... and the BEST about the SONY BOX is ...

Anything about Elvis
More than 100 Million visitors can't be wrong

Moderators: Moderator5, Moderator3, FECC-Moderator, Site Mechanic

Post Reply

User avatar

Topic author
luckyjackson1
Posts: 9154
Registered for: 13 years 9 months
Location: Germany, pretty close to Bad Nauheim
Has thanked: 1810 times
Been thanked: 1154 times

... and the BEST about the SONY BOX is ...

#832868

Post by luckyjackson1 »

... of course the sound quality of the first 27 Discs!!!

Please don't kill me as I started yet another thread on this.
But the number of viewings on the previous onces show me that there MUST BE some kind of interest in this topic... :mrgreen:


And I would like to say a special THANK YOU to elvissessions and MysteryTrain for their wonderful contributions, who (unlike me) make this board an entertaining, valuable and reliable source for Elvis fans all around the world! ::rocks


Anyway, here's Part 1 of my observations:

I have to mention that I didn’t own the Franklin Mint set, so I listened to most of the remasters for the first time.

Some issues have probably been already on the master tapes and some have been probably mentioned before. Sorry for repeating.

I know not every comment here is positive. It's just mine and not necessarily everybody's opinion... :wink:

At the same time I again bring up a lot of questions that need to be answered.

One thing I noticed real bad is that on quite a few songs during the intro there are drop-outs.
Are they new (aging of tape?) or have they already been there but never quite that audible?

Now let's finally focus on some songs / sessions:

The “Love Me Tender” session sounds really clear now, fantastic improved sound!

Did they probably take “Let Me” from scratch and use the audio track and Elvis’ vocal overdub to combine them a-new?

Finally the intro of “How’s The World Treating You” doesn’t sound like it’s been spliced anymore (right before Elvis starts singing).

There are drop-outs on the ending of “Got A Lot O’ Livin’ To Do!”

It’s funny because “One Night” sounds like it has been no-noised. I have no proof for that. Just a thought because there's virtually no tape-hiss audible to my ears.

Immediately after that follows “True Love”, which has a whole lot of tape hiss on it. Did the engineers back then also use noise reduction? Probably during the process of copying the master on a different reel?

“Surrender” sounds marvelous!

The Splice on “In My Father’s House (Are Many Mansions)” sounds a little sloppy, as the spliced part comes in a split second too fast.

I never heard “In My Way” in such a fantastic sound quality!

There’s a drop-out on the first drum-hit of “Steppin’ Out Of Line”, Elvis’ voice is still overdriven.

I never cared too much for “I Met Her Today” but here the sound is simply astonishing. A crystal clear beauty!

Unfortunately the edited tracks from the “Kid Galahad”-soundtrack have been released again in its edited form. It makes perfect sense as the unedited versions were released for the first time in 1993. I never before heard Elvis humming along on the intro of “Home Is Where The Heart Is”!

“She’s Not You” is slightly clipped on the beginning but the strange sound on 2:05 is still audible (finger snap or creaky bone ?).

Strange, but they also used the short stereo version of “Mama”.

“Dainty Little Moonbeams” still leads into the finale of “Girls! Girls! Girls!”

Finally they corrected the splice on “Plantation Rock”. But compared to “I Don’t Wanna Be Tied” (the previous track), it sounds unbelievably flat!

Listen to the right channel on the intro of “Marguerita” - the acoustic guitar is clearly audible.

The intro to “Spring Fever” is slightly clipped, therefore the Jordanaires sing “pring fever”.

The intro to “Scratch My Back (Then I’ll Scratch Yours)” is still clipped, but hey, who cares?

“Down In The Alley” has the correct intro without missing any drumbeat.

The error on the intro of “Fools Fall In Love” has been corrected.

“I’ll Remember You” is the original edited version.

“I’ll Take Love” still has the bad splicing job close to the end.

“Sing You Children” has an sloppy, amateurish fade-out job, it fades out with a lot of echo and then there’s a sound that reminds me of a skipping record… ???

The drum hit on the ending of “Clambake” is stil there (was missing on the “Double Features” and restored for the FTD).

The strange reverb on “Let Yourself Go” (Version 1) is finally gone again.

“High Heel Sneakers” is the originally edited version.

“You Don't Know Me (Record Version)” has the fixed ending.

“Stay Away” has the longer fade-out.

“Wonderful World” and “Edge Of Reality” have the original fade-outs.

“A Little Less Conversation” is the single version (Take 16) with the longer fade-out.

“Swing Down Sweet Chariot” (Version 2) is unfortunately the overdubbed version - one more reason to keep the “Double Features” CD that contains the original undubbed version.

“Signs Of The Zodiac” has a lot of (additional?) echo. So what…?

“Mama Liked The Roses” has the longest fade-out.

“My Little Friend” is the remixed version as used first on the “Almost In Love”-LP.

“In The Ghetto” has the original fade-out.

“Rubberneckin’” is the remixed version as used first on the “Almost In Love”-LP.

“Without Love (There Is Nothing)” has a slight early fade.

“I'll Hold You In My Heart (Till I Can Hold You In My Arms)” has a rather bad “intro-job”.

“Suspicious Minds” fades again at 4:19.

“Any Day Now” still has the strange “distant” sound.

… to be continued …
Last edited by luckyjackson1 on Tue Nov 09, 2010 12:11 am, edited 1 time in total.


When the evening shadows fall
And you're wondering who to call
For a little company
There's always me


Claus

Re: ... and the BEST about the SONY BOX is ...

#832870

Post by Claus »

luckyjackson1 wrote:
The intro to “Scratch My Back (Then I’ll Scratch Yours)” is still clipped, but hey, who cares?
It was released like that in 1966

“My Little Friend” is the remixed version as used first on the “Almost In Love”-LP.
“Rubberneckin’” is the remixed version as used first on the “Almost In Love”-LP.
they were the only stereo mixes released during Elvis' lifetime.



User avatar

TCB-FAN
Posts: 10279
Registered for: 14 years 11 months
Has thanked: 242 times
Been thanked: 1440 times

Re: ... and the BEST about the SONY BOX is ...

#832873

Post by TCB-FAN »

Lucky, you must have a good set of ear drums. (and headphones). Great job on the observation. Such a shame on some of the pre-mature fade outs and clipped intros on some of the tracks. Bummer. :(


"If The Songs Don't Go Over With The Crowd, We Can Always Do A Medley Of Costumes."

Elvis A. Presley, 1970

User avatar

L Ray
Posts: 3258
Registered for: 16 years 6 months
Location: California USA
Has thanked: 495 times
Been thanked: 949 times
Age: 72

Re: ... and the BEST about the SONY BOX is ...

#832876

Post by L Ray »

Thanks for your observations. I don't have either of the 2 sets. Nice to read your report.




Gabriel
Posts: 1021
Registered for: 18 years 1 month
Been thanked: 2 times
Age: 46

Re: ... and the BEST about the SONY BOX is ...

#832878

Post by Gabriel »

luckyjackson1 wrote:Unfortunately the edited tracks from the “Kid Galahad”-soundtrack have been released again in its edited form. It makes perfect sense as the unedited versions were released for the first time in 193.
Wow,that was a long time ago! :wink:



User avatar

Topic author
luckyjackson1
Posts: 9154
Registered for: 13 years 9 months
Location: Germany, pretty close to Bad Nauheim
Has thanked: 1810 times
Been thanked: 1154 times

Re: ... and the BEST about the SONY BOX is ...

#832879

Post by luckyjackson1 »

Claus, thank you for the reminder. I'm aware of that, so it obviously was the correct choice to include the mentioned versions.

Oops, Gabriel, thanks for spotting the typo. I corrected my post.


When the evening shadows fall
And you're wondering who to call
For a little company
There's always me


blue boy
Posts: 597
Registered for: 20 years
Been thanked: 4 times

Re: ... and the BEST about the SONY BOX is ...

#832906

Post by blue boy »

For me (still not come around to opening my box yet) the thrill is to
have the original album mixes. I heard Elvis that way first when I bought the vinylalbums. The fifthies albums was of course the electronic stereo albums, but I have never liked all those improved CD's released over the years as they never sounded like what I was used to. So I hope this box are true to the vinyls.



User avatar

Walter Hale 4
Posts: 17051
Registered for: 17 years 11 months
Has thanked: 4705 times
Been thanked: 3526 times

Re: ... and the BEST about the SONY BOX is ...

#832921

Post by Walter Hale 4 »

Quote Luckyjackson - “Any Day Now” still has the strange “distant” sound.

It's good to read your observations but i thought this thread was meant to be "The Best of the Sony Box". Be consistent now :smt003



User avatar

James27
Posts: 4979
Registered for: 20 years 11 months
Has thanked: 692 times
Been thanked: 418 times

Re: ... and the BEST about the SONY BOX is ...

#832922

Post by James27 »

Thanks, it's been very interesting to read your posts about this box set. 8)
luckyjackson1 wrote:... of course the sound quality of the first 27 Discs!!!

Please don't kill me as I started yet another thread on this.
But the number of viewings on the previous onces show me that there MUST BE some kind of interest in this topic... :mrgreen:


And I would like to say a special THANK YOU to elvissessions and MysteryTrain for their wonderful contributions, who (unlike me) make this board an entertaining, valuable and reliable source for Elvis fans all around the world! ::rocks


Anyway, here's Part 1 of my observations:

I have to mention that I didn’t own the Franklin Mint set, so I listened to most of the remasters for the first time.

Some issues have probably been already on the master tapes and some have been probably mentioned before. Sorry for repeating.

I know not every comment here is positive. It's just mine and not necessarily everybody's opinion... :wink:

At the same time I again bring up a lot of questions that need to be answered.

One thing I noticed real bad is that on quite a few songs during the intro there are drop-outs.
Are they new (aging of tape?) or have they already been there but never quite that audible?

Now let's finally focus on some songs / sessions:

The “Love Me Tender” session sounds really clear now, fantastic improved sound!

Did they probably take “Let Me” from scratch and use the audio track and Elvis’ vocal overdub to combine them a-new?

Finally the intro of “How’s The World Treating You” doesn’t sound like it’s been spliced anymore (right before Elvis starts singing).

There are drop-outs on the ending of “Got A Lot O’ Livin’ To Do!”

It’s funny because “One Night” sounds like it has been no-noised. I have no proof for that. Just a thought because there's virtually no tape-hiss audible to my ears.

Immediately after that follows “True Love”, which has a whole lot of tape hiss on it. Did the engineers back then also use noise reduction? Probably during the process of copying the master on a different reel?

“Surrender” sounds marvelous!

The Splice on “In My Father’s House (Are Many Mansions)” sounds a little sloppy, as the spliced part comes in a split second too fast.

I never heard “In My Way” in such a fantastic sound quality!

There’s a drop-out on the first drum-hit of “Steppin’ Out Of Line”, Elvis’ voice is still overdriven.

I never cared too much for “I Met Her Today” but here the sound is simply astonishing. A crystal clear beauty!

Unfortunately the edited tracks from the “Kid Galahad”-soundtrack have been released again in its edited form. It makes perfect sense as the unedited versions were released for the first time in 1993. I never before heard Elvis humming along on the intro of “Home Is Where The Heart Is”!

“She’s Not You” is slightly clipped on the beginning but the strange sound on 2:05 is still audible (finger snap or creaky bone ?).

Strange, but they also used the short stereo version of “Mama”.

“Dainty Little Moonbeams” still leads into the finale of “Girls! Girls! Girls!”

Finally they corrected the splice on “Plantation Rock”. But compared to “I Don’t Wanna Be Tied” (the previous track), it sounds unbelievably flat!

Listen to the right channel on the intro of “Marguerita” - the acoustic guitar is clearly audible.

The intro to “Spring Fever” is slightly clipped, therefore the Jordanaires sing “pring fever”.

The intro to “Scratch My Back (Then I’ll Scratch Yours)” is still clipped, but hey, who cares?

“Down In The Alley” has the correct intro without missing any drumbeat.

The error on the intro of “Fools Fall In Love” has been corrected.

“I’ll Remember You” is the original edited version.

“I’ll Take Love” still has the bad splicing job close to the end.

“Sing You Children” has an sloppy, amateurish fade-out job, it fades out with a lot of echo and then there’s a sound that reminds me of a skipping record… ???

The drum hit on the ending of “Clambake” is stil there (was missing on the “Double Features” and restored for the FTD).

The strange reverb on “Let Yourself Go” (Version 1) is finally gone again.

“High Heel Sneakers” is the originally edited version.

“You Don't Know Me (Record Version)” has the fixed ending.

“Stay Away” has the longer fade-out.

“Wonderful World” and “Edge Of Reality” have the original fade-outs.

“A Little Less Conversation” is the single version (Take 16) with the longer fade-out.

“Swing Down Sweet Chariot” (Version 2) is unfortunately the overdubbed version - one more reason to keep the “Double Features” CD that contains the original undubbed version.

“Signs Of The Zodiac” has a lot of (additional?) echo. So what…?

“Mama Liked The Roses” has the longest fade-out.

“My Little Friend” is the remixed version as used first on the “Almost In Love”-LP.

“In The Ghetto” has the original fade-out.

“Rubberneckin’” is the remixed version as used first on the “Almost In Love”-LP.

“Without Love (There Is Nothing)” has a slight early fade.

“I'll Hold You In My Heart (Till I Can Hold You In My Arms)” has a rather bad “intro-job”.

“Suspicious Minds” fades again at 4:19.

“Any Day Now” still has the strange “distant” sound.

… to be continued …


Joe Krein interview with Sherril Nielsen: "YOU KNOW YOU FORGET HOW GOOD HE REALLY WAS. I SAID MY GOODNESS. YOU KNOW WHEN YOU ARE WITH HIM YOU ARE SO WRAPPED UP DOING THE SHOW, BUT HERE NOW 20 YEARS LATER, I HEAR HIM AND REALIZE WHAT A GREAT TALENT HE WAS. HE WAS THE REAL DEAL.

User avatar

Sessionman
Posts: 241
Registered for: 13 years 6 months
Has thanked: 19 times
Been thanked: 16 times

Re: ... and the BEST about the SONY BOX is ...

#832937

Post by Sessionman »

Thanks Luckyjackson1 ... very informative and interesting... awaiting with impatience the second helping.



User avatar

Mike C
Posts: 9728
Registered for: 20 years 11 months
Location: New Jersey
Has thanked: 3611 times
Been thanked: 2072 times
Age: 47

Re: ... and the BEST about the SONY BOX is ...

#833039

Post by Mike C »

Did anyone notice a slight pop or dropout about 4-5 seconds into "Golden Coins"? This could be where the original splice occurred.


"You go to school. I'm going out to make a buck!"
Elvis as Danny Fisher


Juan Luis

Re: ... and the BEST about the SONY BOX is ...

#833052

Post by Juan Luis »

"Any day Now" with strange distant sound imo was recorded that way for effect. So with remastering it will be closer and stranger. Not trying to be funny.



User avatar

Topic author
luckyjackson1
Posts: 9154
Registered for: 13 years 9 months
Location: Germany, pretty close to Bad Nauheim
Has thanked: 1810 times
Been thanked: 1154 times

Re: ... and the BEST about the SONY BOX is ...

#833065

Post by luckyjackson1 »

Thanks for all your kind words!
Mike C wrote:Did anyone notice a slight pop or dropout about 4-5 seconds into "Golden Coins"? This could be where the original splice occurred.
I haven't listened to "Golden Coins" yet.
Robt wrote:It's good to read your observations but i thought this thread was meant to be "The Best of the Sony Box". Be consistent now
Robt, thank you for that. And although I call the sound on "Any Day Now" strange, I wouldn't consider it "bad". I just realized that a lot of folks here don't like the mixing. I also enjoy the undubbed / unrepaired master and it's a nice alternation when I don't feel like listening to the master.

Oh, and by the way, as you probably read before on my first post:
luckyjackson1 wrote:I know not every comment here is positive.


When the evening shadows fall
And you're wondering who to call
For a little company
There's always me

User avatar

elvissessions
Posts: 2554
Registered for: 20 years
Been thanked: 7 times

Re: ... and the BEST about the SONY BOX is ...

#833067

Post by elvissessions »

The intro to “Spring Fever” is slightly clipped, therefore the Jordanaires sing “pring fever”.
It's this way on FTD (original pressing), Double Features, the Franklin Mint set and the recent CMG budget release.

That's the way it is, I think.
“She’s Not You” is slightly clipped on the beginning but the strange sound on 2:05 is still audible (finger snap or creaky bone ?).
Just to be clear, do you mean the opening is cut wrong, or there is audible distortion? I don't hear missing material, but I believe I know what you're referring to, if you mean the latter. However, if so, this is a very minor situation to my ears.



User avatar

Topic author
luckyjackson1
Posts: 9154
Registered for: 13 years 9 months
Location: Germany, pretty close to Bad Nauheim
Has thanked: 1810 times
Been thanked: 1154 times

Re: ... and the BEST about the SONY BOX is ...

#833085

Post by luckyjackson1 »

elvissessions wrote:Just to be clear, do you mean the opening is cut wrong, or there is audible distortion? I don't hear missing material, but I believe I know what you're referring to, if you mean the latter. However, if so, this is a very minor situation to my ears.
Hi elvissessions, it certainly is a minor situation.
There's no distortion, it just pops in a few milliseconds too late, so it sounds like "er hair is soft...". The "H" just isn't there anymore.
So I was talking about the intro being cut wrong. Sometimes my english is really insufficient. :wink:

And, as I said before: I'm a nitpicker. :D

But IIRC I've heard the "complete" intros on recent releases (just can't remember which ones). Maybe I'm wrong with "Spring Fever" though.


When the evening shadows fall
And you're wondering who to call
For a little company
There's always me


Claus

Re: ... and the BEST about the SONY BOX is ...

#833105

Post by Claus »

luckyjackson1 wrote:There's no distortion, it just pops in a few milliseconds too late, so it sounds like "er hair is soft...". The "H" just isn't there anymore.
So I was talking about the intro being cut wrong. Sometimes my english is really insufficient. :wink:
You may be on to something although I'm not completely sure.

Here's a clip

1. old cd
2. 2007 remaster

http://www.sendspace.com/file/inb8xd



User avatar

Thekingstillrocks
Posts: 463
Registered for: 19 years 9 months
Been thanked: 21 times

Re: ... and the BEST about the SONY BOX is ...

#833144

Post by Thekingstillrocks »

Lucky is on to something seriously, They worked so hard on getting the sound clean that, the vibrant sound of the sound disapears, and if you do, you remove audio parts in the high region . the natural accoustic of the studio and mic which wears Elvis voice is removed too and the sphere is changed. (Good sample you can notice yourself that, a voice sinks more into the mix.) As i said before you notice it very well on the 1969 recordings. The sound is "empty" if you compare it to the original vinyl , thats vibrant , The 24Bit from Japan do have it too , still the clostest to the vinyl sound.
But I still didn't hear every song



User avatar

Thekingstillrocks
Posts: 463
Registered for: 19 years 9 months
Been thanked: 21 times

Re: ... and the BEST about the SONY BOX is ...

#833164

Post by Thekingstillrocks »

The gospels of "His hand in Mine" on the Box are really very good !

For the diehards, the 24 Bit are much more like Vinyl but i prefer the versions on the boxset !
here you have the same groove but more detail with the instruments.



User avatar

Topic author
luckyjackson1
Posts: 9154
Registered for: 13 years 9 months
Location: Germany, pretty close to Bad Nauheim
Has thanked: 1810 times
Been thanked: 1154 times

Re: ... and the BEST about the SONY BOX is ...

#833167

Post by luckyjackson1 »

Thekingstillrocks wrote:The gospels of "His hand in Mine" on the Box are really very good !
Yes, they are! :D
I was already astonished when I heard the FTD and the "I Believe" box set. Wonderful. :smt007


When the evening shadows fall
And you're wondering who to call
For a little company
There's always me

User avatar

Walter Hale 4
Posts: 17051
Registered for: 17 years 11 months
Has thanked: 4705 times
Been thanked: 3526 times

Re: ... and the BEST about the SONY BOX is ...

#833169

Post by Walter Hale 4 »

luckyjackson1

My Friend, thanks but can you try to be a little more consistent when remarking on what you feel are the positives and the negatives of the Complete Masters?

Are the following tracks in your opinion, positive ?

"My Way" ( both 1971 and 1973)
"What now my love (aloha '73)"
" Change of Habit"
" Guitar Man"
" Almost Always True (is it longer Boots Randolph fade out ?)"
"True Love Travels on a Gravel Road"
"Stranger in the crowd"
"Stranger in my own hometown"
"I need You So"
"Heartaches Begin (both versions"
"Memphis Tennessee"
"It's Easy For You"
"America (is it audience recording or soundboard and what is the sound like IYHO)"
"Softly as i leave you (audience or soundboard?)"
The Frankie and Johnny material, does it still sound as they did on "Double Features"
So close yet so far from Paradise (good song that, from an otherwise sh.t film lol)


I must say it is very insightful stuff and good on you for doing two contrasting threads including putting your neck on the chopping block. :smt003



User avatar

Topic author
luckyjackson1
Posts: 9154
Registered for: 13 years 9 months
Location: Germany, pretty close to Bad Nauheim
Has thanked: 1810 times
Been thanked: 1154 times

Re: ... and the BEST about the SONY BOX is ...

#833183

Post by luckyjackson1 »

Robt wrote:Are the following tracks in your opinion, positive ?
I hope you are talking about the sound quality.

Robt, I'm still at work but I will continue my list tonight. I was wondering about some of the songs but then it came to my mind that I already continued my investigation but didn't release the second part so far (I just saved it to my computer).

Let me say this real quick: Unfortunately, "America" and "Softly, As I Leave You" sound like they did on their first release (which makes perfect sense, considering the main reason for this release). Even the badly edited applause is there!

"I Need You So" never sounded better.

"Guitar Man" is the regular faded version, but it sounds flawless, speed is corrected compared to the 60's Box.

The original mixes from the "Frankie And Johnny"-Soundtrack were used on this release and have been improved, just like the "Harum Scarum" soundtrack. I prefer the Double Features mixes although the mastering is obsolete now.

Later,
lucky :smt006
Last edited by luckyjackson1 on Tue Nov 09, 2010 9:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.


When the evening shadows fall
And you're wondering who to call
For a little company
There's always me

User avatar

artfromtex
Posts: 111
Registered for: 14 years 2 months
Has thanked: 7 times
Age: 51

Re: ... and the BEST about the SONY BOX is ...

#833184

Post by artfromtex »

how about the book? is it basically an updated version of "A Life In Music" with lots of color photos?


Work Hard. Live Free.

User avatar

Frankie Teardrop
Posts: 3584
Registered for: 14 years 3 months
Been thanked: 8 times

Re: ... and the BEST about the SONY BOX is ...

#833202

Post by Frankie Teardrop »

Thekingstillrocks wrote: the vibrant sound of the sound disapears
Whoa.


"Computers may outthink us one day, but as long as people got feelings, we'll be better than they are"
- Quote sometimes attributed to Elvis Presley

User avatar

MysteryTrain
Posts: 2628
Registered for: 20 years 11 months
Location: Kansas
Has thanked: 496 times
Been thanked: 707 times

Re: ... and the BEST about the SONY BOX is ...

#833226

Post by MysteryTrain »

Lucky,

I'm enjoying your comments on the individual tracks. I know it would be subjective, but I have often wished someone would state where the best quality source is for every Elvis' master. While most can now be found on Complete Elvis Presley Masters, there will still be a few instances where another source will be better.

One example: The original stereo single version of "I'm Yours" with spliced ending can only be found on the U.S.A. version of "HitStory." While that is a different version, I'm sure there will be others where same version (same take, splicing, etc.) on Complete Elvis Presley Masters will be inferior to another release of the same track. Again, it's largely subjective, but the nature of Elvis collecting.

MT



User avatar

Mike C
Posts: 9728
Registered for: 20 years 11 months
Location: New Jersey
Has thanked: 3611 times
Been thanked: 2072 times
Age: 47

Re: ... and the BEST about the SONY BOX is ...

#833230

Post by Mike C »

I am also enjoying the comments on the individual tracks. MT, if you have a chance, can you chime in on my questions regarding "Golden Coins"?

Thanks,
Mike C


"You go to school. I'm going out to make a buck!"
Elvis as Danny Fisher
Post Reply