Re: Elvis vinyl related discussion

[BlackpoolEPfan]

Today, after crossing the rough North Sea Channel between the UK and the European mainland, these two new friends of mine arrived. They make my UK mono collection a bit more complete.


20251217_120005.jpg

20251217_120038.jpg

20251217_120222.jpg

20251217_120246.jpg

Never ever realised that "Loving You" UK album was first released without "Blueberry Hill", "Don't Leave Me Now", "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You?", "I Need You So"???!!!

So when was it first released with the aforementioned songs all on Side 2 along with "True Love"??

Yes, the 1957 UK mono release was this 10" album with less tracks than the original USA release. It wasn't until 1977 (if I'm not mistaken) that a UK pressing with all the songs was released, be it in the horrible fake stereo.

By the way, quite a few early UK LP's had different tracklistings compared to their US counterparts.

Thank you Bilbobaggins - fabulous info!!

[LesterB]

Does anyone have the VPI pressing Blondes, Brunes Et Rousses?

It looks interesting as it follows the same track listing as the original Worlds Fair album but withh all alternate tracks - correct? Can anyone comment on the sound?

Thankyou

[JohanD]

Does anyone have the VPI pressing Blondes, Brunes Et Rousses?

It looks interesting as it follows the same track listing as the original Worlds Fair album but withh all alternate tracks - correct? Can anyone comment on the sound?

Thankyou

Hello Lester, i've got that one.
Soundwise it's pretty decent, sometimes a pop or crack turns up, but it's not anoying.
The main selling point (to me) is that's indeed a nice alternate collection, the vinyl beautiful and his has a very nice lp sized colour booklet with info about the movie, production, co-stars, sessions, songs and fantastic foto's.
If the price is good, it's highly recommended!

[LesterB]

Does anyone have the VPI pressing Blondes, Brunes Et Rousses?

It looks interesting as it follows the same track listing as the original Worlds Fair album but withh all alternate tracks - correct? Can anyone comment on the sound?

Thankyou

Hello Lester, i've got that one.
Soundwise it's pretty decent, sometimes a pop or crack turns up, but it's not anoying.
The main selling point (to me) is that's indeed a nice alternate collection, the vinyl beautiful and his has a very nice lp sized colour booklet with info about the movie, production, co-stars, sessions, songs and fantastic foto's.
If the price is good, it's highly recommended!

Thanks for this, Johan

I had the FTD Vinyl which sounded ok but this apears (for the most part) to have whole takes and is sequenced for a good alternative listening expereince.

This pressing is excellent https://www.discogs.com/release/4489847 ... orlds-Fair

I have anthother US pressing which has an indented ring on the black label (doesnt appear on any record sites) - looks very similar to the 1977 pressing but sounds very dull.

[londonflash]

Does anyone have the VPI pressing Blondes, Brunes Et Rousses?

It looks interesting as it follows the same track listing as the original Worlds Fair album but withh all alternate tracks - correct? Can anyone comment on the sound?

Thankyou

Hi Lester, hope you're well.

I recently bought a copy of this one, although I've not had a chance to play it yet.

[LesterB]

Does anyone have the VPI pressing Blondes, Brunes Et Rousses?

It looks interesting as it follows the same track listing as the original Worlds Fair album but withh all alternate tracks - correct? Can anyone comment on the sound?

Thankyou

Hi Lester, hope you're well.

I recently bought a copy of this one, although I've not had a chance to play it yet.

we have the Elvis Birthday weekender on the 9th January so perhaps you could bring it over then?

[JohanD]

Got myself this Music on Vinyl pressing, since i missed out on the 2003 version.

Fantastic repress, nice solid 'dark gold' vinyl and dead silent pressing and mastering.
'Always on my mind' for example is awesome, the strings shine through!

[londonflash]

Does anyone have the VPI pressing Blondes, Brunes Et Rousses?

It looks interesting as it follows the same track listing as the original Worlds Fair album but withh all alternate tracks - correct? Can anyone comment on the sound?

Thankyou

Hi Lester, hope you're well.

I recently bought a copy of this one, although I've not had a chance to play it yet.

we have the Elvis Birthday weekender on the 9th January so perhaps you could bring it over then?

Absolutely!

[LesterB]

Hello all

I understand that many on this board are former FECC residents - thanks to Alexander and the London Flash for alerting me to this board.

Just bought The Alternate Elvis ] Mood Blue 10 inch vinyl boxset. Need to figure out how to upload photos but the 45 rpm sounds amazing and the 10 inch seems to be a more dynamic cut than the FTD Moody blue vinyl.

welcome Lester...I have that as well...very nice...there is also the "Alternate Today" available from the same label

I've got the alternate Elvis Today double album, pretty good sound here too.
The live bonus songs from Vegas '75 sound very good here too, better then it's FTD or Fort Baxter cd counterpart (Wouldn't mind the full concert -still a favorite of mine- on vinyl too)

Hi Johan
My wife bought me this for Christmas - just playing it now. Fantastic!
thanks for the recommendation.

She also bought me Second2None so looking forward to hearing that too.

I have the 30#1 HIts and was very impressed with the 50s tracks - not so much the 60s and 70s which I think sound better on the Indianapolis pressings.

[JohanD]

Hello all

I understand that many on this board are former FECC residents - thanks to Alexander and the London Flash for alerting me to this board.

Just bought The Alternate Elvis ] Mood Blue 10 inch vinyl boxset. Need to figure out how to upload photos but the 45 rpm sounds amazing and the 10 inch seems to be a more dynamic cut than the FTD Moody blue vinyl.

welcome Lester...I have that as well...very nice...there is also the "Alternate Today" available from the same label

I've got the alternate Elvis Today double album, pretty good sound here too.
The live bonus songs from Vegas '75 sound very good here too, better then it's FTD or Fort Baxter cd counterpart (Wouldn't mind the full concert -still a favorite of mine- on vinyl too)

Hi Johan
My wife bought me this for Christmas - just playing it now. Fantastic!
thanks for the recommendation.

She also bought me Second2None so looking forward to hearing that too.

I have the 30#1 HIts and was very impressed with the 50s tracks - not so much the 60s and 70s which I think sound better on the Indianapolis pressings.

Yes, on "ELV1S 30#hits" the later songs could be better, that's true, on "2nd to none" it's much better, we all got used to good sounding 50's versions, but here the 70's one shine and sound perfect! (Do listen to "Always in my mind", it's so beautiful)

Glad you liked the "alternate Today" it's a very cool one!
Cherish your wife, Lester, she knows the right things to give to you!

[LesterB]

has anyone got any pressings mastred by

Marc Vich is a respected audio engineer specializing in mastering, restoration, and reissue production, with a focus on vintage rock 'n' roll, rockabilly, and Elvis Presley-related material. He's credited on numerous releases involving Elvis soundalikes like Jimmy "Orion" Ellis (e.g., From The Sun Vaults Vol. 1 and Surprise), as well as recent 2025 Elvis reissues like The Jailhouse Rock Sessions and potentially Love Me Tender from producers Pål Granlund and Kenneth Dokkeberg.

elvisinfonet.com

His work often involves transferring, restoring, and remastering archival tapes for labels like Bear Family Records, where he's served as reissue producer and handled tape comparisons on acclaimed box sets such as Rick Nelson's For You - The Decca Years 1963-1969.

discogs.com +1

Bear Family is widely regarded among audiophiles and collectors for its high-fidelity reissues, and user discussions on forums highlight the excellent sound quality of releases like the Rick Nelson set, noting it as a top recommendation for its era.

forums.stevehoffman.tv +2

While direct personal reviews of Vich are scarce (likely due to his behind-the-scenes role in niche archival work), his consistent credits on well-received projects from respected labels indicate he's skilled and reliable in this field. No negative feedback turned up in searches across Discogs, Elvis fan sites, or audio forums. If you're into Elvis restorations or reissues, his contributions are generally seen as solid and professional.

[JohnnyByeBye]

During the Christmas holidays, I've had time to listen to some of my older vinyls that I've barely listened before. Randomly, I picked an old (1959 maybe?) US pressing of "For LP Fans Only". It is a mono pressing with of course many SUN era tracks. Since it doesn't have any major scratches etc, the sound is quite free from any imperfections and I could concentrate on the sound of that pressing.

My first impression was that I actually liked the sound, it was quite warm and airy,the airiness most likely coming from the reverb that was applied freely on the tracks. I think it compliments some songs like My Baby Left Me and Mystery Train quite nicely. But I started to notice that in same songs,the reverb is just overwhelming. For example, You're A Heartbreaker has tons of reverb which changes the nature of the song completely.

Interested in just how much added reverb there was compared to the SUN original, I took my Elvis At SUN -cd (which should pretty much represent the masters from SUN) and did some quick comparisons both using speakers as well as headphones, and the difference is HUGE. Whereas the only echo on on the CD comes mostly from the slapback echo on Scotty's guitar and some on Elvis's vocal, the LP track sounds like the song is drowned into a sea of reverb and told to stay under surface for a couple of minutes. As a result, all dynamics and punchiness that were there in the original master are gone.

This was really a revelation to me. I always was under the impression that RCA "spoiled" the SUN tracks when they started to make the electronically re-processed stereo pressings of those tracks, but it clearly happened already in mono-only era. At least some tracks were already ruined in mono pressings by the mastering engineers working for RCA at the time. Maybe the engineers were told to try to emulate (or emphasize) the "SUN sound" by adding extra reverb but in some cases they clearly went overboard and messed it up.

I admit that at least to me, some SUN tracks on the lp sounded pretty good also with some added reverb but that of course is a matter of opinion.

My point: some SUN tracks were messed up before the arrival re-processed stereo. Of course the "stereo" processing arguably messed up the whole catalog of mono masters very equally

[JohanD]

I fully agree, 'You're A Heartbreaker' has always been one of te poorer sounding recordings ever.
RCA did a terrible job with that, on the record you show, and on almost all the others that came after that.
It's from "Elvis at Sun" from 2004, that it finally is heard like a fresh breath of air, it's mindblowing how Kevan Budd finally got it right!
I cherish the recordings before, but "Elvis at Sun" is a landmark release in quality.
Wonder how the original Sun single from 1955 sounds like?

[rockinrebel]

During the Christmas holidays, I've had some more time to listen to some of my older vinyls that I've barely listened before. Randomly, I picked an old (1959 maybe?) US pressing of "For LP Fans Only". It is a mono pressing with of course many SUN era tracks. Since it doesn't have any major scratches etc, the sound is quite free from any imperfections and I could concentrate on the sound of that pressing.

IMG-20251229-WA0010.jpeg

My first impression was that I actually liked the sound, it was quite warm and airy,the airiness most likely coming from the reverb that was applied quite freely. I think it compliments some songs like My Baby Left Me and Mystery Train quite nicely. But I started to notice tgat in same cases,the reverb is just overwhelming. For example, on You're A Heartbreaker has tons of reverb which changes the nature of the song completely.

Interested in just how much added reverb there was compared to the SUN original, I took my Elvis At SUN -cd (which should pretty much represent the masters from SUN) and did some quick comparisons both using soeakers and headphones and the difference is HUGE. Whereas the only echo on on the CD comes pretty much from the slapback echo on Scotty's guitar and some on Elvis's vocal, the LP track sounds like the song is drowned into a sea of reverb and told to stay under surface for a couple of minutes. As a result, all dynamics and punchiness that were there in the original master are gone.

This was really a revelation to me. I always was under the impression that RCA "spoiled" the SUN tracks when they started to make the electronically re-processed stereo pressings of those tracks, but it clearly isn't so. At least some tracks were already ruined in mono pressings by the mastering engineers working for RCA at the time. Maybe the engineers were told to try to emulate (or emphasize) the "SUN sound" by adding extra reverb but in some cases they clearly went overboard and messed it up.

I admit that at least to me, some SUN tracks on the lp sounded pretty good also with some added reverb but that of course is a matter of opinion.

My point: some SUN tracks were messed up before the arrival re-processed stereo. Of ciurse the "stereo" processing arguably messed up the whole catalog of mono masters very equally

Great observation. I think also that the later ERS masters were created from the reverb soaked mono LP masters. Consequently, if you have an ERS pressing of For LP Fans Only or A Date With Elvis, they are basically unlistenable...

[Bilbobaggins]

During the Christmas holidays, I've had some more time to listen to some of my older vinyls that I've barely listened before. Randomly, I picked an old (1959 maybe?) US pressing of "For LP Fans Only". It is a mono pressing with of course many SUN era tracks. Since it doesn't have any major scratches etc, the sound is quite free from any imperfections and I could concentrate on the sound of that pressing.

IMG-20251229-WA0010.jpeg

My first impression was that I actually liked the sound, it was quite warm and airy,the airiness most likely coming from the reverb that was applied quite freely. I think it compliments some songs like My Baby Left Me and Mystery Train quite nicely. But I started to notice tgat in same cases,the reverb is just overwhelming. For example, on You're A Heartbreaker has tons of reverb which changes the nature of the song completely.

Interested in just how much added reverb there was compared to the SUN original, I took my Elvis At SUN -cd (which should pretty much represent the masters from SUN) and did some quick comparisons both using soeakers and headphones and the difference is HUGE. Whereas the only echo on on the CD comes pretty much from the slapback echo on Scotty's guitar and some on Elvis's vocal, the LP track sounds like the song is drowned into a sea of reverb and told to stay under surface for a couple of minutes. As a result, all dynamics and punchiness that were there in the original master are gone.

This was really a revelation to me. I always was under the impression that RCA "spoiled" the SUN tracks when they started to make the electronically re-processed stereo pressings of those tracks, but it clearly isn't so. At least some tracks were already ruined in mono pressings by the mastering engineers working for RCA at the time. Maybe the engineers were told to try to emulate (or emphasize) the "SUN sound" by adding extra reverb but in some cases they clearly went overboard and messed it up.

I admit that at least to me, some SUN tracks on the lp sounded pretty good also with some added reverb but that of course is a matter of opinion.

My point: some SUN tracks were messed up before the arrival re-processed stereo. Of ciurse the "stereo" processing arguably messed up the whole catalog of mono masters very equally

Your observation made me take out and play my 1959 UK pressing. Here I did not notice a lot of (if any) reverb in the vocals. So that would indicate that the tapes sent to the UK were kept 'clean' for local mastering.

[Bilbobaggins]

It's not just the SUN tracks that were drowned in reverb. Listen to the RCA 50's album mix/mastering of Young And Beautiful and Baby I Don't Care (among others) on A Date With Elvis... reverb to the max!

[rockinrebel]

During the Christmas holidays, I've had some more time to listen to some of my older vinyls that I've barely listened before. Randomly, I picked an old (1959 maybe?) US pressing of "For LP Fans Only". It is a mono pressing with of course many SUN era tracks. Since it doesn't have any major scratches etc, the sound is quite free from any imperfections and I could concentrate on the sound of that pressing.

IMG-20251229-WA0010.jpeg

My first impression was that I actually liked the sound, it was quite warm and airy,the airiness most likely coming from the reverb that was applied quite freely. I think it compliments some songs like My Baby Left Me and Mystery Train quite nicely. But I started to notice tgat in same cases,the reverb is just overwhelming. For example, on You're A Heartbreaker has tons of reverb which changes the nature of the song completely.

Interested in just how much added reverb there was compared to the SUN original, I took my Elvis At SUN -cd (which should pretty much represent the masters from SUN) and did some quick comparisons both using soeakers and headphones and the difference is HUGE. Whereas the only echo on on the CD comes pretty much from the slapback echo on Scotty's guitar and some on Elvis's vocal, the LP track sounds like the song is drowned into a sea of reverb and told to stay under surface for a couple of minutes. As a result, all dynamics and punchiness that were there in the original master are gone.

This was really a revelation to me. I always was under the impression that RCA "spoiled" the SUN tracks when they started to make the electronically re-processed stereo pressings of those tracks, but it clearly isn't so. At least some tracks were already ruined in mono pressings by the mastering engineers working for RCA at the time. Maybe the engineers were told to try to emulate (or emphasize) the "SUN sound" by adding extra reverb but in some cases they clearly went overboard and messed it up.

I admit that at least to me, some SUN tracks on the lp sounded pretty good also with some added reverb but that of course is a matter of opinion.

My point: some SUN tracks were messed up before the arrival re-processed stereo. Of ciurse the "stereo" processing arguably messed up the whole catalog of mono masters very equally

Your observation made me take out and play my 1959 UK pressing. Here I did not notice a lot of (if any) reverb in the vocals. So that would indicate that the tapes sent to the UK were kept 'clean' for local mastering.

Yes, the UK versions of those titles are a good listen. If my memory is correct this issue was also discussed when the 60 album CD set was released. Of course we'd had Elvis At Sun and ABFT by this point in time, but Sony used the original album masters for the A Date With and LP Fans CD's. I guess the intention was to be true to the historical record, but it did nothing for the listening experience...

[JohnnyByeBye]

It's not just the SUN tracks that were drowned in reverb. Listen to the RCA 50's album mix/mastering of Young And Beautiful and Baby I Don't Care (among others) on A Date With Elvis... reverb to the max!

I listened to Date With Elvis now and you are correct. Both of those tracks have way too much reverb, Baby I Dont Care even more so. It really sounds like Elvis and the band are playing in a hall. The lp pressing I have is this:

I compared those two songs with the versions on the 50's box set and they really are different.the box set has hardly any reverb.

Just for the heck of it, I also brought my Jailhouse Rock EP's into comparison. I used my US and Germny pressings for that. See them below.

Much to my amazement there is hardly any added reverb on the EP's(!) There is very slight added reverb which can be heard on Baby I Dont Care in the end of a bridge when Elvis sings quickly "....like I Do Do,Do Do!" Those fast,cutting sounds are usually good for identifying reverb on a track. But compared to the plane hangar type of hall reverb found in the LP, the reverb on the EP tracks is almost non-existent.

So for what ever reason, the mastering engineer of the mono version of Date With Elvis really went crazy with the reverb. Not recommended! The EP's sound much more punchier and clearer compared to the LP.

[ClausH]

For LP Fans Only and A Date With Elvis had added reverb. Some of the singles released during that time, recorded in 1958 also had more reverb than usual.

[Mike C]

I fully agree, 'You're A Heartbreaker' has always been one of te poorer sounding recordings ever.
RCA did a terrible job with that, on the record you show, and on almost all the others that came after that.
It's from "Elvis at Sun" from 2004, that it finally is heard like a fresh breath of air, it's mindblowing how Kevan Budd finally got it right!
I cherish the recordings before, but "Elvis at Sun" is a landmark release in quality.
Wonder how the original Sun single from 1955 sounds like?

You're A Heartbreaker is one of 4 songs Elvis cut at Sun that RCA had to dub directly from disc since Sam never turned over the original master tapes. Kevan Budd did a fantastic job preparing copies of those songs from original Sun 45s.