Why No On Tour Shows?

In the letter section - Shout It Out!- of the September issue of the Elvis The Man And His Music magazine that I received this week, a fan from New Zealand asks if anybody knows why FTD has never released any of the concerts from April 1972 that were recorded for Elvis on Tour. Apparently the editor knows how to get in touch with Ernst Jorgensen because he received the following answer:

FTD has been holding back on the three unreleased live shows from Elvis On Tour in order to include them on a release to coincide with whatever Warner Brothers might want to do with the unreleased footage from this project. As you know, Elvis On Tour was released on DVD in its original form, and we felt that this wasn't really the opportunity. I'm sure we will release these performances eventually, but at this time we don't have them scheduled. We have more than enough other great material to work with.

I have to admit I have difficulties understanding Ernst Jorgensen's line of reasoning. It took ages until Warner Brothers decided to release Elvis On Tour on DVD, and when it finally happened, combined with a special presentation of the movie at theaters across the United States, Ernst Jorgensen didn't feel that was "really the opportunity?!" Amazing.

A while back Troy Y. over at The Mystery Train Elvis Blog wrote a post titled "Hey Sony, isn't it about time for an Elvis on Tour boxed set?" In it, he expressed his hopes that the 40th anniversary of Elvis On Tour in 2012 will capture Sony’s imagination, and that it deserves a 3 CD treatment on the main label featuring the three unreleased concerts from the movie, together with an Elvis On Tour: The Rehearsals – Volume II on the FTD label.

I think that's an excellent idea, but admit I would be equally happy if the three shows were released as a box set by FTD. But I don't hold my breath, especially after reading Ernst Jorgensen's answer. If he's waiting for Warner Brothers to release unreleased footage from Elvis On Tour, I think he's in for a long wait. And that means the fans will be too, when it comes to the three concerts (from April 9, 10 and 14, respectively) being released officially on CD, be it on the FTD or the Sony main label. Such a shame.