FTD will release two new Flaming Star productions. The first is The Best of the British - The HMV Years 1956-1958, written by Trevor Simpson. This is the story of EVERY song by Elvis released on the British HMV label. It is an eclectic mix of graphic illustrations of the labels, the charts and rare memorabilia through 1956 - 1958.
Thorough research of each song and songwriter has taken many years and provides the definitive history of the music that shook the world, sensationally revealing many previously unknown facts and British connections to Elvis and his music.
The book contains over 1000 rare and unpublished photographs, the illustrations connected to the songs, the recordings and the promotion of Elvis by HMV in Britain.
Included, and officially gathered together for the FIRST TIME on two exclusive CDs, is every Elvis track released by HMV. Added to these are bonus songwriter demos and Elvis outtakes to complete the audio story upon which the foundation of the global popular music culture and industry was built.
This is Elvis and the story of the impact of The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll in Great Britain.
CD 1: The HMV Singles (‘A’ and ‘B’ Sides)
1. Heartbreak Hotel
2. I Was The One
3. Blue Suede Shoes
4. Tutti Frutti
5. I Want You, I Need You, I Love You
6. My Baby Left Me
7. Hound Dog
8. Don’t Be Cruel
9. Blue Moon
10. I Don’t Care If The Sun Don’t Shine
11. Love Me Tender
12. Anyway You Want Me (That’s How I Will Be)
13. Mystery Train
14. Love Me
15. Rip It Up
16. Baby Let’s Play House
17. Too Much
18. Playing For Keeps
19. All Shook Up
20. That’s When Your Heartaches Begin
21. Paralyzed
22. When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again
23. Lawdy, Miss Clawdy
24. Tryin’ To Get To You
25. I’m Left, You’re Right, She’s Gone
26. How Do You Think I Feel
27. I Forgot To Remember To Forget (export issue)
28. Heartbreak Hotel (Songwriter Demo*) - Glenn Reeves
29. Paralyzed - (Songwriter Demo) - Otis Blackwell
CD 2: HMV EP & Album Tracks not issued as singles.
1. Let Me
2. Poor Boy
3. We’re Gonna Move
4. Blue Moon Of Kentucky
5. Good Rockin’ Tonight
6. Milk Cow Blues
7. Just Because
8. I Got A Woman
9. I’m Counting On You
10. I’m Gonna Sit Right Down And Cry (Over You)
11. Money Honey
12. One Sided Love Affair
13. Shake, Rattle And Roll
14. That’s All Right
15. Any Place Is Paradise
16. First In Line
17. How’s The World Treating You
18. Long Tall Sally
19. Old Shep
20. Ready Teddy
21. So Glad You’re Mine
22. I'm Counting On You - (Demo*) Vocal: Lou Dinning
23. Love Me Tender (End Title Version)
24. Let Me (Solo)
25. We're Gonna Move (Take 9 - Stereo)
26. Poor Boy (Stereo)
27. Love Me Tender (Stereo)
28. Love Me Tender (Movie Trailer)
29. The Truth About Me
30. Elvis Says Goodbye.
Summer of '61
Following the success of WELCOME HOME ELVIS and FROM MEMPHIS TO HOLLYWOOD, Flaming Star productions will release SUMMER OF ’61 in April of this year. The focus is on the summer months of 1961, with the main focus on the making of the movie FOLLOW THAT DREAM filmed on location in Florida in the months July and August 1961.
The book presents original newspaper articles, new exclusive interviews from the cast, the crew, and local residents, and also details about scenes deleted from the final print. The book includes over 200 stunning unpublished photos taken from the original negatives + a CD (detail about the accompanying disc will be provided as soon as possible).
How about a cd or set with the unreleased material from the boy from tupelo set for those who didnt want to sell all there other music to afford it. ftd is all over the place in my view,not a fan friendly collectors label.
Great idea for an FTD release but with the book it will be too expensive for most but I would buy a regular 7" CD package if it became available.
Its a stupid idea in my view,this isnt what ftd should be putting time and effort into. More saved money for me.
Unfortunately FTD started out with great potential but become money hungry and after they seen some fans will buy ANYTHING and I mean ANYTHING they starting haphazardly releasing material that really should not be released at all. There are only so many concerts with different setlists from the 70s and the classic album sereies is a joke when Legacy does this better. The movies soundtracks I like but a few of them like Loving You and Jailhouse Rock would have been better with 1 disk instead of a whole disc of Loving You outakes. The prices are too high and the book and album package are way overpriced. They are scraping the bottom of the barrel and trying to find anything to put out there that has not been released and yes I have bought 30 or more of these CDs but not much anymore. Folks they have released over a hundred different titles. They should have released 3-4 good CDs a year.
The HMV years is not my cup of tea but may be interesting for longtime British fans. The Summer of '61 sounds more promising - good movie and soundtrack.
These are too expensive... It's a sin!
It seems more and more, FTD is ripping off the fans of Mister Presley with these constant repeat upon repeat of prior released music. When does it stop? Next it'll be the greatest hits from Canada or Japan. Come on guys; there's better stuff out there to be re-released, like the outtakes from the 1957 era? Again of course, as they were released by RCA years ago, but to get them all on one or 2 CD's would be worth it.
These two upcoming book releases don't mean anything to me and I'll never be buying them. They are way too expensive too. I'll also never buy the recent books "Welcome Home Elvis 1960", "From Memphis To Hollywood", "Jailhouse Rock: Frame By Frame" and "King Creole: Frame By Frame". I was going to buy the book + three cd set "A Boy From Tupelo", but it was completely sold out before I was finally ready to buy it in mid September 2012. It's such a disgrace that FTD won't ever re-print the book "A Boy From Tupelo". I'm certain that FTD at some point will issue a cd only release of "A Boy From Tupelo". FTD is no longer all about the fans. FTD used to be a great label, but it no longer is.
Ftd has no contact with the fans,they never did the site they said they would have,but i guess since they dont communicate with the fans why would they bother? Sometimes there are rumors and with the hits of 70's people didnt even believe it was true,doesnt that say alot about such releases that many think the news of such releases have to be a joke! They are clealry miking it and in my view it strated with the classic series,were u bought same material you had. They can even be bothered to get the proper mastering.
Who needs money? FTD, that's who. No thanks. Enough already with these overpriced book/cd combos.
No expensive books, no books with repetative cds (there are already enough of these), we (I) need unrelease music! The release of the Hits of the Seventies and now another compilation (and yes! with another expensive book). FTD seems to fail to see that their mission as label for fans is to provide the music OR they have nothing more to offer.
FTD has totally lost their way from the way they started in terms of product. But keep in mind, they were always called a collectors label, to produce products not found in stores that would appeal to the hard core Elvis collector. These products do fit that bill. I would not buy them but there are those completists who will buy everything. They know that, so they produce them. This was totally evident with Hits of The 70's. Nothing new, but it sold.
A few may want these books, but many more would buy an On Tour Box Set. They could release all 4 concerts and a fifth disc of the rehearsals. Sure they have released San Antonio and rehearsals already, but the same is true of these 50's songs. At least with on tour, we would hopefully get the complete Hampton Show. I for one am perplexed why these shows have not seen an official release. A guaranteed top seller.
I think FTD has allready put out all the good stuff they have on Elvie; and are trying to squeeze out more money on anything they can pertaining to our man Elvis. Just my opinion.
dgirl that may be true,but when you have releases like fashion for a king were your forced to buy a book you dont want to get 2 unreleased concerts,instead of releasing the book by iteself,i personally though ftd was about music not picture books. As for on tour,dont ask ernst he gives the same stupid answers,that is when he communicates with the fans.
Release something and i for one dont want the sanantonio show again,i dont want to buy what i have,enough already.
FTD is not taking the right direction, these books are way overpriced. I will skip these books for sure, like many other fans nowadays. Bring on some unreleased soundboards! Wake up FTD!
FTD released in 2012 a total of 11 cd's (some containing 2cd's) almost all with some unreleased material (one exception being Hits of the 70's). That's not counting the cd's in books. That is a lot of CD's by any standard! In parallel they also released vinyl records and books. I would rather have 'From Elvis In Memphis' or 'Moody Blue' instead of a new book but I am not complaining. I am sure they will eventually come. Elvis hasn't been in the studio for more than 36 years and we still get 11 new cd's in a year to choose from! I think it is an amazing achievement. Well done FTD and keep them coming, CD's, vinyl, books etc, something for everybody...
I lost my faith in FTD when Ernst made the arrogant desicion to stop communicating with the fans. Imagine any other company in the world would make a press release: "We stop customer service and there will be not customer support or whatsoever. Buy our products and shut up".
I have to confess that most of the books are very good. Stop arguing about them before you have seen the content. But FTD is not the right platform to pair them with borings CD and sell them to loyal FTD customers. Not as long as FTD is overdue to release important missing titles. The non-outtake CDs slowly grow out of perspective. We never had them before. Now we get them with every book and samplers like Hits Of The 70s. Adds up to 4 non-outtake discs during the last 12 month. But if I want to listen to the very amusing "Going Home" session .. I still have to buy another bootleg. It shows that there's something wrong with this collector's label. Stop the books. Invest in the music first! Unedited American sessions boxed-sets. On Tour boxed-sets. The unedited soundtrack sessions. Releases that I can point on and say: Well, Viva Las Vegas sessions? It's all on this release. It's complete. It doesn't have the studio-atmosphere omited for 'listening pleasure"'. I don't have too many of these releases on FTD. When all is out I'm open for new FTD projects. Maybe even for a FTD potato-head paired with an electronic stereo CD containing Guadalajara. But only then.
Maybe i'm missing the point but what's the issue with these releases? You don't want them? Too expensive? Pass them by then. Others will glady add them to their collections. I do however object to the cost of FTD's generally. Given the price of the recent legacy 'Prince from another planet' 2 cd and dvd set and that there was a fairly limited 5000 pressings, there can be no excuse for the prices being asked for FTD's. How can they justify almost charging double for Elvis recorded on stage in Memphis?
If FTD's were more reasonably priced i wouldn't be too hung up on the duplication. I recall buying Elvis in Country and being pretty miffed that there was really hardly anything new on it given what i paid. I don't get overly excited with the claims that they are re-mastered, re-mixed or whatever - i detect a slight improvement but nothing that makes me think 'Wow'. All this has made me far more selective in what i buy and i've become more open to obtaining releases in other ways - i've been loyal enough for several decades, buying the same old stuff repeatedly, so im comfortable with my attitude.
I would welcome opportunity to download tracks. I can pick what i'm missing from my collection and buy accoringly - not sure that'll ever happen. Finally, i do feel that the label got 'confused' as to it's strategy. The classic album series (In effect all his lp's (sic!)), have made early releases like Studio B, made in Memphis, Long Lonely Highway, Elvis marathon et al pretty much surplus to requirements. Ok if all you wanted were 'sprinklings' of outtakes on compilations but that release strategy should have been made known to us, the fans and I would’ve avoided them. My guess is that there was no real strategy in place. Nothing changes there then!
To mature_elvis_fan75, I've never heard on tour music discussed. What has ernst said specifically about it? Why won't they release it?
I just read the following : the book 'The Summer of '61' will also contain a DVD. This will be the first time FTD releases footage. Content of CD/DVD will be : the Follow That Dream soundtrack recordings / unreleased outtakes from the Nashville recordings sessions resulting in the release of the Pot Luck LP / demo of the songwriter of 'It's A Wonderful Life' / unseen 35 mm test-footage of Elvis on location in Florida. Always El.
to those 3 who unfriended me; I dont really give a rats___.
santiagisitestar ernst at one time said they were waiting for the release of a dvd release of no tour,which would have included unseen material,but when the dvd did get releases it was nothing but the original with nothing new and of course johhny b goode left out of the opening and replaced with a lame rehearsal of dont be cruel. Now ernst just ignores the fans and talks about what he wants to talk about. As mentioned he has 0 respect for the fans,there is no official website, and you here rumors of what will be released. I guess he emails some fans club and tells them what they are releasing,he could go communicate and choose from loads of elvis sites to gives the news but nah he chooses to not communicate.
The only thing that would make me buy the '61 book is if they found the oh so elusive original stereo masters from the Follow That Dream sessions. That would be worth the price for me.
To mature_elvis_fan75; I don't think Ernst had anything to do with the 'On Tour' dvd, Sony doesn't own those rights! You're blaming the wrong guy.
No im not,im saying that waiting on someone else to release a dvd set is stupid,and i understand they dont have the on tour footage,but hey they have overpriced books to release.
Remember the days before FTD? Would you rather it didn't exist? Look at the other releases, we might get something interesting every other year! Don't like the books or their price then don't buy them! The only fair criticism is that if you only want the cd's that come with the books you have no choice. I think that the books should have no cd's or the cd's should be sold separately as well. Other than that FTD does a fantastic job. It could be better and I would do things a bit differently but overall a great job. Well done to everyone at FTD.
Very Well said Marty, some of my most beloved CDs are FTD, but of course we all would do things a bit different if we ran the label ,thats human nature.
While Dominic is posted as song of the day, here's a timid suggestion for a next FTD-Book-DVD/CD release: "Elvis-Stay Away Joe-Frame by Frame (10000 pics)" and CD: "The Complete Dominic Sessions" DVD: the complete Dominic-scenes on film...Pricetag: US$ 250.00 (limited edition of 135 stands for January 35). What ya think? Have a happy day ;-)
Yep marty, very well said indeed ! alanfalk's remark is right too. Always El.
Thanks marty. I'm for one are also very happy that we have the FTD label. I do not buy everything but every year there are a few FTD releases that I do really enjoy!
Unreleased soundboards? By all means bring them on, Ernst. My wallet needs a rest. Soundboards will cause it to lapse into a deep sleep until something better comes along.
So far I have red people disliking; The soundboards, The classic albums, The book projects, The rehearsels, if FTD took all this at heart then we would only get the live recordings left, maybe some people would like this (at least the bootleggers would), but for me it would be a disaster, I really look forward to the 4 times a year when there is news from FTD, even though I do not buy everything.
To Pieter, re on tour, we are talking about the music, not the movie footage. Ernst and Sony have proven they can release the On Tour Music with the Close up box as well as rehearsals on the FTD label. They certainly could release the remaining shows if they wanted to. They don't need MGM or any movie studio to dictate that. mature_elvis_fan75 is correct that they don't have to wait.
Yes just the music,why wait on a dvd set? Never understood why they think its good idea to have so many things released at once.
I don't mind FTD including book products in their release policy as a luxury item. I just hope that they're accompanied with their regular 5" & 7" items for this period. We shouldn't have to wait another 2-3 months for the more affordables as they've regularly delivered bi monthly in the past.
2 Examples,fashion for a king,2 unreleased concerts,and boy from tupelo unreleased material,they know this is bait for those who wouldnt buy the book otherwise. I sold both, i am not going to be forced to buy something i dont want, and yes i know i dont have to buy anything but anyone can see what i mean. You want to release books,fine but dont put cd's with unreleased material with it. Id buy the concerts released in fashion for a king but dont want a big heavy book full of errors and jumpsuits. This is not complaining,its a valid point,and ernst and his tight lip have made me rethink the label. If they rerelease the concerts and boy from tupelo will some cry foul,i bet,cause they paid a high price and maybe didnt really want a book,but if they gave you choice up front,then everyone gets what they want. Boy from tupelo was limited run to begin with and wasnt fashion for a king?
I understand your point but isn't this a commonly used marketing technique? The only thing they want is to maximize their profit, and they believe this is the best way to do it!
"Here today, gone tomorrow"! That was what FTD was set out to be. If you want it, you get it. If you don't, so be it. It's an offer! You do not NEED to buy it if you don't want it, like it or whatever. Is it really that hard? You are the customer, it's your choice to pick up the item or not. I really can't see anybody dealing with FTD running away with profit! Unless there actually are customers out there buying FTD releases??? FTD offers so many different releases for you to pick or reject! Simple imo!
Yes its simple,if your the one who buys everything,what about others who wants the cd's but not the book,thats right just forget thema theme among elvis fans. Good grief,no other collectors lablel is ran this way,cd's in back of thick books.
Just out of curiosity... is there another collectors label for one artist like the Follow That Dream label?
I think this has two sides, like always, nevertheless could be optimized, Sinne FTD is not only commercial but also a collectors label, and to maximize profit it is always useful to make different packages. I also did not buy Fashon For A King because i read the bad reviews first. I beliebe FTD will Release the 2CDs on its own, because the die it before, and because they know they can make another profit. Otherwise I also liked the package A Boy From Tupelo very much, well done. And since I also liked the last two FTD books, I like ist Even better that the next will have some unreleased tracks as a "Bonus", which I will pay for anyway. So it is always a little give and take, and sometimes just wait. But I principally agree: If they have a book and the CD is not strickly connected by content, then ALSO sell both separately, and the package should a lower price than the sum of both components. This could have been the case for Fashon For A King. Have a nice day.
If you live in England as I do and remember Elvis being on the HMV label then ELVIS: THE BEST OF BRITISH
- The HMV Years 1956 - 1958 is an absolute essential purchase it is a reminder of how Elvis started for us here and the HMV singles and albums mean more to us than the Sun and RCA early singles so I shall be buying this as it is a document of those early years when British fans first started listening to Elvis, I do understand why US fans will not be buying this package because HMV means nothing to them.
