Elvis FTD From start to finsh

Thought it might be fun to start a thread about every Elvis FTD release in order. I recently went through my collection (all but 2 titles) and just forgot about most. What people liked/disliked, sound quality, material, ect... when one title is over move on tot he next in order.

# 1 - Burbank '68



I remember when it was released and being giddy about this label. After years of bootlegs and scattered outtakes, there was an official label!

I ate this one up as it was a nice companion to the official releases of "Tiger man" and "Memories". While re listening to this one the other day, the sound isn't as great as the recent re-releases but at the time the dress rehearsal and "Let yourself go" instrumental was fun to listen to.

 

There will undoubtedly be some overlap with the 6-part FTD thread, but it is always enjoyable discussing FTD product.

"Burbank '68" caught me by surprise. Unaware that FTD existed and was operational, I learned about this debut release several months after it was released in mid-2000. Ironically, I remember talking to a friend in 1999 suggesting that BMG should start some sort of side label or series of releases for Elvis archival product -- little did I know Ernst Jorgensen and Roger Semon were in the process of establishing that very thing.

Elvis' work in Burbank during the summer of 1968 is among the greatest work of his career, so it is not surprising that FTD's initial release celebrated the recordings from NBC Singer Presents project. The dressing room rehearsal tape was a revelation and worth the price of admission. I was looking forward to hearing additional material from the "Stand Up" performances, and remember being very underwhelmed by the sound quality (and the fact that some previously released recordings were recycled). Under Ernst Jorgensen's direction, the sound quality of the Elvis catalogue during the 1990's and early 2000's on BMG was inconsistent, and that was certainly the case with the first several FTD releases.

Surprisingly, I thought "Burbank '68" did not reach its full potential, but it did have some enjoyable moments, particularly the dressing room rehearsal. The subsequent NBC Singer Presents associated release "Let Yourself Go" was significantly stronger. But we will get to that one later on....

 

Right off the bat, sorry to all for the spelling error. I had a couple glasses of scotch while starting this thread, Haha.

True this thread could go along with the FTD parts threads, but this is for people to go back and re-listen to them all.

I feel that the first 20 or so FTD titles were meant to just compilations. I don't think they had any idea it would span out to 160+ titles. So i enjoy them for what they are and even though the sound isn't as good as it got to be throughout the years, they are enjoyable compilations of outtakes ect..

As for this first title. It was fun, but I agree kinda boring knowing what they had in the vaults. Outtakes would've been more welcome and interesting.

 

I thought that Burbank '68 was a great start for the label. I remember a few months before the FTD label was started that the titles were only supposed to be available only through fanclubs and that each fanclub only would receive a limited number of copies. The Danish fanclub offered a subscription so that one could be fairly certain to receive the discs.

Things changed pretty fast and the discs soon became more widely available. The original plan was to release two titles every three months and Ernst Jørgensen made it clear that he had no intentions of releasing complete sessions.

 

I think Jay Gordon played some of this on his Elvis Only radio show. That's how I first heard of FTD though I didn't actually start buying them until years later. I think much (all?) of this is now available elsewhere but I enjoy playing this once in awhile.

 

At the time, I thought it was a very smart move for the label to do this and mine the vaults to beat the bootleggers (especially as Elvis bootlegs never seemed to be as easy for me to get, compared to other artists). I felt it (FTD) was inspired by Hendrix's Dagger Records, which IIRC launched the year prior.

 

Agreed. The classic album series was conceived of much later on. The classic album series seemed to start as a vehicle to reissue some of the soundtracks and associated sessions, and then started to naturally branch out -- if FTD could justify issuing something as substandard as "Girl Happy" as a standalone release with session outtakes, why not "Elvis Is Back!?" Also, in the early 2000's, Ernst stated that BMG was not convinced there was a market for a reissue of "Elvis Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis," so again, FTD's classic album series became a vehicle for that album reissue. Still, the original compilation releases were often very intriguing with compelling song sequences -- many fans still hold those early FTD releases in high regard.

 

I got on board the FTD train right at the start. I don't remember how I heard about this, or where I even bought it from in the first place. I hadn't even gotten on the Internet yet at the time, so I relaly don't know.

With FTD, I made an effort to buy everything...for a while, which in hindsight was a mistake. They are not all worth owning, particularly some of the live releases. I've since sold a few of them off, either due to redundancy or bordom. I could probably sell even more but it's hard to let things go.

While it is fun to collect these things for the sake of having as many historic Elvis recordings as possible, the question becomes how many times can I really listen to the same set of songs? Especially when Elvis sounds...less than his best...on some of them?

The moment of clarity came after I bought "I'll Remember You" and I asked myself, "Why do I need this?" And the answer was, I didn't. It was essentially "Aloha From Hawaii", just nowhere near as good (IMO). So that was when buying every release stopped becoming mandatory. I didn't buy "Dixieland Delight", "New Haven", "High Sierra"...and the world didn't end. Yes, I had night sweats and chills for a time, but eventually I recovered.

I still continue to buy the 'classic albums' and look forward to it's completion. I love the presentation and admire them there all in a row on my shelf. In the past I'd sometimes fall behind, waiting around for a coupon or to find them cheaper on the second hand market, but no more. I'm all caught up (uh huh huh) and I'm going to keep it that way until the end.

It took me a while to convince myself to go all in and buy the soundtracks, but eventually I did, and considering they are starting to go OOP I'm glad, even if I've only made it through "Paradise Hawaiian Style" only once (if that). I love "Harum Scarum", though.

It's interesting to think how much my Elvis CD collection has evolved over the years. Today it looks nothing like what it once did as I've systematically sold discs off as they became redundant. Now I have my Classic Albums, an assortment of FTD soundboards that I didn't feel the need to sell off (yet), the Double Features discs (really wish they'd included the remixes on the FTD releases), my decades boxes and the complete Comeback special set. Oh, and those Legacy releases that I totally don't need but bought anyway. And the $5 Pickwick album discs. And.... OK, I guess I haven't streamlined things as much as I had hoped! There is still work to be done on that front.

I remember going into Borders in the late 90's and marvelling at all the different Elvis CDs that were for sale. There must have been three full rows of them, at least a hundred discs. Old RCAs with no bonus tracks, remasters discs with bonus tracks, nice collections like Elvis Home Recordings, Suspicious Minds, Memories, That's The Way It Is Deluxe, Tomorrow is a Long Time, plus cool boxed sets like Platinum, Vegas, Today Tomorrow Forever, etc.... so much fun to collect. Those were the days, eh? Now Borders is gone and the only Elvis CDs on the shelf in Walmart and Target are '1' or the latest Royal Philharmonic thing. From Feast to Famine, and not just in terms of Elvis. It's a whole new world.

Back to the subject at hand, to be honest I can't remember the last time I listened to "Burnank '68". I could probably sell it and not think twice about it. Between the Complete Comeback Set, Memories, Let Yourself Go, Tiger Man and the deluxe DVD set I think I have more than enough Comeback Special material at my disposal. While it's nice to have the dress rehearsal stuff I don't think I'll ever get around to listening to it again at this point. There just aren't enough hours left in this life.

But I do have fond memories of getting this CD and beginning the FTD journey. Here we are nearly 20 years later (and God only knows how many dollars later) and we're still pressing onward.

As I still have...seven...eight...nine.. 107(!?!) Elvis FTD releases in my collection I look forward to this thread and the excuse to comment on each of them. I'll try to dust them off and play them as we go along.

 

I remember ordering that and being surprised to find it 7X7 as opposed to the smaller digipaks which had come before. I hadn't done my homework. It sat awkwardly alone on my shelf for a quite a while before I finally went "all in" and gave it some friends.

 

They were inspired to use the 7" format after seeing a Cliff Richard concert issued this way by EMI. At least that's what I heard.

 

I have never cared for the 7 inch format; the packaging is flimsy and not conducive to practical storage. Nevertheless, a lot of fans like it.

 

Wow, I forgot about Jay Gordon. I listened every Sunday morning!

Cheers to that. I always second think purchasing them, but hey, what am i gonna do with all my money when i'm dead?

I agree, half of my spines are bent from shipping....


I wanted to wait a few days to move on to the next, but if people feel they are exhausted, feel free to move on to the next one, just post a pic of the CD we are discussing. I know that some titles sure don't need pages of discussion.

 

I think you'll be impressed by this one. Aside from the title, quite a bit of thought's gone into the design. Very strange decision the mix up the tracks though.

 

Are you referring to "The Last Movies" release? Very much looking forward to it.

 

I am not an Elvis FTD fanatic but enjoy the ones I have:
Elvis Is Back
Promised Land
From Elvis In Memphis
Back In Memphis
From Elvis At American Sound Studio
Elvis Country
Elvis Presley Boulevard
Moody Blue

Are there any ultra essential FTD titles I should add.

 

Hot August Night. Perhaps the best post-Comeback live concert recording in the Elvis catalogue.

 

I like the FTD Classic albums. Great thread by the way. Looking forward to reading more.

 

Finally, another thread for FTDs. Good news.

 

Yes, I think you'll be pleased. 68/69 is where I came in with Elvis so this period has always had a special appeal for me aside from the superb Memphis sessions. I haven't yet listened to the Tahoe set but although I have all the soundboards I find it difficult to get too excited about yet another one.

 

Just gave it a spin again before putting it back ion the box and moving on the "Out in Hollywood".

I really can see the importance of having this one be the first released. Quite honestly he is in top form here, It delivered the rehearsal and at the time (and this time) is fun to be a fly on the wall.
The vocal outtake of "if I Can Dream" is stellar. I always liked these live vocal takes recorded in the white suit. I can tired of some Elvis eras. But this and the Memphis '69 i never tire of.

 

#2 - Out in Hollywood




I'll admit when this one came out, I was a little disappointed with the track list. ("Silver Screen" is what I was expecting, but oh well). I only listened to this one once or twice when it came out and boxed it up.
After listening to it again, it does flow well. Highlights for me are "Adam and Evil" and "I Need Somebody to Lean on". The rest is kind of a bore. Sorry but I skipped "Frankie and Johnnie". I also found the sound to be a bit bright playing through my system. Won't be commenting too much on this one. Listened to it once again and back in the box it goes.

 

At the time of "Out In Hollywood"'s release I had not yet reached the level of comfort with the soundtrack material as I experience now, so I may have been somewhat underwhelmed. Today I find this a more gratifying experience, even though most of these tracks aren't necessarily favorites of mine. But the disc flows well, and cherry picking these tracks out of their respective albums give them a chance to shine on their own instead of blurring into one big blur of subpar genre songs, which some of the soundtracks tend to do. I like these songs better in smaller doses. It's a good mixed bag of outtakes and plays pretty well. Having an alternate take of "Edge of Reality" was cool to have at the time. This is another disc I never play and probably should have sold already but didn't. But it was fun to listen to.

 

At the time it was released, I was a bit disappointed as I thought it was a bit scattered in focus (there were a few nice movie-related bootleg sets that were more cohesive back when this was released). I was hoping for a more systematic approach of specific sessions. But it was still a welcome addition as it had a number of songs I didn't have otherwise.

 

It was definitely an underwhelming sophomore effort from FTD. With hours and hours of tantalizing non-soundtrack session reels and live tapes that FTD had at its disposal, "Out In Hollywood" was an oddity. And for the most part, a lot of the content was under-the-radar material; the "Silver Screen Stereo" follow-up was much better because it contained a better mixture of material, including some outtakes of movie soundtrack hits and stand-outs. The highlight for me was seeing a new, sealed copy for sale at Tower Records on Sunset Blvd. around the time of release; it was the only FTD title I did not have to send away for.

 

That is correct. I was round Roger's house when he informed me that he had been very impressed by both the Cliff releases, "Live at The ABC Kingston" and the "Summer Holiday" re-issue and they were looking into doing a similar thing with FTD.