch Forum Resident

    Although a fan of the Jan/Feb Las Vegas season I am no expert but performances from these shows do seem to be spread across a whole bunch of discs. Trying to make a list will take some time. I had forgotten that there were performances on Today etc which are unique to that disc. I bought the Writing for the King book purely for the Elvis music but that is a very expensive way to listen to Elvis. The odd thing and where my cynicism comes in is that FTD are putting out loads of 74 shows but only slowly releasing the really good stuff ie 69/70. Unfair? Maybe but that thought had crossed my mind.
    There is a list of songs from dated rehearsals in the booklet but no info as to whether they exist as recordings. The notes are merely a reproduction of an interview with the drummer from a 2014 Elvis The Man the Music mag. This is a great sounding release of great peak time Elvis but it is short and does not to my mind make much sense when other related stuff is not used. Ah well I suspect more stick for FTD which is a shame.
     
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  14. Flaming Torch

    Flaming Torch Forum Resident

    I too am a big fan of early 60s Elvis notwithstanding some of the songs not really being my cup of tea (sorry folks but I love the whole British Invasion thing Stones, Beatles, Kinks, Who - they all wrote and recorded great songs). The musicians on those early 60s Elvis recordings are superb and no one else could sing like Elvis.
     
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  15. artfromtex

    artfromtex Honky Tonkin' Metal-Head

    Location:
    Fort Worth, TX
    SFE sounds incredible. You will love it. Keep "Pot Luck" in the back of your mind for a future purchase.

    In my earlier mention of FTD trilogies I forgot to mention the three gospel classic albums. All of those are must haves, IMO. I totally agree about the '60-'62 era of Elvis at Studio B. I have a playlist of all those masters in my iTunes. That one gets played quite often.

    Elvis, the musicians, the engineers, etc. Everyone brought their "A" game.
     
  16. shanebrown

    shanebrown Forum Resident

    Location:
    Norfolk, UK
    As far as I can work out, and I may have missed some, the already-released tracks that are "uncollected" on a Feb 1970-themed release are:

    Don't Cry Daddy (Feb 16, DS. Writing for the King)
    Walk a Mile In My Shoes (as above)
    Polk Salad Annie (as above)
    Kentucky Rain (Feb 17 DS. Writing for the King)
    Polk Salad Annie (Feb 17 MS. Today, Tomorrow and Forever)
    Walk a Mile In My Shoes (as above)

    Even just to fill the disc up, and tidy up things for fans, these could have been included.

    Beyond those, Don't Cry Daddy, Let It Be Me, I Can't Stop Loving You, and Walk a Mile are all officially unreleased from Feb 19 DS, according to Keith Flynn's website.

    Either way, there is little excuse for a 45 minute disc. And, in all honesty, the Writing for the King tracks seem to be in need of more of a remix than those from Today, Tomorrow and Forever. That disc was a mess.
     
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  17. artfromtex

    artfromtex Honky Tonkin' Metal-Head

    Location:
    Fort Worth, TX
    46 years ago tonight:
    [​IMG]
     
  18. Dave Hoos

    Dave Hoos Nothing is revealed

    It will be placed in the clue. It may have to wait a while though, haha.
     
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  19. artfromtex

    artfromtex Honky Tonkin' Metal-Head

    Location:
    Fort Worth, TX
    I understand. Being in the midst of building an FTD collection is similar to sailing the high seas in a tea cup at times. Lots of ways to go and none of them without a high price. Enjoy the ride.
     
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  20. Hatchet Jack

    Hatchet Jack Forum Resident

    Location:
    Europe
    How are the posthumous albums mounted by FTD regarded around here? Are there any other ones besides "Elvis Sings Memphis, Tennessee" and "Elvis Sings Guitar Man?
     
  21. PacificOceanBlue

    PacificOceanBlue Senior Member

    Location:
    The Southwest
    "Standing Room Only," containing February 1972 live recordings from Las Vegas and March 1972 studio recordings from Hollywood. The sound quality is mixed, particularly with the live material, but the release does a fine job presenting the March 1972 recordings.
     
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  22. shanebrown

    shanebrown Forum Resident

    Location:
    Norfolk, UK
    The February live recordings have been very badly handled by FTD. The sound quality here is pretty awful compared to what we know can be achieved, and An American Trilogy was a mess of a release, and the sound is even worse, I think. If FTD really are progressing into 3CD sets, then these live recordings might be a good candidate. These tracks have been spread over the two FTDs I have mentioned, as well Writing for the King and Destination USA. They are deserving of being brought together all under one roof over two CDs, remixed to get them sound like a coherent collection, with the 3rd CD containing the soundboard of the opening night which, in many ways, is quite a historic performance given the songs that were introduced. I guess the problem here is that only about 15 different songs are known to have been recorded on multi-track, and most of them in multiple versions. But that is hardly an issue at this stage of the game - fans are used to having multiple versions of a song on a CD.
     
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  23. PacificOceanBlue

    PacificOceanBlue Senior Member

    Location:
    The Southwest
    Ernst Jorgensen allegedly is lukewarm to the idea of issuing another volume of February 1972 recordings because of the repetition. Apparently there is another full disc of unreleased recordings that could be issues, if not enough for a two-disc collection. That said, all one has to do is look at this most recent FTD release of February 1970 recordings to gauge where Ernst's present view is regarding issuing complete, thorough collections of the remaining in-concert multitracks from either year. The irony is that FTD continues to recycle the same concerts and set-lists via soundboard releases from the 1974-1976 period, yet there is supposedly concern over saturation and repetition from the February 1970 and 1972 tapes.
     
  24. shanebrown

    shanebrown Forum Resident

    Location:
    Norfolk, UK
    It's all just a little bit perverse.
     
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  25. ClausH

    ClausH Senior Member

    Location:
    Denmark
    The mix on the TTWII FTD is the original album mix where the first verse is very low in volume and with the fake applause. The other mix which was first released on Heart and Soul has the verse at a normal level and it omits the applause. The remix is available on Heart and Soul, the 70s box and Elvis Inspirational which was mastered by Anesini. https://www.amazon.com/Elvis-Inspri...3XY/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1528749412
     
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