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Stay Away, Joe

By ElvisNews.com/ Lex, June 15, 2013 | Music

FTD released the soundtrack of Stay Away, Joe in their 7” format. Was it worth the effort?

Design

The format is known by now, 3 panel package, with only one CD this time. The booklet is well done like usual too. Lots of photos, candid shots and memorabilia, besides the background information.

Content

A CD with both US Male and Too Much Monkey Business should be a winner anytime, disregarding the remaining of the CD. Should be I said, because Dominic almost spoils it for me. I know a lot of people don’t like All I Needed Was The Rain either, but somehow I have a weak spot for that song… always pretty much liked it since I heard it for the first time on the Flaming Star LP.

To get back to the beginning, normally I get bored by too many outtakes of the same song, but in the case of US Male (including the SOB version) and Too Much Monkey Business (with some heavy drums) I can’t get enough. Those two songs are among the best he recorded during the 1960s.

Conclusion

This release turns out to be a pleasant CD – disregarding the presence of Dominic – with some brilliant moments.

 

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Smile:-) wrote on June 15, 2013
I have always liked the song "All I needed was the rain". The sequence of the songs on the record could have been a bit better by putting "Dominic" after the first U.S. Male or at the end of the CD... I will definetaly buy and enjoy this record:-)
Rob Wanders wrote on June 16, 2013
its a nice cd with good songs except Dominic. its an awful one and it does spoil the pleasure a bit. It shouldnot have been on the cd at all is my opinion. So I skip it. I love 'All I needed was the rain', its a nice bluesy song; it could have been longer though. And although I like the song 'Going home', i cannot understand that they didn't make a better beginning of the song. The beginning is so poorly and boring.
Boxcar wrote on June 16, 2013
Anyone who don't want too many outtakes should stick with the forthcoming Stax box and not buy FTD. I'm a customer of a collector's label. So I want the outtakes. As many as I can get. And this CD is a let-down. These sessions had the potential to be entertaining. If there's one session that features 30+ outtakes of one song without getting boring then it's stuff like the Going Home session etc. Elvis was in such a great mood and Ernst ruined the atmosphere totally (again). This label wanted to present Elvis as he was .. for the collectors. But this CD is filled with the released songs and only filled up with a wild selection of lifeless outtakes taken out of context. And to show us how dumb we are Ernst included all faked studio-dialogues from former releases (like Collector's Gold) .. now in their right place. This shows how arrogant he is. This would have been the chance to present us one of the most entertaining sessions of Elvis ever but all we get is a thrown together handful of snippets.
bajo wrote on June 19, 2013
I have no problem with this FTD at all! In fact I'm pleasantly surprised how good it is! Thumbs up from me! A pleasant listen all the way through!
Boxcar wrote on June 20, 2013
bajo, I'm not talking about what is. I'm talking about what could have been. If you don't want to listen to one of the most entertaining sessions ever and if you are satisfied with a handful thrown together outtakes, well ...
alanfalk wrote on June 20, 2013
I also like this as it is, and when loving you from FTD was released, many people didn't like the many takes of the titel song on cd two. I think that it will be hard to please everyone, and I am real happy as long as the cd gives a nice listening eksperience and the sound is great, and I really like the 7" treatment, and booklet too, maybe when/if the project stops in 2015, people will realize what great thing we had.
Biffx wrote on June 20, 2013
I hope Alanfalk that FTD will not cease in 2015 where did that info come from ? If this is the case surly with the large number of unreleased concerts that they are reported to have maybe they might produce several a year. It will be a sad day if FTD stop all together long may they continúe , and i will buy them until the very last one.
Boxcar wrote on June 20, 2013
"It's hard to please everyone". Right alanfalk, but FTD was not born to please EVERYONE. It's for the collectors who wants to hear their man at work. I'm astonished by your replies guys. They give me the impression that Elvis-fans are the only fans in the world that are excausted after a few outtakes and couldn't bear listening to even an entertaining session of their hero neither do they want these sessions on their shelfs. Even on a CD especially produced for fans. Sad, very sad. If you can only bear samplers with a few outtakes, buy "Essential Elvis 1-6" for 12 Euro or less and save your 22 Euro for a FTD in the same format which is aimed to collectors. And that's what this "Stay Away" CD is: A mix of "Best Of" outtakes like the "Essential" series .. but with a price tag twice as high. I can hear Roger and Ernst laugh theirselfs to death saying: Essential Elvis brought us 12 Euro. Since we printed FTD on the cover we can charge almost twice as much. Nothing made so much money for us as this single "Stay Away Joe" CD with these damn Dominic outtakes. These fans really pay high price for every thrown together s... I stick to my opinion: I love these great entertaining sessions and I was looking forward to get them. Now .. again .. I have to stick with my fantastic bootlegs of these recording to feel the real atmosphere.
alanfalk wrote on June 20, 2013
Sounds a little more like you think that they were born to please you. I have the 6 essential ( I paid around 15o kr for each , that is 22 euro, the same I pay at elvismatters for my FTDS ), but I like my FTD more. And I didn't say that I don't like many outtakes of the same song, but just mentioned the critic I read when Loving you came out. I also think I remember Ernst saying that they wouldent release whole sessions. Biffx, I was just guessing, because I have heard that Ernsts contract expire in 2015, and as he is getting old(er), and with the decline in sales....
Jerome wrote on June 24, 2013
What is wrong with Dominic? I even named my cat after that song!...
JerryNodak wrote on June 30, 2013
Have this beauty on order along with a couple of other FTD titles. Should have them next week. Can't wait!
Boxcar wrote on July 01, 2013
alanfalk you're right. They were born to please me. I'm the customer. It's a deal between Ernst and me: "I'll buy the material that you could not use otherwise and I'll pay you a good price for it. Not 9.99 or 12,95 .. no, I'll give you twice as much for this material of non-commercial value". I have all FTDs and once I've added up what I have already paid. After that I haven't seen me in the role of a beggar anymore. I'm a customer who pays good money. I'm sure thankful for his work, but I don't get anything for free from Ernst. As a paying customer I reserve the right to speak my opinion. Where I live we say: The customer is king". I don't know why Elvis-Fans are the only ones who still think that the seller is king. Music Industry is facing dramatic drops in sales. Economy is down. Every company is trying hard to please the customers. Only the Elvis-Fans are satisfied with average products and this is what this "Stay Away" release is. Nothing more. Sony does not need FTD. But the thousands of Dollars that FTD made out of dull soundboards and "Dominic" outtakes are sure welcome anyway. Yes, alanfalk. I really think FTD was born to please the fans .. ME.
alanfalk wrote on July 01, 2013
So boxcar (mature75), you have bought all these overprised "dull soundboards" and is still buying , it sounds like you are the perfect customer for a rip of label. And nice how you look at other Elvisfans, as some kinds of mindless buyers. And please show me where I said that you did not have the right to speak your mind, I just pointed out that I did not agree with you. I think that Ernst deserves a lot of credit for saving the Elvis catalog and giving us a collectors label. Regarding prices, Bootlegs are often a lot more expensive, and the don't pay royalties, tax and often not for the pictures they use. And the argument that the customer is always right or "king", does that mean, that if I want 5 cd's 7" packing and a 20 pages booklet for 20 euros, then they should give it to me for that price ? Maybe you should start your own label, so that you can please yourself, because I don't think anybody else can.
Boxcar wrote on July 02, 2013
O no, we could go on like this forever. So let's go back to the basics. I have 95 % of these sessions on bootleg and I love them as much as most other fans do. They are not only a rundown of takes but very entertaining. I hoped FTD would top the bootlegs material.- and qualitywise. You obviously don't want all this as you seem to be a special kind of collector. You seem to be satisfied with a handful of takes. Okay, to each his own. You listen to another "sampler" while I treasure my top bootlegs like the "American Way" series. Talking about "American Ways". I'm not so hard to please as you think. This series -loved not only by me but thousands of other fans, too- is what I consider a collector's release. Do you have these, too or are they too tough for you? Well, one last thing: Just the other day I saw a Star Trek box on Amazon with ... 48 DVDs ! But when I searched for "Star Trek handful of best scenes" it didn't return one hit. Can you imagine that?
alanfalk wrote on July 02, 2013
First of all your Star Trek argument is way of, come back when you find a box set with EVERY scene they shot for the movies, both the ones the used in the final movies and every unused/bad take or scene, because THAT would be the equivalent to releasing every single outtake. About what I enjoy listening to, I have The Young Man With The Big Beat, A Boy From Tupelo, The FTD Loving You, and I enjoyed listening to all the outtakes (I guess that makes me "Tough" in your world), but I prefer to pick out the most full and different outtakes (which FTD normally does for me), and listen to those. But if you want to go back to basis, what I am objecting to is that you accuse Ernst and co. of being greedy and worse, just because that YOU don't get what you want, no matter that many people prefer only some of the outtakes, so if FTD should try to do it the way you want, then those people would complain. Another thing is that Ernst very early on said that it would be very unlikely that FTD would release full sessions, so it can hardly come as a surprise for you. Does all this mean that I agree with or like everything FTD releases ? No not at all, but that overall I am very pleased with their releases, and very happy that we have a collectors label, we Elvis fans are in fact very spoiled.
mature_elvis_fan75 wrote on July 05, 2013
Alan why dont you go enjoy your ftd's make by your god ernst, and boxcar isnt me. Try again!!!
alanfalk wrote on July 05, 2013
You sure sound a lot like each other, so for me it really doesn't matter who of you I'm argueing with. And I am actually enjoying a Ftd as I am writing this. And I still think you are one and the same, because that is a common tatic on this site, when ones arguements are weak , then people seek assistance from "someone else", who funny enough sounds like they have been debating on this site for years, even at their first post (oh jah, these people never have a real name in their profile either). (which of cause doesn't meen, that everyone without a full profile fall into this category). And Ernst (or Roger) are not my God(s), I'm not religious; but they sure sound like devils when you are talking about them.