Latest member - David Bendeth

[David Bendeth]

Ok, I think we have covered all the angles now, and selective memory has kicked in. Can I get a witness?

It's been so long since I threw E1 in the trash that I can't remember what you did to In the Ghetto.

[Ezzz]

" Can I get a witness? "

Yes..............i think all this adulation has slightly gone to your head David.

[monkboughtlunch]

As far as the 4 tracks being "bumped up" they were not the MASTER tapes I saw. They were all recorded on more than 4 and 8 tracks. They did not seem to be updated masters to me. They were on 16 track tapes. That means more than four. Now go back to the Steve Hoffman Mastering board where you belong and and sing his praises to each other all day. bye

I'd read that Chips Moman at American Sound in 1969 recorded the the rhythm and vocals (Jan. and Feb. 69) on a four track and that the masters were later bounced bounced. I wasn't aware that American Sound had a 16 track tape recorder in 1969. I think Bill Porter later produced a lot of the horn overdubs along with Felton Jarvis. Perhaps they dubbed masters to a 16 track. But I will defer to you, if you say Chips recorded the Memphis sessions on 16 track, as you have seen the tapes.

[iamhekev]

You talking to yourself SAM?

[sam]

You talking to yourself SAM?

What's new?

[Gregory Nolan Jr.]

Sam wrote:

How do I become an Audiophile?
It sounds like fun?Is there a membership price?.....

No one is going to take a way your "Elvis fan" card
anytime soon, Sam.We can say what we will about your ears,
but I'm going to assume that you'll never be caught chucking
an Elvis disc (be it an old Camden Lp or "Love, Elvis") into the waste-basket!
Monk really did throw E1 in the trash! How absurd is that?
I call that audiophillia run amuck.

I'm glad to see that Monk and David are at least communicating.

For a guy with a "big ego," he sure is willing to chew the fat
with his worst (armchair) critics. Cut him some slack, Errol.

[Ezzz]

"Cut him some slack, Errol."

Oh i already have Greg. I loved what David was able to do with E1, and i understand why he is defensive at times.

[Will]

This is better than watching kids in the playground lmao...........please keep it going gentlemen...........David.do you need a cocktail buddy?

[David Bendeth]

I cant drink will, I am too busy with all the mssing elements of In the Ghetto, they are in the trash.

This is better than watching kids in the playground lmao...........please keep it going gentlemen...........David.do you need a cocktail buddy?

[Gregory Nolan Jr.]

Even if one hates the E1 and cheered as the garbage truck drove away,
it sure makes you wish a guy like Ernst waded
into these choppy waters on more occasions than he does.

David (you're still here!):what about that little promo movie about the making of E1, that I asked about..?
I thought I saw a reference to it by you.

What was on it, exactly?

[Will]

Well... I know David did not give me the 56 outtakes..........and I will not hold that against him.but he was kind enough to give me a copy of the promo video which I have now transfered to dvd but not in 5.1 lol.........anyway its two shorts promoting the E1 album along with James,DJ and Gen in the studio with David and Ray.....they talk about how they worked on the masters and all the machines that had to be brought into the studio to transfer the one,three.four,eight,sixteen..etc tracks.they seem over the moon with the sound........commenting on how for the first time all the seperate parts of the band can now be heard clearly...........If I remember correctly it is burning love they are listening too...Glen comments on how great the bass playing sounds.............it then goes on to teenagers having a listen to the a-b tests.........they love it..........this stuff seems to all take place in the hit factory studios in NY......it then shows an advert for the E1 album which is great........i believe this was made for broadcast on vh1 and mtv........hope this helps.........I must have made a great job transfering this thing to dvd............no pops or flanging.anywhere.

[Gregory Nolan Jr.]

Thanks for the info, Will!

Those ex-Elvis bandmates are surely deluded about the sound.

I'd love to see that E1 film some day.!

[KiwiAlan]

How do I become an Audiophile?
It sounds like fun?
Is there a membership price?
Do I need to subscribe to something?
Do I need to pass a hearing test?

I used to just listen to the music, but now we need to analyze it as well.

Do I need any special equiptment?

Are there any other questions I should ask?

It's very simple, Sam.

Hop along to your nearest Dick Smith and buy:-

A 6 track multiplex extender - a local pastic surgeon is required - this device will transform both ears from one to three channels - thus allowing you to hear in 5.1 surround.

B The Pro-Tools resoution filter and converter. This bolts on to your new ears and gives you the luxury of hearing in digital at resolutions from 192 kps downwards. There is one side effect however - you will not be able to hear in analogue so you might get run over by a tram when visiting Melbourne.


I do warn you howver any wrong artifact like a pop on Hound Dog will cause you endless sleepness nights and unending worry.

[David Bendeth]

Personally send you one on DVD, but after that comment, no way.
Gregory, they are not exactly 31 years old ya know!
DB

Thanks for the info, Will!

Those ex-Elvis bandmates are surely deluded about the sound.

I'd love to see that E1 film some day.!

[Joe Car]

Well... I know David did not give me the 56 outtakes..........and I will not hold that against him.but he was kind enough to give me a copy of the promo video which I have now transfered to dvd but not in 5.1 lol.........anyway its two shorts promoting the E1 album along with James,DJ and Gen in the studio with David and Ray.....they talk about how they worked on the masters and all the machines that had to be brought into the studio to transfer the one,three.four,eight,sixteen..etc tracks.they seem over the moon with the sound........commenting on how for the first time all the seperate parts of the band can now be heard clearly...........If I remember correctly it is burning love they are listening too...Glen comments on how great the bass playing sounds.............it then goes on to teenagers having a listen to the a-b tests.........they love it..........this stuff seems to all take place in the hit factory studios in NY......it then shows an advert for the E1 album which is great........i believe this was made for broadcast on vh1 and mtv........hope this helps.........I must have made a great job transfering this thing to dvd............no pops or flanging.anywhere.

I remembering seeing this video, it was awesome to say the least. If memory serves me right, I also believe they played EP singing In The Ghetto, vocals only, which was absolutely perfect and haunting at the same time. Boy would I like a copy of that tape!

[Gregory Nolan Jr.]

Personally send you one on DVD, but after that comment, no way.
Gregory, they are not exactly 31 years old ya know!
DB

Thanks for the info, Will!

Those ex-Elvis bandmates are surely deluded about the sound.

I'd love to see that E1 film some day.!

David, please! I was being sarcastic after Monk's earlier comments.
(That's what the was about!)

[patrick]

Hello Mister David Bendeth:
What i like to know is what your toughts are about the way of mixing they did back in the days, i know Elvis was sometimes very angry about the way they mixed his records, for example Suspicious Minds, he was very angry that they put the backing way to much in the background and his voice way too much to the front.
And i always wonder why BMG never tried to restore those recordings to the standard that Elvis would had approved.
I think you came very close with the remastering and mixing of the #1 hits cd. And i enjoy that sound very much every time i play that cd and the dvd-audio version, wich is my fav. dvd i have by Elvis Presley, i play that dvd a lot on my panasonic dvd-audio set, the sound is just awesome, i wished they released more albums in this format.
Hope you will make the time to answer this post, and please be honest about the mixing RCA did on the original sessions back in the days.
Hope you will do some Elvis recordings in the future, i think BMG let the wrong guy go!!
Greetings;
Patrick Onderwater
from the netherlands

[PiersEIN]

Hi Gang,
Just to throw something squirrelly into the thread.
Here's a funky little CD that I own, and a very nice jazz-funk mix it is too.

2 Hours of Jazz Funk Classics and Rarities, which kicks in very nicely with Lonnie Liston Smith - Expansions also goes on to feature the great Gil Scott-Heron and Herbie Hancock, Roy Ayers etc.
(Lots of great music that get readily sampled all over the place nowadays)


anyway the funky third track is by a certain David Bendeth & 'Feel The Real'. Described elasewhere as "Another heavyweight Jazz-Funk anthem that, despite only reaching number 44 in the charts in 1979 upon it’s release, has remained an enduring floorfiller"

So David not only produces some marvellous mixes but is a funky dude in his own right!

So David, did you have any higher chart successes as a performer?

Cheers
Piers

[Gregory Nolan Jr.]

Thanks, Piers! I just found this as well as a cover shot of a young
Bendeth that won't post properly.

[David Bendeth]

I AM COPMPLETELY BUSTED!!

Hi Gang,
Just to throw something squirrelly into the thread.
Here's a funky little CD that I own, and a very nice jazz-funk mix it is too.

2 Hours of Jazz Funk Classics and Rarities, which kicks in very nicely with Lonnie Liston Smith - Expansions also goes on to feature the great Gil Scott-Heron and Herbie Hancock, Roy Ayers etc.
(Lots of great music that get readily sampled all over the place nowadays)


anyway the funky third track is by a certain David Bendeth & 'Feel The Real'. Described elasewhere as "Another heavyweight Jazz-Funk anthem that, despite only reaching number 44 in the charts in 1979 upon it’s release, has remained an enduring floorfiller"

So David not only produces some marvellous mixes but is a funky dude in his own right!

So David, did you have any higher chart successes as a performer?

Cheers
Piers

[PiersEIN]

BUSTED!! Ha ha.
Not really as it's a great CD, and you are in extremely good company!

So David, did you have any higher chart successes as a performer?

[David Bendeth]

Piers, please lose this thread and get over to the Hound dog thread! great stuff, There is a guy named "TITS" talking about me and people are listening, Outrageaous!! I thought this was going to be a boring night here in New York in the studio..If anyone has a webcam please join me!!

BUSTED!! Ha ha.
Not really as it's a great CD, and you are in extremely good company!

So David, did you have any higher chart successes as a performer?

[patrick]

Hello Mister David Bendeth:
What i like to know is what your toughts are about the way of mixing they did back in the days, i know Elvis was sometimes very angry about the way they mixed his records, for example Suspicious Minds, he was very angry that they put the backing way to much in the background and his voice way too much to the front.
And i always wonder why BMG never tried to restore those recordings to the standard that Elvis would had approved.
I think you came very close with the remastering and mixing of the #1 hits cd. And i enjoy that sound very much every time i play that cd and the dvd-audio version, wich is my fav. dvd i have by Elvis Presley, i play that dvd a lot on my panasonic dvd-audio set, the sound is just awesome, i wished they released more albums in this format.
Hope you will make the time to answer this post, and please be honest about the mixing RCA did on the original sessions back in the days.
Hope you will do some Elvis recordings in the future, i think BMG let the wrong guy go!!
Greetings;
Patrick Onderwater
from the netherlands

I still hope you get the time to answer this little story/question...

[Silver]

Well... I know David did not give me the 56 outtakes..........and I will not hold that against him.but he was kind enough to give me a copy of the promo video which I have now transfered to dvd but not in 5.1 lol.........anyway its two shorts promoting the E1 album along with James,DJ and Gen in the studio with David and Ray.....they talk about how they worked on the masters and all the machines that had to be brought into the studio to transfer the one,three.four,eight,sixteen..etc tracks.they seem over the moon with the sound........commenting on how for the first time all the seperate parts of the band can now be heard clearly...........If I remember correctly it is burning love they are listening too...Glen comments on how great the bass playing sounds.............it then goes on to teenagers having a listen to the a-b tests.........they love it..........this stuff seems to all take place in the hit factory studios in NY......it then shows an advert for the E1 album which is great........i believe this was made for broadcast on vh1 and mtv........hope this helps.........I must have made a great job transfering this thing to dvd............no pops or flanging.anywhere.

So, Will, what about "Kentucky Bay?"
sue

[David Bendeth]

This will be my final post here on FECC. I would personally like to thank the many private emails I received from the people here, It was great to listen to everyone that said they enjoyed the record and it was great to learn what the improvements could have been. It was all a learning experience here for me.
I would aslo like to thank the moderators for not moderating this thread, I am sure they felt like closing It down many times. At some point I intend to write more of a detailed report in book form and give any proceeds to a charity of the fans of FECC.

The Finale.
Ok the record was done, there was nothing left to do but watch and wait for the release. Many people at BMG were very nervous. We were not sure what the results of the work would be. There would be a party at the Hardrock in New York, Priscilla would attend as would my two new friends from Scotland Will and Ian. My mother also flew in, it was to be a big night. Ray and I made our last presentation that night in front of Priscilla and the estate, there were a thousand + people there. The party was amazing a real thrill. Everyone had felt they had done their job, There was nothing left to do but wait and see. After the presentation Priscilla came over to my mother and I and said that if Elvis was alive he would have loved this all so much. He had always complained about the way his records sounded, I felt so honored to hear this from here, she had been the closest person to him for a large chunk of his life. The Party ended around 11pm and after we all went out to celebrate in a bar.

Everyone showed up for the after party, I thought about the work we had done, it seemed so secondary. I mean this was really all about Elvis, it always was. We could take no credit for his immense talent, only say that we were part of a team that tried to revitalize his career.
The first weelk E1 came out it sold 503,000 records in the USA #1 around the world, Elvis was back in the building.the second week we beat the stones, then Bon Jovi..It was a landslide victory. mission accomplished. At thanksgiving and Xmas Walmart lit up like an Elvis christmas tree, he was everywhere to be seen, billboards, bus stops, and television. The sheer power of his music and personna had won many over young and old. The CD's were in cars, on the radio, in elevators again. We had no idea it would not stop. The record remains in the Billboard chart today three years later.

By now I had realized that mistakes had been made, there were no real excuses. I rolled it over in my mind, what would I have done differently. It was bittersweet. A producer and a mixer goes through this episode on every record, its painful.
After most of the first 10,000,000 were sold it eased the pain.

The critics were harsh, the students of Elvis were relentless. To them this record was a blasphemy, they pointed fingers, they had to share their idol with many people again, it was a sellout.

I knew there would be a backlash from the start. The good news was that for every negative post there were 100 positive ones. It made reconciliation easier to deal with. At least we had made many people happy, we had new Elvis fans. Those 12 million people were not all Elvis experts, they just enjoyed the music. I was laid off not long after the record came out along with 51 other RCA staff, many who had worked closely with me on this record. It was a sad day at RCA. There was a hostile takeover and a new president was coming in. I was Bob Jamiesons guy, he had been fired without cause, I was next to go. At first they tried to talk me into changing my creative position, It was obvious that I had to follow my heart. I was happy to leave in the end. It all made sense. And after all what a way to leave to help make the company over 100 million dollars. If they did not respect that after seventeen years of hard work, they did not deserve me.

I had made many friends on the Elvis record and I had gained an immense amount of knowledge. I had become humbled by the experience and I had watched a machine move like nothing else I had ever seen. There was peace.

I wish Ernst had been allowed to be more involved, I wished he was at the release party, the mastering sessions and the mixes. I never knew who Roger was at any time, he was MIA. Ernst was happy for the label but I knew he could not wait to get back to the business at hand which was FTD and whatever nuggets he could dig up. I understod why he wanted to dissasociate himself with this record to a certain degree, it all got too big too fast.

The X factor was always a consideration. What if there was no Junky mix, no nike commercial, no big budget for marketing and promotion, no new sound to the record?
The truth is/was that it was everything working in Tandem mixed in with the fact that the artist happened to be the biggest artist of all times. We never did beat the Beatles greatest hits in sales. I feel that happened because they were still very live and active for the most part. The Beatles also did worldwide tours, Elvis never played outside of the USA/Canada.

I knew that we had all made many people happy and at the same time lined BMG'S bank account. It was an era in my life I will always cherish. I had to go back to working with live music, young artists, and rethink my strategy as a producer and a mixer. There are so many talented people out there that do what I do everyday. But I felt I had the edge, I felt I had taken a journey through a mans life with him. I felt ignorant about my lack of knowledge about his history, It taught me to do my homework more. As far as Hound Dog is concerned I have shared my honest beleifs and truths with someone very honorable and knowledgable on this board. I felt it better that way. At some point when they feel safe enough they might share those thoughts with you. Coming from me it would mean nothing, coming from him he would have credibility as a someone that passes on my theory, not neccesarily his.

In closing, I would like to thank FECC for letting me post my truth here. If you have learned only one thing from this I am a happy man. I respect all the people that have an opinion and a belief. No one on this forum has the monopoly on truth and fact, everything is always up for consideration and the key is to have an open mind. As far as the haters, I appreciate your comments I read them all, the good news is that everyone was talking about Elvis again, the outakes were a catalyst, Elvis was on everyones mind again and that is a good thing. I hold no bad feelings and everyone should celebrate his return to the charts 25 years later.

As far as the Bendeth supporters, I appreciate the accolades, however, remember that I took this on under protest and tried to make the best out of it I could. You might think I have a big ego, or I am taking too much credit, but remember this project kicked my ass around the block a few times. I always knew that I was making an Elvis record, it was never a David Bendeth record.

I would like to personally thank FECC, Kevan Budd, Joe Tunzi, the EPE, Piers, the TCB band, Jordans world and lastly Will and Ian who started me off on my journey taking this record to the fans.

The thread is dedicated to my good friend Ian Legerwood who I know is in Heaven laughing at this whole story. I miss you my friend, you epitomized everything about an Elvis fan I had imagined and were never afraid to share what you had with everyone for free.

I hope they erase this thread soon, it was a passing moment in time, It was the celebration of a mans life that changed the way we think about music.

This website is an addiction, It becomes part of your life. A lot of the same people will never forget Elvis, he will live in their hearts forever.

The good news here is this board will live forever, if not others like it.
Thank you for letting me be a small part of your world and sharing my thoughts with you.
I hope to meet some of you someday and play you the mixes from the console. Please try and get the surround mixes and listen carefully as there are nuggets to be found. The treasure of Elvis's music will always be an uncovered treasure and remember every time you listen you will hear something new, That to me is the beauty of music,
goodbye for now!
David Bendeth

Actually I a little dissapointed in you lot. I mean here we are ar nearky 10,000 views and now you decide to talk about the flanging on SM. I find that to be a little irresponsible.

OK so we put up SM master tape (not a copy)
realize immediately there is no horns, I have a panic attack, call Ernst. He tells me there is no mumtitrack recording master tape of horns...and not only tht but someone did a miz of the song years ago without the horns and got crucified by "the unruly mob of hardcore fundamentalists."

There was no way I was going to not mix that track. Now remember one thing, no matter what I say no one will really believe me becasuse you dont have the oppurtunity to hear the master tape. We did. It is really a freak of nature.
I am sitting at the console and I am thinking about what to do, I am listening to the song over and over, I realize that the horns are mixed on the releeased CD in stereo, far left and far right. somewhat isolated. I record the CD into protools and start to remove the rext of the band with a multi band EQ. Nearly everything is gone..I have the horns isolated I am ecstatic.

Now I have to isolate each part and drop each horn part in one by one until the whole song is done. I also have to clean any remnant music around the horns so that they dont FLANGE when they are dropped into the track.
Please do not read on if you are not technically inclined, are confused already, are sick of the subject or could care less:

Now, at certain points in this song there is ALREADY flanging going on. http://www.harmony-central.com/Effects/Articles/Flanging/

I hear it on the reverb and the guitars in the verses. When I drop the horns in the track they cant be completely cut at the end of each stab as they have long fades. This created a flanging type sound in those particular sections briefly. The funny thing was that at the end you could not hear it as there was so much going on in the track. In the verses it was isolated and more apparent. To be honest there were so many effects on the tape already Ray and I thought this just added more pyschedelia ..it was already spaced out as it was.

Right around the time this was recoreded effects like this were widely used on many songs and were not necessarily used with great taste.


Now here is where it gets weird, really weird. There is no flanging on the 5.1 version, the horns are isolated in the back speakers, When you sum all the tracks of 5.1 to stereo in the studio there is no flanging effect.

When I hear it back I hear a small effect on the horns, certainly nothing insane to what was already there. It was either this version OR
no horns, no mix at all, no 5.1 .
There was no way around this and to be honest and I will be not everyone hears this effect including me. I feel it has been blown out of proportion . If it really bugs you that bad listen to the original version. I did what I could with what I had, that was it.

OK, I just listened to it again with headphones, it lasts a short time, I do hear flanging still on the original guitar track so we now have 2 flangers. The effect sticks out because it is in wide stereo. I find it slight, not overbearing. I can see how audiophiles would not like it. ok audiophilers, got a better solution given the task? didnt think so.

Someone please give me a tape with the Horns from suspicious minds on it. I will make you a nice new mix. In retrospect I should hired a horn section and re recorded them perfectly, but that would not have been possible as I was not allowed to add or tamper with the vocals or the music, which in this case was a dichotomy.
DB

Hi David,

Great stuff.

I was wondering if you have any thoughts on the creative decisions that went into the mixing of Suspicious Minds? How did you feel about the outcome with the famous flanging effect from mixing two tape sources?

Did this pose a similar issue to that you had with The Wonder Of You in that because the original multitrack master does not contain the horn section you would have had to a) use the stereo master and therefore not be able to remix the song, or b) use the multitrack and figure out a way to get the horn section in there.

This for me is probably the most facinating track on the CD from a remix point of view.

best regards,

Matt