Elvis Presley FTD CD reissues (part 6)

Depends what you mean. Sound quality or performance. The original releases are the ones that were intended for... well, release; naturally they will be superior performances. However, some of the original CD releases were definitely lacking in the aural dept. whereas the recent-ish 'The Album Collection' was by and large great sound quality. In regards FTD sound quality I'd say from 2006 onwards, certainly regarding the actual master recordings, a massive sound improvement came into being and has continued for the most part. Performance wise, FTD's are predominantly out-takes, rough mixes and soundboard recordings not necessarily earmarked for general consumption. The definition of FTD's impression on oneself may depend on how deep a fan of Elvis one may be. 'The Album Collection' may tick all the boxes and no further investigation may be necessary...

 

Playing a bit of catch-up with some FTD titles. There was a time when I had all of these preordered, but too many recent titles have been inessential, especially the influx of mediocre-to-substandard soundboard recordings. At first glance, "Off-On Stage" seemed like a bit of a curiosity and because the content had been released many times over (through alternate versions), it took some time to finally place the order. February 1970 Elvis from the "On Stage" tapes should be a no-brainer, and it is, because "Off-On Stage" is a fine release, perhaps the best release of this material to date.

According to some FTD insiders/consultants, there were enough unreleased recordings to expand this to a two-disc collection. Of course, something can be said for playability versus quantity. FTD already issued two full discs of February 1970 recordings as part of the classic album series edition of "On Stage," with plenty of repeated titles, so in sense, another two-disc set would have simply followed that same pattern (although that did not stop FTD from essentially doing the same thing with the "GI Blues" sessions). Nevertheless, Ernst Jorgensen decided to present a carefully-chosen single disc compilation of additional highlights, as well as a handful of remixed tracks from "Polk Salad Annie (FTD)" and "E1," instead of simply purging the vaults.

Anyone familiar with the February 1970 multitracks knows what to expect. Elvis is in fabulous form and is backed by an incredible band, which included Bob Lanning on drums for the first and only time. During the winter 1970 engagement, there were certainly more than a few examples of Elvis being overly loose and injecting too many quips into certain songs. The compilers of this release were largely able to present focused performances; for example, it is nice to hear Elvis deliver "Kentucky Rain" (2/19 d.s.) without changing the lyrics. Of course, the sequencing is not without a few examples of Elvis losing it a bit -- oddly unfocused versions "Don't Cry Daddy" and "Love Me Tender" are included as "bonus tracks." It is unclear why FTD decided to conclude, what is mostly a very-well compiled collection, examples of Elvis goofing around.

The sound quality is tremendous. No one has mixed and mastered Elvis' live work better than Vic Anesini and Vic once again delivers a first-rate mix on "Off-On Stage." This is how Elvis was meant to be heard. For February 1970 enthusiasts, the expansive classic album series edition of "On Stage" will probably be more appealing because it contains more quantity, but for the most part, this single disc compilation is a focused, possibly definitive overview of Elvis best work from February 1970. If it omitted the loose "bonus tracks," it would be a nearly perfect collection. Highly recommended.

 

I echo everything you said here in spades! I am surprised that there have not been more comments about the splendid sound, mixing and mastering by Vic on this great CD that really shows Elvis in peak live voice and that great TCB band at the very top of their game. I truly dig Off-On Stage; my goodness this is prime Elvis at his best, certainly as a live vocalist.

 

I think a couple of things are possibly at play. One, generally there seems to be less enthusiasm for Elvis archival product because so much has been issued over the past 19 years. Had a carefully sequenced collection of February 1970 live multitracked recordings been issued 15 years ago, the excitement and discussion would have been extensive, filling pages on this very thread. Think about how huge it was when FTD released "Polk Salad Annie?" Now, it is just another collection of live recordings. People move on from it much more quickly.

The second issue is a number of collectors were unhappy that "Off-On Stage" was a single disc collection, rather than a two-disc vault purge. Many fans hold these live recordings in very high regard and were aggravated that FTD simply issued a 46 minute CD, rather than exhausting the archives and issuing a comprehensive collection. So, while the sound quality is worthy of praise, a number of fans simply cannot be bothered with discussing a collection that they think delivered so little.

 

I've been a proud unapologetic FTD fanboy for the past 5 or 6 years and pre-ordered everything as it was announced. And I've loved every moment of it!! I've accumulated Elvis' entire catalog (my main goal) through the classic album series in a definitive and delightfully expanded format -- many albums that just weren't available to CD buyers very much, if ever -- and certainly not given this treatment.

All told, I have 40 or 50 (or more) soundboards too (my other main goal) that really round out just who this man was, grinding it out on the road day-after-day -- half-stoned, rocking, slurring, joking, pumped up and sometimes bored -- recordings that would never been made available without this FTD program.

That's a long-winded way of saying I spent a lot of money collecting FTDs!! And I'm sure I'd love "Off-On Stage" and "The Viva Las Vegas Sessions" but I should exercise some restraint since they're not $15.99 on Amazon with free two-day shipping or anything like that.

 

The soundboards certainly provide some chapters to the story. The issue is that it seems like a number of them are arbitrarily chosen without concern for what they represent. Even in the early days of FTD, there did not seem to be an established criteria other than an objective to represent as many tours and casino engagements as possible. There was never much consistency. Sometimes there would be a complete show, other times there would be a compilation. But with so many mediocre-to-substandard concerts in the FTD archives, one would hope more care and attention would go into deciding what is released.

For example, aside from the final late-December tour, 1976 consistently represents one of worst performance years of Elvis' career, yet FTD has released nearly 20 concerts from 1976. Many of them have virtually no redeeming qualities whatsoever. Why not cherrypick the highlights (if the word can genuinely be used here) from various shows and create compilations representing the best of each tour? That approach was utilized for late-spring/early-summer 1975 for "Southern Nights," which resulted in a playable compilation that omitted all of the deadweight that brought down so many Presley concerts from the 1975-1977 era. Granted, there are enthusiasts and collectors who want complete shows, so it is understandable why Ernst started issuing larger numbers of complete concert recordings, but where does the keeper of Elvis' catalogue draw the line when it comes to artistic integrity? With so many soundboards of questionable performance quality being issued, it certainly paints a very unflattering picture of Elvis' final period of work. How about treating that final period with more compassion, humanity and professionalism?

That being said, I am content with a number of the soundboard releases, but I realize I could part ways with at least 10 titles and not give it a second thought. The reality is that I rarely listen to the vast majority of the soundboard releases, but as an Elvis enthusiast, I think it is important to have many of these documents for the purpose of continuing to find answers and understand the man and the artist. But it is getting harder and harder to justify the acquisitions because many of the soundboard releases offer so little in return.

 

Sony Legacy have for the past couple years been remastering and releasing in no particular order compilations of an artist's singles in their mono mixes for streaming and, consequentially, made available via download. They don't include all of an artist's mono albums, just their singles. I could see them adding Elvis to that list, but I also would be very surprised if they didn't make it more of an extravagant thing because of the artist in question.

Like I've said before FTD should seriously consider a series collecting all of Elvis' mono mixes, both those released in his lifetime and any potential alternate songs or mixes that exist (like the long version of "Suppose" that surfaced on the "Speedway" FTD). Assuming 2 discs each (room for about 4-8 albums) I think it could be accomplished in a few volumes. If done right it might avoid the criticisms FTD had with "Speedway" and "Gold Records Volume 4" where they just had a short disc of the mono with little to no extras.

 

Just wanted to chime in here...my "Viva Las Vegas" came today, and I must say, it's impressive. I know there has been some quibbling about dialogue snippets and/or slate numbers being left off that were on previous releases, but it's not an issue to me. The sound and the presentation are sterling to say the least, and the discs are maxed out length-wise. Since this soundtrack was done for MGM, it was originally recorded dry. They have added very light reverb to the entire set which is not unlike what would have been done if these tracks were released as an LP back in the day. Another issue for debate I've been reading was the fact that the songs are not presented in recorded order and/or all takes in sequence, but I think the way everything is broken up makes for a better listening experience. One great thing I noticed in the booklet was the mention of the master track being synchronized with the vocal overdub elements. This no doubt to present the song in better fidelity. I believe this is the first time that has been done for an Elvis release, although the new mixes on the "Kissin' Cousins" FTD sound as though they were done that way also. If you're on the fence about buying this set, I say grab it, as it will be a limited edition release. You can't have too much Elvis and Ann-Margret!

 

Yes I don't mind the reverb for that reason, because that's how it would have been released. I think they could have turned it down just a hair, but I'm personally fine with it.

Interesting point about the syncing between film and tape sources. For a little while there was a bit of concern over the sound team perhaps over-tinkering when it was found that Elvis' vocals on "Santa Lucia" were more exact to tempo than previous releases. Keith Flynn contacted Ernst about this, and it was confirmed that what happened is that when the Elvis recorded his overdubs, the film strips which contained the backing track (cued in from tape) and the vocal overdub had the backing track running at a bit of a delay for some reason, making Elvis sound as though he was coming in a little ahead of the beat. Presumably Elvis always sang right on the beat, because he was hearing the track via headphones before the delay happened. For the new FTD, Vic and Sebastian took the vocal from the filmstrip and the backing track from tape, and resynced the tracks to not only provide superior resolution, but more importantly have Elvis properly sing on the beat, as was clearly originally intended.

 

Thanks, interesting. I would like an FTD download site but I have no idea of the economics. The problem I guess with downloads is not all fans do them (many of my friends are still luddites and one chap recently payed nearly £50 for boot cds of a recent official Springsteen download). Also (and I have done this myself) folk can share an official download with however many folk they know.

 

Good grief is it really that many! I have them all and I quite like 76 but you are absolutely correct they are poor shows to be listening to 40 years on. They must sell or surely FTD would have slowed down their release. My own impressions is that FTD has a love for 74 which I find a bit dull sometimes.

 

Yeah, it seems FTD went from a 1976 fixation to 1974. While 1974 is a wildly uneven year of live work from Elvis, it is generally much stronger than 1976 (and more varied). As you know, most of FTD's soundboard collection is from the 1974-1977 period, so most of the upcoming releases will originate from that time period. There are remaining boards from Las Vegas 1971 and Tahoe 1973, but it is limited.

The March 1974 tour was a solid one, perhaps containing the last truly great live vocals from Elvis, so the recent Murfreesboro release has some value, but the last two-fer release from Omaha is really a head-scratcher -- what is the purpose of issuing two mediocre, mostly bland summer concerts? Obviously some fans find enjoyment from listening to these mid-1970's soundboards, but it does not do Elvis' artistic legacy any favors having so much mediocre-t0-substandard concert content officially available. Nevertheless, there is a market for those recordings, so one suspects FTD will continue to cater to it.

 

Team

Help me out

I own one FTD and that's Blue Hawaii

I am tempted by the 2CD of Viva Las Vegas but I see there's now a 3CD - what's the delta and what's the upsell in value?

Thanks in advance

Raph

 

I haven't heard the new 3-CD set yet (it's waiting at the house as we speak!) but word is that the SQ is dramatically improved over the original 2-CD release. Everything has been remixed from the multis, including the master takes.

 

Thanks! Darn! I was hoping to find a good reason to buy the 2CD - but then I already have the 1CD in the 20 Soundtracks box

 

Ernst mentioned to me that a number of the mono masters from the post 1960 material were missing. This was several years ago so I'm wondering if any of those tapes have been located?

 

The 2CD "Viva Las Vegas" title you are likely referring to is a concert release, containing 1970 and 1972 live recordings on disc one and a concert from 8/21/69 on disc two. It is unclear why Sony recycled the exact name of the 1964 film for the 2007 live compilation.

As far as the "Viva Las Vegas" movie soundtrack is concerned, there is a budget single disc available that contains the 2007 Vic Anesini remaster. There is also the expanded 2003 single disc FTD release. The recent 3CD release from FTD is intended to represent the complete soundtrack sessions. I could be wrong, but I do not think there is a two disc version of the film soundtrack.

 

Oh, crap! You're right! I got my FTDs mixed up and misled the guy!

In all fairness, though, it's been many moons since I've pulled out the Viva Las Vegas FTD so I think I can be forgiven for not remembering that it was a 1-CD set.

 

I hear you. I haven't played the FTD single disc version in well over a decade.

 

Apologies it’s my fault. I meant the 1cd Viva Las Vegas FtD soundtrack. I assumed it was 2cd!!

 

The ones released in the FTD book CD combo's were mentioned to have been sourced from UK tapes as I recall, and the other ones that have been released since (Speedway, EGRV4 & Roustabout) don't mention a source. The first 2 clearly come from a separate tape source than the stereo mixes on the same FTD's, but outside of a couple exceptions most were fold-downs.

Someone posted side 1 of the mono Roustabout on YouTube from an original US pressing, and it too sounded like a fold-down of the stereo.

 

Thanks. I am trying to unload some Elvis cds I no longer need with the material on newer and better releases including FTD. They are Sunrise, Suspicious Minds - The Memphis 1969 Anthology and Memories: The 68 Comeback Special. I can't find anything on them that is not elsewhere but I am often wrong!
Anyone any ideas - essential stuff or superseded by other releases?

 

Sunrise: The second acetate sounds better than on A Boy From Tupelo
Suspicious Minds; The only place to find the acapella vocal of A Poor Man's Gold
Memories: The sit down show on disc 2 is complete. The same show on the Complete 68 Comeback special box is edited. It's also the only cd to find the vocal take of If I Can Dream that was used in the tv special.

 

Thank you very much ClausH. I shall play all 3 again and replace them in one of my Elvis cd boxes.