Probably old news to most of us on this thread, but it looks like Elvis In Atlanta and Las Vegas '74 are going to get reprints. I really enjoyed both, especially Las Vegas '74.
I have the Las Vegas 74 FTD having picked it up a few weeks back with some other stuff but forgot to play it. I enjoyed the 2 shows on Elvis in Atlanta. Will play Las Vegas 74 this weekend. Writing For The King arrived today and the Elvis live disc was fantastic. Absolutely super save for a slightly not so good Don't Cry Daddy. I should have bought this years ago although it is expensive as I don't really need the book although the photos are good. Thanks to Maestrodavros for the info on unique tracks. I also read through Keith Flynn's breakdown of the tracks. Lots of material not available elsewhere yet on this disc.
The demos I was totally on board with for this release. Even better the King Creole FTD, which really fits the theme. The Vegas recordings on Writing for the King never fit, and though it was nice to get more performances, the mixing and sound was pretty average.
I'm okay with the sound. Could it be improved? Probably. But it's not a deal breaker for me on this show. I'm actually a little worried that the same guys who have mixed the last few live releases on Sony will be unleashed on an On Tour set. :-/
Well there was that interview last year with Matt-Ross Spang in TapeOP (you now have to sign up for a free subscription on their website to access it) where when talking about his work on WDITJR, said "Now they've got me mixing some live shows, and rehearsals from the live shows." Now what possible Elvis related project A. has both concerts AND rehearsals that are in such a state that they would need a mixing engineer, and B. has yet to be released? If Matt-Ross Spang is indeed going to be mixing Elvis On Tour (and it's just a theory; take it with a grain of salt) please don't slather it with overloaded tape echo like WDITJR was, pretty please? Also I doubt that Steve Rosenthal will be involved in mixing future Elvis releases, since after The Magic Shop was taken from him he decided to make a business as a restoration engineer, mainly working with The Magic Shop's vaults and digitizing/restoring them. Wishing him the best of luck in his endeavors.
Sorry not played them yet. I am sure they will be interesting though. Heartbreak Hotel is in my opinion probably a big point in the Elvis upward trajectory. Great song and in my view pretty unique at that time.
I wasn't aware of this, sorry to hear that. Not sure it rules him out from future Elvis releases, this blog interview from October discusses a little of the Elvis projects (jump to 27mins for the Elvis segment): #24: This Magic Moment with Steve Rosenthal
Just getting around to listening to Kissin' Cousins for the first time. Expectations were super low quite frankly, with this soundtrack arguably being the low point of Presley's career up to that point. I am happy to have this material - as a collector and a completest, there is no way I could NOT own it. However, this is darn close to being one of most non essential "non soundboard" FTD releases thus far. First off, as mentioned already, the material here is super weak with only "Tender Feeling", "Anyone" and perhaps "Once Is Enough" passing muster. What drives it further south, is the dirth of outtake material necessitating not one or two, but TWELVE instrumental takes! And don't even get me started on the inclusion of Dolores Edgin's song! The silver lining in regards to those instrumental takes? Some of these songs sound better as instrumentals than they do with vocals! I also got to test out my own singing voice, in full on Karoake mode and decided that quitting my day job would be a bad idea So sadly, to these ears this one is a bit of a dud. There is a nice outtake of the "normal" version of the title track and the isolated "Tender Feeling" vocal is novel. But that's about it. Sound quality is pretty good, if not leaning a bit to the bright side. I feel the outtakes sound better than the album proper. Completests only.
Hmm. He says he is working on a "string of '74 shows". But, you have to take that with a grain of salt because he said '71 when talking about the TTWII Deluxe box and says that it just came out last year when it came out in 2014. I am going to assume he has started restoring the multitracks from the Elvis On Tour shows/rehearsals. Doesn't sound like he will do the mixing or mastering.
Been binging on soundboards all day. New Years Eve is so good. Now I'm playing Spirit of Jackson, MS. Ronnie Tutt's solo on the Band Introductions is spectacular. If FTD can keep digging up soundboards like this -- don't care from what year -- I'm all in.
I've been listening to all '69 shows all this week, a different one every night. Last night was the "All Shook Up" FTD. Tonight I will play the "Live in Las Vegas" box August 24th show. I think that will just about do it. After this I'll either take a break or move onto February 1970 shows. My "Kissin' Cousins" arrived a few days ago. I thumbed through the book, looked over the tracklist, and then put it on the shelf. I just couldn't bring myself to play it! I'll have to give it a whirl at some point, but I'm in no rush.
Yeah, that is one of those titles I will begrudgingly acquire at some point. Even back in the day when I would typically have FTD titles preordered, I held off on some of the substandard soundtracks and acquired them in a more leisurely fashion.
Wow, you listen to the band intros/solos?! I find it more and more challenging to sit through that sort of concert bloat. As you probably know, the 9/5/76 soundboard was originally earmarked for the Golden Celebration box set back in '84 before Joan Deary was removed from the project. It has been around for a long time. My understanding is that Ernst was going to release it a few years ago, but its release was delayed in favor of some other titles. Frankly, I am surprised it was not one of the first 1976 shows released earlier in FTD's history.
Oh yeah! I dig right in - no short cuts, diet sodas, or cliff notes. I bathe in the whole experience. Always have. Full concert experience or none at all. Selectivity picking tracks has the strange and ironic effect of actually weakening the better moments. The 9/5 show really does have great sound with a relatively sober and full-voiced Elvis. Given the run he had here in the fall, hopefully there’s a few more shows that they have available —if one is so inclined.
I need to dive back into this era soon. For me, for so long this was all I had — 68/69 shows. While Elvis is in tip-top shape, I’ve always sensed some uneasiness, and there’s a more Vegasy-style that always seemed a bit at odds with his persona. But he’s also so electric at the same time.
Might be Spirit of Jackson. I have West Texas lined up for later and need to revisit some of the recent ones like West Coast Tours and Alabama. Bicentennial sounds amazing, and I really enjoyed it, but Elvis sounds stiffly-relaxed, if that makes sense, and does not sing too well. Very thin-voiced.
Thanks. I may just do a two-fer and get Spirit of Jackson and the Showtime! CD's. I also need to get Vol. 4 of the Gold Records series and the FTD of the Comeback Special. I haven't bought an FTD since I scored the Classic Albums box set.
The soundboards I have are: Return To Vegas (69) On Stage Season (70) Disc 2 of Legacy "Live In Memphis" (74) Disc 2 of Legacy "Today"(75) Dixieland Rocks (75)* So, I will get "Spirit of Jackson", "Rocking Across Texas", and "Showtime!" for my '76 shows. ** I need to get Boston for '71, for certain. What would best for '72 & '73? Am I missing anything exceptional? *my first FTD **I wanna get all the Fort Worth/Dallas shows for sentimental reasons, even if they are not "top shelf"
