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Unchained Melody Released

January 08, 2007 | Music
The latest Follow That Dream release Unchained Melody" has been released. It contains the live concert of February 20, 1977 in Charlotte, NC. with additional bonus material. The picture on the cover is from Keith Alverson.

Track listing:

Love Me - Fairytale - You Gave Me A Mountain - Jailhouse Rock - O Sole Mio / It’s Now Or Never - Little Sister - Teddy Bear / Don’t Be Cruel - My Way - Moody Blue –intro only - How Great Thou Art - Hurt - Hound Dog - Unchained Melody - Can’t Help Falling In Love - Moody Blue - Blueberry Hill - Love Letters - Where No One Stands Alone -Release Me - Trying To Get To You - Reconsider Baby - Why Me Lord.
Source:ElvisMatters

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Ton Bruins wrote on January 08, 2007
Good news.
genedin wrote on January 08, 2007
i know its no concern of bmg what come sout on bootleg or imports should i say but it would be nice to get stuff that hasnt seen the light of day. i asked them a few times toi add a c.c. rider opening to make it seem like a full show but alas they didnt do it so were gonn a have to imagine it
mature_elvis_fan75 wrote on January 09, 2007
This is new stuff,and im glad to see 2 bonus songs from columbia sc, my home state, i am looking forward to this one very much!
edoelvis wrote on January 09, 2007
hello, if memory serves well this 8.30 PM concert has already been released 2 times: 1/ elvis still reigns and 2/ mr. presley. does anybody know what the bonus material consists of? unreleased stuff or already released before? as far as i know that evening he played 'only' this one concert. thanks,
Jonny2001 wrote on January 09, 2007
I am looking forward to this being released and I hope they continue to release these concerts, even if they have been released on bootleg. I prefer to have these released in an official format, as with bootlegs, they are not widely available for fans to obtain and also you are keeping the name alive by buying the official products. So I am keen to get my hands on this one, keep up the good work FTD.
Renan Augusto wrote on January 09, 2007
Where is the Band Introductions?
mature_elvis_fan75 wrote on January 09, 2007
Elvis Played charlotte 2 nights in a roll, giving one concert each night,this concert is unreleased, the bonus songs include 2 songs from columbia sc,trying to get to you and release, the concert from that columbia show has been released but on the alful sounding release import, also included are bonus songs, that from what i can tell have been released on import cd's.but as i have mentioned this main concert from charlotte is unreleased!
mature_elvis_fan75 wrote on January 09, 2007
Oh yeah as renan mentioned,were is the band intros? did they turn the tape off during those? if not were are they? ernst?? a little more info would be nice !
Ronald wrote on January 09, 2007
I have it in my player now! Charlotte 20th is a good show, too bad for Moody blue that night. But good versions of Fairytale, mountain, how great thou art, hurt with fs on reprise, Elvis in good moods. Sound quality is fantastic, mono. As for these later shows the engineer didn't record the show opening and skipped the intro's. I can't recal a sound board from '77 which as the complete intro's.
mature_elvis_fan75 wrote on January 09, 2007
Then please clear this up,this shows is not the same as from moody ble & other great performances? thanks in advance
Ronald wrote on January 09, 2007
mature Elvis - No this is not the Fort Baxter show (moody blue & others). Tracks 1/14 (main show) is from Charlotte 20th (Fort baxter was 21st). tracks 15, 21-22 are from Charlotte 21st (these are from the fort baxter). tracks 16-17 are from St. Petersburg Fl. 14 feb -77 as released on the Baxter box a profile vol.1. tracks 19-20 are new on soundboard they are from Columbia SC. track 18 is available also on Cajun Tornado and Moody blue & others.
mature_elvis_fan75 wrote on January 09, 2007
Thanks, i had been saying this all along and some other seemed to think it was same show, so thought id ask,i welcome this release,and as mentioned,am glad to see the bonus songs from columbia! 40 miles from me, thanks ronald
bennie wrote on January 10, 2007
Does anyone hear scratches during where no one stands alone or is there something wrong with mij stereo. Further no complains what so ever. a great release from FTD.
Ronaldv wrote on January 10, 2007
yeah i heard that scratches, too. and it's not in the recording. I can't hear it on other imports.
Ton Bruins wrote on January 10, 2007
had my copy today. And I have to say Elvis was in trouble during this february 1977 tour. He had a very good short tour in december 1976 but now only a few months later he sounds tired, hoarse, uninspired and during many of the songs on this release in Charlotte February 20, 1977 he sounds out of breath. As he stated during his February 14, 1977 show in St. Petersburg : "So, a couple of us...are kinda hoarse because of the weather, I got icicles in my throat but, uh, you know, we're going to do the best show we can". This statement can be heard on the bootleg "Cajun Tornado". And I can only confirm that Elvis still got icicles in his throat in Charlotte february 20, 1977. Just listen how he tries to sing "Unchained Melody", "Hurt" or "How Great Thou Art". He tries hard but it is just not good to my ears. Out of breath, hoarse. It seems that he almost can't make it to the end of the songs. The first tour of 1977 started in Miami and showed an artistically reduced Elvis compared to the december 1976 tour. "Unchained Melody" was performed only in Miami and in three other cities (Charlotte, Montgomery, Savannah) during this tour. Elvis had suddenly lost some of the motivation for performing a comparatively new, demanding song. Also I think that the sound mix (I am not an expert) of this release is not that good to my ears. Elvis is way in the back and the instruments way up front. But maybe it is just that Elvis has not the strenght in his voice, I don't really know. Elvis really tries to keep this show on a high level but he succeeded only partially I think. When his next tour started March 23, 1977 it only got worse....
Steve V wrote on January 11, 2007
I would never buy any 1977 concert CD. None were good except perhaps the very last show he ever gave. Ironic that is. The only 1977 material I would ever purchase is the last TV special only becuase it was a professional video but Elvis was out of breath then and couldnt even talk straight in between songs. The man should have been in some rehab or rest center. He had no business being on stage in 1977. The greed in the Elvis camp was unbelievable. This is not a high point in the FTD catalog. What was wrong with Vernon letting him do this? Did the Colonel have that much power over him? I guess so.
Shakingruud wrote on January 13, 2007
Totally agree with Ton Bruins. This CD has all the tings that i don´t want to remember about my hero. Very weak voice, totally NOT interested in the songs he´s singing, and when he tries to do Moody Blue its really embarresing.... if you don´t know how to sing it, than DON´T sing it!!!
Zuni Bear wrote on January 13, 2007
I also have the scatches during Where No One Stand alone on my cd. Have you all these scratches on your copy of this release? Is it a production error? Please let us know.
Steve V wrote on January 13, 2007
June - If Elvis burped the Star Spangled Banner would you buy it? You are opening up yourself for the pundits who feel Elvis fans are blind loyalists that buy any piece of junk he was associated with. Do you own any other artists CDs? Do you feel Elvis was the only person who ever contibuted to music? Just curious.
Greg Nolan wrote on January 13, 2007
There's no reason to be nasty about it, Steve V. Plenty of fans take the good with the bad of '77 and it seems you have a real bias against late period Elvis. Plenty of fans like all eras of his career. After all, this is a limited-release and not for the mainstream audience. If you don't like it, move on.
Steve V wrote on January 13, 2007
Didnt mean to come off nasty, but there is a certain fan base who prob would buy such a release which makes the Elvis fan in general look like ,well I'd rather not say. After all , 'Having Fun On Stage With Elvis' wasnt too far removed from what I mentioned. It was a ridiculous release. As for the 70's Elvis, the 77 tours never should have happened and some 76 shows were very subpar. His health didnt warrant being out on the road. After Aloha is also the period that most impersonators emulate and for that yeah I guess I'm a little biased against. It gives Elvis a bad image. Sorry to offend.
FLY-TROUBLE! wrote on January 14, 2007
"I also have the scatches during Where No One Stand alone on my cd. Have you all these scratches on your copy of this release? Is it a production error? Please let us know." Yes, it's a mastering error by LENE REIDEL. Ooops,you did it again! You screwed up quite a lot FTD's in the past,it wasn't the first and it won't be the last!
Lex wrote on January 15, 2007
Brrrrrrrrr... Hands down the worst official Elvis release ever. I'd rather listen to an impersonator than putting this disc in my player again. Why, oh why do I have that collector-virus?
Steve V wrote on January 15, 2007
Lex - I had that collector virus until a few years ago. I used to buy all the releases, then money & common sense took over. Maybe maturity as well. I now pick & choose what I buy and base a lot of my decisions on the reviews in Man & His Music. Try it, it works!
Lex wrote on January 15, 2007
Steve - I managed to do that with the boots and the countless re-releases on the main label, but for some reason I can't do it with FTDs (yet)... even not if I know beforehand that I don't like it and play it more than once (if at all)... but there is still hope :-).
Steve V wrote on January 15, 2007
Lex - You'll get there. I gave up buying the regular RCA releases when junk like Elvis Sings For Children came out in 1978. I have all the albums released in his lifetime, but after that I chose which ones had the quality. The same with CD & FTD releases. Was happy for a while but started getting ones I would not play more than once, so I used the reviews and other people's opinions to decide. Plus the cost! By doing this I was able to have the money upgrade my original 50's-70's record collection, including upgrades to 2 Suns. Much more satisfying to me. Good Luck.
Mike.S. wrote on January 15, 2007
Of course, everyone can make his own decision, whether you need an Elvis content or not. But when it comes to the technical quality of a product, the fans should be able to expect at least a certain amount of quality. Therefore I would like to ask FTD for a statement, why this CD is so poorly remastered. Most of the bonus tracks have been released in far superiour quality on bootleg, some of them even in a slightly binaural mix. When it comes to Where no one stands alone, this song is ruined by disturbing noises, mentioned on this page so far as scratches, that come defintively from the mastering progress, they are not on the tape. Like in the So high-release maybe a replacement should be considered, at least a statement. Thanks, sincerely..
Greg Nolan wrote on January 20, 2007
El Sandro makes some good points. Steve V: you mean you haven't touched things like the decade boxsets, or the "Suspicious Minds" Memphis anthology or "Elvis At Sun" or the great-sounding new "MDQ"? Give me a break with with your RCA bashing. I'm as hard as anyone (I detest the "Love, Elvis" and endless hit comps) but let's take it down a notch.
Steve V wrote on January 20, 2007
Greg - I do have most of the things you mentioned because they were perfect CD comps. I was talking more about the endless rehashing of the same songs over & over again, like Love, Elvis, Jukebox Hits, Camdens ,etc. I did not even buy Elvis At Sun, as I thought Sunrise was the perfect Sun CD. Sound was good enough for me.
Steve V wrote on January 20, 2007
And Greg - to take this one step further, there was no bigger fan of RCA than me in the 90's. With the superb 50s-70s box sets, Suspicious Minds, Sunrise, Amazing Grace, Christmas , Burning Love CDs and others, I fiannly felt that they were treating the Elvis catalog with the respect that it deserved. Then something went very wrong. The endless Christmas CDs, the various comps (with mostly the same songs), the classic albums going by way of FTD, etc. Now when I'm bashing RCA it is because I feel the catalog is a mess. It used to make sense.
Steve V wrote on January 20, 2007
Sorry June - but you just proved my point by using the word 'hero' . This goes beyond music and makes it impossible to have an objective conversation. Hero worship is what the Elvis cynics (which I am not) love to poke fun at. Eveything the man did was marvelous if you are a hero worshipper.