We should probably note that while the RCA team had a lot of practice recording Elvis at the International up to that point the EOT shows were likely their first attempts at capturing an arena show.
Yes,and this box wont sell that much so its all about the money. And it cant be easy for the label to spend money on different tapes of the same recordings they already have.
I haven't spent a considerable amount of time listening to the Amazon download yet, but I don't think the mixing is as problematic as others are asserting, at least at first glance. I have seen remarks that Elvis is buried in the mix; perhaps he could be more out-front at times, but we are not talking about something egregious like the Recorded Live On State In Memphis Legacy Edition. I still need to invest some serious listening time into this release -- I still can't believe it happened after decades of this material largely laying dormant.
This is where I am. I think it's sounds pretty darn wonderful. Especially Hampton Roads (despite an early technical snafu). The correct perspective:
I’ve gone through all 4 live shows, the first two 3 times each and I think this set really sounds great. These shows sound very live! Meaning they are not slick and glossy which is something that has plagued many Elvis releases in his lifetime, and they also don’t sound unbalanced and bulbous like many soundboards and boots. This is a great representation of a great run of shows and I have been enjoying the heck out of it. I think I like it more than the “Satellite” show.
I appreciate POB weighing in on the sound issues for this download release as I have always trusted his ears on these matters as much as anybody on this forum. I have only done a cursory examination of the digital release as well, but I have found the sound to be anywhere from good to great. Someone mentioned that these are amongst the first arena recordings by RCA of Elvis's live concert experience, so you can't really compare them to the sonic experience of an intimate theater like the International showroom in Las Vegas or even the attention RCA gave to the Aloha shows or the later MSG shows. I find Elvis's energy, vocal power, intensity and band support just stupendous. Elvis is on fire during most of these shows. Elvis versions of Bridge Over Troubled Water, Never Been To Spain and Proud Mary are well worth the price of admission alone.
These are also some “Polk Salad Annie’s” for the ages and I like that they are without the cheesy “stock” intro. The bass and guitar playing on these versions is fantastic.
Good catch. I only wanted to add that maybe some of the mixes do a fair job too of having an in-audience ambience to them? The sense of either listening to a concert or being at one while listening? Haven't listened long enough yet to say for sure for myself but just an impression.
Polk Salad from Hampton Rds is my favourite version ever. “Give it to me.. c’mon” . Like you said the guitar and especially the bass is just perfect.
I am not sure if this question has been answered or even if it can be. We have 4 shows. Do we think that this box set is RCA recordings of those 4 shows or have MGM tapes been used. I guess as they are arena shows recording them would be very different from recordings made at the Las Vegas showroom.
As far as I know it has not been confirmed, but RCA multitracked the shows (and rehearsals), so presumably that is the source of this box set.
I’m waiting for the physical box before listening, but out of curiosity, how do people think the sound compares to the few live tracks that had been previously released? If I’m remembering correctly, there were a couple on the Burning Love cd?
So it’s just the San Antonio show used on Close Up that has been issued previously? Does anyone have any comments on how the sound of that compares?
Correct. I started the San Antonio disc the other day and it definitely was a complete 180 experience to when I heard the version on Close Up all those years ago. Still need to finish it but first impression was that the new mix was much more colorful and punchier. Ironically there are moments that the other shows in the new set remind me slightly of the San Antonio mix on Close Up.
Some hardcore fans are kind of meh or blah about the 1973 Stax stuff, but is it 'fair' to say, in general, '72-'73 Elvis is sort of the end of the best of his recordings and performances?
There has always been a vocal group of Elvis fans who felt that Elvis's vocal abilities became inconsistent after 1973 or 1974, especially in his live concert performances. Other fans think Elvis really started to go down hill in 1975-1977. I actually became a huge Elvis fan based on his last two studio albums, From Elvis Presley Boulevard and Moody Blue, so obviously, despite his declining health and inconsistent live shows, I found much to like after 1974, but I am probably in the minority opinion on this belief. Some of my very favorite vocal performances occurred in the last couple years of his life, My Way, Unchained Melody, Hurt, Danny Boy, Moody Blue, Way Down, She Thinks I Still Care and Pledging My Love, just to name few highlights. I like some of the Stax stuff a lot too, such as Promised Land, I've Got A Thing About You Baby, If You Talk In Your Sleep, It's Midnight and Good Time Charlie's Got The Blues. I highly recommend the compilation Way Down In The Jungle Room that highlights all of Elvis's studio cuts from his last two albums, which also includes some great outtakes as well.
I think Elvis' voice sounds better on the Today album from '75 than it does on most of the Stax material. Live? Yeah. Elvis could still have great moments or even a stretch of really good shows. But his physical and mental condition was a roller coaster and his live performances followed suite
