New Venus Box! Elvis Presley - THE MONO MASTERS 1960 - 1975

[Lohmax]

I was on a cruise last week and was pleased to find my copy of this set waiting for me when I arrived home over the weekend. I am anxious to spin the discs but I have one question to those who received their sets already - I attempted to load the CD's to iTunes but it failed to find a match on track names. I would hate (IE - I am lazy) to have to manually type all of the track details for every CD so I was curious if anyone else had luck matching the track names or if you had to type them in manually.

You'll probably have to type them in manually. Sometimes if I've pre-ordered an FTD title and I manage to rip the disc into iTunes on day of delivery, I find there are no matches, possibly because unlike some mainstream releases the system depends on those initial purchasers to type the titles in and submit them in order to get said titles in the system. This is merely my own supposition of course, and is not based on any scientific fact...

Thank you - that is what I figured. The same thing happened with the eight disk TTWII Rehearsal set. In that case some of the discs were recognized and some were not.

Not sure if it is the same with dbpoweramp, but you can test the trial version.

[JeroenNL]

Just had a chance to listen to Disc 5 of the box. These songs struck me as sounding very nice:

- Seperate Ways
- Raised On Rock (clearer drums and mix to my ears then on some other releases of the Master of this song)
- For Ol' Times Sake
- Promised Land
- T-R-O-U-B-L-E

[Domino]

What's the final verdict on this set? I know it's a to each his own kind of set but what's the bottom line on the sound and the book? Thought it looked awesome at first,then thought I would pass and now I'm thinking about it again.

[Claus]

The sound is very good for what it is. The promos are mostly in good shape although all of them are definitely not mint.

The book looks nice. Lots of great pictures but I would have liked more information on the singles.

I'm pleased to own it but it's definitely too expensive, imo

[drjohncarpenter]

What's the final verdict on this set? I know it's a to each his own kind of set but what's the bottom line on the sound and the book? Thought it looked awesome at first,then thought I would pass and now I'm thinking about it again.

MONO, as charged!

gavel.gif

[Domino]

What's the final verdict on this set? I know it's a to each his own kind of set but what's the bottom line on the sound and the book? Thought it looked awesome at first,then thought I would pass and now I'm thinking about it again.

MONO, as charged!

gavel.gif

So should I take that as a "forget about it" ?

[drjohncarpenter]

What's the final verdict on this set? I know it's a to each his own kind of set but what's the bottom line on the sound and the book? Thought it looked awesome at first,then thought I would pass and now I'm thinking about it again.

MONO, as charged!

So should I take that as a "forget about it" ?

No, quite the opposite, if MONO is your thing.

[sweetangeline]

I`m surprised Elvis never got MONO!!

[billyblues]

Is there a picture / are there pictures of the Acetate's they used for Disc 5 in the book? If so, would someone post a good pic of it? Many thanks!

They're not acetates. For some reason they used the term - I'm sure no one would mind if they just plain said what they used here, after all it's not like it would make any difference in the final product (some are even claiming that a few of the transfers aren't pristine, like My Boy, which has clicks and pops). They're promo 45rpms, you can find pics of them at good ol' elvisrecords.com. For instance:
https://www.elvisrecords.com/t-r-o-u-b-l-e-mr-songman/
Check the very first copy, with the yellow label.

[draig goch]

Just got mine today....mega box set very heavy havn't had had time to play cds or look at book. This has got to be as lavish as the final curtain! Although for me my final curtain is top of the list when it comes to box sets..it really set the benchmark for others to follow. Lovely job Venus....Ohh my number is 452 out of the 750 produced.

[Domino]

Just got mine today....mega box set very heavy havn't had had time to play cds or look at book. This has got to be as lavish as the final curtain! Although for me my final curtain is top of the list when it comes to box sets..it really set the benchmark for others to follow. Lovely job Venus....Ohh my number is 452 out of the 750 produced.

Anything you can tell about the set? How much of the book is record sleeves & song lyrics? Pics would be awesome.

[elvis-fan]

What's the final verdict on this set? I know it's a to each his own kind of set but what's the bottom line on the sound and the book? Thought it looked awesome at first,then thought I would pass and now I'm thinking about it again.

The information you're looking for is in this thread... take some time and read...

[drghanem]

Are the CDs placed within the sealed box or are they placed outside of the sealed box? A friend of mine says he received this box sealed and the CDs delivered outside of the box. Can anyone shed more light on this?

[Domino]

What's the final verdict on this set? I know it's a to each his own kind of set but what's the bottom line on the sound and the book? Thought it looked awesome at first,then thought I would pass and now I'm thinking about it again.

The information you're looking for is in this thread... take some time and read...

I've read it . Pretty confident the audio is great but the book ,not sure.People are saying lot's of lyrics and covers.If that's the bulk of it then I gotta pass.

[The Pirate]

Are the CDs placed within the sealed box or are they placed outside of the sealed box? A friend of mine says he received this box sealed and the CDs delivered outside of the box. Can anyone shed more light on this?

I've seen photographs where the whole box was sealed, but I received a sealed book in an open box, and the CDs were in paper sleeves, placed on top of the box alongside the separate card covers. I think the idea was to minimise the possibility of the discs coming loose and rattling around getting scratched. Everything arrived in pristine condition.

[elvis71]

Are the CDs placed within the sealed box or are they placed outside of the sealed box? A friend of mine says he received this box sealed and the CDs delivered outside of the box. Can anyone shed more light on this?

This is correct, i received my box today, but the cd's are on it's way to me now, and i should receive them tommorrow , yes they forgot to send it together with the box ...bummer

[django5722]

In mine, the CD's were in sealed paper sleeves. The book was sealed.
I'm loving the mono 45's....they bring back great memories. While an audiophile could differ, and those
looking for instrument separation and "clarity" of the separate parts will disagree, there's just something
about everything mixed together, like a good gumbo, into ONE unit....and, as someone mentioned here recently,
with Elvis' voice IN FRONT OF not BESIDE the backing vocalist. They sound loud and punchy. That's the sound that
brought me to Elvis. Great to hear it again.
So I'm happy this fine set exists. The book is beautiful.

However, a few minor drawbacks:
1) for a book this heavy, the spine and binding are not really adequate. I own a number of heavy art books, and they are bound much better
so they will never split or come apart. I can see this book's spine splitting soon if one were to handle it like a regular book. The FTD Boy From Tupelo did NOT have that problem.
2) that cardboard divider beneath the book is really not heavy enough to support the book. It will surely crush under the book's weight.
3) once you take the cd's out of the paper sleeves and put them into the cardboard individual sleeves, they can easily slide out and get scratched. And they certainly would NOT stay in the center area in the cardboard insert under the book. With any expensive box set (Boy From Tupelo, the 60 cd box, the 18 cd Dylan box, etc.), I make cdr's immediately upon receipt, and then play those. So I put my new cd's in the cardboard individual sleeves and then put each in its own poly bag, and folded and sealed that. I would not recommend that anyone leave their cd's loose in the cardboard sleeves.

I'll always treasure this collection.

I wonder if a project the import labels will take on soon is an "answer" to the 60-cd box which contains the 60's albums with unique mono versions of the albums. Elvis One and other import labels have put these out to some extent (like the Frankie and Johnny box, for instance), but I would certainly like to own them. I wonder if we'll see some fancy box with however many albums they can put together in a collector's import MONO BOX. I would certainly love to own the mono versions of the soundtracks, for instance, in exact reissues.

[Mike Windgren]

Hi there!! .

This little baby just arrived! . Bye for now .

[Mike C]

Just got the set last night and it looks great. Only sampled disc 2 but neat to hear mono versions of mid-60s songs. I did detect a few pops on the tracks which means they came from needle drops. I am not surprised given the note on the last page of the book which says "not all singles were available on tape or acetate."

Oh yeah, I got number 103 which has a very personal significance for me. It's the number of the home I grew up in.

[emjel]

Listened to the first two discs and extracts from disc 3. The sound is very good although I am not quite convinced I am listening to official tapes as opposed to mint vinyl on these discs. And why did they excluded the two mid sixties Gospel singles and an opportunity was missed for the various EP soundtracks too. The card sleeves for the discs apart from making a large photo from the 68 Special when laid out together do not exactly match the contents of each disc.

It is a real shame that Sony or FTD haven't put anything out - have they missed the boat? Probably not as I am sure an official mono collection would still sell. The book whilst having some pretty good photos doesn't offer anything really new on the photo front and the remainder of the book showing copies of sleeves and lyrics seems somewhat pointless. A 400+ page book that could easily have been just 100 pages would have helped keep the cost down too. So nicely presented, but over-bloated really - I think Venus lost their way with this release.

[Juan Luis]

Got it yesterday! Skipping all over. Found a track from the 60's (name escapes me now LOL)) that the mix is so different sounds like another performance almost. "For Ol' Times Sake" sounds real good. Too much book for me. Not complaining...

[elvis65]

hello do the promo and preview copies have the number on them or just the regular pressings

[elvis71]

Listened to the first two discs and extracts from disc 3. The sound is very good although I am not quite convinced I am listening to official tapes as opposed to mint vinyl on these discs. And why did they excluded the two mid sixties Gospel singles and an opportunity was missed for the various EP soundtracks too. The card sleeves for the discs apart from making a large photo from the 68 Special when laid out together do not exactly match the contents of each disc.

It is a real shame that Sony or FTD haven't put anything out - have they missed the boat? Probably not as I am sure an official mono collection would still sell. The book whilst having some pretty good photos doesn't offer anything really new on the photo front and the remainder of the book showing copies of sleeves and lyrics seems somewhat pointless. A 400+ page book that could easily have been just 100 pages would have helped keep the cost down too. So nicely presented, but over-bloated really - I think Venus lost their way with this release.

Not agreeing with you one bit,this release from VENUS get's a lot of positive reviews and not only on this forum.

[emjel]

I'm not asking you to agree with me, but there are various comments around where people would have been happy with the CDs and a smaller book. Some like it and others either do not or have passed on it.
There is no real connection with the CDs and the book apart from the single sleeves, which I am sure serious collectors will have seen, and may even own them, a little bit about the recording dates, which once again can be found in the session books and the lyrics. Apart from that, the book is just a collection of photos - some are great and others just average and mostly seen in other books. The CDs do not need to be supported by such a huge book, so it is over-bloated. I am not saying the overall presentation is not good looking, but by reducing everything down size wise, the price could have been more favourable. Had Sony put out such a release 5 CDs with a book this size and with a price tag of over £150, fans would have been complaining. Some were complaining about a 60 CD Box with a 300 page book for around £180.

[Mike C]

One great thing about the set is you have the actual single master of Rags to Riches which is extremely hard to find.