best cd

TJ,

Bendeths work played a huge part in E1's success (they knew it was special) this was the Deal Sealer.

plus the DVD Audio edition released to capture the xmas market (Dec 10 2002) E1 audio cd edition (23 Sep 2002)

E1 =DVD-audio 5.1 DVD Audio plays on all dvd players-will not play on cd players or car stereos.

2ND to None = only available in two channel cd sound and No David Bendeth expertise.

DVD MUSIC THE ULTIMATE ELVIS EXPERIENCE-

Until 8 channel MLP or better is here.


THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Country Hall of Fame, and the Gospel Hall of Fame,And Taking his place alongside Jackie Chan,Bruce Lee,Chuck Norris-Martial Arts Hall Of Fame,United States Kenpo hall of fame.

Ernst cd's should carry a health warning-this cd will in no way stimulate your senses-infact we have done everything within our power to make this so...

Last edited by GERRY on Mon May 14, 2007 6:19 pm, edited 9 times in total.

TJ wrote,

My point was that timing did make the difference. By that I mean it was the 25th anniversary and it was released just after a worldwide number one. It was a high profile period for Elvis and the album was given huge amounts of both paid and free promotion as a result

You keep harping on and on about the fans allready having the damn tracks when you should surely know that it was the public and not the remnants of the EP fanbase that made E1 the sales success that it was.

Precisely my point Gerry and one which I made later on in the post. It was the general public who had no real frame of reference for how Elvis sounds on CD that made this release a huge success, not diehard fans. So again, timing, promotion and the ALLC single were the big factors.

I dont think the public gave a **** about it being the 25th anniversary.

There was a buzz around about what Bendeth was doing.

The remix was great and that Nike Add....

Whether they cared about the anniversary or not isn't important. What's important is that the coverage devoted to Elvis in that period raised his profile.

Yes, there was a buzz around what Bendeth was doing, but a buzz felt strongly by existing big fans, not by those who, as you rightly point out, explain most of the massive sales. It's your last point that I agree with. The remix and the Nike Ad were key. I've never argued that point - actually I've repeated it several times. Those who were responsible for the marked difference between sales of 30# No 1 hits and 2nd to None were those who thought it would be cool to get ALLC along with Elvis' greatest hits. They were not those who thought "Ah, I must hear if Burning Love sounds better than ever before!"

Hello,

David Bendeth brought a sincere passion to working with the master recordings that has been lacking for a very very long time. Doing interviews for articles in Billboard, interviews with fan websites, etc. (things Jorgensen has shied away from lately). Bendeth openly talked about what he did, with a fresh candor.

That created alot of buzz in the music industry prior to E1 being released.

Daryl

Note that Per's questions STILL remain unanswered:

Sorry Per i have been busy.

Get round to it as soon as i can.

Which means of course that he can't.

As to do so would unquestionably expose the weakness and fallacy of his argument.

Gerry, just out of curiosity, what do you think of the mainstream CDs Kevan Budd worked on? I’m thinking about:

Elvis at Sun
Elvis Presley
Elvis
Loving You

And what did you think about the FTD CDs Sebastian worked on?

Elvis Is Back!
His Hand in Mine
Something for Everybody

I’m talking about the sound here.

Per

For all those who might have missed them.....posted Thursday incidentally.

Someone called me about this thread, you guys are truly amazing. I have to admit I love the passion and I love the theories.
Here are some facts, which in a way makes you all right.
The E1 project started as an idea to sell roughly 500-600,000 records worldwide. It was an anniversary record that really took on a life of its own due to multiple things all happening in tandem.
Before all the hype started with the Nike video and the ALLC, there was a man named Bob Jamieson who at the time was the president of RCA.
Bob believed that Elvis was the cornerstone of RCA records. We worked in Canada together and the Elvis catalogue kept BMG in business during the leaner years.
Bob had a great relationship with the estate and a real understanding of true artistry. E1 was an RCA record. It was born out of the US company for what reason I will never know. I was assigned the record by Jack Rovner who gave this to me as some kind of punishment. He was fired a few months after I started this record.
A few people at RCA really beleived in this record, not only from a marketing standpoint, but a creative standpoint.
It was the Elvis estate that really stood behind this record at the beggining. It was important to have them involved. RCA had a deal with them that we would never alter these tapes. I startd this as an experiment. I always knew that it was going to be Elvis, his songs, his voice, his talent that would be the driver on this record. NOT ME.
I was part of a great team of people. It was like a snowball. I was given complete free reign financially to make this record. Bob beleived it was going to be extremely competitive, he spared no expense. He had the estates full support.
Key players in making this record roll were Bob Jamieson. BMG UK office, and Jose at BMG international who left before the record was released.
ALLC was never a hit in the USA, god knows we tried, it stiffed. Jack at the estate also was a huge supporter, he was amazing.
The remix was sensational and the funny thing was that Junkie XL was never supposed to mix the song in the first place. He was a second choice. Between the ALLC mix, the promotion involved with the E1 travelling museum and the posters and billboards the awareness was high. The nike commercial did not hurt.
This was a once in a lifetime situation, like all the stars lining up. Almost inexplicable.
Once the train left the station nothing was going to stop it. The fact that there was mistakes on this record was also some kind of a positive factor in the sense that everyone was talking about Elvis again.
This could not have been a more perfect launch for a record. A new single, a new image, a best of package, a new sound, a marketing budget worldwide and most of all a collection of songs that were undeniable to people from 2-99 years old.
Everyone that worked on this record was commited. Everyone knew this was a once in a lifetime record for the label.
In its first week it sold over 1.2 million worldwide. Over 500,000 of those records scanned in the USA..WITH NO HIT!!!! This was unheard of, It showed the power of the music.

Please do not overthink this. The future of the Elvis catalogue and sound has reverted to where it came from. There are many ways to capitolize on oppurtunities with Elvis again, Its just down to people with imagination, passion and knowledge and of course money.

I have tried to move on as much as I possibly can after this record. I learned so much about music and myself.
I never wanted to only be known as the guy that mixed Elvis. It was an idea I had that I took a lot of flack for. Mostly from you lot.
I am blessed this year as a producer and a mixer with Three gold/Platinum records in a row and I hope to have 4 soon.
None of these records sound like Elvis, but his spirit lives with me as I move through my musical career and treasure the oppurtunity I had to be a part of something we all shared in.
The future of Elvis is in your hearts and in your soul. There will be many generations after you to carry the torch.
Technology and Elvis will ALWAYS work well together, he was an artist with vision and always on the cutting edge.
sorry for Jacking this thread. Food for thought..
David Bendeth

Someone called me about this thread, you guys are truly amazing. I have to admit I love the passion and I love the theories.
Here are some facts, which in a way makes you all right.
The E1 project started as an idea to sell roughly 500-600,000 records worldwide. It was an anniversary record that really took on a life of its own due to multiple things all happening in tandem.
Before all the hype started with the Nike video and the ALLC, there was a man named Bob Jamieson who at the time was the president of RCA.
Bob believed that Elvis was the cornerstone of RCA records. We worked in Canada together and the Elvis catalogue kept BMG in business during the leaner years.
Bob had a great relationship with the estate and a real understanding of true artistry. E1 was an RCA record. It was born out of the US company for what reason I will never know. I was assigned the record by Jack Rovner who gave this to me as some kind of punishment. He was fired a few months after I started this record.
A few people at RCA really beleived in this record, not only from a marketing standpoint, but a creative standpoint.
It was the Elvis estate that really stood behind this record at the beggining. It was important to have them involved. RCA had a deal with them that we would never alter these tapes. I startd this as an experiment. I always knew that it was going to be Elvis, his songs, his voice, his talent that would be the driver on this record. NOT ME.
I was part of a great team of people. It was like a snowball. I was given complete free reign financially to make this record. Bob beleived it was going to be extremely competitive, he spared no expense. He had the estates full support.
Key players in making this record roll were Bob Jamieson. BMG UK office, and Jose at BMG international who left before the record was released.
ALLC was never a hit in the USA, god knows we tried, it stiffed. Jack at the estate also was a huge supporter, he was amazing.
The remix was sensational and the funny thing was that Junkie XL was never supposed to mix the song in the first place. He was a second choice. Between the ALLC mix, the promotion involved with the E1 travelling museum and the posters and billboards the awareness was high. The nike commercial did not hurt.
This was a once in a lifetime situation, like all the stars lining up. Almost inexplicable.
Once the train left the station nothing was going to stop it. The fact that there was mistakes on this record was also some kind of a positive factor in the sense that everyone was talking about Elvis again.
This could not have been a more perfect launch for a record. A new single, a new image, a best of package, a new sound, a marketing budget worldwide and most of all a collection of songs that were undeniable to people from 2-99 years old.
Everyone that worked on this record was commited. Everyone knew this was a once in a lifetime record for the label.
In its first week it sold over 1.2 million worldwide. Over 500,000 of those records scanned in the USA..WITH NO HIT!!!! This was unheard of, It showed the power of the music.

Please do not overthink this. The future of the Elvis catalogue and sound has reverted to where it came from. There are many ways to capitolize on oppurtunities with Elvis again, Its just down to people with imagination, passion and knowledge and of course money.

I have tried to move on as much as I possibly can after this record. I learned so much about music and myself.
I never wanted to only be known as the guy that mixed Elvis. It was an idea I had that I took a lot of flack for. Mostly from you lot.
I am blessed this year as a producer and a mixer with Three gold/Platinum records in a row and I hope to have 4 soon.
None of these records sound like Elvis, but his spirit lives with me as I move through my musical career and treasure the oppurtunity I had to be a part of something we all shared in.
The future of Elvis is in your hearts and in your soul. There will be many generations after you to carry the torch.
Technology and Elvis will ALWAYS work well together, he was an artist with vision and always on the cutting edge.
sorry for Jacking this thread. Food for thought..
David Bendeth

Thanks for sharing that David, it's always nice to read your opinion's and stories about E1, which to this day continues to be a steady seller world-wide.

Hello,

David, do you have any idea how well 30 #1 hits has sold to this day. The last RIAA certification was for 4 million a few years back. Also do you have any idea what worldwide sales are at?

Daryl

For those who care for facts about what the record buying public wants, may easily check out the RIAA database. You might be surprised over what the record buying public has brought home with the name of Elvis on it!
And for those few who recall the 1987 releases of "The Number One Hits" and "The Top Ten Hits" can maybe come up with a reason for those album sales? Those albums hardly touched the US album charts, still manage to pile up those impressive sales numbers! How come?
Imo, I think E2 did surprisingly well!

For those who care for facts about what the record buying public wants

Well they whent for E1 in a BIG way.

(500,000) in first week sales with no ALLC,As they say , Until you can match it dont knock it.



Steve Binder knew what he had and how to use it!

I would be the last person on earth to have that info, trust me on that one.

Hello,

David, do you have any idea how well 30 #1 hits has sold to this day. The last RIAA certification was for 4 million a few years back. Also do you have any idea what worldwide sales are at?

Daryl

Hello David,

I want to thank you for taking the time to answer my question. I do have a second question for you if you don't mind me asking. It's a bit private that you may or may not want to answer in the open forum of a messageboard. I hope you don't take me asking this question as being insensitive but why exactly were you left go by BMG/RCA? I can't fathom any reason why any major record company would let go the guy who just compiled the biggest selling posthumous Elvis record ever done. What exactly did the powers that be at BMG tell you was the reason?

If you don't wish to answer this question out in open and wish to keep it private you can either PM via this website or if you wish not to go into that much detail, I also understand.

Daryl

Someone called me about this thread, you guys are truly amazing. I have to admit I love the passion and I love the theories.
Here are some facts, which in a way makes you all right.
The E1 project started as an idea to sell roughly 500-600,000 records worldwide. It was an anniversary record that really took on a life of its own due to multiple things all happening in tandem.
Before all the hype started with the Nike video and the ALLC, there was a man named Bob Jamieson who at the time was the president of RCA.
Bob believed that Elvis was the cornerstone of RCA records. We worked in Canada together and the Elvis catalogue kept BMG in business during the leaner years.
Bob had a great relationship with the estate and a real understanding of true artistry. E1 was an RCA record. It was born out of the US company for what reason I will never know. I was assigned the record by Jack Rovner who gave this to me as some kind of punishment. He was fired a few months after I started this record.
A few people at RCA really beleived in this record, not only from a marketing standpoint, but a creative standpoint.
It was the Elvis estate that really stood behind this record at the beggining. It was important to have them involved. RCA had a deal with them that we would never alter these tapes. I startd this as an experiment. I always knew that it was going to be Elvis, his songs, his voice, his talent that would be the driver on this record. NOT ME.
I was part of a great team of people. It was like a snowball. I was given complete free reign financially to make this record. Bob beleived it was going to be extremely competitive, he spared no expense. He had the estates full support.
Key players in making this record roll were Bob Jamieson. BMG UK office, and Jose at BMG international who left before the record was released.
ALLC was never a hit in the USA, god knows we tried, it stiffed. Jack at the estate also was a huge supporter, he was amazing.
The remix was sensational and the funny thing was that Junkie XL was never supposed to mix the song in the first place. He was a second choice. Between the ALLC mix, the promotion involved with the E1 travelling museum and the posters and billboards the awareness was high. The nike commercial did not hurt.
This was a once in a lifetime situation, like all the stars lining up. Almost inexplicable.
Once the train left the station nothing was going to stop it. The fact that there was mistakes on this record was also some kind of a positive factor in the sense that everyone was talking about Elvis again.
This could not have been a more perfect launch for a record. A new single, a new image, a best of package, a new sound, a marketing budget worldwide and most of all a collection of songs that were undeniable to people from 2-99 years old.
Everyone that worked on this record was commited. Everyone knew this was a once in a lifetime record for the label.
In its first week it sold over 1.2 million worldwide. Over 500,000 of those records scanned in the USA..WITH NO HIT!!!! This was unheard of, It showed the power of the music.

Please do not overthink this. The future of the Elvis catalogue and sound has reverted to where it came from. There are many ways to capitolize on oppurtunities with Elvis again, Its just down to people with imagination, passion and knowledge and of course money.

I have tried to move on as much as I possibly can after this record. I learned so much about music and myself.
I never wanted to only be known as the guy that mixed Elvis. It was an idea I had that I took a lot of flack for. Mostly from you lot.
I am blessed this year as a producer and a mixer with Three gold/Platinum records in a row and I hope to have 4 soon.
None of these records sound like Elvis, but his spirit lives with me as I move through my musical career and treasure the oppurtunity I had to be a part of something we all shared in.
The future of Elvis is in your hearts and in your soul. There will be many generations after you to carry the torch.
Technology and Elvis will ALWAYS work well together, he was an artist with vision and always on the cutting edge.sorry for Jacking this thread. Food for thought..
David Bendeth

Thanks for the insight, David.........it is appreciated.

Good question and certainly not one that has been asked here before, which of course I always thought was strange.
I started with BMG in 1988 and was there until I think Jan 2004. I was hired in Canada and was transferred to New York in 1995. The main reason was that Bob Jamieson, my boss has made President of RCA and he took me with him.
Bob had a great run a RCA with Dave Matthews, Christine Aguilara and one of my bands Vertical Horizon. He turned the compmay around in a few years and was promoted to a more "suit "job in the Corporate BMG office.
He really did not like it and was later moved back to the Presidency at RCA. That was about the time we made E1.
I do not think BMG really much respect for Bob as they fired him shortly after the success of E1. At that time they merged RCA and Arista together and Clive Davis took over both companies.
Clive is a great record man, BUT he really saw me as a Bob Jamieson guy and not a Clive guy. If you know anything about Clive Davis he really appreciates and demands a lot of loyalty and respect from his employees and has quite a high turnover rate.
I was told there was a head count issue and I was the one to take the bullett in my department. I was also still under contract, it was not the end of the world.
To be honest I feel really lucky. At the time I think I was miserable and worried for about a week. I also knew by that time they had gone behind my back to work with Ray on E2. In some way I was almost relieved at that too, as I did not think the record was a strong as E1 musically or sonically. It was a follow up. I wanted to end on a high note.

So after may years of loyalty I was out on my own, I also knew that the business was changing and that I needed to be on the front end of the curve in making records. American Idol had become the cornerstone of BMG. It really was not my scene. People had really stopped buying CD's, and I saw the infrastructure start to crumble and the amalgamations start to turf out thousands of people. Within a year after I left BMG it was now a joint venture with SONY/BMG.

On the day I was retired from RCA you really have to remember that another 60 people of 112 were also sent home.Whole departments at.RCA records was completely dismantled and the company that Bob had built was gone forever. I was sad months before I was sent home, There was no reason for me to stay. I mean who would want to work with Simon Cowell on AI LOL?

I knew my calling was to make records with young artists. It was a tough climb back to the top of the charts, especially at my age.
A lot of the artists I produce and mix these days would be alien to 99% of this board. I am doing what I really want to do working with the future of the music business.
So there is the story, but remember one thing.
Behind every great story there is a better back story. There have been many instances at many companies where it is not "cool" to have the kind of success I had there. I had signed artists to that label that had sold in total over 20 million records long before E1 was released.
I was a prime target for a reason.

As a side note, there is not one person at the company in the USA today that I know of that had anything to do with the success of E1. And that folks, kinda says it all.

On more more side note, since I have left RCA here is what has happened in the biz.
BMG publishing has been sold, Warner Brothers has been bought by private investment and the stock price is down, EMI and Capitol have merged and are up for sale right now, MCA has closed, Dreamworks has closed, and sales are off about 10% a year on CD'S in a downward trend.

Apple looks poised to run the biz to me. That ipod is pretty nifty.

Hello David,

I want to thank you for taking the time to answer my question. I do have a second question for you if you don't mind me asking. It's a bit private that you may or may not want to answer in the open forum of a messageboard. I hope you don't take me asking this question as being insensitive but why exactly were you left go by BMG/RCA? I can't fathom any reason why any major record company would let go the guy who just compiled the biggest selling posthumous Elvis record ever done. What exactly did the powers that be at BMG tell you was the reason?

If you don't wish to answer this question out in open and wish to keep it private you can either PM via this website or if you wish not to go into that much detail, I also understand.

Daryl

Hello,

David, I think that if the music industry is ever going to rebound from the funk it's currently situated in, it's going to have to come from the independent smaller labels, not the majors such as Sony/BMG. The major labels have only to look to themselves killing the industry. Before long the only stores that will carry music will also be the majors such as Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy, etc. The industry can't be taken seriously when I can go into a FYE store and see a CD on the racks for $18.99 and then turn around and go into say a Wal-Mart and see that same new CD on sale for $9.99. I personally saw this happen with E1. Also you can buy a new DVD release at Wal-Mart for less than the cost of the new CD at FYE. And at the end of the day a movie is going to provide more entertainment value than a CD. That's just the way the market shakes out. The Apple iPod cost eventually be the thing that could possibly level the playing field. I predict that within a few years you will be able to copy movies from your DVD onto your iPod for viewing at any time.

Oh, and yes indeed the iPod is a nifty little thing. (I have a 80 GB video playback and a 40 GB). That's a shitload of music.

Daryl

Hi David,

Great to hear from you.


smallville is one of my favourate programes so i like Vertical Horizon they are cool ,they are also on the soundtrack,i enjoy all kinds of music.

thx for making such a great sounding (nothing else like it atm)cd and giving Elvis such a massive sellar.

Gerry

Good question and certainly not one that has been asked here before, which of course I always thought was strange.
I started with BMG in 1988 and was there until I think Jan 2004. I was hired in Canada and was transferred to New York in 1995. The main reason was that Bob Jamieson, my boss has made President of RCA and he took me with him.
Bob had a great run a RCA with Dave Matthews, Christine Aguilara and one of my bands Vertical Horizon. He turned the compmay around in a few years and was promoted to a more "suit "job in the Corporate BMG office.
He really did not like it and was later moved back to the Presidency at RCA. That was about the time we made E1.
I do not think BMG really much respect for Bob as they fired him shortly after the success of E1. At that time they merged RCA and Arista together and Clive Davis took over both companies.
Clive is a great record man, BUT he really saw me as a Bob Jamieson guy and not a Clive guy. If you know anything about Clive Davis he really appreciates and demands a lot of loyalty and respect from his employees and has quite a high turnover rate.
I was told there was a head count issue and I was the one to take the bullett in my department. I was also still under contract, it was not the end of the world.
To be honest I feel really lucky. At the time I think I was miserable and worried for about a week. I also knew by that time they had gone behind my back to work with Ray on E2. In some way I was almost relieved at that too, as I did not think the record was a strong as E1 musically or sonically. It was a follow up. I wanted to end on a high note.

So after may years of loyalty I was out on my own, I also knew that the business was changing and that I needed to be on the front end of the curve in making records. American Idol had become the cornerstone of BMG. It really was not my scene. People had really stopped buying CD's, and I saw the infrastructure start to crumble and the amalgamations start to turf out thousands of people. Within a year after I left BMG it was now a joint venture with SONY/BMG.

On the day I was retired from RCA you really have to remember that another 60 people of 112 were also sent home.Whole departments at.RCA records was completely dismantled and the company that Bob had built was gone forever. I was sad months before I was sent home, There was no reason for me to stay. I mean who would want to work with Simon Cowell on AI LOL?

I knew my calling was to make records with young artists. It was a tough climb back to the top of the charts, especially at my age.
A lot of the artists I produce and mix these days would be alien to 99% of this board. I am doing what I really want to do working with the future of the music business.
So there is the story, but remember one thing.
Behind every great story there is a better back story. There have been many instances at many companies where it is not "cool" to have the kind of success I had there. I had signed artists to that label that had sold in total over 20 million records long before E1 was released.
I was a prime target for a reason.

As a side note, there is not one person at the company in the USA today that I know of that had anything to do with the success of E1. And that folks, kinda says it all.

On more more side note, since I have left RCA here is what has happened in the biz.
BMG publishing has been sold, Warner Brothers has been bought by private investment and the stock price is down, EMI and Capitol have merged and are up for sale right now, MCA has closed, Dreamworks has closed, and sales are off about 10% a year on CD'S in a downward trend.

Apple looks poised to run the biz to me. That ipod is pretty nifty.

David, all very interesting reading....

Out of curiosity how much life is left in the CD industry in
your opinion?

In years?

What do you forsee in the future for Elvis in the industry
5 , 10, 15 or even 20 years in the future?

Did you personally know pretty much as much as Ernst did at
the time when you were under contract with RCA relating to
what was there in Elvis material left to be released and what
is left to find?

Did you, yourself ever adventure into the vaults on your own?

Would you have had access to the vaults?

Would there be anything that you feel is really exciting that
hasn't been released yet which really kinda blew you away
regarding Elvis material.....?

If you would have stayed on, what more would you have liked
to have done with Elvis' material?

What changes would you have made if involved with
the FTD team?

Is their anyone else in your opinion who could do better
with the Elvis catolgue and if so why?

Thank you in advance for the answers....

PEP

Since I only come here about twice a year I will try to answer some questions. However, having said that, please remember that I am also aware of the fact that my opinion is completey irrelevant to some posters on this board and over the years I have taken a lot of flack.

Some is warranted and some is unwarranted, either way I am not ashamed, if anything as I have stated many times before this has been one of the best learning experiences of my life, and I have really met some amazing people through the Elvis Presley CD. I owe a lot of thanks to many people who are also true Elvis fans who I still speak to weekly online and who all live around the world. They come from all walks of life and have been nothing but a complete inspiration to me as I moved on to my next phase in music, Which is now the present.
Please excuse me if I dont have the right answers, I never pretended to know it all, In the big scheme of Elvis Presley's music I am sure every one of you wipe the floor with me.

If I regret anything on E1 It would be not allowing the real listeners to hear my mixes pre-mastering. We really needed to bump that record up to make it palatable for the masses. A great release would be the unmastered versions, It would INSTANTLY make a lot of you understand this record in a different manner. It would be" au natural" and of a normal listening level with great clarity for more of the audiophile experts.

Below I will try to answer what I can:





David, all very interesting reading....

Out of curiosity how much life is left in the CD industry in
your opinion?

The CD Industry as we know it has long passed. It is a dead format. People take a CD and put it onto a hard drive. It sure beats walking around with 50 CD's.
Bestbuy and Walmart do not sell CD'S cheap to make a lot of money, they bring people into the store to buy ipods.

In years?
A year or two ago the CD was dead. Right around the time everyone discovered you could buy 100 blanks for $9.99. Also right about the time the digital revolution was happening on a worlwide level.

What do you forsee in the future for Elvis in the industry
5 , 10, 15 or even 20 years in the future?

Elvis will bypass time simply based on the fact that it is not just about the music, It is about the lifestyle and the story of a man's life. He had a big family!! It will be passed on much like the bible was passed on through the generations. The disciples are you and your children.

Did you personally know pretty much as much as Ernst did at
the time when you were under contract with RCA relating to
what was there in Elvis material left to be released and what
is left to find?

Ernst is a historian, and a man who knows this catalogue extremely well. I mean the guy has written books. Ernst probably knows more about what is really there than anyone living. We did not always see eye to eye creatively, thats expected, I made records, Ernst found them to make.

Did you, yourself ever adventure into the vaults on your own?

I physically saw and read every tape I worked on. I was very lucky to have seen the real tapes, that is about all I can say on this.

Would you have had access to the vaults?

Yes as an employee of RCA I did. No different than Ernst.

Would there be anything that you feel is really exciting that
hasn't been released yet which really kinda blew you away
regarding Elvis material.....?

This is a fishing question. I know that people are always trying to find "lost tapes" I know that there is a team of people that are constantly scouring the earth for the hidden treasure. In answer to your question, I really dont know. If I was a gambling man the answer would be YES.

If you would have stayed on, what more would you have liked
to have done with Elvis' material?

I would have put better compilations together with better mixes, I would have tried my luck at a surround of the 68 comeback special, and the MSG multitrack show. As a package they could have been sensational. I also would have continued with some of the remixes and duets that are currently seeing success in the market. I am so glad they stole my Celine idea!!!!!
Right about now I would be doing a special record of Elvis songs with My chemical romance, fallout boy, paramore, Red jumpsuit apparatus, Panic at the disco and Green day.
CONFUSED?? ask your kids, they will fill you in.
That would of course be your next generation.

What changes would you have made if involved with
the FTD team?

From what I know they are doing everything they can to deliver the best they can with the budget they have.

Is their anyone else in your opinion who could do better
with the Elvis catolgue and if so why?

An old industry always needs young blood. You need to move with the times. Nothing ever stands still in the music business. All you need to do is look at Elvis's decades of work to figure that one out. HE EVOLVED. Sometimes change is good, It sure as hell helped me. At first resistance, then you welcome in the new. Its the way of the world. I am sure none of you are the same people you were 10 years ago.


Thank you in advance for the answers....

Daryl, next year there will be more people with more music on their phone than you have now on your ipod.
They will also have the movies to go along with them.

Hello,

David, I think that if the music industry is ever going to rebound from the funk it's currently situated in, it's going to have to come from the independent smaller labels, not the majors such as Sony/BMG. The major labels have only to look to themselves killing the industry. Before long the only stores that will carry music will also be the majors such as Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy, etc. The industry can't be taken seriously when I can go into a FYE store and see a CD on the racks for $18.99 and then turn around and go into say a Wal-Mart and see that same new CD on sale for $9.99. I personally saw this happen with E1. Also you can buy a new DVD release at Wal-Mart for less than the cost of the new CD at FYE. And at the end of the day a movie is going to provide more entertainment value than a CD. That's just the way the market shakes out. The Apple iPod cost eventually be the thing that could possibly level the playing field. I predict that within a few years you will be able to copy movies from your DVD onto your iPod for viewing at any time.

Oh, and yes indeed the iPod is a nifty little thing. (I have a 80 GB video playback and a 40 GB). That's a shitload of music.

Daryl

On more more side note, since I have left RCA here is what has happened in the biz. BMG publishing has been sold, Warner Brothers has been bought by private investment and the stock price is down, EMI and Capitol have merged and are up for sale right now, MCA has closed, Dreamworks has closed, and sales are off about 10% a year on CD'S in a downward trend.

I've actually seen numbers of 20% or more in decline of physical CD sales year-over-year, and while the decrease has been very steady in the last couple of years this seems to be the first year where sales seem to be falling off exponentially, just out of nowhere!

Even SonyBMG has reacted to that trend and for the first time ever will soon reissue some out-of-print soundtracks in digital format only without any equivalent retail versions. I wouldn't be surprised at all if the rest of the catalog would be reissued in the same fashion.

I would bet new compilations would probably still be issued as physical products, but I don't foresee another round of upgrades to the back catalog in that format. EMI's recent announcement to provide DRM-free CD-quality downloads to online consumers is just the beginning.

I like everyone!!

Last edited by David Bendeth on Mon May 21, 2007 2:42 am, edited 1 time in total.

This has been a very interesting thread, thanks guys!

Hello,

David, do you have any idea how well 30 #1 hits has sold to this day. The last RIAA certification was for 4 million a few years back. Also do you have any idea what worldwide sales are at?

Daryl

Daryl, the reported sales in late 2006 were between 12-15 million worldwide, I remember reading that in a news article somewhere.

David Bendith wrote:
Now, whats your solution to selling more Elvis records?

***************************************

That was really sarcastic and high toned.

I suppose your "solution" is using a Beatles cd model, throwing alot of hype and marketing at it, and not paying any detail to sound.


Yes that will sell alot of records. But as an Elvis fan I am more concerned about quality rather than quanity. That is why I appreciate FTD.

I don't usually agree with the doc. But the doc wins first round.

Hello David,

I have another question for you in regards to the use of alternate takes/performances of "A Fool Such As I", "A Big Hunk O' Love" and "The Wonder Of You." Did Ernst Jorgensen/Roger Semon ever tell you personally that you were using the wrong versions prior to E1 coming out? I think it's absurd that such an Elvis expert as Ernst/Roger are would overlook this. If Ernst/Roger really cared about the success of the record, wouldn't he have said something, given the research credit both he and Roger got in the booklet to E1. This leads me to one of those conspiracy theories that Ernst deliberately didn't tell you. It sounds to me as if Ernst only used E1 to pad his own resume, much like he tried to with Elvis, That's The Way It Is-Special Edition. What Doc. Carpenter won't tell you/can't tell you David is that because of Ernst's expertise, you weren't the first person to get fired on a project shortly after completion. Look no further than Rick Schmidlin, who got canned shortly after the premiere of the Warner Brothers film "Elvis, That's The Way It Is-Special Edition" in August 2000. Ernst Jorgensen served as a consultant on this film, which bombed terribly here in the U.S.

Oh, Doc, why do you have to be the last one not to use a screen name. Maybe you could be a trend-setter. Last time I checked, people who are willing to do things first with success are the trend-setters of this world, not those who want to jump on the bandwagon long after it came through.

So don't let 2000 other people hold you up, if there are that many people on this board who also use pseudonyms, which I seriously doubt. That my friend is a hyperbole.

Daryl