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Saturday, November 6, 2010

For LP Fans Only

I still haven't made up my mind when it comes to the vinyl releases from FTD. On one hand, it's just copies of the albums I've already bought on CD, more expensive at that and not even including all the outtakes.

On the other there is an increasing demand in vinyl nowadays. And for fans like me who started out with LP's it's a great, nostalgic feeling putting a vinyl record on the turntable and then studying the "gigantic" cover while listening to the music.

The LP vinyl sets from FTD that interests me the most are the "lost albums", the ones that could've been but never were realized during Elvis' lifetime. One such example is the Standing Room Only LP, another the Viva Las Vegas vinyl set due for release at the end of this month.

Viva Las Vegas looks impressive enough, but what bothers me a little is the need for 2 LP sets. If I was at the wheel of FTD I would try to compile albums as they were originally intended, that is, as single LP albums with no bonus songs whatsoever. For example, I'd use the original track list and art work intended for Standing Room Only, (as shown on page 565 in Joe Tunzi's Elvis Sessions III).

After all, my guess is that those who buy the LP sets already have them on CD. In this way, the vinyl releases would not only be cheaper, they would also be more interesting (at least to me), in that they would really be serious attempts at recreating the "lost albums". (And if the second LP is deemed so important to FTD, then give it a second sleeve, call it The Outtakes Album and include it as a bonus).

In my way of thinking, it would be possible to release Elvis (Fool) as it was originally intended by Joan Deary, including "Reconsider Baby" from Madison Square Garden and the five extra Hawaiian-interest songs recorded for the American Aloha broadcast. Other lost albums possible for release in this way are Our Memories Of Elvis Vol. 3 and Elvis - A Legendary Performer Vol. 5.

And while I'm at it, how about giving the same treatment to the original lost album from 1963 (released in 1990 as The Lost Album/For The Asking). Finally, maybe a LP with the Nashville recordings made between 1966 and 1968. Now that's an album that could've been and should've been, but wasn't. It's in FTD's power to change that.

2 comments:

Troy Y. said...

I haven't purchased any of the FTD vinyls, either. I still have my collection of Elvis records from when I first started out. I'd never part with them. I still play them every now and then for ol' times sake, but I haven't added to that collection since the majority of his music became available on CD. I can't see going back.

The only exceptions I'd make would probably be from a pure collecting standpoint - purchasing vinyls that were actually produced during his lifetime. Truth-be-told, I'm not much of a "collector" in that sense, though. I tend to buy things from a more practical viewpoint - things I would actually use and enjoy rather than just sit behind a display case. That may change as I grow older.

I can imagine wanting to own an original Sun record at some point, for instance. Probably won't be anytime soon, though. That's the best part about being an Elvis fan, though - there's so much out there for every taste.

I do like your concept of FTD releasing single LPs of "lost" albums and the like, though. If I was going to collect FTD vinyls, that's exactly the kind of releases I'd go for.

Thomas said...

Although I have about every LP Elvis recorded, few of them are original pressings. I too, bought LP's and now CD's because of the music, although a Sun record sure would be something. Or the Aloha jukebox EP, that one I'm gonna buy someday. Thanks for your comment, Troy!