Elvis Presley - Sunset Boulevard

[JohanD]

Todat i will (hopefully) receive my cd and vinyl set of this.
Curious to hear the mixes!

[JohanD]

Will receive my lp tomorow, so far i only have the cd set.
It looks awesome, and by listening to the first three songs of cd 1 it sounds awesome too.
The new mix by Matt Ross Spang sounds warm, detailed, i heard things in the master of "Always on my mind" that i never heard before.
So far thumbs up!

[mr. blackwell]

I've already read some things. The 1974 rehearsal recordings don't seem to have been corrected and are too slow. The 1970 rehearsals sound completely different from the mega set from FTD (2020). A few tracks aren't fully undubbed.

[JohanD]

Few surprises.
Not all on cd 1 is totally undubbed, i hear strings on "Always on my mind".(wich sounds lovely)
"Susan when she tried" is a longer cut compared to the original and i believe "Where do i go from here" too.
CD1 and 2 are well worth the money.
Disc 3 is a stereo version, Elvis(and sometimes Charlie) on the left, musicans on the right.(Didn't compare to what we had before)
Will comment on the rest after listening.

Great booklet too!

[Johnny2523]

Anybody else noticed that they really lowered elvis voice volume on the 1970 rehearsal vs the music?

Especially noticable on this


Im surprised they didnt advertise the 1974 rehearsal being released complete and unedited for the first time in binaural stereo. It was partially available on autumn gold by audionics before but that was incomplete.

[JohanD]

Im surprised they didnt advertise the 1974 rehearsal being released complete and unedited for the first time in binaural stereo. It was partially available on autumn gold by audionics before but that was incomplete.

They even let the 'risky' words (f*ck) in.
The quality on the 1974 rehearsal is not improved, and for a mainstream release i guess some casual fans think it's bad (because of the sound).
Still, nice set,but the firtst two cd's stand out.

[On Tape 1972]

Another release that is plagued with mistakes. Beginning with stupid typos on the printed tracklist, a blatant editing error on track 2-07 (at 0:47) and audible clicks on 2-08 (at 1:00). This is as far as I've gotten for now but there will be more, I'm sure of it.

It's frustrating.

On the plus side, disc 1 sounds lovely (!!) and made me smile throughout.

[John]

Another release that is plagued with mistakes. Beginning with stupid typos on the printed tracklist, a blatant editing error on track 2-07 (at 0:47) and audible clicks on 2-08 (at 1:00). This is as far as I've gotten for now but there will be more, I'm sure of it.

It's frustrating.

On the plus side, disc 1 sounds lovely (!!) and made me smile throughout.

Not to mention CD2 Burning Love being listed as takes 3 and 4, when in fact it's just take 2.

[elvis-fan]

I'm over Matt Ross-Spang and his mixing style... or lack there of. His work has been hit and miss at best. He doesn't know Elvis' music and how it should sound... and his get-it-done approach is more apparent with every release. Sony needs to leave Elvis' music to Vic and Sebastian... and bring back KB for his work on Elvis' mono recordings!!

[Johnny2523]

I'm over Matt Ross-Spang and his mixing style... or lack there of. His work has been hit and miss at best. He doesn't know Elvis' music and how it should sound... and his get-it-done approach is more apparent with every release. Sony needs to leave Elvis' music to Vic and Sebastian... and bring back KB for his work on Elvis' mono recordings!!

Only thing is, the 1970 and 1974 rehearsals were done by vic for this set. And vic didnt speed correct the 1974 rehearsal and lowered elvis vocal quite a bit for the 1970 rehearsal
So vic hasnt been doing great on this release either.

[On Tape 1972]

Another release that is plagued with mistakes. Beginning with stupid typos on the printed tracklist, a blatant editing error on track 2-07 (at 0:47) and audible clicks on 2-08 (at 1:00). This is as far as I've gotten for now but there will be more, I'm sure of it.

It's frustrating.

On the plus side, disc 1 sounds lovely (!!) and made me smile throughout.

Not to mention CD2 Burning Love being listed as takes 3 and 4, when in fact it's just take 2.

Correct.

[Rockin_John]

Stranger In My Hometown isnt censored, but is it better? No. Elvis voice is muffled, the piano can barely be heard.

The x-rated words would be better on a collectors editon instead of the other way around...

Always On My Mind (master) sounds better than ever. It couldve been recorded yesterday!
FINNALY the drums are "fixed" at the 2:03 mark. That drum hit has bother me for years!

[GRL]

All in all a very dissapointing release. And too bad they once again had to ruin the artwork/booklet with AI sharpening. That ruined the FTD On Tour Box for me. A very disturbing trend. Remember the times they made quality booklets without that kind of nonsense?

[elvis-fan]

I'm over Matt Ross-Spang and his mixing style... or lack there of. His work has been hit and miss at best. He doesn't know Elvis' music and how it should sound... and his get-it-done approach is more apparent with every release. Sony needs to leave Elvis' music to Vic and Sebastian... and bring back KB for his work on Elvis' mono recordings!!

Only thing is, the 1970 and 1974 rehearsals were done by vic for this set. And vic didnt speed correct the 1974 rehearsal and lowered elvis vocal quite a bit for the 1970 rehearsal
So vic hasnt been doing great on this release either.

I wasn't aware that Vic worked on this set... I only heard it on Spotify. TBH the '74 rehearsal recordings are pretty bad to start with... Elvis does not sound good. Aren't these 2-track cassette recordings with Elvis' voice on one side and the music on the other?

Regarding my comments about Matt... I was referring to the studio recordings in this case...

[elvis-fan]

Anybody else noticed that they really lowered elvis voice volume on the 1970 rehearsal vs the music?

Especially noticable on this


Im surprised they didnt advertise the 1974 rehearsal being released complete and unedited for the first time in binaural stereo. It was partially available on autumn gold by audionics before but that was incomplete.

That does sound pretty bad. I don't have the big 50th anniversary FTD set but I believe the 24th rehearsal is on there... wonder why they would have bothered to change it from that set (if they did)??

[thenexte]

IMHO both 1970+1974 rehearsals are a serious step down in terms of sound quality compared to previous FTD/MRS/Bootleg offerings.

Given the subpar sound quality of the sources I wonder if some type of tastefully applied DES (Digitally Extracted Stereo) could have been tried here rather than just lowering Elvis' vocal or stripping it out of the right channel altogether (which is what I seem to be hearing across the entire 1974 rehearsal).

Vocals should always be mixed in the middle with the instruments around it. I bet this decision probably came down to production costs for Sony.

[Johnny2523]

Made my own mix using the new source of the August 16th rehearsal:

in comparison.. and in the wrong speed.

[Johnny2523]

Anybody else noticed that they really lowered elvis voice volume on the 1970 rehearsal vs the music?

Especially noticable on this


Im surprised they didnt advertise the 1974 rehearsal being released complete and unedited for the first time in binaural stereo. It was partially available on autumn gold by audionics before but that was incomplete.

That does sound pretty bad. I don't have the big 50th anniversary FTD set but I believe the 24th rehearsal is on there... wonder why they would have bothered to change it from that set (if they did)??

yeah i was rather surprised, they lowered his vocal channel and drenched it in reverb. the FTD 50th anniversary version in comparison sounds great!

[Ale]

Can someone tell me which take number is Green grass of home and Susan when she tried on cd 2??
Thanks!

[John]

Can someone tell me which take number is Green grass of home and Susan when she tried on cd 2??
Thanks!

2 and 3, and 1 and 2.