Love Me Tender

The front and back covers look great along with a very nice booklet... and the set contains the stereo masters of all 4 songs!

I'm far from a completest. But I've read elsewhere that the LMT tracks are in excellent sound quality. Something I don't have now. And although no sound improvement has been made with the Tupelo concerts at least I will once again have access to them. Something I don't have now as all of my large box sets (vinyl and otherwise) are locked away in storage. They just take up too damn much space. For me, this release is a win, win situation.

ok if you have the spare money....otherwise not essential

A nice touch with this is the use of the British E.P. cover (which I've always liked) on the front of the booklet. Along with SAJ, a very welcome addition to the FTD classic albums and good to hear Flaming Star is on it's way.

So a 4 track EP with limited outtakes and a bad sounding concert has turned into an inflated priced double FTD. Greed of the highest order. For suckers, I mean completists only. The Colonel's smile grows by the day.

I tend to agree with you on this one SteveV. If they wanted to put this out and charge $10 that would be one thing, but as regularly priced FTD, it is just not worth it for me.

I have a great deal of sympathy for Ernst and his team at FTD whatever they do always seems to draw some criticism from someone. I always thought that the FTD label was aimed at the completist. As fan we all share a love of Elvis's career albeit we all have different periods of his career that we prefer above others. If someone does not like what FTD are selling, then don't buy it however there are lots of people who still enjoys these releases. Make the most of FTD's efforts while they are still around.

There are a lot of FTD sympathizers on here, and no, I dont whine about every FTD release, in fact I hardly comment on them anymore but cmon man, this one smacks of pure greed. There was no need for LMT to have its own FTD release with so few songs available. At least Jailhouse Rock had the session outtakes to go with it. The LMT songs could have been included on maybe the recent ELVIS (2nd LP) FTD release to make that more attractive to buyers. Certainly there was enough room for them. Or how about an EP movie collection FTD box, or a 50's movie collection box? Then you would have spent only one time for all these movie songs. To me, this is obviously milking the fan. I am glad I gave up the completist bug years ago.

Steve V it was your choice of using the word "sucker" to describe the people who might choose to buy this release is what caused me to respond to your posting. I am not a completist and I have also decided not to buy this release as I have done with a lot of the FTD releases in the past. To paraphrase a famous saying "you can please some of the people some of the time but you can't please all of the people all of the time" that is the dilemma that FTD as a collectors label faces with every release it makes.

For all the people who've bought and value this release, don't you just love some arrogant twerp calling us "suckers". These clowns just can't seem to accept that bunching these releases together is NOT what FTD classic albums are about. ALL this material has been out and bought by most fans many times before. So by that definition, we're all being "exploited". Except that we're not. There's a constant flow of releases put before us to pick and choose. I buy what appeals to me : this one I like a lot, others I see no point in so I don 't buy them. What I do not do however is insult those who do. Like I've said before, there's a lot of irrational criticism of FTD, I think a few of us can guess why that is.

I really do take great offence for being called a sucker for buying this release, nobody has the right to comment on what I choose to do with my money. I'm not even a "completist", I pick and choose what to buy and what not to buy. These days I pass on more than I buy. Buying something that interests me, but not others, does not make me a sucker. That additude is arrogance of the highest order. As for "Love Me Tender", I wanted a stand-alone release, I did not want it paired with "Elvis". I suppose that makes me stupid because some wanted the other option.

By definition a 'sucker' is someone who is easily deceived or fooled. I do not think that anyone buying this FTD release is deceived or fooled. We know very well what to expect, what is on offer here. A very bad choice of words from Steve V in this case! Is this release good value for money? You get 2cd's for the price of 1 as many FTD releases contain just one cd and cost as much. Apart from that it is down to personal choice and available budget (if I had more money, I would buy many more cd's from various artists!). Some would buy for the music, some for the joy of owning it, some to keep their collection complete etc. No one is a sucker though... PS I bought this release and found the sound quality great indeed. The STEREO versions of the 4 songs make this release worthwhile in my view.

I have to agree with Marty, Tony C and VivaLasDavies on this one. It is no mystery that FTD will most likely release all movie sound track as a ‘Classic album’ release (except Charro!). With Love me tender they have released all soundtracks originally released on 45 EP. They already created a ‘Classic album’ for Wild in the country and Stay away Joe, and will probably do the same for Flaming star, Live a little, love a little, The trouble with girls and Change of habit (with Charro as a bonus track). The remaining movie LP’s ‘Roustabout’, ‘Kissing cousins’ and ‘Speedway’ will also be released with very few outtakes available. So we already know what is coming, and what the material is going to be. Ernest and FTD are not fooling anybody, and nobody is being ‘suckered’. So when that time comes it will be our choice to buy these to complete our ‘Classic album’ collection or not. For me personally, I am no longer buying the new FTD books since I’d rather keep my money for these ‘Classic album’ releases. I am not going to knock the fans that choose to buy these books. Most fans will pick and choose what they want to buy, that’s what collecting is all about. No Elvis fan can buy everything since there is just so much material out there! So for Steve V and Deaon1 – buy what you want, and that appeals to you, and enjoy! But please do not insult the other fans who will buy this release just for the sake of completing our collection. TCB

Steve v, spot on. What on earth does this release bring to the table. I think it was kingcreole who said it, these releases are purely aimed at the elvis fan who has money to burn and will buy anything. FTD lost it's way a long time ago and now it's all about the profit.

No chum, they're aimed at people who want them and can comfortably afford to buy them. And they sure do bug certain people who maybe can't.

I do not understand why anybody who has been collecting Elvis for years would buy these releases. Surely you must have all these songs. So I'm not seeing any bang for the buck. However I would not say those buying these redundant releases are suckers. I will say there purchases will continue this constant release policy for many years to come. I'm not knocking anybody. Id just like to know why people are willing to buy the same same songs over & over again. If you are one of these people & if convenient please advise your reasons for doing so.

Troubleman, I did not insult anyone. I simply said I tend to agree with Steve V's sentiment concerning this release. I said it was not worth it to me. I don't think if someone buys this FTD, they are a sucker, but I do feel FTD is milking these releases and perhaps making the completest feel compelled to buy something that will sit on a shelf and get very little use. I have always said Elvis fans should buy what they want. If you want to collect Elvis plates, Elvis pez dispensers, popcorn tins, Barbie dolls or FTD's it is not my concern or anyone else's. The word "sucker" is not really a derogatory term. We are all suckers for something (people are things we have a weakness for and can be exploited with) and Colonel Parker, RCA and now Sony and FTD have been good at feeding my weakness through the years for "new" Elvis material. Let's be honest, have you ever bought an Elvis product that when you got home, you thought "Why did I buy this?".

P.S. I am a sucker for the movie "Stay Away Joe" and I am going to purchase the LP version of it that FTD released. I ask myself why? It is seven songs and their outtakes spread out over two LP's (just to make it more expensive) and one of the songs was an embarrassment to Elvis that he never wanted released. My answer is because it exists. Same reason I bought the "Tickle Me" single disc LP years ago and all volumes of "Having Fun With Elvis On Stage".

OK, a bit harsh and a poor choice of words. But as Deano said, FTD is milking the fan for every last Elvis dollar they can. I think FTD started out just fine, but now there are more FTD releases than Elvis releases when he was alive. Does there really need to be several FTD releases every month (which also includes books and an LP version of CDs already released?) They know there are fans, that no matter how many times they may have the material will but anything the label puts out, even at huge prices(books). A double CD or a single CD, it doesnt matter, 35.00 is still a lot of money. And in this case, there is no bang for the buck. As oldscudder has asked, why? Some of these releases are so non-essential. I have heard the completist argument. But really, with all the Elvis releases that were marketed are there any completists left that have everything since 1954? FTD has become the milker. The fans, the milkee. Case in point. FTD released Live On Stage in Memphis. Now we have a Legacy edition, that is half the pricce and contains a whole other concert to boot. Yet, fans buy both. Kind of my point.

I also feel Elvis himself would be very unhappy with the current release policy. He would not like to see his fans milked this way, not one bit. Marty Lacker has stated this a few times already.

Given that this site and most others primarily exist to alert fans to "new" releases why do the people who mostly deride these releases bother to contribute at all. They just don't seem able to grasp a simple fact : ALL Elvis releases are re-hashes of stuff we've bought before in one form or another. I'll say it YET again: why are they bothered about people buying it. No one is being "milked", no one is having their arm twisted. So do us all a REALLY BIG favour, drop it, it's becoming tiresome.

VivaLasDavies, the comments section exists on the internet so people can give their opinion. I like most of the FTD releases, just choosing not to buy this one and if I was a completest I would be torn on whether to buy this or not. I would feel taken advantage of by FTD. I felt that way in the past when I was more of a completest and I stopped because (and its just my opinion) another one or two outtakes of a couple of songs was just not worth $30 or $40. Wouldn't it be boring if for instance on the song of the day you could only contribute your opinion if you liked the song? It is Elvisnews and his fans reacting to the news.

Opinions on the release - ok - opinions on the people who buy them - not ok.

Are the 2 live concerts on this FTD release better quality than the previous RCA releases?

VivaLasDavies, I fully agree with your last reaction. I just read the whole thread here and the only thing I wanted to know is - as usual - what is on it, what is the quality, what is new and what is not. So by knowing this I can decide to buy this release or respectfully decline. I think that's what makes this site interesting. By the way, I think there might also be fans who do not have all and everything, just some cds (like new fans). For those fans the whole classics series is a great idea. Sometimes I also wonder if ELVIS would appreciate his fans to buy all the outtakes but hey, it is all that is left.

Tom McAllister: According to what I've read elsewhere, the two live concerts on this release sound the same as on the "Golden Celebration" release from RCA years ago. No sound improvement.

Steve V makes a valid point which makes me reassess my spending habits. Its true there's a certain amount of 'get it now before its gone' feeling when being an Elvis fan that without a doubt is exploited by companies. The companies themselves are after the profit margin after all, they don't release things for the good of their health. Maybe we as consumers have forgotten how much influence we have. For if we are fussier about what we buy then Sony would rethink some strategies. Elvis will never stop selling, that's wether the well is dry or not. He's one of if not THE biggest selling artists today so we need to drop some of our phobias of 'get it now..'. On the subject of FTD. It was supposed to be a collectors label to satisfy those who were purchasing bootlegs. It lost its way a few times and then decided on the 'original albums' concept. Thats fine and makes sense. Its kind of like killing two birds with one stone - you have original albums plus outtakes in great sound ( debatable in some cases). Where there is clearly not enough material to fill a CD then FTD needs to adjust its price accordingly. This will avoid ill feeling on the part of fans who feel ripped off. Again, vote with your pocket folks. The sound quality is an arguement but as i've always said - why did a Cd that came out in 1987 sound better than anything that came after? did someone steal the tapes? To me some songs have suffered from remastering eg Can't Help Falling In Love ( and any early Rolling Stones albums!) and some FTDs of recent years have suffered from bad mastering.

I agree with VivaLasDavies on this one; you can give you opinion on the releases (good or bad) but when your comments include’ another release for those who will buy anything, or for those suckers, etc.’ then you get personal. I do not make derogatory comments on fans that do not like Ernest or FTD. I cannot understand comments like ‘FTD are in it for the money and profits’. Well that’s true about every business out there! If you own a business and do not make money, or a profit, then you will be ‘out of business’ very soon! All of Elvis’ movies released during his lifetime was for profit, the same for all the soundtrack recordings. When fans stopped buying the soundtrack albums, and the movie profits diminished, only then did Elvis’ career make a drastic change. Then touring became hugely profitable, so Elvis was only doing concerts (even in poor health) until his sad end. Theoldscudder – I will tell you why I will buy this release; it will be part of my ‘Classic album ‘collection. I like the design, the booklet with new information and unreleased photos. I started buying them when FTD first started and will continue doing so until there are no more to be released. I do not have several ‘Love me tender’ soundtrack recording, just another one on a regular CD, which I will now bring to an Elvis convention for trading. If someone wants to have all of Elvis’ concerts, then they will probably buy a bad sounding audience recording even if they have all these songs on other concerts. Going by your logic, if you have a 1972 concert (Elvis at MSG) then you really would not need to buy a concert from Elvis on tour (should FTD release one) because they would basically have the same songs. If you have one 1969 concert, then you don’t need another one since it’s the same song lineup (the same with the dialogue part) so it would be repetitive. I do agree with SteveV that FTD are releasing way too many products at the same time. That’s why I’m selective; I buy the 7inch classic CD’s, but do not bother with the LPs or the books. Others will buy all the LPs’ or the books and that’s fine. Since I concentrate on FTD CD releases, I do not bother with the Legacy releases or any other ones (with the exceptions of Elvis at Stax and Prince from another planet). When ‘On stage’ was released as a Legacy edition, and on an import extended format, I did not buy any of them. I simply waited until FTD released their version and bought that one. No duplicates. I also do not believe that Elvis ‘would be very unhappy with the current release policy’ as you stated. Just take a look at the albums released in the early 70s by RCA which also included the Camden LP’s, all the singles, and the 2 box sets ‘Worldwide gold records’ plus the tour photo albums, posters, etc.. And let’s not forget 1956 with the overwhelming amount of collectibles released that year! Finally, everything that is released now for Elvis is a repeat of some kind (unless you get a gem like Little mama), so we know that there is nothing really ‘new’ to be released. Even an unreleased outtake or concert will now sound the same as another one. So let’s enjoy collecting what we want, not because we are compelled to do so, but simply for the pure pleasure of collecting. TCB

Troubleman : very senseful posting IMO ! Always El.

I have nothing against Love Me Tender on the FTD label. But, FTD should have paired Elvis, the 2nd album with Love Me Tender. Since there were no more material for the Elvis FTD than to fill one disc, it would have been natural imo to add Love Me Tender as the 2nd disc in that package. Value for money for the FTD collectors. Just an opinion.

bajo, I agree with your valid points, but... it is what it is.