FTD - 3 CD sets

[Scarre]

With my stereo sound equipment I can appreciate those differences between the two periods of Ftd and clearly. But of course it is not a stereo system to sound in the kitchen precisely!

[emjel]

It’s a stereo system that I doubt 99% of fans would own or be able to afford either.

[When In Rome]

Most important thing : Ftd 3cd or multiple cd would be the definitive better sound release. Sound of titles released 8 or 10 years ago is clearly and simply inferior to 2017 or 2018.

Other than moving to 24 bit 96 khz or DSD files, As opposed to CD’s I can’t see how much more “improved sound” they can get out of the master tapes when the final playback medium is CD.
And yet, whenever there is a release with “improved sound” I am tempted to buy the same recordings again.
I must be a marketing mans dream.

You and me both and probably countless others I'll bet! I'm trying hard to re-educate myself in that dept. though...

[JamieAKelley]

Most important thing : Ftd 3cd or multiple cd would be the definitive better sound release. Sound of titles released 8 or 10 years ago is clearly and simply inferior to 2017 or 2018.

Other than moving to 24 bit 96 khz or DSD files, As opposed to CD’s I can’t see how much more “improved sound” they can get out of the master tapes when the final playback medium is CD.
And yet, whenever there is a release with “improved sound” I am tempted to buy the same recordings again.
I must be a marketing mans dream.

Actually, it's been said that CD resolution has yielded the best results with the current transfers, themselves a marvel in technique, so I doubt we'll see much more than CD quality.

That said, many of the early FTDs suffer from the work of poor (by comparison to more recent) transfers and lesser mix/mastering jobs by folks like Lene Reidel (geez, remember that name? Haven't heard that in awhile, lol) so there's a good chunk in the early stuff that could use a refresh.

[midnightx]

It must be very boring to just listen to 50s tracks and 1968 and 1969 and 1970 material. And calling all other mediocre..you are a poor fan.

Fortunately, I do not do that, so I experience no boredom as an Elvis fan.

However, the irony is that one would think it would quite boring, if not a bit painful, to predominately listen to mid-1970's era soundboards. But if it makes you happy, that is all that matters.

Don't be a poor fan. Give New Haven 76 (FTD) another spin!

And what a set-list! Oldies but goodies, country, MOR ballads, band intros, dive-bombs, and Olivia Newton-John covers. Aside from the impaired vocals and pedestrian band performance, it has it all!

It really gets on yours nerves that that he LOVED being a crooner instead of the rock star you wished him to be...mad? Get over it.

First of all, I have never said or implied that I thought Elvis should be a rocker. You should read posts more carefully before making erroneous claims. Secondly, Elvis was never a crooner, and if that was his intention circa 1974-1977, he failed. If you wish he had been a crooner, that is something you need to get over.

Reading your posts certanly suggests otherwise. You are constantly complaining about his song selections...with the exception of one genre, rock/rock´n´roll.

Elvis primarily recorded most of his "rock and roll" selections during the 1950's and early 1960's (along with plenty of ballad material) and most of his work from that period is excellent, so it should be no surprise that I will lodge few complaints about any of it, including the rock and roll material. It has nothing to do with the genre. My complaints about the quality of material or lack-there-of are not genre specific.

[Juan Luis]

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[ORION]

That said, many of the early FTDs suffer from the work of poor (by comparison to more recent) transfers and lesser mix/mastering jobs by folks like Lene Reidel (geez, remember that name? Haven't heard that in awhile, lol) so there's a good chunk in the early stuff that could use a refresh.

To be completely honest, I wouldn't mind a 'do-over' for the "Elvis Today" album. Perhaps there is enough from those sessions to warrant a three-CD "complete sessions" release. I cannot imagine that the engineer onlty managed to capture one outtake of T-R-O-U-B-L-E.

[Mike Windgren]

Hi there!! .

That said, many of the early FTDs suffer from the work of poor (by comparison to more recent) transfers and lesser mix/mastering jobs by folks like Lene Reidel (geez, remember that name? Haven't heard that in awhile, lol) so there's a good chunk in the early stuff that could use a refresh.

To be completely honest, I wouldn't mind a 'do-over' for the "Elvis Today" album. Perhaps there is enough from those sessions to warrant a three-CD "complete sessions" release. I cannot imagine that the engineer onlty managed to capture one outtake of T-R-O-U-B-L-E.

I´d love that too, the complete "Elvis Today" session! . Maybe they found a picture of Elvis & Brian Wilson when both were recording/rehearsing at RCA Studio, Hollywood in March 10/11/12/13, 1975 and include it on a new booklet Bye for now .

Jerry Schilling: We were at a rehearsal session at RCA Studios in Hollywood, and Elvis always prided himself on our security. There was security at the studio as well. This big, overweight, bearded guy came into the studio and went right up to Elvis and went, 'Hi Elvis, I'm Brian'. And Elvis was very upset with us thinking, 'How did this guy get in here and who is he?' So Brian said, 'I'm recording next door. Would you come over and listen?' And Elvis looked at us; it's almost in spite of us since this guy had gotten through. He said, 'Yeah, I'll go over'.

So we went over, and Terry Melcher, Doris Day's son, was producing. Terry played a track for Elvis, and Brian said, 'Do you think we have anything?' And Elvis said, 'No'. And we went back to our studio. Later, the security guys told us it was Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys.

Source: As included on Jerry Schilling´s book: Me and a Guy named Elvis.

[drjohncarpenter]

To be completely honest, I wouldn't mind a 'do-over' for the "Elvis Today" album. Perhaps there is enough from those sessions to warrant a three-CD "complete sessions" release. I cannot imagine that the engineer onlty managed to capture one outtake of T-R-O-U-B-L-E.

There are apparently four known takes of "T-R-O-U-B-L-E," the fourth being chosen as the master, the first issued by FTD on 6363 Sunset, then again on the "classic album" edition of Elvis Today. The other two must not be much, or they would have appeared on the latter.

[Mike Windgren]

Hi there!! .

To be completely honest, I wouldn't mind a 'do-over' for the "Elvis Today" album. Perhaps there is enough from those sessions to warrant a three-CD "complete sessions" release. I cannot imagine that the engineer onlty managed to capture one outtake of T-R-O-U-B-L-E.

There are apparently four known takes of "T-R-O-U-B-L-E," the fourth being chosen as the master, the first issued by FTD on 6363 Sunset, then again on the "classic album" edition of Elvis Today. The other two must not be much, or they would have appeared on the latter.

It looks like there are 2 unreleased takes of "Susan When She Tried" too plus some false starts (I Can Help & And I Love You So), undubbed master (T-R-O-U-B-L-E) & bits! . Bye for now .

Source: http://www.keithflynn.com/recording-sessions/70_index.html

[drjohncarpenter]

There are apparently four known takes of "T-R-O-U-B-L-E," the fourth being chosen as the master, the first issued by FTD on 6363 Sunset, then again on the "classic album" edition of Elvis Today. The other two must not be much, or they would have appeared on the latter.

It looks like there are 2 unreleased takes of "Susan When She Tried" too plus some false starts (I Can Help & And I Love You So), undubbed master (T-R-O-U-B-L-E) & bits!

And FTD has had two chances to include them in a release, and did not. So the assumption has to be that these takes are not much.

[chop983]

That said, many of the early FTDs suffer from the work of poor (by comparison to more recent) transfers and lesser mix/mastering jobs by folks like Lene Reidel (geez, remember that name? Haven't heard that in awhile, lol) so there's a good chunk in the early stuff that could use a refresh.

To be completely honest, I wouldn't mind a 'do-over' for the "Elvis Today" album. Perhaps there is enough from those sessions to warrant a three-CD "complete sessions" release. I cannot imagine that the engineer onlty managed to capture one outtake of T-R-O-U-B-L-E.

That was the classic album that helped me decide not to buy all classic albums.

[midnightx]

That said, many of the early FTDs suffer from the work of poor (by comparison to more recent) transfers and lesser mix/mastering jobs by folks like Lene Reidel (geez, remember that name? Haven't heard that in awhile, lol) so there's a good chunk in the early stuff that could use a refresh.

To be completely honest, I wouldn't mind a 'do-over' for the "Elvis Today" album. Perhaps there is enough from those sessions to warrant a three-CD "complete sessions" release. I cannot imagine that the engineer onlty managed to capture one outtake of T-R-O-U-B-L-E.

That was the classic album that helped me decide not to buy all classic albums.

It was one of the first non-soundtrack studio album reissues (only the stellar "Elvis In Back! preceded it) and arguably the worst of the whole series. After "Today," the engineering and sound quality for the classic album series improved exponentially. The execution on "Today" was lazy; from sound quality issues, to only 5 unreleased outtakes, to the straight recycling of the "6363" sunset tracks. Who knows, maybe FTD will reissue everything all over again alongside a few unreleased tracks/false starts padded out to 3 CDs at a higher price point.

[Deleted User 1099]

That said, many of the early FTDs suffer from the work of poor (by comparison to more recent) transfers and lesser mix/mastering jobs by folks like Lene Reidel (geez, remember that name? Haven't heard that in awhile, lol) so there's a good chunk in the early stuff that could use a refresh.

To be completely honest, I wouldn't mind a 'do-over' for the "Elvis Today" album. Perhaps there is enough from those sessions to warrant a three-CD "complete sessions" release. I cannot imagine that the engineer onlty managed to capture one outtake of T-R-O-U-B-L-E.

That was the classic album that helped me decide not to buy all classic albums.

It was one of the first non-soundtrack studio album reissues (only the stellar "Elvis In Back! preceded it) and arguably the worst of the whole series. After "Today," the engineering and sound quality for the classic album series improved exponentially. The execution on "Today" was lazy; from sound quality issues, to only 5 unreleased outtakes, to the straight recycling of the "6363" sunset tracks. Who knows, maybe FTD will reissue everything all over again alongside a few unreleased tracks/false starts padded out to 3 CDs at a higher price point.

The entire Today sessions fit easily on two CDs. There are just a few outtakes left, probably mostly false starts. The only real selling point of a rerelease lies in a significant sound upgrade.

I seem to remember that Standing Room Only also comes in a sound quality that leaves room for improvement.

[Rob]

Who knows, maybe FTD will reissue everything all over again alongside a few unreleased tracks/false starts padded out to 3 CDs at a higher price point.

Please let me know when it is available for pre-order.

Thanks in advance.

[chop983]

I sold it not long after buying it, my sound upgrade now comes courtesy of the legacy edition.

[ORION]

The entire Today sessions fit easily on two CDs. There are just a few outtakes left, probably mostly false starts. The only real selling point of a rerelease lies in a significant sound upgrade.

Thanks Ken. I guess I need to check out Keith Flynn's on-line session logs before I post. lol That's a shame there's not enough there to justify a 3 CD release as I would love to have these tracks in much more of an upgraded sound. I guess that's why I find myself listening more to the undubbed versions than the final released versions.

I guess that makes my total 10 possible 3 CD releases instead of eleven. Many on here have tried to take down my Elvis Is Back!, but it seems it might be deemed worthy enough of such a project by many who have posted on the notion. Keeping VLV in the forefront (as it was mentioned by Ernst himself), that leaves possibly 8 other 3 CD releases that I can foresee.

[clambake1967]

absolutely all ftd releases prior to 2007 are very improvable in sound, and a large part prior to 2011 as well. From 2011 to the present only some can be improved.
Of course it's just my modest opinion, but based on listening with a reference sound equipment.
What does it mean to have to edit all the Elvis FTD material already appeared, taking advantage of editing also the unpublished material?
In my opinion, categorically yes!!!!

[JamieAKelley]

The entire Today sessions fit easily on two CDs. There are just a few outtakes left, probably mostly false starts. The only real selling point of a rerelease lies in a significant sound upgrade.

Thanks Ken. I guess I need to check out Keith Flynn's on-line session logs before I post. lol That's a shame there's not enough there to justify a 3 CD release as I would love to have these tracks in much more of an upgraded sound. I guess that's why I find myself listening more to the undubbed versions than the final released versions.

I guess that makes my total 10 possible 3 CD releases instead of eleven. Many on here have tried to take down my Elvis Is Back!, but it seems it might be deemed worthy enough of such a project by many who have posted on the notion. Keeping VLV in the forefront (as it was mentioned by Ernst himself), that leaves possibly 8 other 3 CD releases that I can foresee.

Actually, if the session fits on two CDs, even better - it means there's even less reason for them to charge more than standard FTD prices. The 1 and 2 CD sessions make up the price difference for the 3-CD. Or at least it's an idea.

And after the amazing sound on the "Way Down In The Jungle Room" outtakes, I'd say there's quite a bit that could be done with the "Today" session. The slight handicap would be not being able to mix anything too far down so we can hear it, but even with that it should be a big improvement. It's not exactly a high bar, after all.

Pretty much anything Lene did could stand to be re-done.

[midnightx]

Pretty much anything Lene did could stand to be re-done.

Granted, you did not say everything she did should be redone, and while the prevailing trend is to trash Reidel's work, credit should be given where it is due. For the longest time, many FTD enthusiasts praised "The Jungle Room Sessions," a release that has had the reputation as being one of the most popular and biggest selling, if not the biggest selling FTD titles ever released. It was engineered by Reidel, and the content was allegedly chosen and sequenced by Reidel. Also, the wonderful August 26, 1969 midnight show ("All Shook Up") was engineered by Reidel. Clearly, the much embattled engineer has had more than her share of questionable results, but there are a handful of releases that not only are well done, but that have been celebrated by many FTD supporters.

[Juan Luis]

Pretty much anything Lene did could stand to be re-done.

Granted, you did not say everything she did should be redone, and while the prevailing trend is to trash Reidel's work, credit should be given where it is due. For the longest time, many FTD enthusiasts praised "The Jungle Room Sessions," a release that has had the reputation as being one of the most popular and biggest selling, if not the biggest selling FTD titles ever released. It was engineered by Reidel, and the content was allegedly chosen and sequenced by Reidel. Also, the wonderful August 26, 1969 midnight show ("All Shook Up") was engineered by Reidel. Clearly, the much embattled engineer has had more than her share of questionable results, but there are a handful of releases that not only are well done, but that have been celebrated by many FTD supporters.

1976 Sessions was excellently done. But I don't know if she mixed "All Shook Up" as well as mastering. But it could be retitled "An ode to Larry Muhoberac and the lopsided TCB band plus ELVIS!"

[JamieAKelley]

Pretty much anything Lene did could stand to be re-done.

Granted, you did not say everything she did should be redone, and while the prevailing trend is to trash Reidel's work, credit should be given where it is due. For the longest time, many FTD enthusiasts praised "The Jungle Room Sessions," a release that has had the reputation as being one of the most popular and biggest selling, if not the biggest selling FTD titles ever released. It was engineered by Reidel, and the content was allegedly chosen and sequenced by Reidel. Also, the wonderful August 26, 1969 midnight show ("All Shook Up") was engineered by Reidel. Clearly, the much embattled engineer has had more than her share of questionable results, but there are a handful of releases that not only are well done, but that have been celebrated by many FTD supporters.

It's not that she has a bad mixing aesthetic or one that that nobody likes - she does best with lower-key material to my ears - but compared to what we've had since Jean-Marc, Vic and Sebastian came on board, there's a huge difference, imo. One that I've liked considerably better, as have others. It is all a matter of taste, though, so you may feel differently?

I'd also argue that "The Jungle Room Sessions" praise also reaped benefits by: 1-being one of the first full compilations of last sessions material; 2: Being one of the first FTDs ever; and 3: due to #1, one of the first times we'd heard that material mixed from the multitracks. "Harum Scarum"'s outtakes sound pretty amazing compared to the masters, too, but that's because at least one generation of tape (likely two, from the sounds of it) is removed by going back to the 3-track.

I've heard her mixing on other material and liked it much better - she just generally seemed like a bad fix for mixing Elvis material. Everybody has their "bag"; I do quite a bit of mixing (for myself and others now), and I couldn't mix techo to save my @$$ and i'm still getting the hang of more modern Pop material.

So I'd say that, while not all of it was the "Today" FTD, almost everything - especially studio recordings - would see a noticeable change from her mixing era on the label.

[drghanem]

I'm reviving an interesting thread about the possible new approach by FTD to release entire sessions. For several decades now I have wanted the complete Blue Hawaii sessions to be released properly on CD or any other digital media. Ever since the late 1970's the bootleggers have whetted our appetite by releasing some fantastic albums and even boxes devoted to the said material. On the downside, there has never been an ultimate digital release of the complete sessions. FTD's 2CD-release from 2009 was great of course but it wasn't complete and that's why I would lobby for a sequel by FTD.

The load of CD-bootlegs that features the sessions have all used previous vinyl-records as sources which undoubtedly isn't the ultimate way to go soundwise. Knowing that at least cassette-copies of the original Theaker/Dowling-reels made it to Europe in the early 1980's it's such a shame that not one single soul has re-released the material properly on CD. Even the highly praised MRS label only used the boot-vinyls for the transfers.

From the perspective of fidelity the FTD release is the best and it is closely followed by Theakers/Dowlings superb releases like Behind Closed Doors, A Dog's Life, Plantation Rock and Leavin' It Up To You. All these used the original session-reels (stereo and mono) as sources. Then when bootlegging was transferred to Europe in the early to mid-80's there were vinyl-releases like The Complete Blue Hawaii Sessions vol 1-4, The Blue Hawaii Box, Steppin' Out Of Line and In My Way. All covered the sessions but this time the sources were of definite inferior quality soundwise. Flipping through the lovely Bootleg-book from the summer of 2012 there is a page with cassettes featuring the sessions. Two question remains, what happened to the original reels that Theaker/Dowling used for their releases and why hasn't anyone properly released the entire Blue Hawaii sessions yet?

[drghanem]

According to our hero Keith Flynn's highly accurate and wonderful session-notes there are still some outtakes from the Blue Hawaii sessions that remain unreleased:

[colonel snow]

The LP's Blue Hawaii sessions vol. 1-2-3-4 on TCB label have a poor sound; the tracks on the LP's run too fast.
Besides the sessions are incomplete on this set. Although not complete the 3 LP Blue Hawaii box has better quality.


colinel snow