Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by mark winstanley, Oct 7, 2018.

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  1. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Speedway
    Written By :
    Mel Glazer & Steven Schlaks

    Recorded :

    MGM Studios, Hollywood, June 20-21, 1967: June 20, 1967. take 4

    This is a fun uptempo number. It strikes me the mix is pretty average. There is a prominent snare and the piano seems a mile away. I like the song, but the mix is really unbalanced to my ears.


     
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  2. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    There Ain't Nothing Like A Song
    Written By :
    Joy Byers & Bob Johnston

    Recorded :

    MGM Studios, Hollywood, June 20-21, 1967: June 20, 1967. take 8

    This is a great uptempo song, and Elvis really stretches out his vocals here. This mix also seems a little unbalanced, but in a completely different way. There is a little less reverb, so the sixty foot bathroom feeling is gone, but it just doesn't quite sound balanced again.

     
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  3. DirkM

    DirkM Forum Resident

    Location:
    MA, USA
    In a weird way, the muffled, echo-laden Speedway mixes are a part of the album's charm for me. The remixes on the FTD are technically better in the sense that they're cleaner, but I just don't enjoy them as much as the wonky originals.

    The title track is a great example of this. The distortion and echo make the song and performance sound more exciting than they actually are. More importantly, on the original mix, the backing vocals and drums combine to create a fantastic build-up to the choruses. On the FTD remix, the choruses are just...there. The dynamics and thrill of the original mix are gone.

    Similarly, the climax of There Ain't Nothing Like A Song ("C'mon and kiss me, honey!") is neutered on the remix. The drums are buried, and the vocals don't have as much bite. By contrast, the original mix really showcases Elvis' vocal, which I actually think is one of his best performances on an uptempo number. His delivery is confident and powerful, with none of the fake mannerisms that marred similar tracks on Spinout, Double Trouble, and ECEG (even the "all right!" interjection right before the brief guitar solo sounds decent to me). Plus, Nancy makes for a great foil.
     
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  4. Ace24

    Ace24 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ohio
    I watched This is Elvis when it made it's TV debut in April of 1983 on NBC. I was in the 9th grade.
    I knew little to nothing about Elvis at the time and I found his life story fascinating. This broadcast set me on the path of exploring Elvis' music and becoming a lifelong fan.
     
  5. MaestroDavros

    MaestroDavros Forum Resident

    Location:
    D.C. Metro Area
    As an experiment I once added some compression and saturation to the remixes and found they instantly sounded better (and more like the original mixes). It's kind of a weird situation because I totally get what Vic and Sebastian were going for with the remixes (less reverb, more clarity and dynamics) but the recordings are so compromised to begin with that the extra processing adds something. The remixes make for a nice alternate presentation though.
     
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  6. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    I will be interested to hear these mixes. I have been buying the FTD's in a frenzy trying to beat the deletions. I now have all the ones I feel I need, but finding time to listen to them is another thing altogether lol.
    I enjoyed Elvis plays Guitar Man on Saturday :)
     
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  7. It's a shame the Speedway soundtrack songs were done on the MGM sound stage as it obviously hurt the sound quality. Salt in the wound is that the songs are a step above the more recent (1966-1967) soundtrack material. I wonder how much they saved recording on the sound stage vs., say, going down the street (well, it was a few miles away but still) to Radio Recorders?
     
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  8. czeskleba

    czeskleba Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    Yep, it is a shame. Sound quality is all over the map on this record. The first two songs sound awful, but it gets a bit better. As you said, the saddest thing is the somewhat better material is compromised. I like both of these two songs. Neither is a masterpiece, but they both are pretty good. But Nancy sounds like her vocals were recorded over the phone on There Ain't Nothing Like A Song. How hard would it have been to get her at the same session as Elvis?
     
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  9. I was looking online trying to find pictures of the MGM sound stage(s). All I could find were pics of the scoring stage. In the case of Elvis, does anyone know if 'sound stage' is the same as 'scoring stage'? Probably, but maybe there's a distinction I'm not aware of?
     
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  10. Dave112

    Dave112 Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Carolina
    Before we get out of the soundtracks, I would be interested in what others recommend as supplements for the CD album collection set. I have the Essential 1960's masters volume 2 set and a couple of double features soundtracks. I've heard several recommendations for the Harum Scarum double features disc. Any others recommended for better mastering?
     
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  11. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    I ended up getting the FTD's for each album, ep and the albums that never got made .... I'm still going through them, but I'm really not the guy to ask about mastering etc ... my right ear is problematic and i can't hear as i once could.
     
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  12. IIRC the RCA Special Product CDs in the 'Pair' series contain flat transfers of the LP tapes. I wouldn't say these are the 'best' sounding, but certainly offer an alternative if you want what the vinyl sounded like as closely as possible in a digital format. These are CDs of various Elvis comps like Double Dynamite which have a lot of 60's soundtrack songs on them.
     
  13. When In Rome

    When In Rome It's far from being all over...

    Location:
    UK
    'A Boy From Tupelo' would be a worthy addition to any burgeoning Elvis collection. If we're talking sixties then the FTD's of the classic albums from that period are very good.
     
  14. Dave112

    Dave112 Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Carolina
    I definitely have the Viva Las Vegas FTD soundtrack on my wishlist. It's not my favorite Elvis movie but I really like the movie cover of The Coasters' "The Climb". I am going to keep my eyes peeled for a Harum Scarum DF disc as well.
     
  15. IMO it's worth picking up the title track (VLV) in mono, as this was the way it was originally released. It can be found cheaply on the 2 CD set Elvis 50 Worldwide Gold Hits: Vol. 1, Part 1 and Part 2
     
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  16. When In Rome

    When In Rome It's far from being all over...

    Location:
    UK
    Apologies, I mis-read your first post regarding Double Features.
    The 'Frankie and Johnny' DF has a unique mix which despite a tad more noise reduction than I prefer is much more substantial than the original album. The Harem Scarum DF is also an improvement over the original mix with added reverb and is a pleasant listen also. I was never keen on the Girls Girls Girls nor Fun in Acapulco DF, as they narrowed the stereo image. I love wide stereo...
     
    Last edited: Apr 9, 2019
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  17. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Viva las vegas ftd is fantastic.
     
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  18. DirkM

    DirkM Forum Resident

    Location:
    MA, USA
    Re: Viva Las Vegas, I think it's important to distinguish between the original, 1-CD FTD release and the recent 3-CD Sessions release. The former has a harsh sound and only 40 minutes' worth of bonus content, whilst the latter has fantastic sound and everything from the sessions (or at least almost everything; I seem to recall reading that some dialogue is missing?). I'm only holding onto the 1-CD version because I'm a hoarder; the 3-CD version is superior in every way.
     
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  19. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Good Point - the 3 disc all the way!
     
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  20. This is one (the 3CD) where I wish they included the original mono mixes of the original EP tracks. Still a great set, but adding the mono mixes - or dare I say it, substituting them for the stereo mixes - would have been icing on the cake.
     
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  21. Hooperfan

    Hooperfan Your friendly neighborhood candy store owner

    Location:
    New York
    I like the title track to Speedway, it's one of the most uptempo title songs to his movies.

    The rough mix found on the FTD issue is cool because it doesn't fade out and it seems to get a bit Wilder
     
  22. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    I would have had no problem if they added mono's, but if they removed the stereo's I would have been pretty annoyed lol
     
  23. Dave112

    Dave112 Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Carolina
    The three disc set does seem to be exactly what I'm looking for. I'm glad to read that you recommend it. Is there anything comparable with King Creole? I enjoy the movie mixes greatly on it as well.
     
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  24. ClausH

    ClausH Senior Member

    Location:
    Denmark
    The Viva stereo mixes are everywhere. They could at least have included the tracks from the original EP and the single in mono.
     
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  25. SKATTERBRANE

    SKATTERBRANE Forum Resident

    Location:
    Tucson, AZ
    The "Equivalent To Two Albums" banner is a low down dirty lie on the Pair Series. More like 8 songs from each of two LPs. But no matter how they sliced it, they had 16 songs. However, yes they sound pretty good. I really like the Speedway/Clambake issue. But heck they chose the Nancy Sinatra song to include from Speedway instead of any of 4 other Elvis songs they could have used instead!
     
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