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This Is Elvis

By Ferry, March 16, 2015 | Music

The record was made after the This is Elvis Movie from 1981. This time this is an extended version on a double CD.

The movie is a David L. Wolper Production for Warner Bros. release. It is written, directed and produced by Solt and Leo. The film has some innovations introduced by producer Wolper (Emmy-winning Roots and Oscar winning The Hellstrom Chronicle). The film had some (back then) rare, never before seen footage, from private collections, shows and outtakes from movies and more magic moments of his life.

Cover

The front cover is the same as the double record vinyl version.

Inside cover gives us the label of the original vinyl version of CPL2-4031-2. This is the C side (A side second record).

Inside cover two is side D

Last inlay and book holder side is a picture which was used on the Loving You record and EP’s together with the crew and cast members of the movie.

Flipside of the book holder is the same as the back from the vinyl record. A Picture of That’s the way it is rehearsal and the original track listing of sides a, b, c and d.

The backside of this CD is a (probably) June 1977 picture and the CD track listing.

Nice to have the same artwork as the record had. FTD does this all the time when doing a ‘classic’ album. And I think it is good to do so. Only missing the red banner on top of the inlay book holder side where the Loving You picture is.

The Booklet

A 12 page booklet with loads of photo’s. The cover Elvis on stage at Ed Sullivan Show October 28th 1956. Page 2 the total track listing. Page 3 till 5 all promo photos of the movie backed by black and white pictures. Those black and white picture could have better quality though. Elvis in Germany has better ones and Elvis in the studio too. Nice to look for a contrast with the full color pictures, but this could be better done. Page 6 and 7 more pictures. Through the years. From 1956 till 1977. Girlfriends, shows, army, shows, child, Hawaii, concerts. It’s all there. Rare pictures? Not at all! Fine selection, but not the best of the best. Page 8 and 9 are some papers from the movie. Probably used for promoting the picture on different media. Page 10 and 11 is the same as the inlay of the vinyl version and the back picture is Elvis again at Ed Sullivan Show. This time September 9th 1956.

CD 1

Just as the vinyl version most songs are remastered, extended and God knows what they call it. Sometimes you hear it is not original. With the movie you are still watching, but music only, makes it kinda weird.

It has the same tracks as the record.  Different is that they call the songs what they are now, like original record master, or live version they used. This wasn’t on the record. Nice.

CD one follows the complete 4 sides vinyl version. It has a running time of 75.52. So there is a lot to listen to. And goes somewhat chronologic through the years. Not always, but blame it on the record!

But is this CD truly something special? Is it really something to buy. I really can’t find anything on this CD that isn’t on record. Same hideous samba balls at I’ve got a thing about you baby. Sorry that I told you…Now you all will hear them to. I think it is a straight copy one on one from a mint record.

If I’m wrong. Don’t tell me. The extra info is not correct at all tracks. Where track 11 Don’t be Cruel  should be from the Ed Sullivan Show September 9th 1956 Hosted by Charles Laughton (due to an accident from Sullivan) we hear Sullivan. It is the Don’t Be Cruel Version of January 6th 1957 during the Ed Sullivan show. There Elvis sings the version he liked. He told this during the Million Dollar Quarted session. That the Dominoes did a better job on this song. And this is how he sang it during this show. Better version, too bad the info is incorrect. Also the info on Suspicious Minds is wrong.

CD 2

With a running time of just 48.10 I wonder what is on this one.

It is called expanded home video tracks.

Let’s see. I Was The One at Dorsey Show. Always nice to have.

Hound Dog, Steve Allen show….Hell no…that’s not Steve Allen. There is no hound to sing to. This is Milton Berle June 5 1956 to be exact. Way better then the Allen version, but they missed that on the track listing. But it is the same version as CD 1. But this time the undubbed version. Now you can hear what I meant at CD 1. Again a better version than the info.

Let’s see what we have more.

Love me Tender end title version. Yep. It’s there.

Trouble and Ready Teddy. Yes this is the Charles Laughton version. Finally the right show.

Seems the rest is right too. Timex Frank Sinatra, NBC TV Special, Aloha, Concert. Yes. But what does it bring.  9 original record masters from 20 tracks.

2 Tracks from Aloha. Like we don’t have that already. Some Frank Sinatra. Same.

Some early Milton, Ed Sullivan and Allen stuff and we have that already with inches of dust on our shelves (although I like to play those early things once and a while).

But really… I WANT to be positive about FTD I know they can do some good stuff or come up with better, but again. Darn…. missed it.

They could better do a DVD with it than this selection of songs. Maybe the tracklisting would be done right then.

 

Should you buy it? Probably yes. The quality is ok. Same as the record, but as I told you (lately that I….oops) you HAVE to like that dubstuff. Did you Like Viva Elvis from Circle du Soleil. Then you like this one to. Didn’t you like Soleil. You really should also buy this. You want your collection complete don’t you?

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Jamie wrote on March 17, 2015
Hello. It's barely believable that - rather than correct the mis-labelled 'Suspicious Minds' (it's the Aloha version so not one from Las Vegas) - FTD have now additionally mis-labelled 'Hound Dog' on disc 2. Shoddy attention-to-detail has become a recurring problem - inexcusable for an expensive, elite label responsible for curating Elvis Presley's musical legacy.
Natha wrote on March 17, 2015
So nothing new here and according to the reviewer quite a pile of errors. As my collection of FTD cds is already incomplete by now, I will skip this one too.
claunath82 wrote on March 17, 2015
I bought it for the originality of the compilation and I always loved the cover I find modern and nicely reproduced here, I'm disappointed all these errors mentioned above, it is unacceptable for a collector produced by Elvis experts, I not understand this lack of seriousness, yet I find the series of classic albums by FTD great, and I want to thank them, but then all these errors exasperate me!
JerryNodak wrote on March 17, 2015
There's nothing new in any of these errors. Disc one (and the description of its contents) is a replication of the original vinyl LP. Errors included. I'm so glad this LP has finally come to CD. It can't arrive in my mailbox soon enough. Thank you Ernst, Roger and FTD team.
TheMemphisFan wrote on March 18, 2015
Yawwwn -- I'm still waiting (as many fans are) for officially unreleased material from "Elvis On Tour", "Elvis In Concert", and the remainder of the movie soundtracks in 7" x 7" format... King Creole Roustabout/Kissin' Cousins Speedway Live A Little, Love A Little/The Trouble With Girls/Charro!/Change Of Habit
Lefty wrote on March 18, 2015
I bought the bootleg CD of this album. It is in the best stereo sound I have ever heard. The CD packaging exactly mirrors the gate fold LP, quite nice. I passed on the FTD release.
Lex wrote on March 18, 2015
Never liked the album, the only edit I liked was the Blue Suede Shoes one... a bloody shame that a collector's label continues earlier mistakes and added new ones! Glad I found somebody else to suffer in my place and review it, thanks Ferry!
Steve V wrote on March 19, 2015
Bought the album when it came out in 1981. Played it just once. Absolutely no need to ever play it again. The songs were doctored poorly and really there was nothing new & original. The album was only released to support the movie (which I also thought was poorly made). This is not even close to being a classic album. But FTD know the die-hards just have to have this. I hope they did not name this as part of their classic album series, because there are no classic albums 4 years after his death.
Jamie wrote on March 19, 2015
Hello. The LP was quite a curio back in the day. The songs were sequenced in the same running order as they appeared in the movie. 'His Latest Flame', 'Moody Blue' and 'That's All Right' make up about the oddest, least coherent opening 3 recordings to ever start an album. The interviews were novel, but only the JayCees one could be considered sufficiently profound for inclusion on a music LP. What caused most interest was the licence taken by RCA Victor to tamper with some of the cuts. In general, the results are awful. Hi-fidelity drums taped 23 years later and overdubbed on rather distorted 1956 TV recordings are obviously going to sound more than a little bizarre. The mood of a humble speech made by Ed Sullivan on Elvis's behalf is ruined by overdubbed audience hysteria. The splice of 'Blue Suede Shoes' from 1968 looks great in the film, but doesn't work without the visuals 'Memories', 'Promised Land', the Aloha 'Suspicious Minds', 'I Got A Thing About You, Baby', 'Merry Christmas Baby' and 'Too Much Monkey Business' all get fiddled with just to give RCA's budding sound engineers something to do. The editing is sometimes clumsy, particularly 'Suspicious Minds' and the premature fade-out on 'Promised Land'. The overdubbed orchestration on 'An American Trilogy' is preposterous - the song is awash with instrumentation enough without the added swirling violins. The LP was aimed at the public, so inevitably offended the sensibilities of some die-hard fans. That may have been understandable, but doesn't explain or excuse the needless tampering that blighted the album.
woody1 wrote on March 19, 2015
Gosh, I wish I'd written that Jamie ! Needless to say I think I'll pass on this one.
TheMemphisFan wrote on March 20, 2015
Steve V wrote - "I hope they did not name this as part of their classic album series..." That doesn't really matter, Steve, because "classic album" is only a subjective term, and is not a specific designated "series" by FTD. No Elvis album should really be considered "classic" if released after his death (with maybe "Elvis In Concert" being the only exception).
JerryNodak wrote on March 20, 2015
Back in the day I played the vinyl a lot. Glad to finally have it on CD. Now I can once again play it often. Everywhere! It automatically goes in to heavy rotation. I love curios. Many thanks to Ernst and the FTD team.
Boxcar wrote on March 20, 2015
As with many other Elvis things this is a nostalgic thing. I became an Elvis fan in 1977 and never saw him 'in motion' until "This Is Elvis" came out. I sat in the the cinema like paralyzed when I first saw Elvis 'live' on the big screen. Elvis on TV? Negative back then. Years later I'd spend a big amount for a grainy VHS copy . Even home VHS was not a common thing back then. But I had a player and I had the pirated copy of "This Is Elvis" and I was king of the world. For people like me this CD is something different as for those who grew up having everything or download hours of outtakes illegaly from the net with just one click. I love the movie. I love the soundtrack. I know that for new fans These are only faked versions. But for us this is the great music we grew up with in a time when outtakes were far far away. Wish Ernst would have announced this release when two bootleggers released their versions. Would have saved us some money and him some more customers.
jb4elvis wrote on May 25, 2015
I would have assumed that other releases would have come before this one. Many of the tracks we have on other releases. I will purchase it probably..
bajo wrote on July 17, 2015
Classic or not. It doesn't really matter what one may call it! There has been some demand for this album to appear on CD. Now, here it is! That is if you want it! I wanted it, to replace my worn out vinyl copy! There are a few rarities in here. Regarding audio, it sounds to me to be taken straight from the album masters. I only wish they could have used the full length versions of the songs that were faded or edited on the original album. I actually like the overdubs they did to those 50's live performances. But, there seems to have been made no effort other than to copy the album masters and add the additional disc and so called bonus songs. Still, I tend to look at the bright side of things......................
JerryNodak wrote on July 28, 2015
Way back at the beginning of the CD era I decided that I would replace my Elvis LPs with their CD counterparts where possible. This is another piece of the puzzle. Thanks, Ernst. BTW: I still have all my Elvis vinyl and a turntable to play them.