Just got in The Impossible Dream. Although I was told that after Tucson 76 the only way was up I find this one rather disappointing. The performance is rather sloppy and with lots of hiss, I'm not too thrilled about the sound quality. Two more acquisitions waiting in the wings though : Dragon heart and Takin' Tahoe tonight.
I don't think there's been a cover on a single Blu-ray release that hasn't been a creation in Photoshop.
So do some people now think Vic's work isn't all that good? I'm not really an audiophile but I do appreciate great sound and that "great sound" equals anything that sounds "right" to my ears, is easy and pleasant to listen to for long periods of time, can be listened to at high volumes and sounds more real and life-like and clear, transparent and richly detailed than any other equivalent version of the same music. To that qualification, Vic's work sounds wonderful to these ears.
I like his work. It can be a touch bright, but I generally like what he has mastered during the past 7-8 years.
Your equipment profile is blank, so your opinion is subjective. I've never heard boosted highs on Vic's masterings. Compared to the garbage we were subjected to by Rowe/Geller, Ferrante, Reidel, and others, Vic's work stands head and shoulders above the rest.
True. But my point is, whomever has been doing the videos, has simply been shoving them down budget path. It's crazy. I have to imagine Elvis is one of the few dependable cash cows in this business. We're basically in the same place with videos that we were with Elvis' music prior to Sony getting its act together. And I don't think FTD would be out of the question. Studios could partner or contract out certain aspects of a project to those more knowledgeable. A guy like Ernst should consulted for example. Rather than college grad with Photoshop. Details matter and it shouldn't cost much more than what they're paying the staff "designer."
For sure. The EOT and TTWII "deluxe" Blu-rays are a good example of what should have been. The former had no extra a/v material, the latter recycled old bonus material in hideous video/audio quality. It's taking an independent company like Twilight Time to put out decent releases of Elvis movies.
Yes, it's a huge pet peeve of mine -- poor graphic design and marketing departments. The opposite of creativity and individuality. Budget releases don't have to look so budget. Packaging matters -- a lot. All the staff marketing hacks at these studios should know this, but they must have attended the same conference and given the same bad information. I have to imagine it was something like "consumers won't know it's a new release or a new product, if it looks old." Bullsht. The thing about hack marketing people is they are the purveyors of the "sheeple mentality." They think all consumers are monolithic sheeple and therefore, they enforce formulaic sheeple tactics. "Most consumers..." is what they'd tell me "need to see a large picture of Elvis, with the word ELVIS plastered on top." To which I'd respond "actually, most people have brains and have concluded that you're a bunch dinks." And that's when security shows up.....
I think TTWII looks very good on BD. It's true that the extras could have been a lot better, but the a/v presentation is quite strong, imo.
It's not the Photoshop program itself that's the problem - the brilliant Rock Around The Bloch cover proves that - but the ability it gives talentless individuals to come up with bad or mediocre designs that actually make it to the shelves.
Awesome! Elvis sounds just a wee bit perfunctory... but not in a bad way. More like "I wish this was MY song and not Chuck's", but the smile on his face every time James plays lead is wonderful. He KNOWS what he has in James Burton and seems to relish every lick he plays. Ron
Hmm...I am surprised. Personally speaking, I think the January 1971 shows are quite good, albeit transitional. The shows still maintained a semblance of the 1070 shows frenetic qualities, Elvis vocal delivery in particular. I agree about the sound though...pretty rough. If early 71 is not your thing, I fear you may be even more disappointed in something like Dragonheart for example - Elvis 4th tour of 1974 was a disaster.
Something I thought would interest my fellow Elvis fans and FTD collectors, from the "Elvis: Live from Las Vegas" exhibit at Graceland. The tape compiled by Joan Deary and Dick Bogert in 1979 (and released on FTD's The Return to Vegas) made it to the acetate stage at some point. Three of four sides are on display.
Yeah, I like Tucson '76. I'd put the sound quality as middle-of-the-road though. Not great, but not bad. New Haven '76, which is about a month later has much better sound. It sounds fantastic... however Elvis is does not. He's drugged and does some of his worst "singing" -- or yelling. Still enjoy it... and it could be because of the audio quality alone. The Impossible Dream is definitely a rougher sounding soundboard -- but it's a decent show and a nice set list. But like you, I sometimes will take a lesser show for better sound quality. Sometimes it's the other way around.
I don't think there is any sort of consensus asserting Anesini's work is less than very good. Sebastian Jeansson has done some tremendous work with various FTD releases, and has even subsequently remastered some of Anesini's 2007 work equaling or arguably bettering some of Anesini's results. That said, the 2007 remastering program conducted by Anesini was the best thing to ever happen to the Elvis Presley catalogue. Additionally, his mixing and remastering of live Elvis material is second to none, with FTD's The Wonder Of You still offering the definitive live presentation on CD. With Anesini and Jeansson (and also Budd) overseeing the mastering of Elvis' material over the past several years, the Elvis Presley catalogue has never sounded so good.
Well, you have to remember that you are going down the road of soundboard sourced material with these FTD releases; there are going to be sonic deficiencies any way you look at it. While the 1971 Las Vegas soundboards are known to contain a rougher sonic picture, the actual performance quality is substantially better than what is presented on the 1976 recordings. Even if one wants to argue that by 1971, there was a drop from Elvis' 1970 standard, Elvis was still very good during the 1971 winter engagement in Las Vegas. Additionally, The Impossible Dream contains some nice rarities as bonus cuts at the end of the disc. None of the cringe-worthy concert bloat from 1976 is there (dive-bomb routines, lengthy band intros, 50's classics tossed away like never before, Olivia Newton-John covers, etc), plus in 1971, Elvis is not loaded up on pharmaceuticals the way he is on the 1976 recordings. To me, there is no comparison between 1971 and 1976. Dragonheart is one of the worst concert releases in the entire Elvis Presley catalogue. Elvis' fall 1974 concert tour was reminiscent of his work from most of 1976; a bored, distracted, stoned singer lumbering through his concert performances. Dragonheart truly is a historical document reserved for educational purposes. Although, if you like Tucson '76, you may dig Dragonheart as well. Takin' Tahoe Tonight is okay, but pretty lackluster. Again, after January 14, 1973, Elvis went through a very difficult 1973 with a lot of mediocre live work. If you are looking for a really good soundboard concert release, why not try Boston Garden '71, The Return To Vegas or The On Stage Season? Those are examples of Elvis at this best.
Dragonheart was good. I still prefer Tucson 76, but it didn't disappoint. Same goes for Takin' Tahoe. Ain't no Tucson but it beats The Impossible Dream hands down. Just not sure if adding bonus tracks from other shows adds to the experience. Just sent out for Live on stage in Memphis. I blame you guys for this addiction, you know !
The main feature (the 2001 special edition) is indeed very good. It's the rest of it that disappoints. My two big complaints are: (1) The theatrical version was not upgraded from DVD to blu-ray (and is in mono) (2)The deleted scenes, which were commented on specifically by a WB executive as being upgraded and looking much better than before, are less than VHS quality. That's the real rub, where they claimed it would be at one level of quality and it's much worse.
I agree, but what can you do? Elvis' movies are not big sellers. Follow That Dream was released six months ago by Twilight Time and it's not sold out yet.
I think the main impetus behind both the DVD and Blue-ray re-issues was the new edit showing more footage of Elvis on stage and less of the irrelevant fan footage in the theatrical cut. I don't think anyone would claim Sanders' original film to be a masterpiece and it is really only a time capsule and I assume that is why the theatrical cut has never been restored, with all the additional costs involved. The only people remotely interested in this film today from its historic perspective are Elvis fans who presumably all appreciate the additional footage in the new 2001 edit and care less about the original version.
Are you referring to a Blu-ray? I have a Dutch DVD of this film from 2007 and absolutely love it - it might even be my favourite Elvis film.
I actually prefer the original version, warts and all. The SE is a more coherent movie and probably a better experience, but there are some key performances in the original cut that I really miss, especially I Just Can't Help Believin' and Bridge Over Troubled Water. Elvis is seen rehearsing these songs but the live performances are nowhere to be found. The original also had a better version of Suspicious Minds, imo.
I can understand this and I get why my point #1 wasn't addressed. It's time and money to re-scan the whole movie in HD and potentially create a new audio mix. I don't understand whatsoever my second point, where comments about the contents directly contradict what was released. I posted this previously (emphasis is mine): Warner Brothers Senior Vice-President of Catalog Marketing George Feltenstein has provided more details on the 12 outtakes included as special features on the 'Elvis: That's The Way It Is : Two Disc Special Edition' Blu-ray due out on August 12. As suspected, the content mirrors that of the 2007 2-DVD set, except with a new twist. On DVD, the outtakes were presented in abysmal quality, but on Blu-ray, they will be pristine. 'The Blu-ray has high-definition, incredible new presentation, [and an] all-new master, but we also have, with really impressive quality, additional songs that were not included in the Special Edition. They were on a prior DVD but with, really, not very impressive quality because that’s the best that we had at the time, and it really was disappointing to fans. So, we were unable to locate the actual master tapes that had the outtakes that we intended to use in 2007, and, finally, now, that tape was located, and that is now on the Blu-ray. So people will be able to see the – I think there are about ten – additional performances, and they’re going to look and sound much better than they did on the 2007 DVD – which was really a heartbreaker for us because we always want to give the consumers the best thing we can, and now we can do that, and it’s very, very exciting. We are always looking for new ways to make Elvis fans happy'. Don't get me wrong, I love the HD version of TTWII and I'm glad to have the theatrical version too as I hadn't seen it before. But those quotes about the special features are pretty strange considering the released product.
