Elvis Aron Presley

[Vic2012]

I do remember where I was when I heard he died and at the time I was what, nineteen and a deep in the throes of 70s rock, so while it was a shock I could have cared less.

Yeah, I remember being shocked, but didn't really care one way or the other. Never been into Elvis at all, or much 50s R&R either. I almost picked up a cheapo compilation of Elvis but chickened out.

Guitar Geek is gonna roll his eyes at this one . Earlier this year I'd somehow gotten on this country music thing, just kinda buying CDs by this guy, that guy, whoever. I found a cheap hits compilation by Dwight Yokum expecting "country music" but it's mostly Rockabilly and hicked up covers of pop/rock songs. It's not a bad CD, I'd say it's got a good handful of songs. One song on there I like is "Little Sister." I knew it sounded familiar but wasn't sure who did it originally. I heard the song on a jukebox recently and it was Elvis. Elvis' version is superior. It just is. Actually, Dwight's covers of Elvis songs are pretty mediocre. The cover of "Suspicious Minds" on that Yokum comp is downright awful, to be honest.

Eh, I guess if I bump into that Elvis compilation CD I saw I might get it. I like a lot of Elvis' songs but I'm just trying to avoid the sappy stuff, and the gospel stuff. I think I'd be good with a two disk compilation of nothing but early, Rockabilly stuff, and even some his hits from his films.

[GuitarGeek]

Guitar Geek is gonna roll his eyes at this one . Earlier this year I'd somehow gotten on this country music thing, just kinda buying CDs by this guy, that guy, whoever. I found a cheap hits compilation by Dwight Yokum expecting "country music" but it's mostly Rockabilly and hicked up covers of pop/rock songs. It's not a bad CD, I'd say it's got a good handful of songs. One song on there I like is "Little Sister." I knew it sounded familiar but wasn't sure who did it originally. I heard the song on a jukebox recently and it was Elvis. Elvis' version is superior. It just is. Actually, Dwight's covers of Elvis songs are pretty mediocre. The cover of "Suspicious Minds" on that Yokum comp is downright awful, to be honest.

I can't remember which version of Little Sister I heard first, but the one that always sticks in my mind (besides Elvis' version, of course) was the one done by Rockpile, with Robert Plant singing lead, which was on the Concerts For The People Of Kampuchea album. The funny thing about that was, MTV used to play the clip from the film as a video, and they always had it chyroned simply as "Rockpile", no mention of who the guy singing lead was. And since I'd never heard Led Zeppelin at this point (I was 9 years old, in 1982, and Zep was one band my brother Robert was apparently not into), so I didn't know who Robert Plant was! I thought he was Rockpile's lead singer!

The other thing I remember about that clip, which was something I didn't catch until someone pointed it out on a website somewhere, was that Nick Lowe messes up the ending. Well, he doesn't mess up, in the trainwreck sense, he just misses the cue to end the song. They're running through the "Little sister don't you do what your big sister does" refrain several times, then at the end of the song, the rest of the band stops, but Nick keeps going a little bit longer, playing bass, and singing "Little sister", before he too stops. The funny thing is, I always assumed that was deliberate until someone mentioned it as probably being a missed cue (probably because at the age of 9, I couldn't imagine something like that happening in concert), and now that's absolutely what it sounds like, ie "sorry mates, I forgot how many times we were doing the refrain before stopping" or whatever. And it still sounds awesome! I wouldn't have it any other way.

Anyway, the thing popped up on Amazon again, to tell me I can get a free month of Amazon Prime, so I grabbed, and as such, I decided to put in another order. Turns out they have Afternoon In The Garden for $4.40 or something like that, so I went ahead and ordered that, since I can get free two day shipping on it. And one of the third party sellers had the 50's era boxset for something like 20 dollars including shipping (Amazon themselves wanted $30!) so I decided to grab that, since who knows how long that bargain is gonna hang around.

[JJ88]

^The 50s set must remain one of the biggest-selling CD boxes ever released. I obviously didn't buy it then (way, way too young!) but I gather that it was seen as a signal that, at last, Elvis' body of work was being taken seriously and sequenced with care. I particularly like the fact they put all the alternates/outtakes on a separate disc...I don't really like it when they put all that stuff in with the masters, it becomes rather stuffy and not conducive to enjoyable listening IMHO.

A minor gripe from an Elvis fan...I probably wouldn't have led the set with the 'My Happiness' acetate, especially as the other side of that acetate was on the more appropriate rarities disc. And as I said, 'A Big Hunk O'Love' is slightly different from the single version...the single version spliced on another take in the second half, this one didn't. But it remains a massive achievement that everyone involved with should remain proud of.

[GuitarGeek]

^The 50s set must remain one of the biggest-selling CD boxes ever released. .

Probably so. I know at one time, the Bruce Springsteen Live 1975-1985 set was the best selling box, but I'm not sure of the current statistics. It's interesting that Amazon is selling the 50's box for 10 dollars more than either the 60's or 70's box, which would suggest that the 50's era recordings are perhaps more popular than what came later.

[Jerjo]

Here's a RIAA list that I got off the Hoffman forum

13,000,000+
Bruce Springsteen - LIVE 1975 - 1985

12,000,000+
Metallica - BINGE & PURGE

10,000,000+
Led Zeppelin - LED ZEPPELIN

7,000,000+
George Strait - STRAIT OUT OF THE BOX

3,000,000+
Garth Brooks - COLLECTION

2,000,000+
Eric Clapton - CROSSROADS
Led Zeppelin - COMPLETE STUDIO RECORDINGS
Led Zeppelin - REMASTERS
Bob Marley - DREAMS OF FREEDOM
Elvis Presley - KING OF ROCK N ROLL
Rod Stewart - STORYTELLER

1,000,000+
AC/DC - BONFIRE
Aerosmith - PANDORA'S BOX
Jimmy Buffett - BOATS BEACHES BARS & BALLADS
Bob Dylan - BIOGRAPHY
Robert Johnson - COMPLETE RECORDINGS*
Pink Floyd - SHINE ON
Police - MESSAGE IN A BOX
Rolling Stones - SINGLES COLLECTION
Bruce Springsteen - TRACKS

GOLD
Aerosmith - BOX OF FIRE
Bob Dylan - BOOTLEG SERIES VOLS 1 - 3
Elton John - TO BE CONTINUED
John Lennon - ANTHOLOGY
Lynyrd Skynyrd - BOXED SET
Barry Manilow - COMPLETE COLLECTION
Elvis Presley - FROM NASHVILLE TO MEMPHIS
Elvis Presley - PLATINUM
Elvis Presley - WALK A MILE IN MY SHOES
Steely Dan - CITIZEN STEELY DAN
Various Artists - HITSVILLE USA VOLUME ONE
The Who - 30 YEARS OF MAXIMUM ROCK N ROLL

no certified box sets:
Abba, Allman Brothers Band, James Brown, The Clash, Mile Davis, Marvin Gaye, Hank Williams, Sr.

* - doesn't meet three-disc minimum, but meets other criteria too well to exclude.

[JJ88]

^Yeah, I thought the Springsteen live one would be the biggest- it's not the same as the Elvis ones as (obviously) nothing on it had been out before. It also presumably sold big on two formats...I believe the Elvis 50s one was pressed on record but by then, few would have bought it.

That Led Zeppelin one surprises me the most on that list. There's only a couple of things on that which were rare.

Actually I see all three of the Elvis 'decade' boxes did very well in boxed-set terms, and they deserved to. The one called Platinum (which also came out as two, cheap two-disc sets) is a bit of a mish-mash- a lot of previously released master takes on them- but there's also some excellent material, especially some of the home recordings and the 1969/70 Vegas era.

There had been two big early 80s boxes of Elvis with almost entirely previously unheard, mostly live material- Elvis Aron Presley and A Golden Celebration. I don't think these caught the public's imagination, for whatever reason. As such they always seem to get passed over in discussions of what the first noteworthy box set in rock was, yet they predate the likes of Live 1975-85, Biograph and Crossroads.

[GuitarGeek]

There had been two big early 80s boxes of Elvis with almost entirely previously unheard, mostly live material- Elvis Aron Presley and A Golden Celebration. I don't think these caught the public's imagination, for whatever reason. As such they always seem to get passed over in discussions of what the first noteworthy box set in rock was, yet they predate the likes of Live 1975-85, Biograph and Crossroads.

Biograph, the Bob Dylan set, was the first one I remember being a really "big deal". I think before that, the only "boxsets" I had seen were things like opera and other classical recording sets, or else various artists compilations (like the ones Reader's Digest used to put out). I'm sure there were quite a few sets outside those two areas before Biograph, but that was kind of the point where "boxsets" entered the "Mainstream" or whatever and everyone who had a career longer than 10 years had to be represented in that format.

[JJ88]

Those Elvis ones I mentioned were something like 8 discs apiece on record! Funnily enough, a lot of what is on them has still not been on any other official CDs. A Golden Celebration had all the 1956/7 TV appearances, for instance.

[Scott Bails]

There had been two big early 80s boxes of Elvis with almost entirely previously unheard, mostly live material- Elvis Aron Presley and A Golden Celebration. I don't think these caught the public's imagination, for whatever reason. As such they always seem to get passed over in discussions of what the first noteworthy box set in rock was, yet they predate the likes of Live 1975-85, Biograph and Crossroads.

I remember an Elvis set that my father had (Dad was a huge Elvis fan). It was an 8-LP set, and came in a greyish-silver box. IIRC, it could have been the Elvis Aron Presley box, but it was so long ago, my memory fails. But I do remember that he loved that one and listened to it often.

[GuitarGeek]

Just got done listening to the Burning Love best of which came in the mail today (as did An Afternoon At The Garden). Do I understand correctly that they cut half an LP's worth of material (great material, too) over the course of three days, then pieced them out on between at least three different albums?! Burning Love and It's A Matter Of Time were on the now infamous Burning Love And Hits From His Movies (most of which were nothing of the sort), Fool and Where Do I Go From Here were on the "Fool" album, and Separate Ways and Always On My Mind I know were on yet another record. Talk about nobody at the wheel! All they needed was another 20 minutes for an album (some possible options are also included on this disc). Granted, it would have been a balld heavy album, but hey, if you're going to "wimp out" and do ballads, you could do far worse than some of the songs on this disc.

[JJ88]

^The plan in 1972 was originally some kind of half-live, half-studio release called Standing Room Only- I'm not sure there is agreement on what would have been on it though. A full studio album would have been preferable, really, there were loads of songs recorded between 1971-2. I believe there was also an idea to do an 'Elvis Folk' album like the excellent Elvis Country. Notice that things like 'Help Me Make It Through The Night', 'Don't Think Twice It's Alright', 'Until It's Time For You To Go', 'For Lovin' Me', 'Early Morning Rain' etc. were recorded in this period.

Instead all these recordings ended up being spread out across non-album singles and hodge-podge albums like Elvis Now and Elvis (at least his third album to use that title!). Burning Love And Hits From His Movies is a disgrace...and mercifully one I never bought, being a CD-era fan.

The truth is, nobody was at the wheel, and it shows.

[GuitarGeek]

^The plan in 1972 was originally some kind of half-live, half-studio release called Standing Room Only-I'm not sure there is agreement on what would have been on it though.

Yeah, the Burning Love CD would appear to be an attempt to finally follow through on that idea. I think they did a pretty good job with it, too.

Instead all these recordings ended up being spread out across non-album singles and hodge-podge albums like Elvis Now and Elvis (at least his third album to use that title!)

.

Coming back to the issue of the brevity of the three albums derived from the 1973 Stax Studios sessions, according to Wikipedia, Elvis was something like 25 minutes long, and Elvis Now is around 31 minutes long, so it would seem shortchanging the record buyer was a recurring theme with the circa 72-74 Elvis.

One wonders who was responsible for such decisions. In theory, the producer is the one who decides what songs are going to be on which album (or which songs are gonna be "outtakes" or which take gets used or whatever), and those records were produced by one Felton Jarvis. Or at least on paper they were produced by him, but I sometimes hear talk that Elvis was the "hands on" producer, suggesting he had more say so than most vocalists did on "the final product". But the whole thing smacks of Parker machinations, so I suppose it could be any one of the three. I just think it's weird that you'd record enough material for an album (as was the case in February and March 72) then split the material up on multiple releases, at least two of which pretty much define the word "exploitation".

Burning Love And Hits From His Movies is a disgrace...and mercifully one I never bought, being a CD-era fan.

If you ask me the Separate Ways LP is also pathetic, as it follows the same concept as Burning Love And Hits From His Movies, ie take a great recent single and throw it together with a bunch of mediocre stuff that was 10-15 years old already.

The truth is, nobody was at the wheel, and it shows.

Except in the UK, where Always On My Mind was the A-side of the single. I suppose things like that are the reason why making fun of Americans is a cornerstone of British comedy. Separate Ways is a good song, but I've always loved what Elvis did with Always On My Mind. I know a lot of people think of it as a "Willie Nelson song", but I've always associated with Elvis first and foremost, and I think he gave the definitive version (though I love what Pet Shop Boys did with it). Always On My Mind should have been the A-side worldwide.

Anyway, I also listened to An Afternoon In The Garden yesterday. Fine, fine live recording. Lots of good tunes, and yes, Jerry Scheff plays a fuzz bass solo in Polk Salad Annie. I kinda wish Elvis had given more room for James Burton to solo, but I realize this is an "Elvis album" not a "James Burton album" (as I'm sure Parker would have pointed out). I just think when you've got someone like that in your band, you let him take a solo (even a short one) whenever possible. I wish the 50's era songs had been fleshed out a bit more, I get the impression (as noted in the Burning Love CD notes, when discussing a couple of the older songs that were used there) that Elvis just wanted to get those songs over with already, as if he was already tired of singing them. I love the way he teases the audience at the beginning of Hound Dog, and if I'm not mistaken, the arrangement is closer to the original Big Mama Thornton version.

[JJ88]

^There was a TV poll of 'The Nation's Favourite Elvis Song' here. I was somewhat surprised 'Always On My Mind' was Number 1. It's a song which gained currency after he died, it wasn't one of his all-time biggest hits here or anything.

The last studio album that came out under his name which works as an album is Elvis Country. Nothing after that hangs together very well. The thing is that most artists have the weaker material they've recorded put on a shelf, that did not happen here, so you get terrible songs like 'Padre' getting released (I burst out laughing when I first heard that).

The Big Mama Thornton 'Hound Dog' is very different to any version Elvis did, including that MSG intro...in fact the writers Leiber/Stoller didn't like Elvis' version because essentially he didn't even bother singing most of the lyrics (something he often did!) and really, the lyric was written more for a woman anyway.

[GuitarGeek]

^There was a TV poll of 'The Nation's Favourite Elvis Song' here. I was somewhat surprised 'Always On My Mind' was Number 1. It's a song which gained currency after he died, it wasn't one of his all-time biggest hits here or anything.

Interesting. I'm not sure where I first heard his version of the song, might have been on the Separate Ways album, which I seem to recall my brother Frank had, but as I said I'm sure I heard it before I heard teh Willie Nelson version (keeping in mind that I was born in 1973, so I wouldn't have heard it until a good deal after it was released). It's actually interesitng how many of those songs he did in the February/March 72 recordings, just after he and and Priscilla broke up. You can tell he's singing his way through the heartache.

The last studio album that came out under his name which works as an album is Elvis Country. Nothing after that hangs together very well. The thing is that most artists have the weaker material they've recorded put on a shelf, that did not happen here, so you get terrible songs like 'Padre' getting released (I burst out laughing when I first heard that).

The Big Mama Thornton 'Hound Dog' is very different to any version Elvis did, including that MSG intro...in fact the writers Leiber/Stoller didn't like Elvis' version because essentially he didn't even bother singing most of the lyrics (something he often did!) and really, the lyric was written more for a woman anyway.

Yeah, the lyrics were written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller to be sung by a woman. I saw an interview with them, where it was quite obvious they weren't too happy abou tthe Elvis recording. Supposedly, the one good thing that came out of Elvis' disastrous first Vegas engagement was he heard a doo wop group singing Hound Dog with the lyrics an arrangement that he would later record. Apparently, the group's leader trying suing later on, but the case got thrown out because he hadn't copyrighted his arrangement.

But I'm thinking the MSG version has a similar cadence to the Big Mama version, with a slower tempo than one normally associates with the Elvis version. But it's been so long since I've heard Big Mama's version, I might be mis-remembering.

[JJ88]

^He also mentions seeing Billy Ward's Dominoes in that famous Million Dollar Quartet session (basically a 1956 jam where he went back to Sun Studios with Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins, and an inaudible Johnny Cash, the tape was found and came out in the 80s, I think). Elvis says their singer did 'Don't Be Cruel' better than him, then repeatedly tries to emulate what he heard. The singer he saw was actually a pre-fame Jackie Wilson.

[GuitarGeek]

^He also mentions seeing Billy Ward's Dominoes in that famous Million Dollar Quartet session (basically a 1956 jam where he went back to Sun Studios with Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins, and an inaudible Johnny Cash, the tape was found and came out in the 80s, I think). Elvis says their singer did 'Don't Be Cruel' better than him, then repeatedly tries to emulate what he heard.

Yeah, I remember that famous photo of Elvis the piano, with the other three gathered around him. I think the photo circulated for quite a few years (if not decades) before we actually heard the tape. As I recall, the recording first appeared on an "unauthorized release" (which I recall Creem magazine saying was a "polite way of saying bootleg"), then in the early 90's, a more official release came out. I remember the review in Rolling Stone, I think, saying that either Johnny Cash left early, or he just chose to not sing as much. Supposedly, Cash was asked about it at some point, and he said he's singing in a higher register than we usually hear him sing in, hence, his voice isn't immediately recognizable.

I think it was Carl Perkins who David Letterman had on at one point in the 80's, and he of course pulls out that photo, and makes a wisecrack about how "You look like the real troublemaker in this group".

The singer he saw was actually a pre-fame Jackie Wilson.

Wow! I didn't know that.

[rcarlberg]

There are 47 tracks in that session, ranging from 0:12 up to 4:14. A lot of fragmentary fiddling around, led by Elvis on piano it sounds like. This is amazing, because the 21-year-old Elvis wasn't booked on the session -- Carl Perkins was -- yet he wandered in and led the fellas on what amounts to a bunch of sing-alongs.

[GuitarGeek]

Sun material by pretty much every other artist has always been over-compiled and over-licensed.

Most of that early rock n roll stuff is "over-compiled and over licensed". I get a headache every time I try to figure out which Eddie Cochran or Gene Vincent or Chuck Berry set I should get. If I had th emoney I'd just buy all the Bear Family boxes (which mostly present everything a given artist recorded), but each of those sets is over $100 (and right now, their big Chuck Berry box is going for more like $360 on Amazon). So apart from that, you have to figure out which of the less expensive cover "what you need", has interesting liner notes, proper remastering. Judging from the reviews on Amazon, some appearing to be using the same masters they were using back in the early days of CD's, when everyone was complaining how bad the back catalog stuff sounded. Some of them don't have any kind of credits or liner notes at all (yeah, I know, that's how they can sell a four CD set for $15US), and at least one of the Eddie Cochran things I saw on Amazon is pressed on CD-R's! Oy!

[JJ88]

^The labels have seldom treated 50s rock 'n' roll with respect, and nor does much of the relevant music press, despite their front of really caring about moving too far from the 'roots of rock'. It's only covered in a very tokenistic way, if at all.

I think I only have one CD on Bear Family and that's the Jerry Lee Lewis Star Club one. A very expensive label...with the boxes I think they also do that thing where they shove all the false starts and alternates in with the masters. I don't really think rock music is meant to be heard like that.

As for CD-Rs....the public domain laws here have really muddied the waters. I've had quite a few of those releases by certain artists (well, they were cheap and I was just getting into certain music so knew little better)...they are not to be recommended. Legally these companies should only transfer from old vinyls from the era, and then what some do is slap horrendous heavy-handed noise reduction all over the recordings. Some labels like Proper take a bit more care with the packaging and presentation (they have done a couple of terrific rock 'n' roll sets), but I would always recommend the official releases before any of these.

[GuitarGeek]

^The labels have seldom treated 50s rock 'n' roll with respect, and nor does much

Too true! I guess they reckon they reckon they can make more money licensing the music out to any low rent label that wants to issue something, than to put out a "definitive" set themselves, with proper remastering, good liner notes, etc.

I think I only have one CD on Bear Family and that's the Jerry Lee Lewis Star Club one. A very expensive label...with the boxes I think they also do that thing where they shove all the false starts and alternates in with the masters. I don't really think rock music is meant to be heard like that.

A finished alternate take, ie one where the song is played all the way through, might be interesting if it's significantly different from the "master take". For instance, some of the alternate takes you see on jazz CD's are interesting because of the presence of improvisation, etc. But in rock n roll, if you have three takes of someone doing a given song, and they're all almost identical, what is the point? And false starts are also ridiculous too. How many times do you need to hear someone play the first four bars of a given song?! There's a John Coltrane album where the first pressing accidentally included a false start (or at least a take where the band got a minute or so into the piece before Trane stopped), so ok, you have to include that on the reissue to remain "authentic" to the original release, but to include every take where he plays two notes then stops...(shrug).

As for CD-Rs....the public domain laws here have really muddied the waters. I've had quite a few of those releases by certain artists (well, they were cheap and I was just getting into certain music so knew little better)...they are not to be recommended. Legally these companies should only transfer from old vinyls from the era, and then what some do is slap horrendous heavy-handed noise reduction all over the recordings. Some labels like Proper take a bit more care with the packaging and presentation (they have done a couple of terrific rock 'n' roll sets), but I would always recommend the official releases before any of these.

Well, sometimes the CD-R releases are the official releases. The label doesn't want to pay for a full blown CD repressing, so they do CD-R's instead, and 86 the liner notes, etc. They're doing the same thing with movies, Amazon is selling DVD-R's of various movies and TV shows that the powers that be don't feel warrant a full blown DVD release, but they apparently feel they can still make money off of, so long as they don't spend too much money putting the package together.

[rcarlberg]

And false starts are also ridiculous too. How many times do you need to hear someone play the first four bars of a given song?!

Case in point, the Iggy & The Stooges "Funhouse" sessions release.

There are 142 tracks of false starts and run-through of the songs. The producer was RELENTLESS in making the band play these songs over and over until the relatively-untrained Ashton brothers were tight enough for his liking.

[JJ88]

Too true! I guess they reckon they reckon they can make more money licensing the music out to any low rent label that wants to issue something, than to put out a "definitive" set themselves, with proper remastering, good liner notes, etc.




A finished alternate take, ie one where the song is played all the way through, might be interesting if it's significantly different from the "master take". For instance, some of the alternate takes you see on jazz CD's are interesting because of the presence of improvisation, etc. But in rock n roll, if you have three takes of someone doing a given song, and they're all almost identical, what is the point? And false starts are also ridiculous too. How many times do you need to hear someone play the first four bars of a given song?! There's a John Coltrane album where the first pressing accidentally included a false start (or at least a take where the band got a minute or so into the piece before Trane stopped), so ok, you have to include that on the reissue to remain "authentic" to the original release, but to include every take where he plays two notes then stops...(shrug).

In the case of Elvis, that sort of stuff has been kept to separate discs, which is a good thing. And actually there have been some very listenable collections of his alternate takes, especially the so-called 'Essential Elvis' series (the title is somewhat misleading a la 'Beatles Anthology'). There have also been releases with the false starts and all that sort of stuff, but they are mostly on the 'fans only' (and completely official) label Follow That Dream, who have put out tons of CDs...I don't have any of those. They generally aren't in the normal marketplace.

The lack of respect, I think, is also seen with blues. I really like the Chess label's music but some of the CDs are terribly sloppy. For instance, horribly outdated fake stereo (the Howlin' Wolf 'rocking chair album' on the twofer CD with that and Moanin' In The Moonlight) or wrong takes (Muddy Waters' 'Hoochie Coochie Man' appears on various CDs in a very inferior take with shoddy harmonica playing, and I've occasionally come across a weak later take of Chuck Berry's 'Sweet Little Rock N Roller' in lieu of the early one).

[GuitarGeek]

In the case of Elvis, that sort of stuff has been kept to separate discs, which is a good thing. And actually there have been some very listenable collections of his alternate takes, especially the so-called 'Essential Elvis' series (the title is somewhat misleading a la 'Beatles Anthology'). There have also been releases with the false starts and all that sort of stuff, but they are mostly on the 'fans only' (and completely official) label Follow That Dream, who have put out tons of CDs...I don't have any of those. They generally aren't in the normal marketplace.

Yeah, I'm vaguely familiar with the FTD stuff. We used to get a catalog in the mail from an outfit called Collector Music, which was basically a mailorder record store that specialized in all these slightly esoteric reissue projects, and I think they carried some of the FTD stuff. That's also where I first heard of Bear Family, as they carried some of the boxes they put out too, as well as things like the limited edition Rhino Handmade stuff. I always intended to order from them, as they carried lots of cool stuff, but never got around to it.

But to be honest, I'm not sure how interested I am in hearing every single take of a given song Elvis recorded. Unless you told me there's some cool Scotty Moore or James Burton guitar playing on some of the alternate takes, it just seems to me of a case of "so what?!". But I imagine some people would say the same about some of the stuff where I would be interested in hearing alternates or outtakes (eg Grateful Dead, Hawkwind, Pink Floyd, etc).

The lack of respect, I think, is also seen with blues. I really like the Chess label's music but some of the CDs are terribly sloppy. For instance, horribly outdated fake stereo (the Howlin' Wolf 'rocking chair album' on the twofer CD with that and Moanin' In The Moonlight) or wrong takes (Muddy Waters' 'Hoochie Coochie Man' appears on various CDs in a very inferior take with shoddy harmonica playing, and I've occasionally come across a weak later take of Chuck Berry's 'Sweet Little Rock N Roller' in lieu of the early one).

Funny you should mention that particular Howlin' Wolf album, as I just got that particular twofer. Yeah, the stereo mix on the "rocking chair" album is kinda lame, but for now, it works for me. I wonder if there's a way to recombine the two sides of the stereo image back into mono without phase cancellation.

The thing is, you know there's people who, if they had the budget and the means, they'd do some of these reissues right, but it seems like a lot of the people who are in charge of such things are ignorant of which take is the right one, or perhaps don't care. They see an opportunity for profit, but actually doing it properly would cut into said profiteering. Oy!

It kinda makes me think of the stories you hear on the Doctor Who DVD audio commentaries, where virtually everyone, from the actors down to the directors and producers, all say the same thing about the BBC's "That'll do" attitude toward the show. Even after the show became a perennial audience favorite, returning season after season, they still wouldn't give them the budget or even the time to do the show properly.

[GuitarGeek]

Oh, and listening to some of the stuff on Burning Love, Promised Land, and An Afternoon In The Garden this morning on the way to work really reminded me how great Ronnie Tutt's drumming is. There's some really cool grooves and fills on some of those songs.

[JJ88]

Funny you should mention that particular Howlin' Wolf album, as I just got that particular twofer. Yeah, the stereo mix on the "rocking chair" album is kinda lame, but for now, it works for me. I wonder if there's a way to recombine the two sides of the stereo image back into mono without phase cancellation.

The recordings are mono (some were later mixed into stereo), they just fiddled with the balance and added some crappy delay effect. Until the 80s/90s catalogue overhaul I gather this is how many fans had to listen to Elvis as well. The Sun stuff once had a ton of reverb added too. I always think that dates the music hugely, as does heavy-handed processing, noise reduction, stereo effects etc. When you hear something like the proper restoration done with the Robert Johnson discs a while back, it's revelatory.

That kind of nonsense has been kept to separate projects with Elvis, rather than everyday 'best ofs'. I can live with that...they are easy to avoid!