Memphis Recording Service (MRS) will release a 3-CD/ book Summer Festival 1970 - The Rehearsals on March 12, 2021.
From the press release:
MRS will release a 3CD Deluxe titled ‘Summer Festival 1970 - The Rehearsals’ on March 12, 2021.
The CD’s contain rehearsal highlights from one of the most memorable periods in Elvis’ career - his captivating performances at The International Hotel Las Vegas in the summer of 1970. These truly historical recordings, remastered and restored capture the raw and early development of songs that were performed weeks later in Las Vegas. The accompanying 40-page booklet includes rare photographs taken at some of these rehearsal sessions.
As usual MRS has spared no expense in our remastering techniques. For the first time ever all, the tracks listed have had repairs and restorations having now the same mastering techniques, used on such recent MRS releases such as ‘Made in Germany’ and ‘Such a Night in Pearl Harbor’. A sample sound of this will circulate on forums within days of this announcement.
The 180g 3LP Gatefold version will be announced soon.
Please note: This is a prequel to a series of releases coming out this year from MRS. In that series will be a totally new and unreleased soundboard from the Summer Festival in 1970. A recording never heard before, stay tuned.
Tracklisting
CD1 - MGM Sound Stage 1, Culver City, Los Angeles, California
14 July 1970
01. Words
02. Bridge Over Troubled Water
15 July 1970
03. Stagger Lee
04. Got My Mojo Working
05. I’ve Lost You
06. Stranger in the Crowd (Rehearsal 1)
07. The Next Step is Love
08. You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me
09. Sweet Caroline
10. Yesterday
11. Ghost Riders in the Sky
12. Runaway
13. Peter Gunn Theme
14. One Night
15. Alla En El Rancho Grande
16. That’s All Right 03:09 Arthur Crudup
17. Twenty Days & Twenty Nights (Rehearsal 1)
18. Twenty Days & Twenty Nights (Rehearsal 2)
19. Patch It Up
20. Cotton Fields
21. Sylvia
22. Stranger in the Crowd (Rehearsal 2)
CD2
RCA Studios, Hollywood, California
24 July 1970
01. That’s All Right
02. I Got a Woman
03. The Wonder of You
04. I’ve Lost You
05. The Next Step Is Love
06. Stranger in The Crowd
07. You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ (Rehearsal 1)
08. Something
09. Don’t Cry Daddy/Don’t Cry Daddy (faster version)
10. You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me
11. Polk Salad Annie
12. Bridge Over Troubled Water
13. I Can’t Stop Loving You
14. Just Pretend
15. Sweet Caroline
16. Words
17. Suspicious Minds
Bonus Stereo Mix Tracks
18. You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ (Rehearsal 1)
19. Sweet Caroline
CD3
RCA Studios, Hollywood, CA
24 JULY 1970 (continued)
01. I Just Can’t Help Believin’ (1)
02. Tomorrow Never Comes
03. Mary in the Morning
04. Twenty Days & Twenty Nights
05. You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ (Rehearsal 2)
06. I Just Can’t Help Believin’ (2)
07. Heart of Rome
08. Memories
09. Johnny B. Goode
10. Make the World Go Away
11. Stranger in My Own Hometown
12. I Washed My Hands in Muddy Water
MGM Sound Stage 1, Culver City, CA
JULY 29, 1970
13. Elvis Talking
14. Something
15. (Now and Then There’s) A Fool Such as I
16. Froggy Went A-Courtin’
17. Such A Night
18. It’s Now or Never
19. Hava Nagila
Isn't this exactly the same content that we also got on the FTD book+cd box set last year?
GaronJesse, take a look at the last posts in the His Hand In Mine Sessions thread. We talk about the FTD mentality, but I think it applies to all suppliers who wish to make an easy buck by simply copying previously released material and claiming they have done a ''miraculous'' job on sound improvement!
I was a fan of the 50s boxes and sets of MRS but the early 60s set was without any concept. I think with the official sets we have all that can be desired. Remastered DVDs with complete concerts and rehearsls would be something special but I think we won't get that.
Prequel release? Sounds like a quick buck! Why not release the complete rehearsals and keep up with the quality of the 50's material they made? I was expecting a fair competition to FTD's outrageously expensive box. What a let down...
It seems to me that this release brings the same material released by FTD in celebration of TWII's 50th anniversary. But for those who did not get the version of the FTD boxset, this is the opportunity, although there are also other older releases.
I'll be waiting for information about the release of this material in LP / vinyl
There are some excellent Imports from some years back that I will not mention here for publicity purposes. They are complete and in excellent sound quality (in my opinion). Of course, for those who like to read and look at pictures while listening to music, you are better off with the FTD box set.
Pardon my ignorance, but are is MRS a bootlegging outfit ?
BTW; looking forward to getting the soundboard.
Way Down Under, yes they are.
A bootlegger copying on a bootlegger with the ''promise'' of improved sound quality.
This seems to point towards a new trend were you have the official label releasing material and later we get bootleggers releasing the same material.
I've only just noticed that only the July rehearsals are featured here. I guess that means there'll be a volume 2 with the August rehearsals plus this mysterious unreleased soundboard. I will buy this set simply for the work they put in improving the sound quality, it's really superb. The improvements they made to the Pearl Harbour concert were phenomenal.
Don't know about the July 14th rehearsal but the July 29th rehearsal is incomplete.
Here's the complete track listing of the rehearsal from a 2009 release:
01 Don't It Make You Wanna Go Home
02 Something
03 Words
04 I Just Can't Help Believin'
05 Little Sister / Get Back
06 Microphone problems / Instrumental
07 I Washed My Hands In Muddy Water
08 I Was The One
09 Cattle Call
10 Baby, Let's Play House
11 Don't
12 Money Honey / Hard Headed Woman
13 A Fool Such As I
14 Froggy Went A-Courtin' / Viva Las Vegas
15 Such A Night
16 It's Now Or Never / Are You Horny Tonight?
17 What'd I Say
18 The Lords Prayer
19 My Country 'Tis Of Thee
20 Hava Nagila
21 My Baby Left Me
22 You Don't Say You Love Me
23 You Don't Say You Love Me #2
24 Stranger In The Crowd
Hi Way Down Under, Memphis Recording Service is fully legit. In the UK, music goes into the public domain after 50 years, 70 years in the US. They actually released a single, My Baby Left Me in 2007, which got to 19 on the UK charts, the first single out of copyright to ever become a top 40 hit.
I look at it this way, you can spend over $1000 on the out of print FTD boxset, or $40 for this.
Got mine today. It´s in CD format, not like the way they used to release it. Hmmm.
Did someone already compare the sound quality of this release and the FTD box set? Is there a huge difference? MRS claim they made this into stereo. But the original recording was made in mono, right? So it's fake stereo, right? Or did MRS get hold of a new source?
