"An Afternoon in the Garden" Still Available at Walmart

[Elvis.com]

Elvis's "An Afternoon in the Garden" is selling fast around the country and Elvis fans can still find the popular album in the $5 bin at Walmarts. At Walmart alone, the fan-favorite sold over 200,000 copies in 2011 and has already reached over 40,000 in 2012. In August of 2011, the album re-ente...

More... (http://www.elvis.com/news/detail.aspx?id=6256)

[vivaelvis]

Elvis's "An Afternoon in the Garden" is selling fast around the country and Elvis fans can still find the popular album in the $5 bin at Walmarts. At Walmart alone, the fan-favorite sold over 200,000 copies in 2011 and has already reached over 40,000 in 2012. In August of 2011, the album re-ente...

More... (http://www.elvis.com/news/detail.aspx?id=6256)

It's a shame that the sound mix isn't the best of his other live albums out there or it would be an even better release for any fan or casual fan to pick up. It definitely needs a 21st century upgrade in mixing. I just hope that its recent success will lead to Sony remixing it for the 40th anniversary like RCA did the Aloha From Hawaii back in 1998.

[Brian Quinn]

It's a shame that the sound mix isn't the best of his other live albums out there or it would be an even better release for any fan or casual fan to pick up. It definitely needs a 21st century upgrade in mixing. I just hope that its recent success will lead to Sony remixing it for the 40th anniversary like RCA did the Aloha From Hawaii back in 1998.

Viva,

It is on track to sell 500,000 copies (RIAA GOLD) by August 2012 and this would be an ideal time for a new remix of both MSG shows and for a Gold Award Presentation for AAITG during Elvis Week at Graceland.

Brian

[KPM]

I actually like the Afternoon show better than the original Live at MSG.
Walmart has several $5.00 Elvis selections to choose from in the last year.

[vivaelvis]

I actually like the Afternoon show better than the original Live at MSG.
Walmart has several $5.00 Elvis selections to choose from in the last year.

Without a doubt! The afternoon show was more energetic, more powerful vocally and featured a much better set list with the late additions of the rocking Blue Suede Shoes, the bluesy Reconsider Baby and I'll Remember You. I really wish he would have done the Little Sister/Get Back medley during this show, but still a fantastic show overall!(y)

[vivaelvis]

Viva,

It is on track to sell 500,000 copies (RIAA GOLD) by August 2012 and this would be an ideal time for a new remix of both MSG shows and for a Gold Award Presentation for AAITG during Elvis Week at Graceland.

Brian

I find it amazing that an album released 15 years ago is just now getting national attention and charting. It just goes to show what an incompetent job that RCA did during the 90's. If Sony did release it for the 40th, remixed with superior sound and put just a little effort in promoting it, it just might have a chance to top the charts with sales being so low on a national level for all other acts!

[King Of The Whole World]

I love this cd, I love when 2001 Space Odyssey is playing and then you hear the roar of the crowd as he steps on the stage, it gives me chills every time I hear that. I can't imagine what a rush that would give a person.

I can’t wait until Elvis gets another gold record. It would be nice to see this cd go platinum.

[Joe Car]

I find it amazing that an album released 15 years ago is just now getting national attention and charting. It just goes to show what an incompetent job that RCA did during the 90's. If Sony did release it for the 40th, remixed with superior sound and put just a little effort in promoting it, it just might have a chance to top the charts with sales being so low on a national level for all other acts!

Very true. This is a great cd from an incredible show!

[vivaelvis]

I love this cd, I love when 2001 Space Odyssey is playing and then you hear the roar of the crowd as he steps on the stage, it gives me chills every time I hear that. I can't imagine what a rush that would give a person.

I can’t wait until Elvis gets another gold record. It would be nice to see this cd go platinum.


Sadly the audience reaction is poorly edited. If you listen closely to that roar, it sounds like whoever edited it turned up the sound a bit for the reaction then turned it down because it immediately drops within a tenth of a second. Crowd noise would not drop that fast at any rate. Plus the drums and bass drum are poorly mixed.

[King Of The Whole World]

Sadly the audience reaction is poorly edited. If you listen closely to that roar, it sounds like whoever edited it turned up the sound a bit for the reaction then turned it down because it immediately drops within a tenth of a second. Crowd noise would not drop that fast at any rate. Plus the drums and bass drum are poorly mixed.

Yes I did notice that but it is still exciting to listen to.

[ThreeCornPatches]

the venus label brought out a 2cd set of both those MSG shows, from a new tape source! when elvis says cant stop loving you (Afternoon show) Glen starts cant help falling in love's into to stop and starts the song elvis wanted to sing, The tape is longer and u can hear jerrys bass line before the 2001 theme even begins, little details but still noticable for being new sources and let me tell u this the sources sound greater then those 90s releases (or the recent Sony Complete Masters set) the cd was sold out in days, but u can try on ebay or amazon and have a change of getting it. its called operation: Big Apple.

Its bootleg but still way better, this should push rca & ftd to release this.

[Jungleroom76]

With the 40th anniversary of these shows fast approaching, I can't believe that we haven't heard news yet about the original MSG and the AFTERNOON shows being re-released to commemorate the occasion. :hmm:

I've stood by the belief that these 2 albums would be re-issued as part of the LEGACY SERIES to commemorate the 40th anniversary, yet we're less than 2 months away from the actual recording date and still no news...makes me wonder... :hmm:

TCB!
Mike

[vivaelvis]

With the 40th anniversary of these shows fast approaching, I can't believe that we haven't heard news yet about the original MSG and the AFTERNOON shows being re-released to commemorate the occasion. :hmm:

I've stood by the belief that these 2 albums would be re-issued as part of the LEGACY SERIES to commemorate the 40th anniversary, yet we're less than 2 months away from the actual recording date and still no news...makes me wonder... :hmm:

TCB!
Mike

I'm thinking if anything comes out on these shows that it'll be in August for Elvis Week. Also, they could push it for a high, possibly #1 position on the charts by releasing it at that particular time with all the Elvis frenzy projected for the 35th anniversary. Sony could also push the sales of An Afternoon In The Garden by keeping the same title and doing an upgrade of the show and album with bonus material added. Say include the entire press conference and some unreleased outtakes of the 72 studio tracks to draw more interest from the die hard fans.

[Jungleroom76]

I'm thinking if anything comes out on these shows that it'll be in August for Elvis Week. Also, they could push it for a high, possibly #1 position on the charts by releasing it at that particular time with all the Elvis frenzy projected for the 35th anniversary. Sony could also push the sales of An Afternoon In The Garden by keeping the same title and doing an upgrade of the show and album with bonus material added. Say include the entire press conference and some unreleased outtakes of the 72 studio tracks to draw more interest from the die hard fans.

Perhaps that is what they are waiting for...you might be on to something there...I didn't really think about Sony tying an upgraded MSG release with Elvis Week in August... :hmm:

I just naturally figured that releasing something in June to correlate with the anniversary of the shows themselves would be the way to go. But I agree releasing them in time for Elvis Week will definitely help to boost sales, especially if there is a tie-in campaign between Elvis Week and an upgraded MSG release!! :hmm:

TCB!
Mike

[KPM]

Then again I hate to be the devils advocate-perhaps nothing will happen this year.
The $5.00 An Afternoon in the Garden has been out for while now-and it would seem to me that if something of real value were being planned for the 40th anniversary of the events-they would not have released the $5.00 Walmart version so close to that anniversary.

[vivaelvis]

Then again I hate to be the devils advocate-perhaps nothing will happen this year.
The $5.00 An Afternoon in the Garden has been out for while now-and it would seem to me that if something of real value were being planned for the 40th anniversary of the events-they would not have released the $5.00 Walmart version so close to that anniversary.

I noticed that EPE mentioned that this cd is selling good and still charting on their site in the news section. I'm thinking that Sony is trying to get it to gold status (which it's close to) by selling it at a low price and then delete it from the catalog and replace it with an upgraded version of the same title. They probably have already stopped ordering factory copies of the original 1997 album and are just trying to sell what they can of the leftovers hence to make way for the new version. Remember when RCA remixed Aloha and gave it a new cover? I see them doing the same for the afternoon Garden show since the evening master tape is missing from their vaults.

Also, the release for $5.00 disc price was done as far back as 2010. The timing for that decision seems ironic to me.

[Brian Quinn]

Last week I e-mailed Scott Williams at EPE to request that he inform SONY that the stocks of AAITG at some Walmarts stores had run out (info. from U.S. fans tyrying to buy it) and he replied saying he had sorted the matter. He then clarified this on the EPE Website. However, the album is not on the current catalog and apart from Walmart's (who have a special deal) it cannot generally be bought in record stores. Even where it can, many outlets are not registered with SOUNDSCAN and therefore any sales will not count towards the charts. Why it was ever deleted from the current catalog in the first place is beyond me.

Last year I did suggest to SONY that they put out a 40th Anniversary Edition of the MSG shows so who knows it may come to fruition yet. I certainly hope so.

Brian

[vivaelvis]

Last week I e-mailed Scott Williams at EPE to request that he inform SONY that the stocks of AAITG at some Walmarts stores had run out (info. from U.S. fans tyrying to buy it) and he replied saying he had sorted the matter. He then clarified this on the EPE Website. However, the album is not on the current catalog and apart from Walmart's (who have a special deal) it cannot generally be bought in record stores. Even where it can, many outlets are not registered with SOUNDSCAN and therefore any sales will not count towards the charts. Why it was ever deleted from the current catalog in the first place is beyond me.

Last year I did suggest to SONY that they put out a 40th Anniversary Edition of the MSG shows so who knows it may come to fruition yet. I certainly hope so.

Brian

Well if they have deleted An Afternoon In The Garden from their catalog then that pretty much confirms that they are about to do something special with the show(s). Record companies don't delete a popular top selling album especially while it's still peaking and still charting. That's unheard of. I am now expecting something to soon be announced.

Thanks Brian!

[Jungleroom76]

Last week I e-mailed Scott Williams at EPE to request that he inform SONY that the stocks of AAITG at some Walmarts stores had run out (info. from U.S. fans tyrying to buy it) and he replied saying he had sorted the matter. He then clarified this on the EPE Website. However, the album is not on the current catalog and apart from Walmart's (who have a special deal) it cannot generally be bought in record stores. Even where it can, many outlets are not registered with SOUNDSCAN and therefore any sales will not count towards the charts. Why it was ever deleted from the current catalog in the first place is beyond me.

Last year I did suggest to SONY that they put out a 40th Anniversary Edition of the MSG shows so who knows it may come to fruition yet. I certainly hope so.

Brian

Thanks for the info. Brian! (y)

I have to agree with Vivaelvis that with the original album confirmed to be deleted by RCA, it would make sense that a re-issue is forthcoming, especially given the success that is being reported with the $5.00 CD sales at Wal-Mart. :hmm:

TCB!
Mike

[KPM]

I noticed that EPE mentioned that this cd is selling good and still charting on their site in the news section. I'm thinking that Sony is trying to get it to gold status (which it's close to) by selling it at a low price and then delete it from the catalog and replace it with an upgraded version of the same title. They probably have already stopped ordering factory copies of the original 1997 album and are just trying to sell what they can of the leftovers hence to make way for the new version. Remember when RCA remixed Aloha and gave it a new cover? I see them doing the same for the afternoon Garden show since the evening master tape is missing from their vaults.

Also, the release for $5.00 disc price was done as far back as 2010. The timing for that decision seems ironic to me.
It does not seem ironic to me-it seems absolutely stupid "IF" (and I stress the "IF") anything was on the planning boards for some type of 2012 40th anniversary project. Why you would release a $5 dollar budget cd for either the original MSG or AITG.....when you are planning a major campaign for a couple years down the road........ for basically the same recordings.......makes absolutely no business sense. Even if they are digitally remastered it makes no sense.
It falls in line with the stupidity of the 2001 Turner/Warner campaign for the new TTWII-which was handicapped by showing the new version on TCM before it was released to the market for sale......people bought VHS blank tapes (or DVD blanks for the lucky ones who had recordable DVD players in 2001) and it hampered sales of the movie when it got to stores.....made no sense.

[vivaelvis]

It does not seem ironic to me-it seems absolutely stupid "IF" (and I stress the "IF") anything was on the planning boards for some type of 2012 40th anniversary project. Why you would release a $5 dollar budget cd for either the original MSG or AITG.....when you are planning a major campaign for a couple years down the road........ for basically the same recordings.......makes absolutely no business sense. Even if they are digitally remastered it makes no sense.
It falls in line with the stupidity of the 2001 Turner/Warner campaign for the new TTWII-which was handicapped by showing the new version on TCM before it was released to the market for sale......people bought VHS blank tapes (or DVD blanks for the lucky ones who had recordable DVD players in 2001) and it hampered sales of the movie when it got to stores.....made no sense.

Simple. To get rid of the remaining copies that they had already ordered throughout the years. That way they make money instead of throwing it away. It would be like buying a lot of wood for a construction project but not needing it all, then taking the rest of the leftovers and selling it off to a lumber company for a very cheap price. That way you make money and don't have to have that wood laying around taking up room.

I used to work for a CD/DVD packing company. We basically got the cds, then the booklets, then the cases and finally ran them all through the plastic wrapper ready to be shipped out to the stores. We were told never to leave any behind. If damaged we had to make a note of how many were damaged and could not be shipped. That info then went back to the distributor who then relayed it to the record company.

Something else that people don't realize is that record sales are mostly counted for how many units a company sends out to retailers, not how many are actually purchased by customers.

Anyway, seeing that Sony deleted the NY shows from their catalog and have stopped taking back orders tells me that something is definitely in the works. What it is remains to be unknown. Weather it be the main label or the FTD label. But something is in the works.

So basically, it makes perfect sense. Especially if they are planning to remix or master the original tapes for better quality which will appeal to the consumer.

As for the TTWII SE version, it was handled wrong because it was supposed to include a complete bonus disc of UNSEEN FOOTAGE not featured on the telecast and it didn't. So people were turned off by that. Plus it didn't have a major promotional marketing plan behind it. How many young to mid 30s actually watch TCM? Had it been on VH1 or MTV or even TNT I think sales would have been much, much better. That was where they dropped the ball.

[KPM]

Simple. To get rid of the remaining copies that they had already ordered throughout the years. That way they make money instead of throwing it away. It would be like buying a lot of wood for a construction project but not needing it all, then taking the rest of the leftovers and selling it off to a lumber company for a very cheap price. That way you make money and don't have to have that wood laying around taking up room.

I used to work for a CD/DVD packing company. We basically got the cds, then the booklets, then the cases and finally ran them all through the plastic wrapper ready to be shipped out to the stores. We were told never to leave any behind. If damaged we had to make a note of how many were damaged and could not be shipped. That info then went back to the distributor who then relayed it to the record company.

Something else that people don't realize is that record sales are mostly counted for how many units a company sends out to retailers, not how many are actually purchased by customers.

Anyway, seeing that Sony deleted the NY shows from their catalog and have stopped taking back orders tells me that something is definitely in the works. What it is remains to be unknown. Weather it be the main label or the FTD label. But something is in the works.

So basically, it makes perfect sense. Especially if they are planning to remix or master the original tapes for better quality which will appeal to the consumer.

As for the TTWII SE version, it was handled wrong because it was supposed to include a complete bonus disc of UNSEEN FOOTAGE not featured on the telecast and it didn't. So people were turned off by that. Plus it didn't have a major promotional marketing plan behind it. How many young to mid 30s actually watch TCM? Had it been on VH1 or MTV or even TNT I think sales would have been much, much better. That was where they dropped the ball.
Well CDs are small, they are easily shipped in boxes and easily stored until needed, especially if you have a huge promotion for the same product on the horizen. Having been a contractor-I can tell you if you buy "a bunch of lumber" and then do not need it all....lumber companies do not rebuy the wood.....if its defective they will take it back, but once you buy it, you buy it. If you buy so much extra for a project that you have to worry about what to do with it-you are not in business long.
There is no necessity for a company like Sony to get rid of old product-Its not like food items with an expiration date on the bottom-
it will keep, it can be recalled and stored for future budget sales-so that idea is not probable. One luxury that Sony has with all the pre 73 music is there is no hurry, no time limit, no time constraints...nor worries about artist royaltees so pulling something in is not a problem-can always sell it later. If I was planning some 40th anniversary promotion-there is no way, no way I would damage the prospect of huge sales-to dump $5 dollar cds out with the same music-it just is not good business. No one waters down the market for any item that is being promoted and dumping the cds out a couple years before a big promotion definitely is watering the market. You tick off people who buy the $5 version because they then realize the "better remastered product" has come out and in order to get it -you have to rebuy the same thing-at a higher price.
People who are not as concerned with a totally remastered version, will not buy it anyway.... so in watering the market a couple years early you do not prime the pump-you drown prospective sales and goodwill.
If that is what they have done-you can expect sales will not be high for the remastered version.
Well this is another-"we will see" moment.
This is 2012 so we should not have long to wait to see just what(if anything) happens and how grand a scale of promotion is used.
I would think now that we are 2 months away from the anniversary-some official BUZZ would be rumbling from Sony even if they only plan to release
a new remastered product during Elvis week in August. The longer it takes for an announcement to be made-makes it less and less probable that anything will happen for this anniversary year.
As far as TCM-are you kidding, my kids are all below the age of 30-and they all like and watch TCM because they have learned not all things from the past are without worth, meaning and entertainment value.
VH1? MTV? I have e-mails from them stating that they have no audience for Elvis on their channels, they will not even play the few Elvis music videos which have been produced (even when requests have come in)
So how would you get an entire Elvis concert video played on stations which will not even play a 4 minute video of his?
TCM should not have played the new TTWIISE-at all-they should have promoted the release for sales in stores.... not for the premiere on TCM.
The lack of aded footage also did hurt them-but the added footage was not essential since the newly produced version already had so much new footage in it to start with compared to the original from 70. The market was "watered down" by the premiere. Basic supply and demand.
TNT is the step sister of TCM all owned by Turner- TCM is one of the most successful cable channels of the last 20 years-FOX movie channel now has some commercials, AMC movie channel has had commercials for years now-TCM is still uncut and commercial free.

[vivaelvis]

Well CDs are small, they are easily shipped in boxes and easily stored until needed, especially if you have a huge promotion for the same product on the horizen. Having been a contractor-I can tell you if you buy "a bunch of lumber" and then do not need it all....lumber companies do not rebuy the wood.....if its defective they will take it back, but once you buy it, you buy it. If you buy so much extra for a project that you have to worry about what to do with it-you are not in business long.
There is no necessity for a company like Sony to get rid of old product-Its not like food items with an expiration date on the bottom-
it will keep, it can be recalled and stored for future budget sales-so that idea is not probable. One luxury that Sony has with all the pre 73 music is there is no hurry, no time limit, no time constraints...nor worries about artist royaltees so pulling something in is not a problem-can always sell it later. If I was planning some 40th anniversary promotion-there is no way, no way I would damage the prospect of huge sales-to dump $5 dollar cds out with the same music-it just is not good business. No one waters down the market for any item that is being promoted and dumping the cds out a couple years before a big promotion definitely is watering the market. You tick off people who buy the $5 version because they then realize the "better remastered product" has come out and in order to get it -you have to rebuy the same thing-at a higher price.
People who are not as concerned with a totally remastered version, will not buy it anyway.... so in watering the market a couple years early you do not prime the pump-you drown prospective sales and goodwill.
If that is what they have done-you can expect sales will not be high for the remastered version.
Well this is another-"we will see" moment.
This is 2012 so we should not have long to wait to see just what(if anything) happens and how grand a scale of promotion is used.
I would think now that we are 2 months away from the anniversary-some official BUZZ would be rumbling from Sony even if they only plan to release
a new remastered product during Elvis week in August. The longer it takes for an announcement to be made-makes it less and less probable that anything will happen for this anniversary year.
As far as TCM-are you kidding, my kids are all below the age of 30-and they all like and watch TCM because they have learned not all things from the past are without worth, meaning and entertainment value.
VH1? MTV? I have e-mails from them stating that they have no audience for Elvis on their channels, they will not even play the few Elvis music videos which have been produced (even when requests have come in)
So how would you get an entire Elvis concert video played on stations which will not even play a 4 minute video of his?
TCM should not have played the new TTWIISE-at all-they should have promoted the release for sales in stores.... not for the premiere on TCM.
The lack of aded footage also did hurt them-but the added footage was not essential since the newly produced version already had so much new footage in it to start with compared to the original from 70. The market was "watered down" by the premiere. Basic supply and demand.
TNT is the step sister of TCM all owned by Turner- TCM is one of the most successful cable channels of the last 20 years-FOX movie channel now has some commercials, AMC movie channel has had commercials for years now-TCM is still uncut and commercial free.

There is so much wrong with your post that I'm just going to let it be. We'll just have to disagree on this.

[KPM]

There is so much wrong with your post that I'm just going to let it be. We'll just have to disagree on this.
Well my post seems logical from a business standpoint, not sure what "in your opinion" is so wrong?
Lets go back a few years to the "VIVA Elvis" album. Just as a reference.
I recall you and I debated in a couple of threads about that release....and If I recall correctly you said that you had info that Sony was really going to promite this album of total remixes bigtime, that their expectations were that VIVA Elvis would debut at #1 and be bigger than any Elvis album release....I said at the time that if they were going to start promoting this release they had better get going because the campaign for 30#1s had about an 18 month campaign from moment of announcement-to release.
As the clock ticked by, there was no huge campaign, there was no number one premiere and there was no huge sales, very dismall sales.
So I say again -if there is a release forthcoming for a remastered set of NY performances they are sure going about it in a funny way.
Fact-we are 2 months from the anniversay.
Fact-no announcement of any Remastered version coming soon.
Fact-no official buzz of any kind to date.
Fact-In the last couple years they dumped AAITGarden onto the market at $5 prices-which has to affect future sales.
Fact-If my logic is wrong and a remastered set comes out at this late date-sales will be high, interest will be high and we should see good numbers for the release. IF that happens I will be happy to be wrong.

And my friend time will tell if they have a campaign, if its successful, and if my logic was correct.
If they suddenly come up with a remastered version, great but sales

[vivaelvis]

Well my post seems logical from a business standpoint, not sure what "in your opinion" is so wrong?
Lets go back a few years to the "VIVA Elvis" album. Just as a reference.
I recall you and I debated in a couple of threads about that release....and If I recall correctly you said that you had info that Sony was really going to promite this album of total remixes bigtime, that their expectations were that VIVA Elvis would debut at #1 and be bigger than any Elvis album release....I said at the time that if they were going to start promoting this release they had better get going because the campaign for 30#1s had about an 18 month campaign from moment of announcement-to release.
As the clock ticked by, there was no huge campaign, there was no number one premiere and there was no huge sales, very dismall sales.
So I say again -if there is a release forthcoming for a remastered set of NY performances they are sure going about it in a funny way.
Fact-we are 2 months from the anniversay.
Fact-no announcement of any Remastered version coming soon.
Fact-no official buzz of any kind to date.
Fact-In the last couple years they dumped AAITGarden onto the market at $5 prices-which has to affect future sales.
Fact-If my logic is wrong and a remastered set comes out at this late date-sales will be high, interest will be high and we should see good numbers for the release. IF that happens I will be happy to be wrong.

And my friend time will tell if they have a campaign, if its successful, and if my logic was correct.
If they suddenly come up with a remastered version, great but sales

CDs are easy to package....but not for a record company nor distribution warehouses. I worked in one and they do NOT like to have extra space to have to find to store away something that MIGHT or MIGHT NOT sell down the road. Which would be the case of the original 1997 release opposed to an upgraded more attractive package.

The fact that the Madison Square Garden albums are now deleted raises the chances of them repackaging the shows together. Possibly in a box set similar to the Young Man With A Big Beat set on a smaller level.

Think about it from this standpoint. Your Sony and you have all these orders from the past that you are trying to move out before you make any announcement of a new set containing the very same show but in a better sound and mix with maybe bonus tracks that are unreleased. You're not going to announce any upcoming project featuring the same show that you are currently trying to sell for a low cheap price at only one retail store until those copies are gone or close enough. The consumer would no longer go out and buy that same cd when they can then wait for the new more appealing set.

And don't forget that the rehearsal of the Garden shows remains to be unreleased. Who's to say that Sony hasn't located that tape source? Maybe doubtful but it is a possibility.

The actual anniversary of that show doesn't require Sony to release the shows at that particular time. A lot has to do with marketing periods and seasons. The fact that August is the big 35th anniversary, and with all the hoopla surrounding Elvis during that period, would be an ideal time for Sony to want to put out a repackaged set knowing that the majority of the fans and even casual fans would pick it up more during that period than any other. By doing that, Sony would save a fortune on marketing and TV and Add promotions than if they did it during, say, June. With the 35th soon approaching I think we might then hear something. Now I am NOT saying that that is what Sony is planing. But it makes the most logical sense from an entertainment business standpoint. If they chose not to do nothing at all then we can pretty much get a glance of what the future will hold for Elvis releases. And it would not look pretty.

As for the Viva Elvis cd and the lack of promotion and me having a source. You are correct about that but my source was indeed Brian Quinn who posts here and who is probably the only one on the Elvis forums who has direct connections to the Sony family. So what he was told either changed or was not accurate. Neither he nor I should be blamed or held accountable for that. My understanding is that Sony decided to put the marketing promotions behind the then new Michael Jackson album instead since they had paid such a high amount for the MJ catalog just prior to the VE album. Sony even realized later that they made a big mistake but wouldn't admit publicly to it. BTW, the MJ album was a complete flop, too.

But to be fair, Sony did release an official single and a musical video of Suspicious Minds from the album and did do a few TV promotions and marketing spots. Just not at the right audience nor did they do near enough. The album was good, from a new sound attempt standpoint. But it wasn't the Elvis the public was used to. I have heard better remixes from amateurs on Youtube.

[vivaelvis]

Also, a post from Minkahead on FECC from a few weeks back. He's not the most reliable and might be simply making stuff up. But time will tell if he has inside connections to someone at Sony or not.

hm80ep wrote:
minkahed seems to know something but he doesn't want to tell.




Ok, I'm not at liberty to say anything about anything coming out, but I have heard a few things that, if true, which seems to be the case,
we will be getting a nice package this upcoming summer.

A friend of mine who actually works at Sony told me first hand that what he heard, at the studio, will knock our socks off.

This gentleman also knows and speaks to Ernst from time to time and expressed to me that he was working on the booklet with some new liner notes for the package.

I hope I don't get any crap for posting this publicly, but quite frankly, I'm thrilled !

[KPM]

CDs are easy to package....but not for a record company nor distribution warehouses. I worked in one and they do NOT like to have extra space to have to find to store away something that MIGHT or MIGHT NOT sell down the road. Which would be the case of the original 1997 release opposed to an upgraded more attractive package.

The fact that the Madison Square Garden albums are now deleted raises the chances of them repackaging the shows together. Possibly in a box set similar to the Young Man With A Big Beat set on a smaller level.

Think about it from this standpoint. Your Sony and you have all these orders from the past that you are trying to move out before you make any announcement of a new set containing the very same show but in a better sound and mix with maybe bonus tracks that are unreleased. You're not going to announce any upcoming project featuring the same show that you are currently trying to sell for a low cheap price at only one retail store until those copies are gone or close enough. The consumer would no longer go out and buy that same cd when they can then wait for the new more appealing set.And don't forget that the rehearsal of the Garden shows remains to be unreleased. Who's to say that Sony hasn't located that tape source? Maybe doubtful but it is a possibility.

The actual anniversary of that show doesn't require Sony to release the shows at that particular time. A lot has to do with marketing periods and seasons. The fact that August is the big 35th anniversary, and with all the hoopla surrounding Elvis during that period, would be an ideal time for Sony to want to put out a repackaged set knowing that the majority of the fans and even casual fans would pick it up more during that period than any other. By doing that, Sony would save a fortune on marketing and TV and Add promotions than if they did it during, say, June. With the 35th soon approaching I think we might then hear something. Now I am NOT saying that that is what Sony is planing. But it makes the most logical sense from an entertainment business standpoint. If they chose not to do nothing at all then we can pretty much get a glance of what the future will hold for Elvis releases. And it would not look pretty.

As for the Viva Elvis cd and the lack of promotion and me having a source. You are correct about that but my source was indeed Brian Quinn who posts here and who is probably the only one on the Elvis forums who has direct connections to the Sony family. So what he was told either changed or was not accurate. Neither he nor I should be blamed or held accountable for that. My understanding is that Sony decided to put the marketing promotions behind the then new Michael Jackson album instead since they had paid such a high amount for the MJ catalog just prior to the VE album. Sony even realized later that they made a big mistake but wouldn't admit publicly to it. BTW, the MJ album was a complete flop, too.

But to be fair, Sony did release an official single and a musical video of Suspicious Minds from the album and did do a few TV promotions and marketing spots. Just not at the right audience nor did they do near enough. The album was good, from a new sound attempt standpoint. But it wasn't the Elvis the public was used to. I have heard better remixes from amateurs on Youtube.
I blame no one when it comes to information which does not pan out-but I remember when it does not pan out and then use it to judge future information posted.
Sure they might find the rehearsal tapes, they might also find tapes for the 68 special dressing room rehearsals, they might find a lot of things....... what that has to do with the 40th anniversary of the actual MSG shows we know they have and a repackage/remaster is a little vague to me.
Your thoughts about why they would sell $5 budget releases is the same point I made on why they would not be selling them right up to the 40th anniversary-only in reverse.....your assumption is they moved the $5 cds out and have not yet mentioned any new remastered set (which might sell for up to $19.99 to start).....because they do not want to store them these $5 cds? In other words in your way of thinking Sony is purposely keeping quiet on any remastered set-to get rid of old stock-horrid way to market new product-pull the wool over your customers eyes.....does not promote good will, does not promote huge sales.
You see most businesses would much rather make a push for the higher profit potential of $19.99-especially if you are spending a large amount to remaster and repackage and not worry about $5 cds not having a place to rest:D;)
You are correct they do not have to have any remastered set ready in June-I agree-but any real campaign to push a remastered set would surely be started by now...come on we are 4 months from August.
So if they have a plan for a remastered set-they are not promoting it the way they did 30#1s which was announced and much anticipated for many many months before the release. Anticipation, "BUZZ" creates sales-thats Advertising 101!
I think as far as the remixes on VIVA Elvis-some were very good, Burning Love, Suspicious Minds were IMO excellent-my daughters 26 and 28 liked both those remixes very much. Some others were not so good.
I want to see it succeed because that is good for Elvis's legacy-but am not holding my breath 4 months away.... with absolutely no official word of any kind.
Selling nearly 500,000 copies of "Garden" for the last 2 years is going to tick off fans who bought it-they will feel cheated if a totally remastered set is brought out as the last copies of "Garden" are still being bought. Deception is not part of Advertising 101s curriculum-at least not that I recall.

[vivaelvis]

I blame no one when it comes to information which does not pan out-but I remember when it does not pan out and then use it to judge future information posted.
Sure they might find the rehearsal tapes, they might also find tapes for the 68 special dressing room rehearsals, they might find a lot of things....... what that has to do with the 40th anniversary of the actual MSG shows we know they have and a repackage/remaster is a little vague to me.
Your thoughts about why they would sell $5 budget releases is the same point I made on why they would not be selling them right up to the 40th anniversary-only in reverse.....your assumption is they moved the $5 cds out and have not yet mentioned any new remastered set (which might sell for up to $19.99 to start).....because they do not want to store them these $5 cds? In other words in your way of thinking Sony is purposely keeping quiet on any remastered set-to get rid of old stock-horrid way to market new product-pull the wool over your customers eyes.....does not promote good will, does not promote huge sales.
You see most businesses would much rather make a push for the higher profit potential of $19.99-especially if you are spending a large amount to remaster and repackage and not worry about $5 cds not having a place to rest:D;)
You are correct they do not have to have any remastered set ready in June-I agree-but any real campaign to push a remastered set would surely be started by now...come on we are 4 months from August.
So if they have a plan for a remastered set-they are not promoting it the way they did 30#1s which was announced and much anticipated for many many months before the release. Anticipation, "BUZZ" creates sales-thats Advertising 101!
I think as far as the remixes on VIVA Elvis-some were very good, Burning Love, Suspicious Minds were IMO excellent-my daughters 26 and 28 liked both those remixes very much. Some others were not so good.
I want to see it succeed because that is good for Elvis's legacy-but am not holding my breath 4 months away.... with absolutely no official word of any kind.
Selling nearly 500,000 copies of "Garden" for the last 2 years is going to tick off fans who bought it-they will feel cheated if a totally remastered set is brought out as the last copies of "Garden" are still being bought. Deception is not part of Advertising 101s curriculum-at least not that I recall.

That's exactly what they and RCA have been doing for the past 3 decades with Elvis releases. How many times have they repackaged the gospel albums? How many times have they repackaged the greatest hits, over and over? How many times have they repackaged the movie soundtracks? However, they have NEVER repackaged or remastered the historical and legendary Garden shows to date.

[KPM]

[QUOTE=vivaelvis;407063]That's exactly what they and RCA have been doing for the past 3 decades with Elvis releases. How many times have they repackaged the gospel albums? How many times have they repackaged the greatest hits, over and over? How many times have they repackaged the movie soundtracks? However, they have NEVER repackaged or remastered the historical and legendary Garden shows to date.[/
QUOTE]Repackaging is much much different from-getting rid of old product in its original state.....and yes they have repackaged gospel albums, greatest hits, movie soundtracks-and the reason being is they make money off of it and it gives them an opportunity to re-introduce to someone new-Elvis's gospel music, Elvis's greatest hits or albums. That does not pull the wool over we fans-we all know its just repackaged product with a new cover...so this is not the same thing. I am smart enough to know that repackaged gospel, hits, movies etc...is not for we fans its for other people to discover Elvis. Most everyone hear understands this. Elvis left no new music-we are not going to get much we have not heard only variations thru differing takes, live shows, home recordings-Sony has to work with what they have-not what we all wish they had.
Not sure again what this has to do with what we are talking of.....which is whether a remastered anniversary package of MSG is coming this year.
The $5 Afternoon cd-is not repackaged or new-but the timing of its release in the last 2 years indicates to me-a new remastered set is probably not coming this year. IF it does good, but many who bought "Afternoon" will most likely not buy the remastered set at the premium price for the reasons I stated.
IF sales of the possible remastered set are weak-my point will be proven.
IF nothing comes out-my point will be proven.
If it comes out, has a huge promotion on par with 30#1s (which seems unlikely 2-4 months out) then it will sell a couple million fairly quick and your thoughts will be proven out.

[vivaelvis]

[QUOTE=vivaelvis;407063]That's exactly what they and RCA have been doing for the past 3 decades with Elvis releases. How many times have they repackaged the gospel albums? How many times have they repackaged the greatest hits, over and over? How many times have they repackaged the movie soundtracks? However, they have NEVER repackaged or remastered the historical and legendary Garden shows to date.[/
QUOTE]Repackaging is much much different from-getting rid of old product in its original state.....and yes they have repackaged gospel albums, greatest hits, movie soundtracks-and the reason being is they make money off of it and it gives them an opportunity to re-introduce to someone new-Elvis's gospel music, Elvis's greatest hits or albums. That does not pull the wool over we fans-we all know its just repackaged product with a new cover...so this is not the same thing. I am smart enough to know that repackaged gospel, hits, movies etc...is not for we fans its for other people to discover Elvis. Most everyone hear understands this. Elvis left no new music-we are not going to get much we have not heard only variations thru differing takes, live shows, home recordings-Sony has to work with what they have-not what we all wish they had.
Not sure again what this has to do with what we are talking of.....which is whether a remastered anniversary package of MSG is coming this year.
The $5 Afternoon cd-is not repackaged or new-but the timing of its release in the last 2 years indicates to me-a new remastered set is probably not coming this year. IF it does good, but many who bought "Afternoon" will most likely not buy the remastered set at the premium price for the reasons I stated.
IF sales of the possible remastered set are weak-my point will be proven.
IF nothing comes out-my point will be proven.
If it comes out, has a huge promotion on par with 30#1s (which seems unlikely 2-4 months out) then it will sell a couple million fairly quick and your thoughts will be proven out.

OK, then what about when RCA BMG deleted the original 1973 Aloha From Hawaii album just a few months prior to re-releasing the same album in a remixed version? That was no different at all then if they did that now, or are doing that with the Madison Square Garden shows this year or anytime in the near future.

[KPM]

[QUOTE=KPM;407094]

OK, then what about when RCA BMG deleted the original 1973 Aloha From Hawaii album just a few months prior to re-releasing the same album in a remixed version? That was no different at all then if they did that now, or are doing that with the Madison Square Garden shows this year or anytime in the near future.
There is no use rehashing this over and over...if it happens we will shortly see.
The point I am making is if the sales are big, it will surprise me...........no promotion 4 months out, 500,000 similar cds sold in the last 2 years, little buzz.
Viva Elvis should have proved something, you can have all the great ideas and hopes in the world, but if Sony waits too long for real promotion it sabotages its sales campaign in various ways and big sales will not be coming for that release.
30#1s proved you have to start at least a year in advance, you have to promote, you have to launch a real campaign......and that has not happened in this case.
That is my point, if a release for the Garden shows is coming-they are taking the Viva Elvis approach which seems likely to doom the sales.
Not only are they using the Viva Elvis approach-they have added the 500,000 in recent sales of part of the Garden product to make the scenario even worse. But we will see.

[vivaelvis]

[QUOTE=vivaelvis;407115]
There is no use rehashing this over and over...if it happens we will shortly see.
The point I am making is if the sales are big, it will surprise me...........no promotion 4 months out, 500,000 similar cds sold in the last 2 years, little buzz.
Viva Elvis should have proved something, you can have all the great ideas and hopes in the world, but if Sony waits too long for real promotion it sabotages its sales campaign in various ways and big sales will not be coming for that release.
30#1s proved you have to start at least a year in advance, you have to promote, you have to launch a real campaign......and that has not happened in this case.
That is my point, if a release for the Garden shows is coming-they are taking the Viva Elvis approach which seems likely to doom the sales.
Not only are they using the Viva Elvis approach-they have added the 500,000 in recent sales of part of the Garden product to make the scenario even worse. But we will see.

Newflash! 30 Number One Hits wasn't commercially announced until the June of 2002 when it was decided that the surprising #1 hit A Little Less Conversation remix would be added to the album as a bonus track. The album came out in late September. In other words, there was only a 3-month promotion period leading up to its worldwide release. It has also been debated whether or not that album reaches #1 without the remixed bonus track which was the hottest song on the planet that year.

[KPM]

[QUOTE=KPM;407187]

Newflash! 30 Number One Hits wasn't commercially announced until the June of 2002 when it was decided that the surprising #1 hit A Little Less Conversation remix would be added to the album as a bonus track. The album came out in late September. In other words, there was only a 3-month promotion period leading up to its worldwide release. It has also been debated whether or not that album reaches #1 without the remixed bonus track which was the hottest song on the planet that year.
NEWS FLASH;)
The planning for 30#1s started right after the Beatles Number 1s came out-in 2000!!! We all knew about it....we talked about it, speculated about it.
The songs which qualified were identified by Ernst and Roger in 2000 and the remastering process began-all of this well known to fans.... all of this leading to huge speculation about how they would be remastered, who would actually do the process how long it would take.....BUZZ from almost the beginning. That is proper use of "BUZZ" you know something is coming and the wait adds to the excitement of the actual date its released.
There is no BUZZ about any remastered huge project for MSG such as 30#1s had.....2 years in the making.
There is a reason why something works, and something does not.
The ALLC remix was added late-it had afterall been a Number 1 in England and many other countries....but planning for 30#1s was way ahead of the remix-which was not even done with Sony/BMG/RCA approval-that approval came after ALLC began creating so much "BUZZ" of its own.
No denying it helped the album-but this album was going to be a number 1 with or without the remix.

[vivaelvis]

[QUOTE=vivaelvis;407188]
NEWS FLASH;)
The planning for 30#1s started right after the Beatles Number 1s came out-in 2000!!! We all knew about it....we talked about it, speculated about it.
The songs which qualified were identified by Ernst and Roger in 2000 and the remastering process began-all of this well known to fans.... all of this leading to huge speculation about how they would be remastered, who would actually do the process how long it would take.....BUZZ from almost the beginning. That is proper use of "BUZZ" you know something is coming and the wait adds to the excitement of the actual date its released.
There is no BUZZ about any remastered huge project for MSG such as 30#1s had.....2 years in the making.
There is a reason why something works, and something does not.
The ALLC remix was added late-it had afterall been a Number 1 in England and many other countries....but planning for 30#1s was way ahead of the remix-which was not even done with Sony/BMG/RCA approval-that approval came after ALLC began creating so much "BUZZ" of its own.
No denying it helped the album-but this album was going to be a number 1 with or without the remix.

Planning and promoting are two different things. And no, there is no way at all to know if the 30 #1 Hits album would have reached #1 or not.

And there was no announcement by Ernst or anyone connected to RCA or BMG back in 2000 about a hits album. The only thing mentioned was a possible ultimate rock and roll album that was eventually replaced with the hits concept.

[KPM]

[QUOTE=KPM;407201]

Planning and promoting are two different things. And no, there is no way at all to know if the 30 #1 Hits album would have reached #1 or not.

And there was no announcement by Ernst or anyone connected to RCA or BMG back in 2000 about a hits album. The only thing mentioned was a possible ultimate rock and roll album that was eventually replaced with the hits concept.
Well we will have to disagree.
I am confident that the album would have gone number 1 with or without the remix.
You make the point that MSG needs to be remastered and retooled for fans and potential new fans, you think remastering would enhance the sales........remastereing all the biggest number 1s of Elvis's ,by your own thinking, would have been good for sales so a remix was not the reason it would be bought anew by fans-it would be the improved sound....and for the record the remastering on it was superb.

[vivaelvis]

[QUOTE=vivaelvis;407202]
Well we will have to disagree.
I am confident that the album would have gone number 1 with or without the remix.
You make the point that MSG needs to be remastered and retooled for fans and potential new fans, you think remastering would enhance the sales........remastereing all the biggest number 1s of Elvis's ,by your own thinking, would have been good for sales so a remix was not the reason it would be bought anew by fans-it would be the improved sound....and for the record the remastering on it was superb.

That's arrogant to even suggest that it would have been #1 with or without. Who are you, Nostradamus? Seriously Ken, there's no way of telling if it would have or wouldn't. And as I stated in my previous post on here, Ernst did NOT announce a hits collection for the big 25th anniversary in 2000. At that time the big focus was on the soundtrack to the TTWII Special Edition release to tie in with the movie revamp.

As for the Garden remasters. I can actually say from reading countless requests and complaints over the years from fans online (including myself) that YES, a remastered or newly mixed Garden show would have significant increased sales over time. The die hards for one thing, would go out and buy it. The collectors would buy it to add another must-have to their collection. Joe Public and casual fans would be curious with media hoopla surrounding it. Not to mention the mass crowd of followers who will be at Elvis Week in August. If they wanted to they could sell 50,000 units just at Graceland that week alone!

[KPM]

[QUOTE=KPM;407208]

That's arrogant to even suggest that it would have been #1 with or without. Who are you, Nostradamus? Seriously Ken, there's no way of telling if it would have or wouldn't. And as I stated in my previous post on here, Ernst did NOT announce a hits collection for the big 25th anniversary in 2000. At that time the big focus was on the soundtrack to the TTWII Special Edition release to tie in with the movie revamp.

As for the Garden remasters. I can actually say from reading countless requests and complaints over the years from fans online (including myself) that YES, a remastered or newly mixed Garden show would have significant increased sales over time. The die hards for one thing, would go out and buy it. The collectors would buy it to add another must-have to their collection. Joe Public and casual fans would be curious with media hoopla surrounding it. Not to mention the mass crowd of followers who will be at Elvis Week in August. If they wanted to they could sell 50,000 units just at Graceland that week alone!
Let me say I do not find giving an honest opinion-arrogant....thats your perspective on it.
:lol:As far as Nostradomas-I have a pretty good track record here-for differing things discussed that have panned out as I predicted.:lol:
I am flattered that you mention his name with mine;) but Nostradamus was not even Nostradamus if you explore his predictions further than fake documentaries or dramatized life stories.
I will start looking "just for you"-to find when the first "BUZZ" about 30#1s began-it may take some time but I know from memory that we all knew about the remastereing and that it was long before 3 months out. BUZZ starts with leaks of small bits of information-give me time and I will find those in interviews, books, random statements. Till then we will see if Garden will be released remastered this year and if it is-how well it sells after selling 500,000 in such a short time before.
If it sells well I will be happy-surprised but happy......but if it does not happen........Nostradomas strikes again:P

[KPM]

Just for you Viva-First little tidbit I have found about a possible definitive album for the 25th anniversary comes from outgoing BMG head Mike Omansky in an interview with Elvis news. This is a teaser to start "buzz" about a product so far unknown but coming from 9-23-01-his thoughts on how BMG will do after he is gone:

Omansky-Hopefully BMG will carry the ball on the franchise. There is clearly an understanding of the on-going sales potential of Elvis, and that bodes well for the franchise. The next major opportunity after the 25th anniversary is a few years later -- 50th anniversary with RCA.


Question-Last August in Memphis several people suggested that after the 25th anniversary the attention for Elvis will decline. What is your opinion?

Omansky-Disagree 100%. 25th anniversary will get major media attention. The Disney animated film "Lilo & Stitch" will be a good lead-in, targeted to kids, with 6 Elvis songs in the film and the soundtrack, and a massive global cross promotion; RCA will have a definitive album; and media attention to Elvis will be huge. ............

[vivaelvis]

Just for you Viva-First little tidbit I have found about a possible definitive album for the 25th anniversary comes from outgoing BMG head Mike Omansky in an interview with Elvis news. This is a teaser to start "buzz" about a product so far unknown but coming from 9-23-01-his thoughts on how BMG will do after he is gone:

Omansky-Hopefully BMG will carry the ball on the franchise. There is clearly an understanding of the on-going sales potential of Elvis, and that bodes well for the franchise. The next major opportunity after the 25th anniversary is a few years later -- 50th anniversary with RCA.


Question-Last August in Memphis several people suggested that after the 25th anniversary the attention for Elvis will decline. What is your opinion?

Omansky-Disagree 100%. 25th anniversary will get major media attention. The Disney animated film "Lilo & Stitch" will be a good lead-in, targeted to kids, with 6 Elvis songs in the film and the soundtrack, and a massive global cross promotion; RCA will have a definitive album; and media attention to Elvis will be huge. ............

The "definitive" album was to be a best of his rock material from the 50's. Ernst announced this back in 2001, around the same time as that quote took place.:hmm:

[KPM]

The "definitive" album was to be a best of his rock material from the 50's. Ernst announced this back in 2001, around the same time as that quote took place.:hmm:
Strange I do not see the description of what album, what era, what musical genre the definitive album would be in Mr. Omanskys statement-hmmm would it not be "arrogant" to assume that it is the album you claim.......no not in the least-it would be an honest opinion........which I do not happen to agree with.
The definitive album of 2002-the album which would define just about all that Elvis was-would most probably be 30#1s-it had every era of Elvis's career, every type of music he was known for and all NUMBER ONES!
If Mr. Omansky had said, a definitive album of his early rock hits or of the 50s I might agree-he did not-so "definitive" in the usage by Mr Omansky in Sept 01-was one of much larger and broader scope not confined to one era, one genre. IMO

[vivaelvis]

Strange I do not see the description of what album, what era, what musical genre the definitive album would be in Mr. Omanskys statement-hmmm would it not be "arrogant" to assume that it is the album you claim.......no not in the least-it would be an honest opinion........which I do not happen to agree with.
The definitive album of 2002-the album which would define just about all that Elvis was-would most probably be 30#1s-it had every era of Elvis's career, every type of music he was known for and all NUMBER ONES!
If Mr. Omansky had said, a definitive album of his early rock hits or of the 50s I might agree-he did not-so "definitive" in the usage by Mr Omansky in Sept 01-was one of much larger and broader scope not confined to one era, one genre. IMO

It was on the message boards back in 2001 of what the project was to be then RCA changed it to the hits collection in form of the Beatles 1.

[KPM]

It was on the message boards back in 2001 of what the project was to be then RCA changed it to the hits collection in form of the Beatles 1.
Mr. Omansky did not say 50s rock-he said "definitive album" in his 9-23-01 interview. For the reasons I gave that seems more applicable to a 30#1s
Also the idea for 30#1s began in 2000 right after the success of Beatles 1-why would you announce a definitive package mean 50s music near the end of 2001...when plans were in the works in 2000 for an Elvis #1s?
Actually in another interview I found with Soden-he said that the plans for the 25th anniversary year-started 5 years before in 1997 and that EPE and BMG began to work in coordination on the 25th anniversay year plans. Omansky was pivotal in much more cooperation between the 2 corporations because he realised they needed to work together.....now I have not posted the Soden interview because it did not mention 30#1s specifically in the 5 year planning-but I am still looking my friend. The Soden interview did mention how ALLC came about-and how it becoming a huge hit was something that you can not plan-it happened out of the blue.
He also mentioned that all EPE tried to do was introduce Elvis to new generations in many ways-and that Elvis then wins fans as he always had-he said it was nothing complicated.

[vivaelvis]

Mr. Omansky did not say 50s rock-he said "definitive album" in his 9-23-01 interview. For the reasons I gave that seems more applicable to a 30#1s
Also the idea for 30#1s began in 2000 right after the success of Beatles 1-why would you announce a definitive package mean 50s music near the end of 2001...when plans were in the works in 2000 for an Elvis #1s?
Actually in another interview I found with Soden-he said that the plans for the 25th anniversary year-started 5 years before in 1997 and that EPE and BMG began to work in coordination on the 25th anniversay year plans. Omansky was pivotal in much more cooperation between the 2 corporations because he realised they needed to work together.....now I have not posted the Soden interview because it did not mention 30#1s specifically in the 5 year planning-but I am still looking my friend. The Soden interview did mention how ALLC came about-and how it becoming a huge hit was something that you can not plan-it happened out of the blue.
He also mentioned that all EPE tried to do was introduce Elvis to new generations in many ways-and that Elvis then wins fans as he always had-he said it was nothing complicated.

Trust me on this. I know exactly what I am talking about. The original plan mentioned by Ernst was that it was to be a 50's ROCK ALBUM!

[KPM]

All I know for sure is the planning for 30#1s started in 2000-not 2001, not 2002.
Beatles Number 1 2000 hit cd caused the planning to begin-it seems hard to believe that planning for 30-1s would start in 2000, then suddenly be stopped to replace the idea with a 50s compilation in 2001....then once again be changed back to 30#1s in 2001 shortly after Mr Omansky made his "definitve album" statement. Once again Mr Omansky ran BMG-who Ernst worked for-I'm sure if the definitive album had been only definitive of the 1950s-he would have included that in his answer to Elvis news.
Regardless your claim that it was in fact a 50s comp-makes no sense any way you look at it......to stop midflight with a project-start another-stop that one........and then complete the first project to shelve the second.....crazy.
I also recall the debate I mentioned previously about which songs were being remastered, what lists such as Billboard, Cashbox, NME in England....would be used to determine the count for official #1s, and who would handle the remastering long before the Sept 02 release.
So I also can claim to know exaclty what I am talking about....but I am still looking for hard fact to prove it.
As I find it-it will be posted.
I thought I had gold at the Japanese Elvis World site-I could trace news and interviews back to 2003-but the site must have deleted its interviews and news before that because it would not let me access it-said it was no longer there.

[KPM]

Here Viva is a recorded interview with Mike Omansky from Elvis Week 2001 about 30 minutes long in which he announces the 30#1s album and a worldwide campaign to promote it-on par with promotions for current live artists.
He also announced the Lilo and Stitch Disney film and explains why some things are done the way the are by BMG.
Click on the Mike Omansky interview.

http://www.jordans-elvis-world.com/aug01/index.html

PS This would put the official announcement of 30#1s, by the President of BMG no less....... well over a year before it was released in Sept 2002.

[WHITETIGERMAN]

This show really ROCKED......by far better than the orginal release.Even though it's KILLER as well.

[KPM]

Still looking for more info of about the campaign for 30#1s-hard to top the interview with Omansky from Elvis Week 2001-but I'm still at it.;)

[vivaelvis]

Ken, I heard that clip you posted and you are correct. However, Ernst said something totally different on a forum back then. Maybe that's why he no longer can post on there under Sony's request? But he definitely mentioned a definitive rock album of all of Elvis' rock songs from the 50's as being the big project for 2002 back then.

[KPM]

Ken, I heard that clip you posted and you are correct. However, Ernst said something totally different on a forum back then. Maybe that's why he no longer can post on there under Sony's request? But he definitely mentioned a definitive rock album of all of Elvis' rock songs from the 50's as being the big project for 2002 back then.
Thanks for the acknowledgement.
My point originally was that if this late a date a remastered MSG is coming-they have waited too long, have not promoted and have watered their potential product down with the $5 sales.
30#1s was promoted big time over a year of lead time...........Omansky said-worldwide promotional campaign just like a current living artist-TV, Radio, print ads etc.....
If we have heard nothing this close it seems doubtful- even if they put out something-it will be closer to Viva Elvis sales-and not 30#1s.
That 30 minute clip was pretty interesting-tidbits like the "50 Greatest Lovesongs" cd was for others-and 2000s TTWIISE cd set was for fans.
His mention of sales agreements with TimeLife which were unprecedented at the time showcasing a single artist instead of multiple artists, the strategy of closer working agreements with EPE to coordinate releases with mutual cooperation.
All and all I thought Omansky explained his approach to promoting Elvis worldwide to we fans and the general public was pretty solid reasoning.

[vivaelvis]

It does not seem ironic to me-it seems absolutely stupid "IF" (and I stress the "IF") anything was on the planning boards for some type of 2012 40th anniversary project. Why you would release a $5 dollar budget cd for either the original MSG or AITG.....when you are planning a major campaign for a couple years down the road........ for basically the same recordings.......makes absolutely no business sense. Even if they are digitally remastered it makes no sense.
It falls in line with the stupidity of the 2001 Turner/Warner campaign for the new TTWII-which was handicapped by showing the new version on TCM before it was released to the market for sale......people bought VHS blank tapes (or DVD blanks for the lucky ones who had recordable DVD players in 2001) and it hampered sales of the movie when it got to stores.....made no sense.

I told you Ken that they were probably going to do a special deluxe edition for the 40th! It made no sense not to cash in on the success of arguably his most popular concert event, even bigger in the eyes of rock historians than Aloha.

[KPM]

I told you Ken that they were probably going to do a special deluxe edition for the 40th! It made no sense not to cash in on the success of arguably his most popular concert event, even bigger in the eyes of rock historians than Aloha.
Yes you got this one correct-great news.
The idea of releasing the $5 knockoff still makes no sense to me in the context we had been discussing....but you never mentioned (and I never imagined) that video footage from the shows would be included in the package-and that fact negates the bad idea of selling AAITG for 2 years at 5 bucks...it changes the dynamics for potential sales because even if you own every MSG release they have put out "NO FAN will pass up the chance for some quality performance footage" said to be included in the set.
Had we discussed "A dvd concert footage included" with the remastered CDs I would have seen the idea totally different.
I am more excited about the contents of the DVD than the remastered CDs.......lets hope it has more than a clip or two.

But maybe Sony read my post # 15, from June 2010 on the thread Elvis Garden Sony 2012.. where you predicted a 2012 remastered set:


.........I'd buy it-but not so sure about the younger set-maybe if they could come up with a music video from some of the existing "clearer footage of the MSG Shows" it might have a better chance of getting sales with younger people who would see the video.............
.

[vivaelvis]

Yes you got this one correct-great news.
The idea of releasing the $5 knockoff still makes no sense to me in the context we had been discussing....but you never mentioned (and I never imagined) that video footage from the shows would be included in the package-and that fact negates the bad idea of selling AAITG for 2 years at 5 bucks...it changes the dynamics for potential sales because even if you own every MSG release they have put out "NO FAN will pass up the chance for some quality performance footage" said to be included in the set.
Had we discussed "A dvd concert footage included" with the remastered CDs I would have seen the idea totally different.
I am more excited about the contents of the DVD than the remastered CDs.......lets hope it has more than a clip or two.

But maybe Sony read my post # 15, from June 2010 on the thread Elvis Garden Sony 2012.. where you predicted a 2012 remastered set:


.........I'd buy it-but not so sure about the younger set-maybe if they could come up with a music video from some of the existing "clearer footage of the MSG Shows" it might have a better chance of getting sales with younger people who would see the video.............
.

Actually, I indeed did. Check this post back in 2010. I proposed the exact same thing that Sony is releasing now, even with the upgraded sound. http://www.tcb-world.com/threads/33608-Elvis-the-Garden-Sony-and-2012

[KPM]

Actually, I indeed did. Check this post back in 2010. I proposed the exact same thing that Sony is releasing now, even with the upgraded sound. http://www.tcb-world.com/threads/33608-Elvis-the-Garden-Sony-and-2012
When you mentioned the DVD in your original post for the thread you never mentioned what would be on the DVD-had you specifically said
MSG concert footage cleaned up, remastered and with properly synced sound-I would have been all for that....as I said later in post 15.. video could help attract younger fans. But there had really been no mention of concert footage included in any of the other threads where you and I disagreed.
The point of including this footage makes this much more sellable to everyone....including me.
Honestly without the video DVD I may have not bought the set-I own the original album from 72, have it on 8 track, have it on cassette, and have the Afternoon album on cassette and Cd......the sound I get from my sound system is fine-the DVD concert footage makes all the difference to me.....and probably many others.
Now if the DVD is disappointing-or if I hear it is just a few minutes of existing footage that has not been cleaned nor synced-I could change my mine.
I understand Sony has had no control over what material they have in the vaults so I have always cut them some slack-but if they advertise DVD footage they better deliver with quality and with more than 3 minutes.
But I have to hand it to you you basically got this one absolutely correct-now time will tell if its a quality release.