Damn those 69 sessions sure are great. I wonder if there are any takes left in the vaults, I imagine FTD have used the majority/if not all?
Speaking of which, this was posted recently: Some more outtakes can be heard at theelvisforum-phoenix.com
First impressions of FTD What Now My Love are pretty good. From what I’ve read and heard, the sound has definitively been improved. Downside is that it appears to run 2% too slow. But that needn’t necessarily spoil the fun. Though FTD should have gotten it right. Cheers!
Thanks. There is a list on here of FTDs that run too slow (I am sure lots of other labels are similar) but how does this occur? I'm a gumby and might not notice but then I am also not in the business of selling recorded music. Good to see that What Now is out and hopefully it will arrive today or tomorrow but not forever.
I have no idea, my friend, how or why this does occur. I’m a complete fool when it comes to mixing, mastering, remixing, remastering, splicing, equalising, and other technical -ings. :-D
What Now My Love arrived yesterday from Now Dig This. Did not have time to really listen but it is the standard 5 inch releases like the 2 recent 74 shows. Jailhouse Rock FTD vinyl is also available now. Re the forthcoming Sony 50th Comeback dvd/cd thing I can't find it on Amazon UK. With the farce of the McCartney/Wings deluxe boxes yesterday I do wonder if these record company folk are fit for purpose (sorry to SHF as that statement may be a bit on the line re the rules!)
Dear friends, What now? Where to? What next? What to do? I’d appreciate it very much if you could help me out a bit about what to get next. Advice, recommendations, comments about ‘you need to get this’ or ‘you need to get rid of that’ are very welcome. Thx in advance for having a look! Best wishes. Apologies for this lengthy post! My Elvis collection FTD Loving You Elvis Golden Records 1 Elvis Golden Records 2 Elvis Golden Records 3 Elvis Is Back! Something For Everybody Blue Hawaii Kid Galahad Pot Luck Memphis Tennessee Viva Las Vegas Elvis For Everyone Roustabout So High Guitar Man Last Movies From Elvis In Memphis Back In Memphis Elvis In Person Hot August Night On Stage On Stage Season TTWII One Night In Vegas Elvis Country Elvis Now On Tour Rehearsals Elvis Fool Good Times Promised Land The Hometown Shows High Sierra Nevada Nights Today Big Boss Man Dixieland Rocks Dinner At Eight Moody Blue BMG/Sony Hitstory 3cd box Elvis At Sun Young Man With The Big Beat Today, Tomorrow & Forever Elvis At The Movies Elvis Rock Elvis R&B Elvis Ultimate Gospel I Believe - The Complete Gospel Masters Elvis Is Back (Legacy) Essential Elvis 1 Essential Elvis 2 Essential Elvis 3 Essential Elvis 4 (Such A Night) Essential Elvis 6 Loving You King Creole Jailhouse Rock Double Features: Flaming Star / Wild In The Country / Follow That Dream Double Features: Kid Galahad / Girls! Girls! Girls! Double Features: It Happened at the World’s Fair / Fun In Acapulco Double Features: Viva Las Vegas / Roustabout Double Features: Easy Come, Easy Go / Speedway Double Features: Spinout / Double Trouble Double Features: Live A Little, Love A Little / Change Of Habit / Trouble With Girls / Charro Memories - Comeback Special Complete Comeback Special 4cd From Elvis In Memphis (Legacy) Suspicious Minds - Memphis Anthology Live In Las Vegas 4cd Viva Las Vegas 2cd TTWII 3cd Elvis Country (with bonus tracks) Burning Love (1999) An Afternoon In The Garden Prince From Another Planet Aloha From Hawaii Elvis At Stax 3cd Promised Land (with bonus tracks) Today (Legacy) Elvis In Concert Need/could downscale my BMG/Sony discs & boxes, I guess. Imports Let It Rock Event #8 From Richmond To Greensboro Vegas Rhythm So what now? On my wish list FTD King Creole Seems to be worth it, though I already have King Creole (1997). FTD Jailhouse Rock vol. 1 or 2? Think I’ll go for Vol. 2 as it has better sound and better sequencing (at least for me). FTD A Date With Elvis No matter how interesting the homerecordings are, they seem to be a bit too hard to my ears, which makes this FTD a question of too little value for money (speaking only for myself!) FTD Viva Las Vegas Sessions To buy or not to buy? Aaaarrghhh. FTD Elvis Golden Records 4 Nice collection, great sound probably, but very little ‘extra’ except few outtakes and mono album. FTD American Sound Studio A must have. So, I’ll be getting this one definitively. FTD Standing Room Only I really like this ‘concept’ album, but I already have Burning Love (1999), which also has the better sound (?) Is there a chance FTD will re-do this project? FTD Love Letters Sorry, I don’t like the album - though the outtakes make it more interesting. FTD Raised On Rock Mmm. Probably only for completeness’ sake. FTD From EP Boulevard Why has this title been deleted? I actually liked to pick that one up. Will there be a 3cd Jungle Room Sessions? FTD Elvis & FTD Elvis Presley No, thanks, I’m happy with my YMWTBB. Gospel FTDs? Have to think about it. Still happy with I Believe - Gospel Masters. A Boy From Tupelo Well, to be honest, I’m still very happy with Elvis At Sun. I don’t care too much about the outtakes (too much repetition to my liking; no disrespect to the work done) and I struggle with the sound quality of the live tracks (no disrespect to the work done). Anything else you’d recommend? FTD Sold Out? FTD Boston Garden? FTD What Now My Love OR 3000 South Paradise Road Or Destination? Thank you very much!
Thanks, Claus, for your suggestions. Much appreciated. I just compared the track list of FTD Elvis Presley with YMWBB, and it does have several more outtakes. So, yeah, that’s a pro. Is there a difference in sound quality between the FTD & YMWBB? Thx! King Creole was already on my wish list. And if you’d recommend it, I’d definitively have to get that one. Thx! Ah, Return To Vegas, good suggestion too!
The FTD was mastered by Kevan Budd, and YMWTBB was mastered by Vic Anesini. There is a noticeable difference between the 2, especially the New York material, which I think sounds better on the FTD.
Thanks, I’d forgotten that! Kevan Budd is great on Elvis 50s stuff. Another pro for getting the FTD after all. Much appreciated!
Thanks, Mr. H. I’ll give my Gospel Masters a new spin and ask myself whether I want to hear more. If so, I’ll follow your suggestion. Much appreciated!
In roughly chronological order here (commenting on select items from your wish list as well as some other releases that came to mind): King Creole is mainly of interest for the demos. If you aren't interested in those, you can probably give it a pass (unless you really like the outtakes on Essential Elvis 3 and want to hear them in better sound). If you like early 60s Elvis, then Golden Records Vol. 3 is a must-purchase. It's every bit as good as the Elvis For Everyone FTD, though whereas EFE focused more on soundtrack material, GR3 is mainly outtakes from Elvis Is Back! and Pot Luck. Viva Las Vegas sessions? Definitely buy the 3-CD set. The original FTD is terrible, and even though VLV is one of my least-favourite soundtracks (I know, I know...), I absolutely love the new release. It's not an FTD, and most (all?) of it has been released elsewhere, but Collector's Gold is a fantastic set that's well worth your while. The mix/mastering on the outtake of Gently is exquisite, and surpasses the work that was done on the Something For Everybody FTD, imvho. The thematically sequenced discs make for great listens. Even though you already have two of the Memphis '69 FTDs and plan on getting the third, Memphis Sessions is still work picking up, if only for the thoughtful sequencing and beautifully warm sound. Do you like rehearsals? In Elvis' case, it's often an opportunity to hear songs that were never performed live, or to hear the old warhorses in refreshingly stripped-back arrangements (not to mention more intimacy than you get on the live recordings). In addition to the On Tour disc that you already have, you can get some nice items on 6363 Sunset (bonus points if you want outtakes from Today or the Burning Love sessions). See also the bonus disc that came with some copies of 30 #1 Hits, which might be cheaper to come by than the FTDs. If you have any interest whatsoever in the 1971 sessions, you need to pick up a copy of I Sing All Kinds (and even if you hate that period, this FTD might just change your mind). I like the Raised On Rock album, so I might be biased, but I know that some fans have said that the FTD has made them appreciate the album more than they did previously. The rough mixes on Disc 2 sparkle, and some of the outtakes (Three Corn Patches, in particular) have much more life to them than the final versions. Unless you absolutely need to have studio-quality items, Made In Memphis has some reasonably clean-sounding home recordings, so this might be worth picking up if you can find it for a decent price and want to hear Elvis in a genuinely laid-back environment. Our Memories Of Elvis isn't quite what it's advertised as being, and there's an unforgivable skip on the otherwise beautiful Are You Sincere?, but it's essential if you want to hear a more intimate-sounding version of familiar 70s masters.
A Boy From Tupelo [Sony Legacy] Elvis NBC TV Special [FTD] Elvis Presley [FTD] Return To Vegas [FTD] As Recorded At Boston Garden ‘71 [FTD] His Hand In Mine [FTD] Jailhouse Rock, Vol. 2 [FTD] 48 Hours To Memphis [FTD] Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis [FTD] King Creole [FTD] GI Blues [FTD] Elvis Sings The Wonderful World Of Christmas [FTD] From Hawaii To Vegas [FTD] Way Down In The Jungle Room [Sony Legacy]
Thank you for your detailed reply. Very interesting points to consider! Much appreciated! King Creole: I’m not interested in the demos but I really like the album, as well as the outtakes. Elvis Golden Records 3: I agree, it’s wonderful! I already have that one VLV Sessions: I’m sitting on the fence, but maybe I have to jump, as you as well as others are very pleased with it, and it’s a limited edition. So I have to make up my mind quickly. Collector’s Gold: that’s something I missed. I’ve been a long time fan of Elvis, but it’s only the last 7-8 years or so that I started ‘collecting’/‘delving’ into alternate takes and so. I’ll check it out. Thx. Memphis Sessions: well, let me first get the American Sound Studio. Oh, the financial burden of being an EP fan ;-) 6363 Sunset & I’ll Sing All Kinds: I’ll check them out, I’ll see which songs I already have on other FTDs, and which not. But I’ll probably put them on hold. Financial burden, you know ;-) But Thanks for highlighting these. Raised On Rock: Yeah, good point. Reminds me of Elvis Now & Elvis Fool: I wasn’t a fan of Elvis Now and Elvis Fool, but the FTDs are nicely padded out and make those albums more interesting and enjoyable. Our Memories Of Elvis: a friend was so kind to make me a copy. So, I have it and I don’t. That’s why I haven’t listed it Thanks!
Thank you very much for that list! There are several contenders in it for my next purchase. Think I’ll start with some more Classic Albums first (King Creole, JR 2, American Sound Studio and a fourth which I have not decided yet). I’m quite fond of Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis (Legacy) but I’ve read your comments about the mix. So, I’ll prob add the FTD to my wish list too. As well as Return To Vegas & Boston Garden. Darn, can someone get me a loan? Or a mortgage? Way Down In The Jungle Room (Legacy): value for money for sure. Though reviews were a little bit divided, iirc. Thanks!
I played the first disc of What Now My Love. Nothing wrong with the disc (as stated elsewhere it may be a bit slow) but the Elvis performance? I would have to say it was a bit flat - not much mucking about but it really did sound a bit of a going through the motions performance. Re the introductions (and they don't take long) the word flunky is used in reference to poor old Charlie Hodge - a bit unfair in my opinion. Be interested in what other folk think and I shall give disc 2 a spin tonight.
It is an economical way to get all of the Jungle Room masters in one place (and it appears you do not have From EP Blvd from either Sony Legacy or FTD), plus the outtakes disc is well-compiled. The liner notes are terrible, but the audio is well done.
Thank you. Indeed, I don’t have From EP Boulevard FTD. And it seems to have been deleted - though I could be wrong. I just re-read some reviews of Way In The Jungle Room, and most critics were very positive about the sound. So, I’ll be getting this one for sure. Thanks for your replies and advice!
Elvis' live work from August 1972 was a precursor to Aloha. Not overly flat or lethargic because there were certainly moments of inspiration and an overall feeling of professionalism, but it was the calm before the storm, the beginning of a period of Elvis' discontent, which spiraled out of control after the Aloha broadcast.
Thanks. I played disc 2 last night and it was a in my opinion a better performance. Bit of a lack of info in the packaging as to why this show ends with a brief bit of an ok sounding Tiger Man but I guess the tape ran out. I have to say I have never been knocked out by Aloha (either show).
Aloha is more striking for its visuals and production, rather than its performances. The actual concerts are uneven.
As POB said, Aloha was mainly a big event. And to me, there's always been something almost supernatural about Elvis or his aura or something. Everything appears dreamy and glossy (likely the lighting/production) -- and as I learned later Elvis too was probably "glossy" in a pharmaceutical sense. Coupled with the fact that it was one of the relatively few concerts made available to the public, it had a profound impact on me and my road to fandomhood. I haven't played it in awhile, and would love to revisit it in an expanded 7inch, remastered and remixed FTD classic album release.
