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Kevan Budd Resigns From BMG

February 27, 2005 | People
On the FECC messageboard a posting was made by Kevan Budd announcing that he resigns from BMG. We asked both Ernst Jorgensen and Kevan Budd for a reaction. Ernst Jorgensen informed us that he has received an e-mail from Kevan Budd that he quits his work at BMG. Kevan Budd confirmed it to us too.

Here is the original statement from the messageboard:

im sorry to say i have quit bmg and working for ernst jorgensen, i was betrayed and undermined by ernst and sebastian jeansson and i longer wish to work with such persons.

i made great sacrifices to try and bring the best possible sound to all new releases, however when i offered to do the elvis is back material i was met by silence. in fact it wasnt until someone else informed me that sebastian jeansson had in fact done this release, i feel this is a shame as when sebastian has attempted to remaster the same material he himself has admitted that i had achieved superior results. sebastian was offered the remastering of the elvis is back material as a friendly favour from ernst and not offered through merit. i had also offered to remaster all the 50s box from scratch which considering the new 2005 reissues would have not taken much more to do.

the 2005 reisues were to be just the old lp masters which sounded very poor as this was supported by ernst and sebastian yet i made a case for them to be completely remastered from scratch with little support from sebastian who was just prepared to just jog along with anything ernst said.

in the end it was bmg who agreed that they should be remastered.

in the end i was given 3 weeks to remaster all 3 but the tapes i asked for were arriving as late as 3 days before the deadline and to top it all the digital copies i was given were faulty and i just had to do the best with what i had. on top of all this with such a short deadline and only getting 3 hours sleep a night sebastain was bugging me for raw copies of the few tapes he did not have?...i then found that his reason for doing this was to submit his own versions of the reissues to ernst, however even sebastian admitted my cds were far better than his versions.

i was not paid for any of the work i did other than a small sum to contribute towards costs. in fact i recently invested £6,000 in equiptment to help get even better results for the benefit of the fans. and especially the new sun set that was planned.

i have serious concerns over sebastians abilty to remaster the hayride material as in the past i have found his efforts to be poor. i have been asked why i do not wish to work with sebastian and my answer is that when i was working on the elvis at sun release sebastian just doubted everything i did and just slowed down work to a grinding halt. the only influence he has had on releases i have lived to regret. such as him insisting that i remove the drum count in beats from take 13 of loving you. on top of this sebastian wanted me to play no part in projects where he thought he woulf be the sole engineer. this is a double standerd.

erst said i would be the main mastering engineer for all work outside of the std engeneers yet behind my back he gave the work to sebastian with a total disregard for our past disccusions and the huge commitment i had made....the sun box set was over two years of work on top of this i had found new tapes with better sources and new material, this was at great cost to myself with over £1,000 of phone calls alone in the last quarter just on international calls seeking such material.

its with a heavy heart i leave and i just hope the quality will not suffer too much and id also like to thank everyone for the great support over the last 6 months. id also like to thank barry mclean for contributing youre a heartbreaker for the elvis at sun release...his name was put forward by myself but removed from the credits by ernst.

all the best

sincerely

kevan.
Source:For Elvis CD Collectors Forum
Colin B wrote on February 27, 2005
The treatment received by Kevan is disgraceful. Ernst should give a full explanation of the circumstances surrounding Kevan's resignation. And give it now.
NBC wrote on February 27, 2005
It's a shame!
JerryNodak wrote on February 27, 2005
I'm not going to take sides in this dispute. There are two sides to every story. I'm witholding judgement until Ernst comments. I will say that I am NOT going to rush out and buy "Elvis Is Back" or any other FTD products until I am personally satisfied about this matter.
Dazcav wrote on February 27, 2005
at the end of the day it is a shame but who put ersnt in charge any way , i think the fans should choose and have atleast some more info on the guys responsible for all our new releases. favouratism is not a way i would see elvis running his buisness interests there is room for everyone
I am Buffalo-Horn! wrote on February 27, 2005
Before we rush to judgement could some one who knows please tell us exactly who Kevan Budd & Sebastian Jeansson are & what they actually do (Yes I can gather they're mastering engineers) We need to know what exactly each have been responsible for individually as regards Elvis records. What is the background to this dispute? Is one American & the other Scandinavian? Either way it sounds an unfortunate turn of events which may be to the detriment of us fans.
emjel wrote on February 27, 2005
I agree with Bernard - I have never heard of these guys although I can see Kevan's name on the credits for the last 3 re-issued CDs. Who remastered the revamped Elvis is Back CD from 2000. Will this personnel change delay the forthcoming FTD release of Elvis is Back. Who re-mastered the 24 Carat Gold Elvis is Back which apparently is meant to be the best version available? Mind you, I've always thought the original 1960 vinyl recordings seemed A-OK to my ears - good stereo separation etc.
Mike M wrote on February 27, 2005
Am with you Bernard. But maybe the guy played a part he seems to know what he is talking about. But yet again it is all down to the dollar/pound.
Wiebe wrote on February 27, 2005
It seems like he wasn't treated very well. But on the sound quality issue, I think the original vinyl recordings sound much better. I think Elvis's voice does not sound as round on any of the new releases. Whatever they think they're doing, I wonder if they know anything about mastering a vocal recording. I don't think so, not like the professionals that Elvis worked with during his life. It also goes for the That's the way it is DVD and CD box. Which is a shame.
PaulFromFrance wrote on February 27, 2005
My Gosh! Don't tell me "Elvis is back" will not receive the best treatement it deserves! What a mess! We need some explanations from Ernst.
Mofoca22 wrote on February 27, 2005
yikes come on guys were all elvis fans. get along for the sake of elvis. all 3 of these guys wer eput on earth to keep elvis fresh and up to date. why they gotta be fighting like preschoolers. kevan should get his butt back behind the booth and do his job, rnst u put your personal grudges aside and do it for elvis and do it for us fans who are loyal to the king. theres no need to fight. fighting will only bring elvis down.
Crawfish wrote on February 28, 2005
Sd to say that nobody "dibbs out" other than us Elvis fans. EJ has done such a fantastic job it is a shame to see his name involved in this? EJ please give us your side - we love your input and fully appreciate it al!
dailyone wrote on February 28, 2005
so that is what happened . now i know . i told you that erst was too old we need a new face and a young face . erst has had it and we will suffer i can tell you that . out with the old and bring in someone young and new. take a pension erst and give a kid a go . todd have a think about it too .
Buddy Holly wrote on February 28, 2005
This is really annoying news. How this will affect the Sun Box project is my main concern. Also I was hoping to re-buy all the Elvis masters up till at least 62 in best possible sound quality. I don't have much faith that'll still happen. I'm figuring out what one can do about but I can't think of anything. I'm really frustrated about this and think I won't buy much new stuff coming out. There's not just Elvis to spend my money on, maybe I'll buy the new Gene Vincent box set instead.
Hans Otto wrote on February 28, 2005
Please let's try to keep things in perspective. I guess there are only the few people directly involved in this matter who have detailed knowledge of what this dispute is really about. Kevan Budd has presented a personal, negative statement to the reason why he has resigned from his involvement in remastering some of Elvis' tracks. Maybe he has a legitimate reason to be angry. Maybe he hasn't. As for the rest of us fans, we should be careful making harsh comments based only on Kevan's posting on FECC. Remember that as an employer, Ernst and Roger and the rest of Sony BMG may not have the opportunity to respond to Kevan's accusation in public.
Sal wrote on February 28, 2005
What a state of affairs and why do i get the feeling that its us, the fans who will suffer knowing that quite possibly we wont get the 'ultimate' sun recordings or the best quality sounds we deserve? after years of 'electronically reprocessed cheese er stereo sound' we now are enjoying stuff of amazing digital qualtiy, as it was done, as it was heard by Elvis, then. Whatevers going on at BMG, FTD, etc...guys SORT it out! We want convincing this isnt going to short-change us! ....by the way 'Buddy Holly' that Gene Vincent set sounds tops!
Clambake67 wrote on February 28, 2005
maybe if Ernst didnt have such a huge ego this wouldnt have happened. has anyone ever had the oportunity of meeting Ernst down at Elvis week? A very close friend of mine did and he didnt give him the time of day. He was rude and arrogant towrds him.I can nonly imagine what he is like to work with. Good job Ernst....now the fans must suffer because you are an egomaniac.
Guitar Man 67 wrote on February 28, 2005
If this is true I doubt that I will buy any new rereleases. I already have these songs anyway. And the whole point is to get them in the best possible sound. Treating someone like that is bad enough, but this effects everybody. Kevan is busting his butt for us and is being stabbed in the back and that is pathetic. I personally want someone doing the upgrades who will settle for nothing but perfection. I hope they get this straightened out and not let Kevan resign.
mrstats wrote on February 28, 2005
This is very sad news. I own all four of Kevan's remasters (ELVIS AT SUN, ELVIS PRESLEY, ELVIS and LOVING YOU). They are simply fantastic! The sound is awesome. I was hoping that Kevan and Vic Anesini would remaster the entire Elvis catalog. This is a loss for BMG and ultimately a loss for the fans. What a shame!
Cruiser621 wrote on March 01, 2005
And to think I just ordered a copy of the Elvis Is Back double FTD CD set and now this? I'm debating whether to call back and cancel this order. Is this the latest scam? Put it out again and again under the guise of remastered digital sound and fish us die hard fans in to obtain an obscure outtake or two we don't have on past FTD CD's? This is probably it for me. At age 59 and to be 60 come this June, for me is enough but to keep shelling out my hard earned dollars for this? I think not. Ernst better have an answer and soon. The recent re-issued first 3 Elvis albums on cd weren't all they were cracked up to be friends.
RonBaker wrote on March 02, 2005
Of the new re-issues, the only one I bought was the soundtrack to "Loving You". The sound is great!!! I was very pleased with it (especially compared to the 50's box set's sound of the same tracks)
Digger wrote on March 02, 2005
K. made a brilliant job on the 3 DSD remastered Albums (Elvis Presley ´56, Elvis ´56 and Loving You). he made that in just three days? Wow, great man, what could he has done in 3 weeks ore more?? A shame, that we will loose now such a top engineer! What a mess! The things said about the way he was treated, well, have a closer look on all the things which happened during the last years. I guess Budd was a little "too good". I mean they want us to buy the whole Elvis Songs over and over again. The secret is, to re-release year after year the stuff again and give us JUST very little better sound - NOT too much- so that they are able to do this game for another 20/30 years. (You remember what happened a while ago, when a few brilliant sound samples appeared on the net, which sounded a lot better than the E1 CD? yeah the fans were upset. how good Elvis Songs could sound and the record company forced the web-site to remove it, wasn´t it that way?) Listen to the DCC or the 24Bit CDs how great Elvis music can sound, but what do we get? (Listen to the awful sound of Frankie & Johnny /Harum Holiday FTD and to many other releases they presented to us fans as "remastered", but they sound poorer than older releases. listen to the bad computer anhanced E1 &2 albums, which most of the fans did not like). K. remastered too well and maybe the record-company was not amused, that the fans got a sound like that now this year, which was maybe planned to release not before 2077 :-)) Well, sometimes men are not happy to have a person in the team, which the fans love more and who gets more applause for his work, than the boss itself. so and then they start to bite. maybe it´s a normal thing, but it´s a thing which is reality in the Elvis world!?! The fans will suffer, thats sure I think!