Hits of the 70s / Soundboards - the voice of sanity

It was refreshing to read the following in the latest edition of ETMAHM, CD review section.

In his review of (or perhaps, more accurately, reaction to) the FTD ‘Hits Of The 70s’ release, Gordon Minto has the following to say :

“The whole thing presents as a very strong collection and, in my view, has as much, if not more, validity as a release than some of those godawful and rancid live recordings from the 70s that simply do not compare at all with his best live work and add not one iota to his musical memory. And please don’t give me that horse-shit about being a different performance : how many versions do you/we need of a lame song performed sloppily ?”

Although I have not bought Hits Of The 70s, it’s quite possible that I will. It contains masters that I already have (many times) but, hey, should we not focus on the masters for a change ? There has been far too much released of Elvis’s work, over the last 10 years and more. It has noticeably diluted his body of work and I have bought many CDs that I have played only once. The accumulated cost has been quite staggering and, with hindsight, I wish I could have been much more selective. If I played a different Elvis CD from my collection every day next year, I wouldn't get through them all

It is regrettable that, perhaps from 1973 onwards, Elvis’s shows became increasingly sloppy in presentation and so dismissive of his early rock ‘n’ roll hits ; and whilst I love the classic LPs, overall I think I preferred the Essential Elvis volumes and the early FTD approach, using perhaps just the cream of the outtakes.

Incidentally, the latest ETMAHM is a most excellent read, especially (and, for me, surprisingly) the Ed Bonja interview.

Steve Morse

Yes, but about 15 years ago, didn't you once dream about the possibliity of owning many of Elvis' live concert performances at a time when very few existed, except from (mostly) dodgy audience recordings? That's one of the reasons why this collectors label was set up. I don't think 15 years ago, that collectors dreamed of getting yet another 'greatest hits' collection for over £20 on their label.

It was refreshing to read the following in the latest edition of ETMAHM, CD review section.

In his review of (or perhaps, more accurately, reaction to) the FTD ‘Hits Of The 70s’ release, Gordon Minto has the following to say :

“The whole thing presents as a very strong collection and, in my view, has as much, if not more, validity as a release than some of those godawful and rancid live recordings from the 70s that simply do not compare at all with his best live work and add not one iota to his musical memory. And please don’t give me that horse-shit about being a different performance : how many versions do you/we need of a lame song performed sloppily ?”

Although I have not bought Hits Of The 70s, it’s quite possible that I will. It contains masters that I already have (many times) but, hey, should we not focus on the masters for a change ? There has been far too much released of Elvis’s work, over the last 10 years and more. It has noticeably diluted his body of work and I have bought many CDs that I have played only once. The accumulated cost has been quite staggering and, with hindsight, I wish I could have been much more selective. If I played a different Elvis CD from my collection every day next year, I wouldn't get through them all

It is regrettable that, perhaps from 1973 onwards, Elvis’s shows became increasingly sloppy in presentation and so dismissive of his early rock ‘n’ roll hits ; and whilst I love the classic LPs, overall I think I preferred the Essential Elvis volumes and the early FTD approach, using perhaps just the cream of the outtakes.

Incidentally, the latest ETMAHM is a most excellent read, especially (and, for me, surprisingly) the Ed Bonja interview.

Steve Morse

I don't believe that anyone anywhere has said that the release of this item is a bad one, or that the concept of a 70s hits package is a bad one. The argument has been that its place is not on the collectors label, because there is literally nothing here for the collector who has everything.

As a nice double album for a tenner at retail level, it would have filled a hole in the market (ie a lack of a 70s hits package), and probably would have sold better than many Elvis releases as casual fans would have recognised the cover of the album they bought 30+ years earlier on LP and were rather fond of. The continued success of It's Christmas Time shows that the public like to buy on CD the album they had on LP.

But there is nothing here to warrant the £20 price tag or the inclusion on the collectors label. Going by the logic of this release, the Legacy editions should/could have been released on FTD too as they are nothing but an album padded out with extra masters, the same as Hits of the 70s.

How do you guys feel about a possible FTD on the ( RCA PL 89287) I Can Help and Other Great Hits ?

How do you guys feel about a possible FTD on the ( RCA PL 89287) I Can Help and Other Great Hits ?

The answer would be "what is the point?"

It was refreshing to read the following in the latest edition of ETMAHM, CD review section.

In his review of (or perhaps, more accurately, reaction to) the FTD ‘Hits Of The 70s’ release, Gordon Minto has the following to say :

“The whole thing presents as a very strong collection and, in my view, has as much, if not more, validity as a release than some of those godawful and rancid live recordings from the 70s that simply do not compare at all with his best live work and add not one iota to his musical memory. And please don’t give me that horse-shit about being a different performance : how many versions do you/we need of a lame song performed sloppily ?”

This statement makes a mockery of the collectors' purpose of FTD, I can live with the 70`s Hits..it`s a great
release.. but I live better with all the unreleased soundboards ..one of the reasons why this label has been found.:

Hell while were at it, lets have FTD do these also since I love these covers also!!!

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I don't believe that anyone anywhere has said that the release of this item is a bad one, or that the concept of a 70s hits package is a bad one. The argument has been that its place is not on the collectors label, because there is literally nothing here for the collector who has everything.

Agreed... but I may pick it up at some point because I don't own TCM with the VA remastered tracks.

It was refreshing to read the following in the latest edition of ETMAHM, CD review section.

In his review of (or perhaps, more accurately, reaction to) the FTD ‘Hits Of The 70s’ release, Gordon Minto has the following to say :

“The whole thing presents as a very strong collection and, in my view, has as much, if not more, validity as a release than some of those godawful and rancid live recordings from the 70s that simply do not compare at all with his best live work and add not one iota to his musical memory. And please don’t give me that horse-shit about being a different performance : how many versions do you/we need of a lame song performed sloppily ?”

The are threads already discussing the merits (or lack thereof) of Hit Of The 70s that this post would have been fine in. Anyway, if Gordon and the like believe a collectors label is a valid outlet for masters compilations we should should hang our heads in defeat. It is not more valid than a soundboard release on FTD because FTD exists to provide rare, unreleased and collectable material that would otherwise not come out on the main label. I'm surprised after 13 years any fan would not grasp this. Hits Of The 70s is a main label type of product, not an FTD type of product - if fans believe that it is the type of product that should be on FTD they only have themselves to blame for future redundant titles at premium pricing. "In my view" Gordon has this completely wrong.

It was refreshing to read the following in the latest edition of ETMAHM, CD review section.

In his review of (or perhaps, more accurately, reaction to) the FTD ‘Hits Of The 70s’ release, Gordon Minto has the following to say :

“The whole thing presents as a very strong collection and, in my view, has as much, if not more, validity as a release than some of those godawful and rancid live recordings from the 70s that simply do not compare at all with his best live work and add not one iota to his musical memory. And please don’t give me that horse-shit about being a different performance : how many versions do you/we need of a lame song performed sloppily ?”

Although I have not bought Hits Of The 70s, it’s quite possible that I will. It contains masters that I already have (many times) but, hey, should we not focus on the masters for a change ? There has been far too much released of Elvis’s work, over the last 10 years and more. It has noticeably diluted his body of work and I have bought many CDs that I have played only once. The accumulated cost has been quite staggering and, with hindsight, I wish I could have been much more selective. If I played a different Elvis CD from my collection every day next year, I wouldn't get through them all

It is regrettable that, perhaps from 1973 onwards, Elvis’s shows became increasingly sloppy in presentation and so dismissive of his early rock ‘n’ roll hits ; and whilst I love the classic LPs, overall I think I preferred the Essential Elvis volumes and the early FTD approach, using perhaps just the cream of the outtakes.

Incidentally, the latest ETMAHM is a most excellent read, especially (and, for me, surprisingly) the Ed Bonja interview.

Steve Morse

I don't believe that anyone anywhere has said that the release of this item is a bad one, or that the concept of a 70s hits package is a bad one. The argument has been that its place is not on the collectors label, because there is literally nothing here for the collector who has everything.

As a nice double album for a tenner at retail level, it would have filled a hole in the market (ie a lack of a 70s hits package), and probably would have sold better than many Elvis releases as casual fans would have recognised the cover of the album they bought 30+ years earlier on LP and were rather fond of. The continued success of It's Christmas Time shows that the public like to buy on CD the album they had on LP.

But there is nothing here to warrant the £20 price tag or the inclusion on the collectors label. Going by the logic of this release, the Legacy editions should/could have been released on FTD too as they are nothing but an album padded out with extra masters, the same as Hits of the 70s.

Well said poormadpeter

Hits Of The 70s is a main label type of product, not an FTD type of product - if fans believe that it is the type of product that should be on FTD they only have themselves to blame for future redundant titles at premium pricing. "In my view" Gordon has this completely wrong.

Spot on.

Hits Of The 70s is a main label type of product, not an FTD type of product - if fans believe that it is the type of product that should be on FTD they only have themselves to blame for future redundant titles at premium pricing. "In my view" Gordon has this completely wrong.

Spot on.

+ 1

The are threads already discussing the merits (or lack thereof) of Hit Of The 70s that this post would have been fine in. Anyway, if Gordon and the like believe a collectors label is a valid outlet for masters compilations we should should hang our heads in defeat. It is not more valid than a soundboard release on FTD because FTD exists to provide rare, unreleased and collectable material that would otherwise not come out on the main label. I'm surprised after 13 years any fan would not grasp this. Hits Of The 70s is a main label type of product, not an FTD type of product - if fans believe that it is the type of product that should be on FTD they only have themselves to blame for future redundant titles at premium pricing. "In my view" Gordon has this completely wrong.

Well said, Matthew.

I want the CAMDEN releases as CLASSIC SERIES 7" FTD CDs

And of course A Legendary Performe Vol.1-4 too !!

I want the CAMDEN releases as CLASSIC SERIES 7" FTD CDs

And of course A Legendary Performe Vol.1-4 too !!

In the case of something like "Let's be friends", you will be paying £21 for around 20 minutes of music already available elsewhere. Would you be happy with that? These albums have already seen a CD release fairly recently.

I want the CAMDEN releases as CLASSIC SERIES 7" FTD CDs

And of course A Legendary Performe Vol.1-4 too !!

In the case of something like "Let's be friends", you will be paying £21 for around 20 minutes of music already available elsewhere. Would you be happy with that? These albums have already seen a CD release fairly recently.

Well the best Camden albums could be extended with outtakes etc and might be a way of collecting together the last soundtracks etc.

YES I would be Happy

I want the CAMDEN releases as CLASSIC SERIES 7" FTD CDs

And of course A Legendary Performe Vol.1-4 too !!

In the case of something like "Let's be friends", you will be paying £21 for around 20 minutes of music already available elsewhere. Would you be happy with that? These albums have already seen a CD release fairly recently.

It was refreshing to read the following in the latest edition of ETMAHM, CD review section.

In his review of (or perhaps, more accurately, reaction to) the FTD ‘Hits Of The 70s’ release, Gordon Minto has the following to say :

“The whole thing presents as a very strong collection and, in my view, has as much, if not more, validity as a release than some of those godawful and rancid live recordings from the 70s that simply do not compare at all with his best live work and add not one iota to his musical memory. And please don’t give me that horse-shit about being a different performance : how many versions do you/we need of a lame song performed sloppily ?”

This statement makes a mockery of the collectors' purpose of FTD, I can live with the 70`s Hits..it`s a great
release.. but I live better with all the unreleased soundboards ..one of the reasons why this label has been found.:

It also makes a bit of a mockery of fans like me who are relatively new fans (12 years in my case). There might not be many of us, but we're not yet totally saturated or worn out by bootlegs or FTD soundboards, and we're not yet entering a certain stage of life filled with regret over the Elvis we've purchased. Iguess that's maybe yet to come to all of us! But it hasn't come to all of us yet.

It also makes a bit of a mockery of fans like me who are relatively new fans (12 years in my case). There might not be many of us, but we're not yet totally saturated or worn out by bootlegs or FTD soundboards, and we're not yet entering a certain stage of life filled with regret over the Elvis we've purchased. Iguess that's maybe yet to come to all of us! But it hasn't come to all of us yet.

Absolutely...

Gordon is an excellent writer and I always enjoyed his reviews of 1950s-early 60s/1968-1970 releases but beyond that he pretty well regards everything else as sub par. This was the reason I stopped subscribing to Man and His Music after many, many years. Reviews of soundboards and studio cds that did not fall into Gordon's area of enjoyment were panned in no uncertain terms. I used to wish that Trevor would only ask Gordon to review cds in his area of appreciation and leave the rest to someone that could tell us about the uniqueness of certain takes or live performance and possibly something to listen to that we may not have noticed initially. No one ever expects outtakes to be better than the original releases in general but it is still nice to hear something different.
Fans like myself are collectors looking for unreleased material and to this end, FTD was a godsend. I used to buy EVERY FTD release until the troika of Elvis Country/TTWII/Love Letters which had so little unreleased complete outtakes that I became somewhat disenchanted and subsequently more selective in my purchases.
Some of the recent releases like 'He Touched Me', 'Promised Land', Hawaii to Vegas were just magnificient for new material and this is what FTD should still be about in my mind. I'm sure the upcoming 3000 South Paradise Road will be great but why not give us a completely new soundboard rather than one that has been out on boot (I know some of you will say that FTD has nothing to do with boots but with so many unreleased soundboards in the vaults, we certainly deserve something totally new after all those years of rebuying the same old packages in the 80s-early 90s for a new mix or extened ending or surprise alternate take).
Hits of the 70s is not something I would ever buy but I don't mind its escape unless it is at the cost of something unreleased.
In the end, I'm thankful for the FTD label and to all the hard work and tremendous releases put out by Ernst and Roger but I will be selective with what I buy as I get older (and wiser?). My must buys will always be the special 'all unreleased' cds like Elvis sings Guitar Man/Out in Hollywood /Jungle Room Sessions/Nashville Marathon/Stage Rehearsal/I Sing All Kinds and previously unheard soundboards from any year.
As far as the topic title, the voice of sanity would be to stop wasting money on a performer that has been dead over 35 years. As collectors we are not totally sane but we should be able to spend the high cost of FTD in this economic climate in being able to purchase totally unheard material.
I would be curious to see what would happen if FTD started something like i-tunes where we could pay to download just what we wanted. Would a previously released track in a new Vic Aneseni mix sell as well as a Lene Reidel unreleased complete take?
Lucio

Follow That Dream records should set up an offshoot whereby releases of such type as Hits of the 70's can be released maybe at half the cost. The FTD must get back to the basic principle on why it was established in 1999.

First of all, maybe I should have put a question mark in my title !

Actually, my point was less about FTD or price points and more to do with the comparative merits of the recordings - in particular Gordon Minto's less than complimentary comments about Elvis's stage show in the later years.

I wholeheartedly agree that Hits Of The 70s ought not to have been on FTD but on the main label and at a maximum price of £10.00.

Excellent post from Lucio.

Steve Morse

Hits Of The 70s is a main label type of product, not an FTD type of product - if fans believe that it is the type of product that should be on FTD they only have themselves to blame for future redundant titles at premium pricing. "In my view" Gordon has this completely wrong.

Spot on.

I believe it would have made a nice Legacy release, as no alternate feature on the release, u could also have made it a twofer, perhaps with ELVIS IN DEMAND ?

Hits Of The 70s is a main label type of product, not an FTD type of product - if fans believe that it is the type of product that should be on FTD they only have themselves to blame for future redundant titles at premium pricing. "In my view" Gordon has this completely wrong.

Spot on.

+ 1

+ 2
Only by including the rare mono versions would this have been a justifiable FTD collectors' release.

Of course the song selection is great - but I can compile the same list from the CDs I already own.

Cheers, Piers

For all of the complaints, anyone wiling to seriously address:

(1) How Sony would market a UK-only, '70s hit collection for worldwide retail?
(2) Why this FTD is a best seller?