Prince From Another Planet - Brilliant!

Apologies for another thread on this much-discussed release.

I had just express my appreciation for the set after buying it today and then listening to some of the CDS and watching all of the footage.

This is a real beauty. There were moments when I was choked up by the sheer magic of what I was saw. Elvis is likened to a prince or a Greek god. Greek gods were created in man's image, i.e. not the other way around. After seeing this footage, and the effect Elvis Presley's concerts in New York City had, I begin to see how apt the Greek mythological comparison seems. He moves with power and grace and sings like a dream. It's a man, I would say, at his peak, who is unearthly and yet so human close-up. Maybe it took New York City to bring the best out of him. He accepted that NYC would provide the real measure of one's true standing. It was a tough place to win over.

The 10 minutes of the Press Conference was a revelation to me. I had not seen it all before, so was pleasantly surprised by this new way of loking at it. It seemed fresh. Elvis was clearly nervous during the questioning, but he was also so polite, humourous, shy, humble and diplomatic. I'm not sure about the truth of some of the those answers he gave, but he showed he could be diplomatic when he needed to be. In this unedited form, it was comical to see the Colonel bringing a honky-tonk feel to NYC and rudely interrupting at various times. And equally amusing to see Elvis' bemused reaction to the Colonels thinking-on-his-feet answer about why Boston rather than Madison Sqaure Garden was filmed. Elvis seemed as confused as everyone by that answer. Elvis even has to wait for the Colonel to shut up before finishing one of his answers. What a character that Colonel was.

The Don Lance home movie footage (first time I've ever seen it) was ridiculously good. I didn't think the film woud be that clear and bright. And the sound was superbly synchronised to create images and sound that could be shown on tv without any complaints about picture quality.

The documentary conveys an amazing spectacle and emphasies just how much of a personal challenge it was for Elvis - there was no guarantee that he would be received well in this city as he had been in many other parts of America. This was no walk in Central Park for him. He needed to deliver to NYC. And that's just what he did. He is tremendous visually and vocally. And perhaps, we can see some satisfaction at the end of the closing number - he did it, he won them over. He was given another nerves-inducing challenge in his career and he pulled out something outstanding. The word that's used a few times on this DVD for his impact, is "charisma". George Kalinsky, the photographer, a veteran of many MSG shows, puts EP's performances at No.1 for charisma and power. And we are also lucky to have Jerry Schilling put the event into context, so that we can see appreciate the triumph even more. Wonderful.

There's a wealth of newspaper cuttings. Enjoy reading snippets from them. They're a treat.

This is due no doubt to the designer of the set - Roger Semon. It's a quality effort from him. This box set is an exquisite item.

Ernst, Vic Anesini, Michael H Braauer, the people who provided photos, footage etc. They all helped to give us a real gem.

Lenny Kaye, then a young music journalist, was at the press conference and at one of the shows, and some of his comments on the DVD are worth mentioning here:

"What it was was a reminder to me of the power of rock 'n' roll, to lift you up, to transport you, to take you to a place where you'd never thought you could go..."

"Listening to his vocals, there's not one note that's out of pitch. There's not one phrase that's not shaped and rhythmically and melodically, beautifully sung."

Last edited by Suds on Tue Nov 13, 2012 2:33 am, edited 2 times in total.

Great review, thanks for all your input. You have made me look forward to getting it even more now. I shall be going to get mine tomorrow!

The quality of the footage is, frankly, a miracle considering it's 8mm, and 40 years old. The only drawback is that it would have been nice to have an option to see that footage without the blanks inbetween - in other words the dvd jumps from each section of footage to the other. It's certainly possible (Eureka's release of the 1916 film Intolerance does a similar thing), and would have been useful as I found myself with my finger on the fast forward button for a lot of the time. Whether it would have worked or not is debatable due to the short length of some of the filmed sections, but it would have been a useful addition.

Great review Suds, and I couldn't agree more, it's a fantastic boxset!

The only drawback is that it would have been nice to have an option to see that footage without the blanks inbetween .

Not to worry, STAR will release something similar and they will fill in the blanks so to speak...to make up for it.

Terrific assessment Suds.

IMO they should have put only the songs where there's footage, even if it is 5 secs.... having complete songs with dark screen doesn't make sense

IMO they should have put only the songs where there's footage, even if it is 5 secs.... having complete songs with dark screen doesn't make sense

I agree. However, overall a fantastic package and one which will find pride of place in any Elvis fan's collection. We have been really lucky this year with some great releases. Long may they continue.

Brian

I just got an email that mine is posted!!! Can´t wait!!!

OK, I picked up my copy today from HMV. Yes, they have it on sale for £14. Even the guy in the shop said it sounded cheap. I suppose this price is probably either discounted for a limited period, or it's an error. Either way, get in there quick!

I agree it's a fantastic set, beautifully packaged, but I have issues with it nonetheless. The discs are incredibly hard to prise from the cardboard sleeve. They were in there real tight. In fact, one of the sleeves on my copy has a tear on it where whoever packaged it did this while putting the cd in. You have to bend the sleeves slightly to get the discs out. Not good. I will not be keeping the discs in the sleeves, I will keep them elsewhere. What is this fascination BMG have with cardboard sleeves lately?

I am now off to watch the DVD with a coffee and a cigarette. I am prepared to be totally blown away!

Again i will add my thanks to the team behind this
Thanks

Elvismatters send mine yesterday, so hoping it will be here later today, or tomorrow!

I like the way they did the DVD. Many parts of the footage, especially as the show progresses, are in real short fragments and I think this was the right way to present the footage - just run the whole show audio wise and show whatever footage they could.

I mean when you play the CD of the concert, you sit there listening for an hour without any footage at all, so having to sit through 2/3 of the concert without footage is hardly an issue! It was quite nice to just sit there at times and listen to the audio without the footage, as the new mix and mastering has been done so well, it's made me appreciate some performances more than ever. They've really brought out some subtle tones in Elvis' voice and James' guitar that you haven't heard before. I really found myself enjoying "Until It's Time for You to Go" - a song I often skip.

But boy, when the footage does appear, it's something to behold. That man really was a one off wasn't he!

I also found the interview fascinating, Elvis seems very 'with-it', it appears at least he is totally clean and not under the influence of any drugs. It's kind of sad in a way, because the footage on stage and in that interview show the last time to me when Elvis appears unaffected by drugs and happy and enjoying himself. Of course we know he's taking drugs in this period, but they don't seem to have any negative effects on him here. Maybe he toned it down for these shows - he certainly went to the effort of getting a killer tan for it. The parts when the Colonel speaks up are pretty funny, he was one character all right! The part when Elvis is trying to talk and the Colonel is still talking made me laugh, Elvis has a wry smile - there's some real priceless moments in that footage.

Regarding the transcript of the press conference in the booklet, there are questions and answers in there that you don't get to see in the footage. The most interesting one was when Elvis is asked what his favourite record is of his own, and he replies "It's Now or Never"...."O Solo Mio". I can't think of many occasions when Elvis is specifically asked by an interviewer what of his records is his favourite - it would be interesting to see a list of the different answers Elvis gave over the years and when he said them. Of course your opinions and preferences fluctuate over time, and like anybody, on any given day he could have given a different answer, but it is interesting in 1972 he said "It's Now or Never", considering the song hadn't been in his stage repertoire since his return to live shows in 1969 (save for a couple of impromptu performances). It seems odd that this song was his biggest selling single of all time and his own personal favourite, yet he wasn't even including it in his live shows. The reporter who asked that question would have undoubtedly expected to hear him perform it that night after the answer he gave, and I'm sure he/she would have been very surprised to hear it omitted.

I like the way they did the DVD. Many parts of the footage, especially as the show progresses, are in real short fragments and I think this was the right way to present the footage - just run the whole show audio wise and show whatever footage they could.

I mean when you play the CD of the concert, you sit there listening for an hour without any footage at all, so having to sit through 2/3 of the concert without footage is hardly an issue! It was quite nice to just sit there at times and listen to the audio without the footage, as the new mix and mastering has been done so well, it's made me appreciate some performances more than ever. They've really brought out some subtle tones in Elvis' voice and James' guitar that you haven't heard before. I really found myself enjoying "Until It's Time for You to Go" - a song I often skip.

But boy, when the footage does appear, it's something to behold. That man really was a one off wasn't he!

I also found the interview fascinating, Elvis seems very 'with-it', it appears at least he is totally clean and not under the influence of any drugs. It's kind of sad in a way, because the footage on stage and in that interview show the last time to me when Elvis appears unaffected by drugs and happy and enjoying himself. Of course we know he's taking drugs in this period, but they don't seem to have any negative effects on him here. Maybe he toned it down for these shows - he certainly went to the effort of getting a killer tan for it. The parts when the Colonel speaks up are pretty funny, he was one character all right! The part when Elvis is trying to talk and the Colonel is still talking made me laugh, Elvis has a wry smile - there's some real priceless moments in that footage.

Regarding the transcript of the press conference in the booklet, there are questions and answers in there that you don't get to see in the footage. The most interesting one was when Elvis is asked what his favourite record is of his own, and he replies "It's Now or Never"...."O Solo Mio". I can't think of many occasions when Elvis is specifically asked by an interviewer what of his records is his favourite - it would be interesting to see a list of the different answers Elvis gave over the years and when he said them. Of course your opinions and preferences fluctuate over time, and like anybody, on any given day he could have given a different answer, but it is interesting in 1972 he said "It's Now or Never", considering the song hadn't been in his stage repertoire since his return to live shows in 1969 (save for a couple of impromptu performances). It seems odd that this song was his biggest selling single of all time and his own personal favourite, yet he wasn't even including it in his live shows. The reporter who asked that question would have undoubtedly expected to hear him perform it that night after the answer he gave, and I'm sure he/she would have been very surprised to hear it omitted.

Nice review GTC... with regard to his comment about It's Now Or Never... I believe that his response was more due to the fact that it was his biggest selling record than really being his own personal favorite... it was the easier answer. Having recorded hundreds of songs by that point, I'm sure it was difficult for him to pin down a favorite... and I would bet he was asked that question numerous times during his career. From the interviews I've seen of Elvis, nothing was ever "off-the-cuff" with him in terms of his responses... he was always careful never to offend or be overly opinionated about a topic. Just my thoughts...

Brilliant Review Suds- Lov It - Thanks so much for the review - I yet gotta see and hear my copy of it -

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http://www.americansongwriter.com/2012/ ... er-planet/

Not everybody seems to be impressed. Hal Horowitz gave it 3.5 stars out of 5, and of course mentioned the obligatory.... "Still, this is late period Elvis, all garish capes, high collars and sparkly jumpsuits going through the somewhat schlocky Vegas, crowd pandering moves. That includes covering Creedence by way of Ike and Tina’s “Proud Mary,” Three Dog Night’s “Never Been to Spain” and grinding out often abbreviated versions of his Sun and 60s RCA hits with a slickness unimaginable when they were recorded. Thankfully it’s still early in what was to be a bumpy five year career downslide so he’s vocally fit, animated and not yet the bloated caricature captured in countless later photos."

And summation..." It’s not Presley at his best and probably not the way most of us want to remember him. But the historical value of these shows, the crisp remastering and the overall lavish presentation makes this a respectable, if perhaps unnecessary addition to your late-Elvis collection."

I have a question, probably the same as yours after reading that....did this ignorant ass clown even listen to it before he wrote the review? Second, no sane person can call Elvis' version of Proud Mary as performed during the evening show schlocky Vegas. You want to see that, look up Tom Jones version on youtube...it's the very definition of it. As I said once before Elvis and band stomp the sh*t out of this song! It's performed with an in your face attitude that nobody else could even begin to conjure up.

I received my copy yesterday and was quite surprised at the packaging, detail, sound, etc. Somebody put alot of thought into this thankfully. I also saw the clip of Jerry Schilling on the CBS morning show and it seems the CBS folks were quite impressed as they showed the ending for Polk Salad Annie and the workout on Suspicious Minds as well. I had been surfing the internet looking for reviews of the set outside of the Elvis websites and that was the only one that seemed to be post-release. Hopefully it will get a proper review from a leading music critic. Probably wishful thinking.

The people that knock the Elvis that wore the cape and sang The Impossible Dream. Just don't understand Elvis. They have a limited view of him. They just don't get it.

And for those complaining about the blank screen. Relax. You don't see anything anyways when u listen to a normal cd. treat it like that.

http://www.americansongwriter.com/2012/11/elvis-presley-prince-from-another-planet/

Not everybody seems to be impressed. Hal Horowitz gave it 3.5 stars out of 5, and of course mentioned the obligatory.... "Still, this is late period Elvis, all garish capes, high collars and sparkly jumpsuits going through the somewhat schlocky Vegas, crowd pandering moves. That includes covering Creedence by way of Ike and Tina’s “Proud Mary,” Three Dog Night’s “Never Been to Spain” and grinding out often abbreviated versions of his Sun and 60s RCA hits with a slickness unimaginable when they were recorded. Thankfully it’s still early in what was to be a bumpy five year career downslide so he’s vocally fit, animated and not yet the bloated caricature captured in countless later photos."

And summation..." It’s not Presley at his best and probably not the way most of us want to remember him. But the historical value of these shows, the crisp remastering and the overall lavish presentation makes this a respectable, if perhaps unnecessary addition to your late-Elvis collection."

I have a question, probably the same as yours after reading that....did this ignorant ass clown even listen to it before he wrote the review? Second, no sane person can call Elvis' version of Proud Mary as performed during the evening show schlocky Vegas. You want to see that, look up Tom Jones version on youtube...it's the very definition of it. As I said once before Elvis and band stomp the sh*t out of this song! It's performed with an in your face attitude that nobody else could even begin to conjure up.

I received my copy yesterday and was quite surprised at the packaging, detail, sound, etc. Somebody put alot of thought into this thankfully. I also saw the clip of Jerry Schilling on the CBS morning show and it seems the CBS folks were quite impressed as they showed the ending for Polk Salad Annie and the workout on Suspicious Minds as well. I had been surfing the internet looking for reviews of the set outside of the Elvis websites and that was the only one that seemed to be post-release. Hopefully it will get a proper review from a leading music critic. Probably wishful thinking.

I can't really agree with the reviewer. I certainly think this is an essential addition to any late-Elvis collection, as he puts it.

I also don't think Elvis' cover of "Proud Mary" came via Ike & Tina Turner - I'm pretty sure Elvis covered the song before them in January 1970, but I may be mistaken.

Hal can't seem to transport himself into a 1972 viewpoint of Elvis' stage attire and moves. In 2012 it may seem cliched, but this was new and real - he looked, moved and still sang like no other. It's hard to realise his uniqueness when the impact of Elvis' iconography of the 1970s has become so well known, parodied and cliched.

"Often abbreviated versions of his Sun and 60s RCA hits"? Well, he only actually performs one Sun track, "That's All Right" and two 60s RCA hits in "Can't Help Falling In Love" and "Suspicious Minds". None of those are abbreviated - in all the tempo is faster than the records, but he doesn't cut out any verses or lines. Hal's lament is misplaced, Elvis abbreviates his RCA 50s hits like "Love Me Tender" and "Don't Be Cruel".

and he forgets that a ton of acts in the 70's dressed over the top.

I think this release is the RCA /Legacy answer to the Memphis Recording Service releases of recent years.
It seems very obvious to me, it's a great production at a FANTASTIC price, but that now begs the question why was something like Young Man with the Big Beat so expensive in comparison?
If this is a result of the competition from MRS bring it on, top marks to all involved.... and the seventies era Elvis isn't even my favourite era!

I think the black screen is the best option, 1st time I watched it was a bit weird, but 2nd time I knew when the footage is coming so just shut my eyes or whatever until it returned.

Relax folks, he sounds like the typical misguided rock critic who believes a performer should have a beard to his knees, dress like a hobo, lament about social issues, look like sh*t and sound even worse.

If you look and sound like a 'Prince from another planet' you are way too good in these person's eyes.

Relax folks, he sounds like the typical misguided rock critic who believes a performer should have a beard to his knees, dress like a hobo, lament about social issues, look like sh*t and sound even worse.

If you look and sound like a 'Prince from another planet' you are way too good in these person's eyes.

Yeah, let him go review Neil Young instead.lol

Last edited by DEH on Tue Nov 13, 2012 6:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.

So good to hear appreciation for Elvis and his magical performance and presence. I've just listened to a concert from Feb 74 this afternoon - my God he was good - fresh, brisk, in excellent voice and mood, and an ecstatic audience. People must start to give Elvis his due and stop so much of the knee-jerk negativity - that's really what it's become these days.

http://www.americansongwriter.com/2012/11/elvis-presley-prince-from-another-planet/

Not everybody seems to be impressed. Hal Horowitz gave it 3.5 stars out of 5, and of course mentioned the obligatory.... "Still, this is late period Elvis, all garish capes, high collars and sparkly jumpsuits going through the somewhat schlocky Vegas, crowd pandering moves. That includes covering Creedence by way of Ike and Tina’s “Proud Mary,” Three Dog Night’s “Never Been to Spain” and grinding out often abbreviated versions of his Sun and 60s RCA hits with a slickness unimaginable when they were recorded. Thankfully it’s still early in what was to be a bumpy five year career downslide so he’s vocally fit, animated and not yet the bloated caricature captured in countless later photos."

And summation..." It’s not Presley at his best and probably not the way most of us want to remember him. But the historical value of these shows, the crisp remastering and the overall lavish presentation makes this a respectable, if perhaps unnecessary addition to your late-Elvis collection."

I have a question, probably the same as yours after reading that....did this ignorant ass clown even listen to it before he wrote the review? Second, no sane person can call Elvis' version of Proud Mary as performed during the evening show schlocky Vegas. You want to see that, look up Tom Jones version on youtube...it's the very definition of it. As I said once before Elvis and band stomp the sh*t out of this song! It's performed with an in your face attitude that nobody else could even begin to conjure up.

I received my copy yesterday and was quite surprised at the packaging, detail, sound, etc. Somebody put alot of thought into this thankfully. I also saw the clip of Jerry Schilling on the CBS morning show and it seems the CBS folks were quite impressed as they showed the ending for Polk Salad Annie and the workout on Suspicious Minds as well. I had been surfing the internet looking for reviews of the set outside of the Elvis websites and that was the only one that seemed to be post-release. Hopefully it will get a proper review from a leading music critic. Probably wishful thinking.

This joker lost all credibility as having an informed perspective when he made the comment "Because of the high profile nature of the three night stand, the energy is clearly upped a few notches from his other concerts of the time."... and the article just went in the shitter from there... if this article was about Aloha from Hawaii or the Memphis show in '74, it might have some shred of respectability...