Elvis - In Person / On Stage / LPs

Was curious what the consensus is on the production of these two Lps.

Elvis was pretty much top-notch vocally from 68-70, and these two live RCA lps cover Vegas dates in 1969 and 1970.

Both Lps feature rather obvious fake "production library" (audio sweetening) applause dubbed in--which fades up and down awkwardly, especially on the "In Person" Lp.

Both are pretty short on run time...and mixed in with drums hard right (typical RIAA playbook of the day).

Despite the shortcomings, the original Lp mix of "On Stage Feb. 70" is much better than the digital remix by Dennis Ferrante in 1999 for the BMG CD "On Stage." The digital remix sounds bright and the instruments and backing singers are too low.

Are these Lps and their original mixes the best-produced glimpse of "live" Presley we are likely to ever get?

 

Check out the deluxe That's The Way It Is 3CD set for a great live 1970 show. Also check out the mail-order FTD Label discs for a top-notch 1969 show.

 

Agreed the LP mix is really good. The drums, in particular sound very good on the Lps.

The FTD Cds are absolutely top notch. They cost a lot (35$) but if youre an Elvis fan, get them now before they are phased out, which Im sure they will be at some point.

 

I love the sound of the original vinyls on these releases.
If you can find the Japan releases from around '86 they sound just like the original vinyl and you'll be very happy.

 

Superfan: are the Japanese releases CDs or Vinyl.

 

I'm sorry these are CD versions. Very natural and warm sounding, no nr at all just super flat transfers. Stay away from the mini-lp cd versions from 2000 or 2001 they sound like crap. Very bright sounding and compressed.

 

many thanks!!!

 

I agree, most of the FTD releases are first class, but you are a little
high on the price. Most of them are $24.99 on the official site:

http://www.shopelvis.com/store/category?category=31588,33093,33476

I've seen this higher price mentioned on some of the Elvis Forums, but
that 35.00 price is what you get from Amazon.com. I've always been very happy with the service and price directly from Graceland. In fact, I'm planning on ordering the new "Kid Galahad" set tomorrow.

 

If you have the chance (and the money, of course) to get the 24bit "Paper Sleeve Edtion" of On Stage (BVCM-37096) and In Person (BVCM-37192), try those. Sonically they're a great improvement and a great enjoyment to listen to compared to the regular CD-releases of the early 1990ies - let alone the fabulous artwork.

Anyhow, like GuyDon said: The 3-CD-set ELVIS That's The Way It Is (Special Edition) is the one to pick up if you're looking for a great "glimpse" of live Presley. Like Paul Simpson states in his surprisingly interesting little book "The Rough Guide To Elvis" (in fact it's much more than just a "rough guide") this August 12, 1970 show "vies for the honour of being the best Elvis show ever". This one has it all, the songs, the right pace, the mood, the sound and the greatest entertainer in the world at the time.

Also great is the 24bit Paper Sleeve Edition of Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite. This one is so close in its sonic reproduction of the original (fortunately it has been remixed to create a stereo-image of what actually happened on stage: piano left, lead guitar half-right, drums in the middle etc.) that it reveals what seem to be heavy failures in the recording of the greatest event in Elvis' career. During great parts of the show among other things the voices (Elvis and the background singers) are terribly distorted. It gets better in between but it appears again and again during the whole show. Unfortunately those distortions can be found on all versions of the concert (be it the original mix, the 1998 re-issue or the DVDs). But on this 24bit remaster it's terribly obvious. I like it as it shows what the original recording was like but if you're an audiophile you better keep away from this.

Also keep away from that dreadful re-issue of the otherwise pretty entertaining and good Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis (1974) by the so called "collector's label" Follow That Dream Records FTD. Check out the original version of the album or better the Japanese 24bit Paper Sleeve Edition again. But keep away from the FTD CD - be it the complete concert or not. Except for the fact that nobody neeeds yet another version of Teddy Bear/Don't Be Cruel, All Shook Up or Fever, this doesn't make up for what probably is the lousiest remastering job in record industry history. It's definitely the worst Elvis record ever released.

Concerning a 1969 concert I would always prefer the concert released on the 4-CD-boxset Live In Las Vegas to the FTD Elvis At The International, simply because artistically the "Live In Las Vegas" show is much better than "International". Which in fact is the reason why it was released on an official release and not on FTD. Great insight anyway.

Every once in a great while FTD comes up with something useful, too. That is the 2004 album Polk Salad Annie which is a great addition to On Stage as it feat. many alternate versions of the songs included on On Stage and a great insight into how Elvis recorded live on stage. Also, it has probably the best version of Proud Mary ever recorded and some other very fine and rocking version like See See Rider and Release Me.

Oh by the way: The drums on the two records you mentioned above are mixed hard left, not right. Check your speaker connections.

 

I could not agree more, the FTD reissue of "Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis" (which tags on a number of unreleased tracks) is probably the *worst* mastering job ever in the history of the FTD label.

They jacked up the midrange so much that there's little or no definition in the very low and very high end, it's simply awful. Try to reduce it by 10dB around 750 Hz (with a 3.5 octave width) and you'll get something decent sounding.

I was really surprised it turned out that bad since the Sony Studios in NY were in charge of the remastering (a guy named Chris Theis). I guess Vic Anesini only handles the general public releases for BMG, he could have made a beauty out of this one.

 

Thanks for the tip! I'll try that out. I love that original album and I love that show, but I just can't listen to the FTD-version. It's awful! Terrible!

Concerning On Stage / In Person. I agree with Rider: get the Japanese pressings and try to get a copy of "Polk Salad Annie" and "All Shook Up" by the "follow that dream"-label.