The last few years I skipped 99% of the bootlegs, but now Madison decided to continue their A Legendary Performer series after more than a decade I woke up too.
Design
Madison has a standard to live up to and they did! As usual the booklet is well designed, informative and decorated with many great photos and memorabilia.The only minor is that the booklet is so thick, you can hardly slip it back into the case.
Content
The CD starts with Maybellene from August 20, 1955. A great Chuck Berry song performed by a young Elvis as if he never did anything else. Next up is Don’t Be Cruel, from the Ed Sullivan Show (September 9, 1956). Party and Got A Lot o’ Livin’ To Do are both from the Loving You soundtrack. The latter is an unreleased composite with a longer intro.
Madison spliced Ain’t That Loving You Baby differently than RCA did, this way you can make zillion new versions, like others do. It makes no sense to me. Two officially unreleased takes *8 and 6) follow before the explicit version of The Bullfighter Was A Lady, a splice - now it makes sense for listening pleasure - of take 2 and 3. Please Don’t Drag That String Around, a guilty pleasure of mine, precedes the rejected master of Memphis, Tennessee. The unedited master of Easy Come, Easy Go and stereo version of take 13 of Stay Away are followed by the X-rated version (Dear Georgie) of Only The Strong Survive, also in stereo (!) and the unedited overdubbed master (isn’t that a paradox?) of Stranger In My Own Hometown.
Take 3 of I’ve Got Confidence is followed by the only real minor on the album (to my taste) Padre (take 10). It’s Over from April 10, 1972 was pressed on acetate because it was considered as promotion for On Tour, it sounds super! I’ve Got A Feeling In My Body and another X-rated version, this time of Promised Land come from the Stax sessions.Let Me Be The One is a homerecording from 1974. The unedited master of Love Coming Down is one of the better songs Elvis recorded in 1976.
Two live versions follow: And I Love You So (edit, March 17, 1976) and My Way (March 27, 1977) are followed by For Ol’ Times Sake from the Guitar Man sessions. Not my piece of cake, those alterations of the real thing, but since I like both Elvis and Tony Joe White a lot, I can handle this one.
Conclusion
Madison did it again: a great collection of songs giving a lot of listening pleasure, that is if you can handle the explicit language on it. Thumbs up!
Tracklisting
01. Maybellene [Reworked version August 20, 1955]
02. Don't Be Cruel [Live, September 9, 1956]
03. (Let's Have A) Party [a better-quality source master] *
04. Got A Lot O Livin' To Do! [Movie version - composite - from an acetate] *
05. Ain't That Loving You Baby [Fast version - spliced takes 7,8 & 1]
06. Fountain Of Love [Takes 8, 6]
07. The Bullfighter Was A Lady [Takes 2 & 3, Spliced]
08. Please, Don't Drag That String Around [Takes 3, 5]
09. Memphis, Tennessee [1963 - Rejected Master]
10. Easy Come, Easy Go [Take 9]
11. Stay Away [Take 13 in Stereo]*
12. Only The Strong Survive [Take 6 – ‘Dear Georgie’ - X-Rated)*
13. Stranger In My Own Hometown - [Unedited, overdubbed master] *
14. I've Got Confidence [Take 3, From Acetate] *
15. Padre [Take 10] *
16. It's Over [April 10, 1972 Multi-Track from Acetate] *
17. I Got A Feelin' In My Body [Unreleased studio rehearsal with take 1] *
18. Promised Land [Take 1 - X-rated version – Better Mix] *
19. Let Me Be The One [Home Recording, April 1974]
20. Love Coming Down [Undubbed Master]
21. And I Love You So [March 17, 1976 - live edit]
22. My Way [March 27, 1977]
23. For Ol’ Times Sake (Duet with Tony Joe White)
*Previously Unreleased
Thumbs up !? I just can´t help believin´ for this kind of ... ( enter here your word for it. )
Madison always stood for quality . You're right Lex, interesting release! Ordered my copy without one moment of hesitation.
They say that 10 tracks are unreleased, but a friend told me that that isn´t true. And this site do the same, they declare that 10 tracks are unreleased. What the ... ! Good review for a free copy !? Someone asked me that.
Gladyslove : "they say..." "a friend told me..." "this site do(sic) the same..." "good review for a free copy!?...." "someone asked me.." etc...etc... A form of innuendo as if the webmaster allows himself to be influenced , but, of course, not coming from you but from " they (???) say..." "a friend (???) told me..." "someone (???) asked me..."
Need I say more ? I have multiple Madison releases in my possession and not a single one disappointed me so far. I trust the label and that's it.
- I ordered this CD because I always liked Madison's work and I have some cds from this collection.
- I haven't researched if some tracks have already been released before. Maybe so, since materials with different new titles and cover art are being re-released.
Benny Scott, so you must be one of the fans who didn´t have the material released here. It is a fact that cause someone told me that there aren´t 10 tracks unreleased even some more told me that so I won´t buy it. So nobody told you that ?
Here were I live we talk about the new releases cause we are fans. It is normal here. Isn´t it there were you live so ?
Gladyslove: conclusion : so you won't buy it because "you were told" by (more than 1) "somebody" that the 10 tracks had been released before ? That means you too must be one of the fans who also doesn't have the earlier released material ? Otherwise you would have known it already, checking your own collection. Never mind. What triggered my reaction in the first place is the fact you found it necessary to spread an insinuation that the webmaster wrote a "good review for a free copy". That's "not done" and unfair imho. As for "where I live we talk about new releases because we are fans" and " isn't it where you live so ?" : concerning being a fan, I have some news for you my friend : I became an Elvis fan in 1956, I was a teenager then. I started singing in a band in 1964 and became a recording artist in 1975. First record : 2 Elvis songs , "Angel" b/w "I'm Coming Home" (written by Charlie Rich). From the second record on I recorded my own written material, music and lyrics, and charted between 1975 and 1982 in the then Belgian Radio & Television Top 30 with 8 songs. In 1978 I became a pro. In 1981 the United Elvis Presley Society invited Charlie Hodge to come over to Belgium. I was asked to accompany Charlie in two concerts. The first took place on January
...on January 10th in Antwerp and the second in Brussels, January 11th. I drove Charlie to my hometown, Bruges, where he stayed at the then Hilton Hotel for a week. I still have his hotelbill as a souvenir. We rehearsed several times with the band to get ready for the concerts. At the gigs he sang solo and I did my thing, but we also sang harmony in a couple of songs. He was a fantastic man, not only as a musician but also as a human being. I possess a full photo-album of this events and also a VHS-cassette. I still miss him as much as I miss Elvis to this day. In later years the U.E.P.S invited the members of the TCB band, Glen Hardin, Jerry Sheff, Ronnie Tutt, James Burton, Duke Bardwell. I had personal conversations with each one of them, several times. Now, in the winter of my life, I won't take any insinuation not being an Elvis fan. If you have the guts to let me know your address I'll send you the necessary pictures to prove what I'm writing about right know, but as far as this topic concerns, for me it's "over and out" !
Mr. Scott, I don´t want to fight. Let´s just be fans for fans in love with Elvis and his legacy. It is what Elvis wants us to be. Always tcb and tlc, indeed.
Gladyslove : OK, matter closed ! Just one more little remark : if, in the future, we should be in contact via this site : please : there is no Mr.Scott ! I'm simply "Benny". OK ? Take care and stay in good health.
Elvisly.
Benny
Alright, Benny, it is just because you could be my father, I am 47, so I called you Mr. as matter as respect. Stay healthy. And enjoy Elvis.
The following should be noted in any case.
04. Got A Lot O Livin' To Do! [Movie version - composite - from an acetate] *
This is taken from Today Tomorrow and Forever Box with count in for Mean Woman Blues.
15. Padre [Take 10] *
this is the FTD take 11 with the ending edited.
13. Stranger In My Own Hometown - [Unedited, overdubbed master] *
2o seconds more to enjoy.
14. I've Got Confidence [Take 3, From Acetate] *
This is the master take 2.
16. It's Over [April 10, 1972 Multi-Track from Acetate] *
A MT from acetate ?
So not all shining thing is gold.
Cisco : true, but silver can be enjoyable too. And what about the 5 other songs mentioned as "previously unreleased" ? Just out of interest !
03. (Let's Have A) Party [a better-quality source master] *
Well. Nothing of interest.
11. Stay Away [Take 13 in Stereo]*
I dont care. Might even be artificial stereo as it is made nowadays. Not sure, though
12. Only The Strong Survive [Take 6 – ‘Dear Georgie’ - X-Rated)*
Known for decades.
17. I Got A Feelin' In My Body [Unreleased studio rehearsal with take 1] *
Indeed the rehearsal is one minute longer compared to what we had on "At Stax". For me the most interesting track.
18. Promised Land [Take 1 - X-rated version – Better Mix] *
Well. Anyway known for ages.
And all the spliced takes are home made and therefore superfluous.
Great announcment not much behind it.
Among the 23 tracks still enough stuff i'm interested in, including several tracks I do not have yet.
What is not interesting for one person can be interesting for another. One cannot care about something, another can. The French say "les goûts et les couleurs ne se disputent pas". In other words : everyone's taste is different. That goes too for rating the soundquality of live-recordings on bootleg CDs as "very good" when to some other ears it sounds under par, even with headphones. Zillion examples on the site "elvis concerts".
