Don't think so. Honest mistake in my opinion, cause the film used the 1970 live recording. And since it was a soundtrack album release. It was only natural they would have thought to use that same 1970 recording. Last minute publishing might have been cheaper doing Aloha, or studio time to mix and master song to LP was simply not available (time and or budget), with liner notes printed by the thousands already.
I'm looking forward to the FTD of In Concert actually. I have a soft spot for all the 77 shows and as hard as it can be -- I think it's a crucial chapter of the story. And the sound could really use an upgrade. I can also enjoy the music. It's a slice of what Elvis would have sounded like at 60 or 70 years old. Sort of. He's slowed down. Anyway, the visual of Elvis so unhealthy and pale is what really shocked people, I bet. Certainly made it harder.
The point is RCA knew it was using the Aloha version, yet noticed the TTWII version in the album's liner notes. Considering numerous unique edits and hybrids were prepared, mixed, mastered for the album, it seems unlikely that the label simply mailed it in at the last minute over one song.
Replicating the original album and its errors was the right call. They should have included that special edit of the 1970 version on the 2nd disc. To me, that was the only flub of the FTD release.
Or RCA/Deary wanted it and could not secure it for the final cut of the album. Probably never been mixed before. Artwork ready to go and printed. It would have been misleading if the "mistake" was in the outer album jacket on the back cover. It wasn't. It was in the inner sleeve showcasing an unreleased 1970 Suspicious Minds which was obviously intended (cause it was in the documentary albeit not unreleased on film). Which BTW was edited short to finish with CHFIL. I don't even think they had those TTWII 16 track tapes at that time. Still in the salt mine...
The RCA International Hotel multi-tracks were never in a "salt mine". Those were the outtakes from the film. RCA had the multi-tracks the entire time, stored in the Indianapolis vault.
The soundtrack 16 multi tracks were not in Indianapolis according to the producer of TTWII special edition.
Correct. RCA's multitracks were in their possession, they mined them on a few occasions prior to the 2000 Special Edition movie, examples: Elvis Aron Presley (1980) - Polk Salad Annie, Little Sister/Get Back The Essential 70s Masters (1995) - Men With Broken Hearts, Something, Heartbreak Hotel, I Was The One, One Night Platinum (1997) - Bridge Over Troubled Water
Obviously not all of them. Otherwise the producer would not have stated so and very excited to boot. Anyways, a left field assertion that RCA willingly mislabeled line-notes knowing full well Aloha version was going to be used. "Purposeful manipulation" is reaching. The person would only know the mistake after purchasing the album and looking at the inner sleeve.
Rick is clearly referring to Turner multitracks, not RCA's, which were never missing. Besides, his comment was always odd, since in 1992 The Lost Performances was issued and all the audio on there, in stereo, would have been mixed from them. Perhaps someone lost their tapes between that project and 2000.
I've spent a lot of time in the past few days revisiting those early FTD '60s studio outtake releases: Long Lonely Highway Fame and Fortune Studio B So High I sold my original copies of these once all the tracks had been made available in the Classic Album series. In a fit of seller's remorse, I reacquired them via various sellers (all legit copies, BTW). I'm glad I did. These are really well-compiled collections that provide a concise and enjoyable alternate history of Elvis' Studio B sessions from the '60s. Highly recommend even if you have all of the relevant FTD Classic Album releases.
I haven't bought So High but the others on your list are favorites of mine. I've quit playing musical chairs with Elvis. I can't keep track anymore which alternates | outtakes | undubbed | overdubbed | remixed | remastered | with chorus | without chorus | etc etc etc appears on which CD in complete | incomplete form. It's just too much. But I like those compilations from Elvis' early 1960s sessions from the studio albums as well as the supplemented studio albums.
There is something special about those original compilation projects. At the time, some of the unreleased/unheard performances on those titles were a revelation. No one knew that expansive releases of various sessions would surface on the classic album series releases. These compilations, including some of the latter-day collections such as Memphis Sessions, Nashville Marathon, I Sing All Kinds, and The Jungle Room Sessions, still hold up very well on their own.
Honestly, I think it was the influence of Charlie Hodge as a kind of unofficial voice coach at the recording sessions. Elvis let Hodge tune up everybody, including Elvis. Elvis reaches for notes and timbre and stretches like a trained pro instead of a raw rock & roller.
Yeah. Listen to "Elvis Is Back!" with headphones. His voice and his breath control are night and day better than two years prior. As time goes by I think my favorite Elvis era is the Studio B stuff from 60-62. His voice, the songs, the sound and those A-Team players. Top shelf stuff.
Elvis was very much focused on how he wanted to develop his music during his time in Germany. It culminated in his vocal delivery and overall production with Elvis Is Back!.
As much as I love the 1969 Memphis stuff, "Elvis Is Back! " and the non-album singles from 1960 are #1 on my Elvis list. He really knocked it out of the park. Amazing sound for a 4 track recording.
What changed my view and helped me to really appreciate Elvis in the 60's was "The Essential 60's Masters Box Set". Hearing Elvis over the course of those five discs without any pollution from the 60's soundtrack recordings was a revelation to me, for the first time I was able to enjoy song after song with no real clunkers to spoil the experience. The content of the box made me realise just how much greater Elvis could have been if he'd only concentrated on his music without those dire movies and the awful soundtracks getting in the way.
The four track wasn't used. Elvis Is Back was mastered from the first generation live to two track stereo master mix by Bill Porter. Very audiophile saving the need for an extra generation that would have been required from the four track tape. The four track master (made from another machine), was a safety. Yes, two machines running at the same time. Cool stuff!
In theory, one can certainly draw the conclusion that Elvis' commercial output would have been vastly superior to what actually transpired during the mid-1960's due to the relatively substandard nature of his soundtrack work. However, there were signs that non-soundtrack sessions were already being negatively impacted by publishing constraints. By the time Pot Luck appears, there is an obvious dip in quality. Frankly, there is a drop even with Something For Everybody, although the associated singles were uniformly great. I think the shortsighted, money-driven limitations set by management would have had a negative effect on his non-soundtrack recording career one way or another in the 1960's, although, it is hard to imagine it could have gone as low as it did with the soundtrack work.
