Bootlegs

[srj1967]

I was just wondering if any of you collect bootlegs.

I've been collecting them for many years: LPs of course. Even though there are countless CDs available, I just can't bring myself to call them real bootlegs.

My favourite has always been Rockin' With Elvis New Year's Eve (hence my avatar). It had always been my holy grail, and one day back in '87 I walked into a record shop in Sydney and found two copies (different from each other - one has an additional white border around the outside flags on the cover).

Other faves include: the Rockin' Rebel series (my Volume 2 - the one with Elvis and DJ Fontana on the cover - is autographed to me from DJ , who I met in Sydney about 12 ywears ago); the '68 Comeback Vols 1 & 2; America's Own ; One Night In Portland and many others.

Maybe I'm becoming an old grouch , but I miss the old days when bootlegs were pretty rare and you had to really search hard for them.

These days, it seems like every concert is available as a CD or a soundboard ... but it just ain't the same. I miss the days of putting on a bootleg LP and hearing an audience recording of a good show.

Yeah, I know that soundboards have better sound, but it just seems too easy.

One of my favourite books was Jailhouse Rock, which gave pics and details of the boots from the 70s and 80s.

There is something truly wonderful about bootleg LPs ... such a rarity these days. I have about 150 of them ... an investment for the future, perhaps?

Anyway, what are your fave bootlegs?

[thehillbillycat]

The ones I have are:

Rockin' With Elvis On April Fool's Day
Elvis On Tour
That's The Way It Is
Rockin' Rebel
The Legend Lives On
The 68 Comeback Vol. 2

That is the only ones I have on LP.

I like of those I have is Rockin' With Elvis On April Fool's Day. I like it when he says that "the second half of the show is cancel......April Fool."

[srj1967]

Yeah, I like that one too. I seem to remember that my LP copy was made at the wrong speed, and the whole show sounded really slow. I used to sit and manually spin the turntable to get a good sound.

I sealed my LPs years ago in plastic, so I no longer play them.

[Dovey]

I love to listen to them All!!!!! Some are pretty "Awesome"

[thehillbillycat]

My record doesn't sound slow. Sounds normal to me.

[hounddog]

I have
Elvis Rocks and the Girls Roll
Rough Cut Diamonds
To Know Him Is to Love Him
The Nashville Outakes
Long Lost Songs

[Unchained Melody]

LP bootlegs are not something I collect, mainly cds for me. Soundboards are great, but I do enjoy many audience recordings as well...being on cd of course. A few favorites of mine being...

The Last Live Session
America's Own Vol.1
Auld Lang Syne
Fairytales
Rockin' The Northwest

[jak]

I use to have a large collection of boot lp's but cd's took their place.I ended up selling my boot vinyl.For sentimental reasons I kept the following:
Rockin With Elvis New Years Eve
To Know Him Is To Love Him
The Burbank Sessions Vol 1 and 2
Elvis On Tour
That's The Way It Is
Cadillac Elvis
The Last Farewell
Jak

[Sammy4Elvis]

I have tapes which have a lot of unrleased studio stuff on, some of the stuff has come out on the Follow That Dream Collection now but I still have stuff that has never been released.x

[snowbird]

I agree with you on the fact that cds will never have the magic of the good old vinyl 45s and lps.
I remember the good old days when we were eagerly waiting for the new LP or 45, and when you had it in your hands, man, it was pure magic.
The first LP i ever bought was ON STAGE, and the first 45 was IN THE GHETTO.
Anyway, times have changed, and today you have a lot of good material available on cds, concerts and studio outtakes.
My favourites :
FINDING THE WAY HOME
AMERICAN CROWN JEWELS
THE AMERICAN WAY
All the ALTERNATE MASTERS
OPENING NIGHT 69
BURNING IN BIRMINGHAM
As well as a lot of other bootlegs, they're just wonderful.

[bogarcon]

I was just wondering if any of you collect bootlegs.

I've been collecting them for many years: LPs of course. Even though there are countless CDs available, I just can't bring myself to call them real bootlegs.

My favourite has always been Rockin' With Elvis New Year's Eve (hence my avatar). It had always been my holy grail, and one day back in '87 I walked into a record shop in Sydney and found two copies (different from each other - one has an additional white border around the outside flags on the cover).

Other faves include: the Rockin' Rebel series (my Volume 2 - the one with Elvis and DJ Fontana on the cover - is autographed to me from DJ , who I met in Sydney about 12 ywears ago); the '68 Comeback Vols 1 & 2; America's Own ; One Night In Portland and many others.

Maybe I'm becoming an old grouch , but I miss the old days when bootlegs were pretty rare and you had to really search hard for them.

These days, it seems like every concert is available as a CD or a soundboard ... but it just ain't the same. I miss the days of putting on a bootleg LP and hearing an audience recording of a good show.

Yeah, I know that soundboards have better sound, but it just seems too easy.

One of my favourite books was Jailhouse Rock, which gave pics and details of the boots from the 70s and 80s.

There is something truly wonderful about bootleg LPs ... such a rarity these days. I have about 150 of them ... an investment for the future, perhaps?

Anyway, what are your fave bootlegs?
Well, I think your're right that good old days when ``boots`` were available in small pressing and running after them..that was ``action``.
Today, in some conventions you can find them really cheap in prices especially here around Montreal. because fans are younger than ever and they don't want to buy LPs at big dollars. More stuff on one cd than on one LP!
Have a nice day, Bogarcon.

[roustabout]

dont have much in the way of vinyl let,but have been collecting cds and bootleg cds for years.got around 1700 cds now,many are very hard to find i've found.

The Elvis Presley story - 15cds
1953-07-18 - my happiness demo session sun studio (memphis recording service)
the chess box 5cds(only seen others with 4cds)
The Presley years - 12 cd's (wink martindale radio interview-12 hours long)

[poormansgold]

I got Few Bootlegs LP's left , one is Behind Closed Doors Box Set and another's From 1968 Comeback, volume two, and THe Burbank Sessions. that's ones I that, I missing two them one is Elvis On Tour, and Aloha Rehearsal Show.
I buy them i was in my 20's and still living at home.
now I got on cd, most them are CD-R's, went you on fix income hard get something like that
Tom

[Lisarose]

I'm fairly new here, I thought I knew what bootlegs were. Now I'm beginning to wonder. Are they well made? Is the sound good? Where is the materiall gathered from?

[memphis 77]

i sold all my boot albums so many years ago, i'm glad that i did, i sure don't miss any, i saved 2 , americas own[the sound on album is far better on album , compaired to cd[very hissy] another i saved was in between takes....i still find that you have to hunt down certain dealers for certain titles still today, one of the hardest i had trouble getting was the man in white. I believe that boot cd's, are still made in limited numbers at least 5-7 00 pressings. The soundboard and outakes , studio alternates that we have had over the years is something we could have only dreamed about getting on vinyl back then, i still remember the first sounboard release just pretend by baxter[my all time favorite boot of all] and how great it sounded[mono], and from there it just started to get better and better, but then the soundboard bootas cd's started to saturate the market[especially 95-99] and then came the collectors label, well the second collectors label ,ftd, and even now with all past releases and collector label, we are getting re issues , and revamped versions of boots on cd, for a completist like me , i love collecting them on cd, i just hate to think that soon we will have a new media, and the cd will be done away with like vinyl.

[elvis himselvis]

I like Black Diamond very much.
I don't have this one on LP but on CD.
Think it's a great concert.

[Armond]

I first read about boots years ago in a book by Paul Lichter titled "The Boy That Dared To Rock." That book included pictures of the LP's and a review, which was awesome! Not long after that, I found an add in the classified section of Rolling Stone magazine for Rockin' New Years Eve. A dealer in New York was selling it for $15.00. I think it was back in 1978, just to give you an idea of how long ago this was. Anyway, I bought it, and I loved it. At that time, there were only six or seven concerts available via RCA, so the Rockin' LP was very unique. It certainly made me aware of how little attention RCA gave to making Elvis LP's special. Anyway, I've used the Rockin' LP as a standard in comparing all other releases since that time. I've owned one other boot on LP. It was titled The Final Days. It was the infamous Indy show. It too was a double LP. The cover was black and white, the photos were a couple of grainy polaroids. The LP labels were plain yellow. No idea who put it out? The sound was horrible, but I loved it anyway. When Elvis walked on to the stage, the roar of the audience completely drowned out the music! I have both of these shows on CD in superior sound quality. I no longer have the LP's. I wish that I had kept them for the sake of posterity.

[srj1967]

I'm fairly new here, I thought I knew what bootlegs were. Now I'm beginning to wonder. Are they well made? Is the sound good? Where is the materiall gathered from?

It depends.

Bootlegs can be made up of stuff taken directly from RCA tapes (so the sound is excellent) to concerts recorded from the back of the audience (you can soemtimes barely hear Elvis, but there's still something cool about them).

Bootleg LPs usually have great artwork and pics. But these days, with almost every show available on a CD, collecting boots just isn't the same buzz it used to be.

I get quite bored with the concert soundboards too. But I know people who collect each and every one.

If you can, try and track down a copy of the book Jailhouse Rock (through Amazon.com perhaps). This book, from the 80s, detailed most bootleg LPs and singles with pics of each one.