Q&A With Producer Ernst Jorgensen

Q: What exactly is CLOSE UP?
A: It is a 4 CD set of previously unreleased songs and performances, spanning 3 decades of Elvis' career and music.

Q: What's the idea behind the set?
A: It's a follow up to last year's "TODAY, TOMORROW & FOREVER," but instead of giving an a-z overview of his entire career, we have focused on 4 specific periods.

Q: What is special about Disc 1?
A: Disc 1 takes a closer look at recordings from the first 5 months of 1957. These are mainly outtakes, with a handful of MASTERS, but they are all in an early form of stereo called "binaural."

Q: Disc two seems to be ALL movie stuff! Why these movies?
A: We wanted to focus on 1960-61 to show the shift in direction from the pure musicals of "G.I. Blues" and "Blue Hawaii" to the last attempts at serious films with "Flaming Star" and "Wild In The Country."

Q: Disc three covers some of the same period, why?
A: It starts in 1960 but goes all the way to 1968. We wanted to emphasise that Elvis had two parallel careers in the sixties: His movies and the wonderful, but often neglected, Nashville sessions featured here on disc 3.

Q: You have chosen a 1972 live concert. What's the background on that?
A: This show, along with three others recorded on the same tour, was originally planned as the RCA 1972 album release "Standing Room Only." That record was subsequently cancelled when the decision was made to record and release Elvis' show at Madison Square Garden.

Q: What's the technical quality of the recordings on CLOSE UP?
A: We have gone back to the original session and master tapes. In each case we used the best technical solution specific to that batch of recordings. Everything is mixed and remastered by the engineers at SONY in New York.

Q: Who's the audience for a deluxe item like this?
A: It's certainly for collectors, but like "TODAY, TOMORROW & FOREVER" it will reach a much wider audience as well. With liner notes by Colin Escott and great and rare photos, we will reach the many music fans who take their music seriously and insist on luxury items like this one.

Q: How did "TODAY, TOMORROW & FOREVER" do?
A: It was voted re-issue of the year by ROLLING STONE magazine, and in the U.S. alone it is way over 100,000 sets, and will very soon qualify for an RIAA gold record award.

Q: Any last summary comments?
A: As with all the music Elvis made, this package holds something for everybody. The 3 musical decades of Elvis' career are showcased, as is Pop, Rock 'n' Roll, Country, Gospel, R&B and even Hawaiian music.