Elvis at the International Hotel Las Vegas 1969 Box Set

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by emjel, Apr 9, 2019.

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  1. minkahed

    minkahed Forum Resident

    I wonder if Vic found insult at again re mastering the same material, once again, remixed by another engineer (Matt Ross-Spang) on the same recordings he had previously worked on ???
     
  2. Paul R

    Paul R Forum Resident

    Location:
    Escondido, Ca.
    Same here! Although I have made a few guesses.
     
  3. ClausH

    ClausH Senior Member

    Location:
    Denmark
    White Knight in Vegas.
     
  4. As long as the check cleared, he could probably care less.
     
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  5. minkahed

    minkahed Forum Resident

    Oh okay now I get it. Thank you for revealing the title to me.

    In today's modern PC world a b******* I know exactly where this would or could have gone ...
     
  6. minkahed

    minkahed Forum Resident

    Sure I get that, but I'm going to make the assumption that he was probably thinking, "who's this little prick, f*** this guy!" LOL
     
  7. PacificOceanBlue

    PacificOceanBlue Senior Member

    Location:
    The Southwest
    I doubt it. If Vic was truly insulted and annoyed that he wasn't mixing various mainstream live releases over the past several years and only being hired to master, he could turn down the work. He continues to be involved with almost all mastering, so he is probably content on some level with the arrangement.
     
  8. PacificOceanBlue

    PacificOceanBlue Senior Member

    Location:
    The Southwest
    And more than that, there has always been some speculation by misinformed factions of the public that Elvis was a racist or that he stole from African Americans, so that proposed title would have ultimately been an issue on some level.
     
  9. Just playing 22nd MS through phones and all I can say is it sounds amazing, some of the best I've heard from these recordings. Impeccable mixing and mastering. No complaints here......yet.
     
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  10. RSteven

    RSteven Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brookings, Oregon
    I see it exactly the same way as you do. I don't think the average music fan realizes how busy these engineers are and the time demands that they are under. I think Vic probably leaves his ego at the studio door as his stellar reputation as a mixing, and more particularly, a mastering engineer, is hard-earned and pretty well established in the recording industry. I remember a couple of years ago, when Vic took on the remastering and restoration of one of the most beloved holiday albums from the Golden Age Of Christmas, Percy Faith's Music Of Christmas, which was first released in its stereo incarnation in 1959 and had one of the most dreadful remastering jobs done by Sony Music ever, when it first came out on CD in the 1980's. Sony was reluctant to put any money behind a new remastering and just kept reissuing the original 80's CD. Finally, Real Gone Music convinced Sony Music to grant a copyright, and I personally believe, probably more out of a sense to make up for that dreadful remaster from the 1980's, they placed the new remastering of Percy's iconic Christmas album in Vic's talented hands, and he did a stupendous job on it. All of us wanted our Christmas consultant for Real Gone Music, who corresponds with Vic regularly, to see if he would grant him in interview about the whole remastering of the album, but as he said to us, those guys are so busy and under such time deadlines that he would hate to ask him to take the time out of his busy schedule for an interview. Nonetheless, Vic himself related to our consultant for RGM that the whole remastering process was "Truly, a labor of love." The man really cares about his work, regardless of the genre or the commercial viability of the recording he is working on for any given amount of hours or days in his studio.
     
    Last edited: Aug 11, 2019
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  11. RSteven

    RSteven Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brookings, Oregon
    I have gone right to the August 25, 1969 Midnight show and I am comparing it with my previous go to version, FTD's Hot August Night, from 2013. I have to say that I am truly stunned by how much I love the sonics on the new Elvis Live 1969 version. Wow, well first of all this is just such a great show. Elvis and the TCB are on fire, and although you can hear his humor throughout in small slices, he never loses his edge and the music is still his central focus. I was stunned by the very opening song on the CD, Blue Suede Shoes, as the brass and the Larry Muhoberac's piano are both crystal clear and the latter is brought up in the mix even more than on Vic's original great master. To me personally, there is more detail in the music and Elvis's voice is natural and upfront. I repeatedly went back it forth between the two CDs, especially focusing on the opening track, I Got A Woman, My Babe, Mystery Train/Tiger Man, Baby What You Want Me To Do, Runaway, Words, Yesterday/Hey Jude, In The Ghetto, Suspicious Minds, and What I'd Say, and in all these cases, I believe the new mixing and mastering are superior to the FTD. Just one man's opinion as your milage may vary with other drivers on this release. I will eventually wade through the rest of this mammoth box set in all its sonic glory. My hat is off to both Matt and Vic for a job well done.
     
    Last edited: Aug 11, 2019
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  12. I agree with you. I love Vic's work but this set in terms of mixing beats his FTD work. Of course, his mastering work here is equally impeccable which is a further bonus. As you say, hats off to both gentlemen.
     
  13. minkahed

    minkahed Forum Resident

    Guy's relax, my comment was purely tongue-in-cheek, hence the "LOL" ...
     
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  14. monkboughtlunch

    monkboughtlunch Senior Member

    Location:
    Texas
    Now that all the RCA recordings are released in full:

    • Assume you are the producer and it’s 1969
    • Your objective is to create a double LP that represents a complete Elvis show.
    • Which songs from each of the 11 shows would you have compiled for a live RCA DOUBLE album back in 1969?
    • Assume 22 minutes per LP side x 4 sides = 88 minutes
    • What are the best performances that make your double album?
    • Do your performance choices align with the versions that Felton Jarvis selected for the truncated 1969 In Person SINGLE LP which didn’t represent a full set list?
    • Or did you identify better performances than what Jarvis chose for the abbreviated In Person 1969 LP?
    • If RCA released a live double LP back in 1969, could it have been superior to what Jarvis released?
    • Keep in mind that RCA bundled the In Person LP with a second LP of studio recordings back in 1969, so releasing a single LP of the concert wasn’t a budgetary concern. RCA could have easily released a double LP of live 1969 Vegas material back in 69 if they had wanted to instead of bundling the live material with a second disc of studio material.
     
    Last edited: Aug 11, 2019
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  15. frightwigwam

    frightwigwam Talented Amateur

    Location:
    Oregon
    I was just listening to the 8/23 Dinner Show a few times this week. A good band, and the Sweet Inspirations sound great, but Elvis seems rusty and nervous, a real squirrel, to use his lingo. He particularly has trouble staying focused and committed on the slow songs, but there's a lot of a "Having Fun with Elvis on Stage" mood throughout. More cornball entertainment than I'd like, honestly. This isn't what I expected from an engagement when he was supposedly raring to go out and prove that he still had the goods. Is this just because he felt like he had to goof off for the crowd at the dinner show? Does he settle in and knock 'em dead as the engagement goes on? Or is this show fairly representative of the whole box set?
     
  16. mick_sh

    mick_sh Hackney diamond

    Location:
    Madrid, Spain
    Until I buy this set for my birthday next month, my Spotify is called Elvisfy now. Non stop 1969 shows, guys.
     
  17. CBackley

    CBackley Chairman of the Bored

    What other complete shows have been released on vinyl aside from this new set and the RSD release this year?

    On that note, is Showroom International the only full 1970 show on vinyl?

    (Non-FTD vinyl, that is.)
     
    Last edited: Aug 11, 2019
  18. When In Rome

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

    Location:
    UK
    To be fair, I think Felton did a stellar job capturing the mood, flow and excitement of that 1969 engagement. His 'In Person' selection and sequencing is spot on in my book...
     
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  19. mgb70

    mgb70 Senior Member

    Location:
    Orlando, FL
    Paging PacificOceanBlue!
     
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  20. Pelvis Ressley

    Pelvis Ressley Down in the Jungle Room

    Location:
    Capac, Michigan
    Yes, Showroom Internationale is the only full 1970 show on vinyl.

    Other complete shows on vinyl aside from the August 1969 issues:

    6/10/1972 ES - Elvis As Recorded at Madison Square Garden
    1/14/1973 - Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite

    That's it.

    1/12/1973 is incomplete on the original vinyl issue of The Alternate Aloha.
    3/20/1974 is edited on the original vinyl issue of Elvis Recorded Live on Stage in Memphis.
    A good portion of 6/21/1977 was issued on Elvis In Concert, but was subjected to posthumous overdubs.
     
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  21. MaestroDavros

    MaestroDavros Forum Resident

    Location:
    D.C. Metro Area
    I don't know how well this answers your question monkboughtlunch, but intriguingly RCA set aside a lot of registries for masters besides the ones they used. These are noted as preceded by "XPA5" on period documentation on Keith Flynn's site (both masters used and unused). With these there's enough to create a double LP with a fuller setlist. Here's a rough reconstruction based on a typical show of this engagement (I did cheat a little and put Runaway in to even it up, as while there was no master slated for In Person it did later appear on the On Stage album):


    Side 1

    1. Blue Suede Shoes (August 25, 1969 MS)
    2. I Got A Woman (August 24, 1969 MS)
    3. All Shook Up (August 25, 1969 MS)
    4. Love Me Tender (August 26, 1969 DS)
    5. Medley: Jailhouse Rock (August 26, 1969 DS) / Don’t Be Cruel (August 24, 1969 DS)
    6. Heartbreak Hotel (August 25, 1969 MS)

    Side 2

    7. Hound Dog (August 25, 1969 MS)
    8. Memories (August 23, 1969 MS)
    9. I Can’t Stop Loving You (August 25, 1969 MS)
    10. Johnny B. Goode (August 24, 1969 MS)
    11. My Babe (August 25, 1969 MS)

    Side 3

    12. Medley: Mystery Train / Tiger Man (August 25, 1969 MS)
    13. Baby, What You Want Me To Do (August 25, 1969 DS)
    14. Funny How Time Slips Away (August 25, 1969 DS)
    15. Runaway (August 25, 1969 DS)
    16. Inherit The Wind (August 26, 1969 DS)
    17. Are You Lonesome Tonight? (August 24, 1969 MS)

    Side 4

    18. Rubberneckin’ (August 26, 1969 MS)
    19. Words (August 25, 1969 MS)
    20. This Is The Story (August 26, 1969 MS)
    21. In The Ghetto (August 25, 1969 DS)
    22. Suspicious Minds (August 26, 1969 DS)
    23. What’d I Say (August 25, 1969 MS)
    24. Can’t Help Falling In Love (August 26, 1969 DS)
     
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  22. monkboughtlunch

    monkboughtlunch Senior Member

    Location:
    Texas
    Interesting!!

    Felton made a questionable decision in marking the Aug. 25 MS of What’d I Say as a master. Presley goofs on that version and instead of singing “oooh” and “ahh” he sings the verse again and the band stumbles for a few seconds to recalibrate. Pachuki is also late in potting up the acoustic piano mic at the start of the song. Actually Pachuki pots down the piano mic expecting the Fender Rhodes, and then pots it back up when he realized Larry threw him a curveball. Just goes to show that Jarvis sometimes made some questionable decisions when identifying the best performances / versions of each song.
     
    Last edited: Aug 11, 2019
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  23. RSteven

    RSteven Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brookings, Oregon
    Well of course you are technically right about all those imperfections on the August 25 MS version of What'd I Say, but Elvis and the band are really tearing into that sucker, and I do see why so many songs were taken from the midnight show of August 25 for the original From Memphis To Vegas/From Vegas To Memphis double album, five songs all together, if I am counting correctly. I have never heard Elvis in a better mood; funny and irreverent at times, but his vocals were absolutely dynamic and full of power and vigor. I guess it might have inspired Elvis a bit that he had Tom Jones, Nancy Sinatra, Mac Davis (who of course was the writer of In The Ghetto), and actress Shelly Fabares in the audience that night. Oh yeah, and the incredible Lightnin' Hopkins was filling in for lead guitarist James Burton that night (he says with tongue firmly planted in cheek). :laugh:
     
    Last edited: Aug 11, 2019
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  24. Matthew

    Matthew Senior Member

    I guess it depends where the line is drawn.

    The August 12th, 1970 MS was issued on vinyl as part of the vinyl version of That’s The Way It Is - Special Edition in 2000, but excludes the band intros.
     
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  25. RoyalPineapple

    RoyalPineapple It ain't me in the photo, babe.

    Location:
    England
    All the shows have a generous helping of the stage patter and explosive nervous energy, but the 23rd dinner show has more of the larking about than some, combined with a performance that rarely gets out of third gear for a sustained period. It's not one of my favourites, musically.

    Bob Dylan had this to say, apparently about the 1969 engagement: "When Elvis did 'That's All Right, Mama' (sic) in 1955, it was sensitivity and power. In 1969, it was just full-out power. There was nothing other than just force behind that. I've fallen into that trap, too ... It's a very fine line you have to walk to stay in touch with something once you've created it. Either it holds up for you or it doesn't."

    Although the performances for many songs were more committed in 1969, I actually prefer the setlists from August 1970, with the new material destined for That's The Way It Is and Elvis Country giving Elvis something to get his teeth into. There was more drama and spontaneity to go with the energy and excitement.

    And as with 1969, overall I prefer Ferrante's mixes from disc 2 of Live In Las Vegas and the 3-CD That's The Way It Is to the newer mixes on the That's The Way It Is 8-CD box set. Ferrante's rustic, fun-sounding mixes capture the mightiness of Elvis's voice better than the less-cohesive and thinner sound of the latter.
     
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