Anyone here purchase The New "FTD's" ???

[King_Creole]

Ok, so did anyone on this board purchase the newly released "Triple Pack" FTD's ???

That would be:

RAISED ON ROCK (2 cd set)
EASY COME, EASY GO
I SING ALL KINDS

I have been thoroughly enjoying and wearing these discs out this whole week.

May I say, the "Raised On Rock" set is amazingly great !!!
The mixes are quite different than what came before and the "Rough Mixes" found on Disc 2 are even better !!!

Not only is the sonic quality meticulously and greatly improved, but most of the trax are extended versions, which makes them even more essential for the collectors and casual fans alike.

I just can't fathom why Felton Jarvis decided to edit the ending of "If You Don't Come Back" by almost 15 seconds of more Wah Wah funky guitar solo from James B.
For the hard core base, check out the ending of "Three Corn Patches".

Ok, most consider this track a dud, but the ending just flat out rocks. too bad Elvis just couldn't get more into it as did the TCB band and back up singers !!!

The different mix of "I MISS YOU" is simply beautiful.

Onto the soundtrack of 1967's "Easy Come, Easy Go".

Newly discovered STEREO mixes of songs we have only heard in MONO for 40 YEARS !!!

The title track sounds awesome and take 9 is almost just as good as the Master !!!

"She's A Machine" is another rockin' highlight.

I really like the booklet that came with this cd package. lots of unseen pix and information about the film, the filming and the soundtrack story behind the scenes.

There is also some very interesting and informative info on Elvis' record releases from that time as well.

The last of the lot, I Sing All Kinds, is a G-E-M !!!

Wait until you guys hear the alternate take of "I'm Leavin' "... WOW !!!

For any of yous guys that haven't sought these discs out, I urge you to splurge and enjoy the music and play it L-O-U-D !!!

[Lonniebealestreet]

Thanks for your thoughts on these new releases, K_C!

I decided to pass on EC,EG but the other two I am anxiously awaiting -- now even more than before, thanks to your above post. I did just receive an email a short while ago that my discs were shipped today, so hopefully they will arrive within a couple days.

I Miss You is definitely an underrated gem; I look forward to this alternate mix that you mentioned. The alternate take that was released on the Today, Tomorrow and Forever box set was a real winner IMHO.

I can't get enough of I'm Leavin'. That YouTube video sort of rekindled my passion for it. Though I was familiar with it previously it first really made an impression on me when it was featured in an A&E documentary from the mid-nineties entitled The Life and Times of Elvis Presley. Like the YouTube clip, it used footage from the funeral procession and the lines "Where will I go / who will I have to lie beside me" really hit home. So I have been hoping that a great alternate would be heard on this release and it sounds like that is the case!

These extended performances that FTD gives us (think Separate Ways from the EOT Rehearsals) really give the original performances a whole new life. And hearing all new performances and the studio banter and what not...even if the well is running dry soon we really have so much to be thankful for. It is amazing that this sort of gold is still coming our way.

This new material that I speak of...I have thought about why it is so valuable to us and I think that it goes beyond simply having something new to listen to from our favorite singer who passed 30 years ago. I think it is more that because we are so into him we take all these recordings and all these stories and videos and photographs and in our minds we put all these pieces to this puzzle together in a neverending quest to "know" the man. We can't in reality, so we do it this way. I mean how many times have we responded to a topic on this board, fully believing that we are doing so with complete authority and said something like "Elvis would have not done this" or "Elvis thought such-and-such because..."? Unless we really knew the man, we have no business doing so. But with the hundreds of books, thousands of recordings, perhaps millions of photos, maybe the rare memorabilia that we collect and have available to us, it seems like we do know the man, perhaps like a member of the family. And so above and beyond the true musical appreciation that we have that excites us about this stuff, there is an additional satisfaction in having a few more pieces to the puzzle put into place.

[Albert]

I have ordered them some time ago, but haven't received them yet. I'm looking forward to them though

[Elvis 1972]

I got the "Easy Come, Easy Go" cd last week and it is really enjoyable and well worth adding to your collection. I'm surprised that there are no out-takes of "You Gotta Stop" only an instrumental version of the song. It's a shame that Elvis didn't record a vocal for "Leave My Woman Alone" I've had this song by The Everly Brothers for a long time, and also a version by Ray Charles and If Elvis had recorded it, it could have been one of the best songs on the EP in my opinion!

The booklet is very nice and very informative, I liked the idea of putting pictures of the records from around the world, a nice little touch that, but it's a shame that the UK single "The Love Machine / You Gotta Stop" was not included.

Rita

[elvisia]

I got "Raised on rock" and "I sing all kinds" last week and I really enjoyed listening to both of them. Gotta say that the sound on ROR is really great....
I think I`m going to listen to them again....right now

Elvisia

[elvis himselvis]

I will pass on Easy Come,Easy Go...but those other release I will buy...Really looking forward to it.

[King_Creole]

Anyone else purchase these great Elvis Presley FTD's ???

Any more thoughts, and/or comments ???

C'mon people, let's hear it !!! LOL

[Jumpsuit Junkie]

I have got "I Sing All Kinds" there are quite a few tracks on here that press the right buttons.... I just love I'm Leavin and Early Morning Rain Johnny B. Goode sees Elvis in good spirits "Noel" Is Leon backwards lol.

Yeah a good purchase, not too sure about the Raised On Rock album..... i will wait and see what others have to say?

[Trelane P]

Received RAISED ON ROCK yesterday. It was worth it just for the ROUGH MIX of IF U DON'T COME BACK. Exciting mix, in your face drums and a longer funky wah wah outro.

[King_Creole]

Received RAISED ON ROCK yesterday. It was worth it just for the ROUGH MIX of IF U DON'T COME BACK. Exciting mix, in your face drums and a longer funky wah wah outro.

The rough mixes are awesome, aren't they ?

God only knows why these trax didn't at least sound this good on the original album, let alone, why more of these songs haven't seen the light of day on more mainstream Sony/BMG releases ...


By the way Trelane, I think I told u this be4, but ur avatar kix a$$ dude !!!

[P.S. Annie]

Rough mixes.....mmm.. well maybe I should reconsider and buy this FTD. Thanks for the enthousiastic recommandation

[rocknroll]

Raised On Rock - sound quality is good, Elvis' singing is not.

I Sing All Kinds - great CD. Enjoyed the alt takes of "I've Got Confidence" and "Bosom of Abraham".

[Jumpsuit Junkie]

Raised On Rock - sound quality is good, Elvis' singing is not.

[Bilko]

I have bought the three ftd?s and I think they are amazing,I like all three of them,but of course I have never been dissaponted so far over the releases from ftd,I am very satisfied with their work

[rocknroll]

Let's see:

Elvis did not want to record
He did not like most of the songs (and in many cases, justifiably so)
He was not commited
He didn't even show up the first night
He was in a foul mood and ended up leaving the sessions before scheduled end
Most involved say he was in poor shape and looked ill

Compared to the sessions before and after, it is no surprise that these July sessions pale. These are no great revelations, just calling it as I see and hear it. Alternate takes and rough mixes don't change history.

[Lonniebealestreet]

In my opinion, the shortcomings of this ROR release are nothing that you would not expect from having heard the original album. I don't think the outtakes display Elvis with any less vocal quality than anything else we have heard before.

Actually, as great as the ISAK release is and as much as I love it, it seems to me that there is a greater disparity between the masters and outtakes from those sessions than from the ROR tracks.

I don't believe that Elvis did not care at all about these sessions, and that's not me looking through rose-colored lenses. I believe that he did not want to do them and didn't want to be there BUT once the tapes were rolling, I believe he wanted to put the best that he had on tape. Admittedly the best that he had at that time wasn't always that good. But seriously, as depressed and as unmotivated as he might have been then, I find it hard to believe that he did not have enough pride as a singer to try and sound as good as he could then. I think it's just that because he was so out of sorts at the time that it took a toll on his voice and he couldn't "sing through" it or overcome it.

To me, even if there are some inferior tracks here performance-wise, they all are an impressive sonic presentation of these sessions and there are definitely some treats. The rough mixes, as has been stated, definitely fit that bill but a number of the outtakes make for a great listen as well. And me personally, I can't resist studio material from the seventies that features previously unheard studio banter and false starts and those kinds of little things.

No, it's not Elvis at his best but that's the way it was: good, bad, but beautiful.