The Wonder Of You

dear god no......

a big UGH!

Lord, have mercy. Track 17 must be a joke. Or is it a dream come true for all Helene Fischer fans out there ? I love this sweety, should I give her the chance cause she did well on a song from Bob Dylan where she did a duet with Michael Bolton on " Make you feel my love " ? Yes or no that´s the question.

As I have said many times on this site re these projects - I love 'em but am obviously on a different planet to many Presley fans. The originals are still there for new and old fans to listen to but it will need a seismic PROJECT to get newbies permanently on board in their hundreds of thousands. Just been listening to Helene Fischer and she is rather good. Be interesting to note what the boring doom mongers on this site want as a brilliant release or do they just want to close the book on what we have already and let the Elvis name fade away even quicker than the passing years will inevitably one day do

‘A Big Hunk O’ Love’ is available to listen to in full on elvisthemusic.com. It’s the first single from the album.

Gorse, do you get a ridiculous Roy Orbison re-re-release every year? No! Is he still acknowledged for what he did during his life? Yes. You won't get new Elvis fans with these ridiculous rapes. Period. Those crappy remixes - that I dislike too - okay, I can understand those reach a new audience, but this garbage? No way!

I fully understand what you are saying Lex and have something like a 100 plus Orbison tracks in my collection and many of them are just magnificent. However there is a COMPARATIVE small amount of music fans in the younger age group who will not know much outside Pretty Woman, It's Over amd She's A Mystery To Me as they have their own heroes. Sure an artist of his ability and standing will always and should have a hard core fan base but I think if he is to be remembered for more than a half dozen tracks by the masses then an Elvis style effort would possibly reap rewards for Roy. As I said before what would others do to further the Elvis name and make money to a new audience - very easy in this world to criticise but to come up with something tangible (as opposed to a politicians generalisation that once in power he will improve things !!!) is not quite so easy.

Just listened to ABHOL and oh no... and I'll tell you why. This also goes for Burning Love from the first RPO effort. Elvis' voice is first and foremost the star of any track. The band (vocal and instruments) compliment the song / delivery but don't compete with Elvis for top spot. Take Burning Love. There is a 17 min intro from the RPO before we hear James on the guitar. What's that all about? It screams "listen to me, listen to me, we're so much better than the song". Having an orchestral intro to BL isn't (in my opinion) what the song is all about and what makes it a great rocker. Same with ABHOL. When Elvis says "piano" I want to hear Glenn giving it socks. Not the strings competing with Glenn (listen to me, listen to me, see how good we are). And when James does his bit. I want to hear James - not be mixed in with the RPO. It's just wayyyy OTT. As I say, this is my opinion and i'm entitled to it. This project could have been handled and delivered so much better but it seems to be a competition as to who is headlining. The albums should be titled "RPO feat. Elvis" because, to me, that's what it comes across as. ELO combined orchestra and rock brilliantly but don't think Jeff will be teaming up with the RPO anytime soon

I will be buying this and listen first.

The 3 bonus tracks will only be available on the deluxe edition set... (if I'm not mistaken), but Amazon has the duet (with Helene Fischer) listed as a bonus track on the regular cd.

Here's the thing....I personally won't buy this, I would far prefer to listen to the undubbed alternate takes of original songs than these new overdubs. But the 1st RPO album sold over a million in the UK alone!! Just on money alone there's no way that RCA would not follow that up. But if this is a gateway for younger people to discover Elvis then I fully support it. They will make their journey back to the original classic recordings later on....it's just important that Elvis is kept relevant and new releases are needed to do that, nobody writes a press release on a reissue of Pot Luck, for example!

No Duane Eddy?? How dare they!

coll wrote, "if this is a gateway for younger people to discover Elvis then I fully support it." ... But are "younger people" really interested in the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra?

I loved If I can Dream and I am looking forward to buying this. Elvis has millions of "casual" fans who this will appeal to in addition to younger record buyers and, no doubt, it will be in many of their Xmas stockings!

Well it's something diffrent this ''concept'' that's for sure. For me personally i wouldn't like it if Elvis could only be heard on an ''oldies radio station''. Allthough EP has been gone for almost 40 years,i never get an ''oldies feeling'' with him. I think the things that are good/bad that are in the news also give somekind of feeling that he is still arround in some way.

Coll, Way Down in the Jungle Room got plenty of attention. Those are not my favourite Elvis recordings either, but at least it is Elvis himselvis. So it is just pressing some money out of fans, only a few others will buy this and certainly only a VERY few young people.

I don't like them to mess around with the great songs of the King either. Althought it is called RoyalPO I don't experience anything of improvement, quite the opposite. The spunk has been taken out of the originals. O Hooligan states it nicely, I also want to hear the TCB Band rather than a 'clean and flat' RPO drag. Does it attract new listeners? Maybe pensioners who like the RPO anyway. Will they appreciate the real King as originally recorded? I doubt that. Does it reach out to younger generation(s)? Are you kidding! It sold well, yes. I gather quite a number of fans bought the cd as it was something new. And obviously they liked it. Okay. It is a matter of taste. No need to put it (the production) and them down. But for me it is a let down. Maybe they should focus on songs that get a very low rating on this forum, old mac donald or the like. ;) Those songs need a brush up. Not the great classics and the ones that just below that standard.

Like EP said:''If everybody liked the same thing, well we'd all be driving the same car, and be married to the same woman, and that wouldn't work out.''

Let's not forget that the record company is after the money and EPE is also after the money. When an album sells more than 1 million you can bet there will be a vol. 2 coming up! It doesn't matter if there are some fans objecting to this. Gorse mentioned Roy Orbison (who I really like and have almost all his recordings). If someone at his record company believed an album with Roy Orbison & RPO would sell, it would be out there already. I have checked his recording sessions and many of his recordings (e.g. for MGM) are still unreleased (a new album was released last year but there's plenty more). There's no appetite to release his unreleased songs let alone spend money to produce something "new"! That's why Elvis is still the King. Even his last recordings, largely unknown to the general public, had a decent run in the UK album charts 40 years after they were recorded! No one else has such selling power and that's why we will see more projects like these in the future. Even if many fans do not really like the idea...

KeesW, he also said "it's tough sh*t, anyway you look at it". That is more spot on in this case ;)

Spot on Lee Ruze, I expect that I'll have a lot of pleasure from this coming release as I did with the last one, it really puzzles me as to why some people should criticize me for doing so. I for one understand that it won't be to everyone's liking but that is fine by me, in fact I feel a bit sorry for those that won't enjoy it as they won't have the pleasure that I'm sure I'll/we'll have. Just a thought but if anyone's familiar with "Ask Marty" on the Elvis Information Network site he very often states that Elvis wouldn't be happy with all he out takes being released on the FTD label and as this is used as an argument by the people that are not happy with the Philharmonic release (the fact that Elvis wouldn't like it) I feel that if they were to be true to their beliefs than they shouldn't buy albums with out takes on either, or perhaps they don't?

i hate people who criticize before the product has even come out! some people even do SAME for FTD products.... lets see how the 'Joe Public' treat this b4 Christmas.... sometimes the 'old adage' of ANY Publicity is Good Publicity can have 'benefits /Merit!'and i don't nescessarily agree with that, but the spin off is it DOES Keep Elvis in the public eye and sometimes people buying this new RPO#2 cd...might look at other items in the Elvis catalogue so mostly its a good thing- besides what Else can one do with a dead singer?

Okay Lex,a well known saying by Joseph Kennedy(father of JFK):''When the going gets tough , the tough get going''. I too have sometimes a hardtime ''swallowing'' some of the things that happen in the ''Elvisworld''. But you gotta take it or leave it.I simply LOVE the Original Elvis-versions. But I do like the ''new versions'' from the ''If I Can Dream Album''. Nothing more,nothing less. And Lex it can get A LOT worse. Imagine an Elvis rap album(!),with ''new versions'' of US Male,Guitar Man or Dixieland Rock. UGH!!!!!!!!!

Lex, what were your thoughts on the remix concept on "A Little Less Conversation", "Rubberneckin' " and I Got A Feelin' In My Body" ? Personally I really like it because the producers use an appropriate style of remix and they use appropriately funky songs to target a younger audience. But I can't say the same for the 2 Elvis/RPO albums. I'd much rather hear the Elvis originals even with Felton Jarvis' syrupy, "cack-handed" overdubbs (to quote Trevor Cajiao). Seriously how do you try to dress up a wedding bride already in her full garb ?

I am pleased with this release. I scoffed at the idea when Todd Slaughter suggested it about 10 years ago, I thought it would alienate potential new fans. However the idea appears to have appeal to a wide audience. The first album was a great success, selling over 1 million copies in UK alone is no mean achievement. I think this will second album match it. I hope it does better in the US where the first album only sold about 100,000. I think we could expect sales for the first album to take off again on the back of this release. I am very impressed with the cover if the image above is used.

I have been checking the album on amazon.co.uk, it has been moving nicely up the sales rank, currently at #27. Also, If I can Dream has slipped back into the top 100 at #85. Elvis may well have another top 10 album in the UK.

Well. it is a bit strange to hear another arrangement, but when Elvis was alive his producer Felton Jarvis produced a lot of Elvis songs and he did that with the technical know how from that time. If you listen to the songs on the album Guitar man, also produced by Felton after Elvis dead, than you hear the same songs in a different mix with the technical know how from that time. We also know that Elvis did not like some of the mixes Felton did with his songs. If you hear for example the original mix of the song "There is a Honky Tonk Angel" from the album Promised Land you hear a lot of echo in the original release but i got used to that sound. When a later heard the the remastered version on the cd Promised Land where they also put the songs from Good Times on it, you do not hear that echo and you hear Elvis voice very clear and upfront. When i first heard that i did not like it because it sounded different from what i was used to listen to. Later on when i listen new master over and over again without that echo, i liked it more and more. When i now play the original i think that it is a bad mix from that time period. I really like the new mix much better now than the original. Elvis voice is nicely heard with the new mix and all the nuances with it. You really hear the strength and depth of his voice with the new master mix. I really love that song and i play it loud whan i can. ;-) So i do not mind this release, i have the "If I Can Dream" album in my collection and i do not listen to all the songs but i i like what they did with "Burning Love", "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" and "Steamroller Blues". It seems i am gonna like some songs from this new album to so i pre-ordered it myself. For those who do not like this, just don't by, it's simple as that...

Nice gimmick with the song “I’ve Got a Thing About You Baby” : It starts with the same bass intro of the song “Baby I Don’t Care” (1957) at the start of the track. It would be nice if they had did a gimmick with the song 'You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling"from the album “If I Can Dream” on the end of the song. There is a version on the “That's The Way It is” special edition album with a reprice on the end. It would have been great if they had used that reprice. Whoooowhoooowoooo Baby, baby.., i get on my knees for you.... Seems there is a producer in me. ;-)

In concerts Elvis experimented with songs and liked it when his musicians in his band did something special with a song. Elvis and his musicans experimented a lot of things with songs. The songs in his concerts would not sound the same as the original studio version, and a early concert version of a song in the first part of the 70's sounds different than the later part of the 70's of the same song. So he did not stick to something, he liked new things and new arrangement. The only thing with this album is that Elvis was not involved with the arrangements, but in his lifetime he wasn't either. Producer Felton Jarvis added horns, strings, etc to his studio recordings and Elvis was not involved with that process...

I didn't like the first one and I've heard Big hunk of love from this one - why did they not use the far superior 50's version ?