Elvis Sun sessions -- "A Boy From Tupelo" or "Elvis at Sun"?

Nope. Read the article I linked to upthread. Only three tracks were mastered from Sun 78s: Blue Moon of Kentucky, Milkcow Blues Boogie, and You're a Heartbreaker. Two songs were sourced from the original Sun master tapes: I Forgot to Remember to Forget and Mystery Train. The remaining five songs were sourced from first-gen RCA copies of the Sun master tapes. These RCA copies have some compression added, but That's All Right is the only track that has reverb added to it.

 

The thing to remember here is that this is a rare instance where you CAN'T LOSE. Both ELVIS AT SUN and BOY FROM TUPELO are legitimately great. In one case you may have an edge in sound, but in in the other you have the outtakes and live material.

 

Just heard a bit of the third disc. Definitely a lot of NR work resulting in a huge trade-off, losing a lot of top end for a lot less noise.

"Tweedledee Dee" and especially "Hearts of Stone" should've been Sun singles for Elvis and this group because hot damn do they smoke on here.

 

I have the both, but prefer A Boy From Tupelo because of the incredible book that accompanies that set.

 

Elvis At Sun

 

Considering you'll be paying $250+ for a second-hand copy of "A Boy From Tupelo" or less than $10 for a new copy of "Elvis At Sun" (current Amazon price is $7.29), it's not a tough decision. Of course, A Boy From Tupelo has other things going for it...additional tracks, outtakes, Hayride performances, and a comprehensive book.

Having both, I reach for "Elvis at Sun" for regular listening. In my opinion, the core 19 Sun tracks have never sounded better.

 

Not to derail, but does anyone have Elvis at Sun on vinyl? I can only assume it's a digital transfer... So any point in spending $100 on it over the CD? (Besides that it can be played on a turntable )

***just thought about it and bought the CD on Amazon... Didn't make any sense to spring for the vinyl. Sometimes these compulsions are ridiculous!

 

Yeah, I have the vinyl version of Elvis At Sun. I'm amazed it's selling for that much these days... I paid only $20 for it 3 or 4 years after it was released. To these ears, it sounds identical to the CD.
And, after reading through this thread, I feel fortunate to own both Elvis At Sun and A Boy From Tupelo.

 

Good point. The reality is the book was always supposed to be the main focus; the music being included as a bonus. The book was a labor of love and nearly a decade in the making; Ernst Jorgensen put an enormous amount of time and resources into producing a thorough, substantive, historical, informative, chronological, and authoritative document about the rise of Elvis Presley. Frankly, a book of that significance should have been published as a mainstream project for future generations to enjoy and learn from; instead, it was relegated to being a limited edition collectable.

 

How less of quality are the Sun recordings on the 50s complete masters and do you know if iTunes match uses any good masters?

 

This article discusses the differing sources used on the 50s box and on Elvis at Sun, and it contains sound samples of various tracks from each release so you can compare for yourself.

Don't know the answer to your iTunes question.

 

The Sun tracks on the '50's masters set sound inferior. They sound brittle, and some have added reverb. I think certain tapes were MIA at the time of that release that have turned up since then.

 

That article is fantastic! I hadn't seen that before. Thanks for the link!

 

Yes. Subsequent to the release of the 50s box, they discovered better (lower generation) tapes of That's All Right, I Don't Care if the Sun Don't Shine, Good Rockin' Tonight, I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone and Baby Let's Play House. And they created fresh, flat needle drops of Blue Moon of Kentucky, Milkcow Blues Boogie, and You're a Heartbreaker, which replaced processed needle drops that RCA had done back in 1955. And it's also notable that the 50s box had NR on it, so even on the tracks where they had the master tape (Mystery Train and I Forgot to Remember to Forget) the sound is not as good on that set.

 

Thanks for the info guys.
I've been out of the loop for a lot of years and I figured I was set with the 50s box set for Sun recordings.
Prior to that I had the cassette tape of The Complete Sun Sessions, which I think were the same ones as used on the box set.
Recently when I matched them with iTunes Match (Because I originally only ripped them at 128) they were matched at 256 but still sounded like the same masters as the 50s box set.
I just searched the iTunes store and for only 6.99 Elvis at Sun is available and the samples are amazing.
So much clearer vocals without all the echo. Especially Harbor Lights, but I was also surprised how different and better 'When it Rains it really Pours' sounds.

 

While this may be a little off topic, I listened to the Sun Sessions cd for the first time in a long time today, and Scotty Moore freaking rips!!!
just sayin...

 

There are differences of opinion over which is better, but ultimately I don't think you can go wrong with either Elvis at Sun or Boy From Tupelo if someone is just looking for the masters.

 

Just for fun, I made these comparison samples of a few of the masters. I'm surprised that Tupelo was processed with noise reduction as much as it was compared to Elvis At Sun and it's almost across the board, even though the best sounding tracks still sound very good. Sample 1 is Sun, Sample 2 is Tupelo.

Just Because
Milcow Blues Boogie
You're A Heartbreaker

 

I've never heard Tupelo but At Sun is pretty good with noise reduction vs previous sets, right? I really am asking

 

It's really too bad they discarded the Kevan Budd- mastered version of A Boy From Tupelo.

 

Over the years I've bought every upgrade of Elvis' Sun sessions, from the first vinyl to the latest U.K. hijack set. I came along late to A BOY FROM TUPELO and had to pay dearly for it after it had gone out of print. I cherish the box-set, but I never listen to it. It's too unwieldy to open. The hardcover scrap-book is twenty-odd pounds all by itself and I skim through it occasionally.

Of the several CD editions, ELVIS AT SUN surpasses expectations. Easy to get, a breeze to use, and dirt cheap. Essential to any audiophile collection. Every home should have at least one.

 

Elvis At Sun is definitely the winner in terms of SQ.

Boy From Tupelo is the best place for all of the outtakes (far better than Sunrise or any of the old CDs) and for the "dry" version of "That's Alright Mama". I haven't heard a great range of earlier Hayride releases but the better quality tracks (Maybellene, etc) sound very good here.

The only thing really lacking are the two solo acetates, which are presented for the first time without added reverb, but are completely drowned in NR. The Third Man Records RSD release of the first acetate is a far better source for those two tracks.

 

Here is a post from Kevan Budd regarding the acetate:

http://elvis-collectors.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=87890&p=1380028#p1380028

 

Which precisely is the The Third Man Records RSD release? link? cover art?