I don't agree that Today was the "last proper" studio album made by Elvis. The sessions for it were no different than any other post-1970 session; and were very much a precursor of what would come the following year at Graceland with regard to commitment and focus. It was not predetermined that Elvis would only record 10 specific songs for a proper album for the year; Jarvis went into the sessions with the same agenda of recording as many songs as possible (preferably over 20) to deliver to RCA so that multiple albums could be crafted. He was lucky to get 10 songs out of bored recording star who was barely able to record 10 tracks (much like when Elvis was incapable of recording enough masters in March '72), and Elvis wasted Jarvis' time with a request for lyrics to Country Bumpkin (which shows how unfocused he had become). Additionally, while Today feels less disjointed than the Stax sessions as a whole, there is little doubt that had an additional 10-15 songs been recorded, the song and performance quality would have been that much more inconsistent mirroring Stax and Nashville '71 that came before it. And Today still has it weak spots in terms of material and vocal work; let's not overrate it. Had the Stax material (and associated Palm Springs recordings) been pared down to one album, it would have arguably been stronger than Today. And there is nothing that makes Today more "proper" than the subsequent "From Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis Tennessee" album.
'Today' doesn't seem to be very popular around here which has always surprised me it's actually one of my favorite Elvis albums from the seventies he is in great voice the songs are good and the band is really cooking, I was disappointed in the sound on the FTD so I'm hoping this new Legacy release will have better sound at the moment my original vinyl pressing sounds the best so for me this new Legacy is very welcome.
It's the 40th Anniversary of the album so it makes perfect sense. Next year it's the 40th anniversary of The Sun Sessions. Hopefully Sony will celebrate that album with a similar package.
Executive Rob Santos is a self-professed "70's guy" and he has been the steward of catalogue most recently, which has resulted in an onslaught of latter-period Presley reissues. And that is not necessarily a bad thing; Elvis' final years of work has been neglected at retail (somewhat understandably so), but it also shows a lack of judgment and objectivity for catalogue management when things like Today are given the green light over a reissue of the A Boy From Tupelo audio. The reality is that these Presley reissues (FTD or Legacy) have a limit at retail regardless of the era that is chosen; it isn't as if 1975 sessions which are hardly associated with Elvis' greatness and legend are going to outsell "older" recordings that are predominant components of his legacy simply because they sound less-dated (and that is a questionable argument being that Billy Sherrill's sleek '70s influenced production is dated itself). This seems to be more about Santos' personal taste than any true market projections, because if Elvis' work from the '70s was seen as having superior retail potential, RCA and BMG would not have spent 25+ years promoting and marketing other material in its place prior to Sony taking over.
Yeah - I am in for the Today Legacy - mainly for the undubbed masters and better mastering. I too like it - some of the material is a bit wonky like "Woman Without Love" but Elvis is in strong voice throughout which to me makes it an enjoyable listen. Well recorded too. The soundboard stuff...I would hazard a guess I have that stuff already in a box in my basement And I don't think Sony legacy gives a flyin' flip about marketing or sales potential, because if they used that as an indicator, we could likely get Roustabout Legacy Edition which charted number 1 on the billboard charts in 1964.
Count me in as a fan. It is also my favourite from the 70's after "Elvis Country" and comes from my favourite period of Elvis. BTW, have you heard the Japanese 24bit/192khz CD remaster from 2000? It is much much better than the FTD. The Legacy will be DSD so I don't know how it will compare. BTW, I said "last proper studio album".
No - I have not and you have piqued my interest. Hopefully that means we will get an HdTracks 24/192 of the Legacy - that seems to be the trend.
All in all I'd like to judge the album for what it is, not for what it could have been, for what has been left off and certainly not for what wasn't even recorded. I believe Today was recorded over a 3-day period so I'd say that a pretty productive session, especially if you compare it with the months if not years today's artists need to record an album.
No I've not heard the Japanese 24bit/192khz CD but I will check it out if I'm not happy with the Legacy and yes I agree with you it was his last proper studio album in a recording studio with great sound.
I enjoy all periods of Elvis' studio career so I have no problem with what I consider a respectful series of releases covering this era. That said, I too would like to see products like a re-issue of A Boy From Tupelo. But I wonder if the EU copyright laws are - at least in part - driving the focus of the reissue campaign to later material. Rhetorical question as only someone from the label would know whether this is true or not but I am curious.
It will be interesting to hear if the "undubbed mixes" are effectively remastered, but their release is legitimate nevertheless because Jarvis' post-production rarely enhanced any of the material on Today, so it will be nice for listeners to hear these recordings in a more natural, appealing state. The real disappointment here is that there are some compelling alternate takes from the Today sessions that certainly rival some of the masters and it would have been nice to have heard them remixed like some of the Stax alternates were on the Elvis At Stax box set. That could have been very interesting because the Stax outtakes were presented in very good sound with vibrant mixes. It would be nice to hear that same approach done with the Today recordings. Instead, consumers are going to get a mediocre live soundboard performance; there should have been more session material released in its place. Additionally, the FTD edition will still hold some value because it contains the "original session mixes" done by Jarvis in '75, and these are the mixes that were played to Elvis back in '75 that ultimately influenced or contributed to his decision to have Duke Bardwell's bass tracks wiped from the masters (although it was too late in the case of the T-R-O-U-B-L-E single). That said, these historical recordings were presented in a very dry, flat presentation by FTD; so I had hoped they would be remastered and included in this Legacy Edition.
It appears that the Legacy series is going down the same old road that it originally was designed to avoid: saturating the market with more sub-standard material. Too bad the series couldn't continue focusing on the highs...at this rate we might see this title receive a Legacy treatment soon:
Hey, that album was (at the time) significant for "Big Boots" (MO, slow version, take 4) and the stereo mix of "Angel".
Do we know anything about how recent Elvis releases have sold? It stands to reason sales must be a factor in driving these decisions. It seems unlikely to me that if, say the Elvis Presley Legacy Edition had significantly outsold the others in the series they would respond by ignoring his other 50s albums. I've got to think that future releases are being determined in part by sales of past ones. The classic rock audience has shifted. It used to be that the 50s to the 70s was viewed as the classic rock era, but now it seems to be more the 60s to the 80s. I get the sense that to a lot of younger fans of classic rock, 50s music seems quaint and the realm of "oldies." It does not seem implausible to me that among casual Elvis fans or non-fans that the Stax material for example might have more sales potential than the Sun material. And that's who these mass market releases are being aimed at.
How so? At this point all the pre-1962 stuff is public domain in the EU regardless of whether it's in print or not. And pretty much every single outtake from the 50s that they have has already been reissued on FTD. It's not like they are sitting on a stash of 50s outtakes, afraid to release them because they'll end up on public domain CDs. And although post-65 outtakes can be prevented from entering public domain at the 50-year mark if they are reissued now, that doesn't seem to be the focus here. I don't think any Legacy Edition has had new previously-unreleased outtakes.
I was thinking from the perspective of why would they even bother re-releasing OOP titles like A Boy From Tupelo as knock-offs would potentially kill any chance of them making a profit. Hence the focus on later material where this isn't an issue.
Yeah but the later material is in my opinion mediocre to awful. It'd make sense releasing some of these if mixed in with the king at his peak but I swear it's like RCA is trying to convince everyone Elvis in the 70s wasn't that bad. I mean how many copies could this possibly sell? 5000?
Ah, I see. I suppose PD releases do cut somewhat into the overseas sales of 50s material. But that's not an issue in the US where the PD releases are not widely available. And even in the EU, I would bet most buyers would rather have an official product if it was available. It seems unlikely to me they would just cede the market for pre-62 stuff to the PD labels and give up.
I don't know, but I can't imagine they'd be releasing this new Elvis Today set if the Stax set hadn't sold as good or better than expected and been profitable. It's not like they have to reissue Elvis stuff. If it wasn't making money they'd stop doing album reissues altogether and stick to greatest hits packages.
In the case of the Elvis Presley Legacy Edition, it did fall on the heels of the Young Man With The Big Beat box set which contained the same material; and clearly only a small faction of the fan-base bought both sets, so sales of that particular Legacy Edition would not an accurate indicator as to how Elvis' "classic" era material sells in comparison to 70's material. I would guess that many of these Presley reissues sell between 5,000-10,000 units at best -- there have been indications that FTD product is selling below 5,000 per release, so mainstream titles are likely not selling substantially more. Sony is at a point where it is simply trying to reissue product and keep a lot of Elvis' master recordings and/or mainstream titles in print in various configurations. Elvis' work from the 70's has largely been ignored at retail for decades, and Santos is on record stating his admiration of Elvis' 70's work, so it is no surprise that there is a movement of producing a series of 70's era releases (it is no different than when Jorgensen had more influence at BMG, certain titles were never considered because of his desire to shape the catalogue in a certain way). If the sales potential for most Elvis reissues is limited, why not produce a reissue of Today? It likely won't sell much more or less than say a title like Loving You or Blue Hawaii.
My understanding is that Europe's PD releases did not influence Sony Legacy's decision to not follow through on plans to reissue the audio for A Boy From Tupelo. Sony felt Elvis' SUN recordings would not fare as well at retail as material from his latter period. I do think there is something to the idea that a larger block of current Elvis consumers have a greater connection to Elvis post-Comeback material than past generations of Elvis consumers, and that is why there is a surge of post-Comeback reissue product more than ever before. There is certainly a consumer-base for it, and Sony is in the business of making profits, no matter how small they may be. If Sony feels Elvis' legendary, pioneering work from the SUN-era no longer has the retail chic it once did, it is understandable that Sony would look at alternate releases of material to capitalize on sales potential. That said, I do think there is a limit of how much Elvis is going to sell regardless of which era is promoted, and I think Santos has a vision for how he wants to manage and shape the catalogue, and that it is a dictating factor more so than actual sales.
I guess I just think these decisions must be driven by more than just one guy's preferences. The fact that they've chosen Today suggests they do believe it can sell better than Loving You or Blue Hawaii, and I presume that belief is based in part on (recent) past sales. Maybe we're only talking a few thousand more in sales, but that's still something.
I have the Complete Masters, and I'm 70's soundboarded-out, so the only reason I can see myself buying the Legacy Edition of Today is improved mastering on FJ's rough mix of the alblum (alblum?).
