In the classic album series FTD just released an album that never was. It’s not a first, but it remains strange…
Design
The front cover looks very familiar, but it always brings NYC in mind. There are some great shots used on the cover and the “back” is in the same style as the real albums in the 70s: advertisements for other “recent” albums, Now and He Touched Me.
The booklet contains the usual liner notes, background information and of course the memorabilia and photos. Most of them are from On Tour, and quite some were seen recently in Madison’s Standing Room Only Tapes-series.
Content
The first CD is nearly the same as the 1999 release Burning Love. Okay, the order is somewhat different and there are two additional tracks: the long awaited All Shook Up and something we really can’t live without: the immortal Teddy Bear/ Don’t Be Cruel medley. Still it belongs to the best FTD discs available in my ears so far. Not every song is outstanding but Elvis’ voice at the time makes them something special. Of course no CD can be wrong when containing the two ballads Separate Ways and Always On My Mind. Add some of my personal favorites Never Been To Spain, Burning Love and the Little Sister/ Get Back medley and you have me quiet for a while. I already ripped it for my MP3 player, and I bet it will be on there for a long, long time.
The second CD is something different, no mixture of live and studio recordings, but only outtakes of the latter. We got many of them over the years on various box sets and FTD releases. It is nice, of course, to have them all together here, but it’s obvious my taste changed over the years. Ten years ago I probably would have played it over and over again, but now I have something like “again Where Do I Go From Here?” when the track starts for the 5th time.
It will remain on my player for a while, I guess, but not as long as the old familiar versions of disc one.
Conclusion
A good addition to the FTD series in superb sound quality, but nothing really spectacular if you have the box sets of the last decade and 6363 Sunset. Disc one is a topper, but VERY similar to Burning Love (1999) and disc two is for the diehards.
A standard size FTD with a booklet! I almost can't believe it. Maybe now that Madison jolted the market, we will see a little more effort by FTD. My guess is that this is not a digi-pack? I have all the tunes, but I'm going to buy this one anyway just because my "favorite Elvis era" is circa 1972. Good Job FTD!
this is not a digi pack but the 7 inch classic album format. if you have the burning love cd you may feel satisfied with that but i like this release. its quite a strong collection thou impossible dream and its impossible i could live without. pity this album did not get released at the time as its certainly better than elvis now/ burning love & hits from the movies etc etc the booklet is good with interesting pics.
i received mine today, and i really thought it was a fantastic attempt to re-create what never happened. the 1st disc the material is in fantastic sound quality but the material has been released so many times, burning love, live in las vegas boxset however if you dont have these and thi is a great release. the 2nd disc is really interesting to me but could bore allot of people. the booklet is full of loads of exciting photos of elvis live and i thought it was worth it just for the booklet. however i do think that ftd should have made the second disc a complete 1972 concert. next i do pray that ftd do on stage in the classic album section with a 2nd disc a complete january/febuary 1970 complete concert
Only live tracks from feb 72. But why only live shots from april 72? I'd think FTD will show us actual pictures from Las Vegas and not the april ones because there are no tracks from april. What a strange idea from the FTD's team !!!
I haven't gotten mine in the mail yet but I know I'll love it. I wish the material was from the On Tour Concerts in April but I know I'll Like this one ayway. I hope FTD is planning "something" for the On Tour shows...thus far, I like what FTD is doing.
I bought my copy. For me too much of the same again. Outtakes of "seperate ways" are new for me and I liked it but duplication again...
A winner to me! Loved Burning Love release, but now I'm crazy abuot this FTD title. It's just excellent! Thanks FTD Team!!! :)
The sound is fantastic and the cd's really show that FTD is a collectors label because you really have to like different takes of seperate ways, where do I go from here. Can't wait for other FTD classic series, love the alternate takes of the 70 recordings. Imagine alternates of songs as love song of the year. Yes this is a great release, hopefully it will sell well to keep the label sustainable..
Sounds like a good release from FTD and one that I was personally waiting some time for. Glad to see that Ernst and the guys at Sony/whatever are bring credibilty back to the recordings of that era and hopefully the 'Burning love and hits from the movies' album will be forgotten.
circleg - sadly no. Whilst this great music is hidden from the general public on a collectors label, Elvis sings Burning Love and hits from his movies takes 'pride of place' amongst all the other shoddy camdens in the cd racks at all popular retail outlets. Casual buyers can experience the delights of I'll take love, Easy come, Easy Go and Confidence available on those camden releases but let's keep the quality stuff from them hey?!
Lex gets at the odd appeal of this release and I agree, given the '99 "BURNING LOVE" and that FTD, this is strictly for those of us who are now nostalgic for ...albums that never happened..but sorta did later...on..? :) I'm getting it but it's an odd release, nonetheless.
John4126, I don't know what country (or planet) you're on, but the Camdens are an extremely limited, US-only budget release and they're mostly hard to find at that, outside of the internet. The CD is just about dead and is mainly reduced to budget areas (read: those too poor to get on download wagon) or older demographics (Guys like me..a mere 40 and already a fossil who actually buys CDs) and the specialty /collector / internet only realm. Thumbs up, Ernst for keeping FTD vital.
The camdens can be found at many walmarts,and theres no excuse for his regular albums such as Elvis country to be out of print,Ftd has become more than a collectors label its not taken on the task of being a reissue label,burning love was all that was needed,should have been an outtake cd from the march sessions,i await a aug 1970 show,no more dry soundboards or cd's full of duplication,sorry 40 bucks is alot of money,and to be frank its stupid for any cd to cost that much!
Should have read it has now taken on the task of being a reissue label,and also i feel the prices are too high also for importsn,Elvis cd's etc is too high in general,imports are overpriced in many cases,im glad that Ftd is there but i will now buy more wisely,too many Ftd's sit on my shelf and never get a spin,i guess when the label started i though Elvis shows were differt than what i found out,i know now why he was so bored,but why didnt he change what was going on?
Most Wal-Marts are shrinking their CD sections and the Walmarts and K-Marts I look at in my travels thus far don't have the new titles. I expect they will but the exposure is rather finite. As stated earlier, the CD market is shrinking into a collector only market, so expect to pay premium prices. I don't like it anymore than anyone else, but it's not a mass market anymore - especially 30-plus year old Elvis titles, be it a Camden title or an album that never was on FTD. At this rate and with an artist dead three decades, Im glad we have such options to talk about.
Greg Nolan - i am indebted to you for your posting re the camdens. I am firmly of this planet i can assure you, although i know for most Americans the planet is within the confines of the good ol' U S of A!!. I did smile when i read about the CD being dead - i agree and have been arguing for a long time that FTD should be available to download. That means i can buy three tracks on this cd that i dont have and can avoid that duplication so many of us 'complain' about, saving considerable money in the bargain. Alas, this is not a road this label would go down.
mature_elvis_fan75 - are you going to make the same tired comments on every FTD article on this site? Get over it already.
Am i bothering you? i could ask you the same question,if agree with you on everything would you be upset? if i spoke of how great Ftd was over and over would you be upset? get over it indeed!
John your correct,but there is enough folks that like paying hard earned money for little,i am figuring out why Elvis fans are called fanatics by some!
Like Greg Nolan, I'm one of those (over) 40 year old guys that still buys CD's. I guess it's all those many years of buying LP's that got me hooked. Downloading music is easier, cheaper, and more selective than buying an album...but it's just not the same. I really like a well thought out album with great artwork and liner notes. It's like buying a good book in a way. For fans of electronic music, I-Pods, and all that stuff, that's fine too. Whatever floats your boat! It's all good. I wonder if FTD will ever have an option to buy music downloads? There's a market for it, to be sure. In regards to the old Camdens, I remember vividly (I was around back then) when they were released. Sometimes they were released in conjunction with standard Elvis LP's, which made them look all the more cheap and unattractive. It seems to me that Elvis didn't really get into the creation of an album even when he was on top of his game, so the fact that the Camdens made it into production didn't surprise me then or now. Standing Room Only I guess could be classified as a re-issue of Burning Love ('99). That works for me! Burning Love is one of my absolute favorite CD's, and if Standing Room Only exceeds it, then for sure it's one I'll buy. The bigger album cover and (usually) good booklets in the Classic Series makes owning an album, for geezers like Nolan and me, all the more worth the 30 to 40 bucks. Heck, a dinner out with friends and a couple of brews will wipe out that kind of small change. I really enjoy being a fan of Elvis more than squeezing the life out of a few dollars.
"Am i bothering you?"
Yes, actually you are. This article is to discuss "Standing Room Only", it is not yet another avenue for you to write the same "FTD is rubbish" propaganda you seem to lament on almost every single elvisnews.com article that even mentions anything to do with FTD. I am all for constructive and critical comments about specific releases - do you even own this title yet? If so then review it!!
You really think its a great deal to pay $40 for a few outtakes? and if i bother u so much just ignore my comments,the label took a bad turn,you dont see it that way but since i bought every Ftd up till recently i will voice my view,it does say give your opinion,but once you do that,you get the dont bash Ftd posts like yours,again i wasnt disrespectful to anyone,and someone has to repeat thereselves because others wont to control what others think,how about we just ignore each others posts? I simply make a comment,and it is so upsetting for what reason,its just a freakin cd,yea it might be what i said before because thats the way it is,why do fans not want a classy collectors label without duplication? JUst glad that its there right?
Left thats the kind of posts we need more of,i might not even agree with you but hect its your money,glad to see some can give a view without preaching it as the gospel,hope you enjoy the set!
It’s not “$40 for a few outtakes”, its £19 for a complete package – one that you have yet to specifically address. Your posts on this matter are very disrespectful – and repetitive. Stop spoiling every FTD discussion with them!
I think it's an OK release. Disc 1 contains 3 new tracks: All Shook Up, Teddy Bear/Don't Be Cruel & Hound Dog. Disc 2 contains quite a few new tracks. Notably Separate Ways, 13 takes + an undubbed master. We've only gotten take 25 (on Platinum) previously. The negative: the sound quality is very flat sounding. I've compared SRO with the same tracks on Burning Love, An American Trilogy and Live In Las Vegas (disc 3), and they all sound much better. The acoustic guitars, for instance, sounds "muddy" compared to previous releases.
Matt W - your posts are boring the hell out of me - dont like what mature says? then skip his comments.
Thanks john,my posts have not been disrespectful,quite the opposite,i have not blasted anyone or been rude,and my posts might sound repetitive because i have to defend myself,and how am spoiling anything? post like that make me wonder what the true reason is,i have hear from many buyers that the sound is not what it should be,and here in the states the cheapest Ftd is 38 bucks with shipping,alot of mony ofr a few outtakes,and again why does some releases not get the best treatment with sound and others do?
To me this is basically a re-issue, with a few boring outtakes for about 40 bucks. Strictly for the die-hards and since I wont be buying it, I guess Im not a die-hard anymore. I'll use the 40 bucks to fill my gas tank a few times.
I did spring for it (a pre-order) as ShopElvis has a half-decent sale going on now (free shipping) but some of the commentary elsewhere and here about the sound has me concerned, especially since the the other dig against it is that it's mostly a reissue of BURNING LOVE and 6163 Sunset, et al. It's the LP version that I think is coming next that might be of more historical interest - the album that never was and all. This title is very much playing on would-be nostalgia and for many of fans here, I can understand why some might pass on it. The rest of us freaks will play along - as usual!
Hey did you know shop Elvis has been placing items in boxes and putting the cd's inside the boxes,of course my orders were big orders,but in past they would put as many as 6 classic albums in a bubble mailer,i complained many many times,so maybe just maybe all that complaining payed off,i even got a free snow globe last time,,i have one of these standing room only sets coming ,its for a friend, hope a aug 1970 show is next,if thats the case and its mixed right,you will see me be nothing but kind on that release! come on ernst you can do it!
is it my ears mature or do alot of the FTD's sound 'flat' ? Some of the movie soundtracks for example. why did they sound better on the double features releases?
Circle it seems the movie soundtracks do have flat sound on the masters, thats one of my main issues with the label, every release should be given the same attention, my view is if you feel its not worth the time to get it right then dont bother releasing it, many fans have went bought back some of the double features, they had sold theres thinking Ftd would offer the ulitmate package but they didnt deliver, funny thing is the new outtakes seem to have great sound,more proof that they could have done better with the masters, someone said there explanation was they wanted the sound to be like the original records, thats just silly isnt it?
Mature - when has the label ever put care & attention into an Elvis release? Think of the shoddy looking 70's LP releases, the cover designs, and the forbidden Camdens. Makes you wince doesnt it? I can name only 3 releases where the label went all out in there design & packaging. The original 1957 Christmas LP, A Date With Elvis, and Elvis Is Back. Compare those to the budget looking releases of the 70's or some of the soundtracks. After his death the 2 boxsets were nice and given some attention by Joan Deary. Other than that, it was almost disrespectful how the label treated their best selling artist. It seems it still hapeens but for much bigger bucks nowadays.
Steve i agree,A aug 1970 show will be my next Ftd purchase ,of course that is if the sound will be mixed by someone who knows what there doing!
i'm lovin' my copy of this.it has become my favorite FTD cd to listen to right now.i wish they had used the material from the on tour shows,but as a whole this one is a home run for me.i'll get the vinyl set of this as well.
Eric i am going to open up my copy and take a listen, On Tour is high on my list of releases i want, anyone visting this board knows that! (Smile)
hope you enjoy it as much as i do.
