June 08 - Stage Power: My Bass Man Is Bound To Die

The Tupelo Productions import label announced volume 2 of 'Stage Power'. Like the first volume, this set comes housed in a 12-inch LP-sized package. This volume contains six discs covering the September 1970 tour. More information when available. 

From the press release:

We can't get enough of Elvis in 1970! Only 2 days after Elvis' third Las Vegas season Elvis went on his first tour for 12 years. Phoenix Arizona was the first stop for a tour of 8 concerts in 6 different cities. This tour reconfirmed his position: the audience was captivated in every city, in every concert, Elvis had done it again, 

Now sit back and enjoy Elvis at the peak of his career - on tour September 1970!

This 6 CD set comes in a Deluxe 12-inch size packaging and holds six CDs with remastered audience-recorded concert recordings.  

You Know, My Bass Man Is Bound To Die

The Ampex import-label announced the release of the double CD set 'You Know, My Bass Man Is Bound To Die'. 

From the press release: 

After taking a break, we invested in getting you a brand-new concert, recorded on March 24th, 1975, during the dinner show. This show has never been released and comes in a great ambience sound quality. Elvis is very loose and has a ball with his audience and band members.  Opening in Las Vegas on March 18th, Elvis presented a rejuvenated show to his audience. Some of his classics like ‘Teddy Bear’ / ‘Don't Be Cruel’, ‘Love Me’, ‘Hound Dog’ and ‘I Got A Woman’ / ‘Amen’ would remain, but his show consisted mostly of recently recorded material, some of it only a week old!

Elvis performed ‘Green Green Grass Of Home’, ‘Fairytale’ and ‘And I Love You So’ from his still to be released album Today. ‘Promised Land’ would be sung on a regular basis whereas it was only performed a couple of times the year before. It would also find itself a different arrangement being closer to the studio master with James Burton’s electric guitar front and center. ‘My Boy’, which was first introduced in the August-September 1973 season before disappearing from the setlist, would make a comeback during this season but was now performed much more confidently with Elvis taking risks on the high notes near the end.  Be sure to listen to the version included on this CD, as Elvis takes it up a notch more than usual!  All in all, Elvis was back on track for the time being, reinvigorated, and giving professional and joyful shows night after night. 

The March 24th dinner show is well worth having in your collection, with Elvis joking with his fellow band members - most notably J.D. Sumner - as Elvis jokes, ‘I've been with JD Sumner since I was 16 years old. He's the world's oldest bass singer; no, I’m kidding, he's the world lowest bass singer!’ Also, during ‘Trilogy’, Elvis still can't seem to contain himself as he jokingly sings, ‘You know, my bass man is bound to die!’

‘Burning Love’ and ‘I'll Remember You’ - which were re-introduced during this season after a two-year hiatus - were left off during this show with Elvis opting to do ‘Green Green Grass Of Home’ instead, a song which wasn't sung too often during the season and would soon disappear from his setlist.

We've included the March 19th dinner show pre acts on disc 1, to give you a full overview of the Elvis Presley show as recorded from the soundboard.

Be sure to pick-up this digipack, filled with newly acquired photos, newspaper reviews and a list of songs performed during this season. And watch this space, as we'll also be releasing the unreleased midnight show very soon!

Disc 1: Pre-Acts - March 19, 1975, DS

Joe Guercio’s Orchestra Opening - Voice Introduction / Goin‘ Back To Memphis - Into The Father’s House / Closing - Philadelphia Freedom - Introductions Of The Sweet Inspirations - Stevie Is A Wonder / For Once In My Life / You Got It Bad Girl / Superstition / You Are The Sunshine Of My Life / Livin’ For The City / All In Love Is Fair / Higher Ground / Closing - Jackie Kahane’s Comedy Act

CD 2 - The Main Event - March 24, 1975 DS:

Also Sprach Zarathustra - See See Rider - I Got A Woman / Amen - Love Me - If You Love Me (Let Me Know) - And I Love You So - Big Boss Man - It’s Midnight - Promised Land - Fairytale  - Band Intros - My Boy - Green Green Grass Of Home - Let Me Be There - Teddy Bear / Don’t Be Cruel - Hound Dog (incomplete) - An American Trilogy - Can’t Help Falling In Love / Closing Vamp.

Sold Out ... Again!

There’s always a reason for celebration when a new volume of ‘Sold Out!’ is released, because you know that you are going to get almost three hours of ultra-rare Elvis 8mm footage that up to now had only been privy to a select few. And at only a fraction of the price of what others have paid to own this remarkable footage.

Volume 5 was a great surprise to many, with the first-ever quality footage from Lake Tahoe being just one of the many delights on offering. And believe us, volume 6 is even better! This time, the focus is on 1972 – 1977, and the set contains 22 different 8mm films from those years. This release offers you a fresh look at those years, with an amazing variety of material, and much of it being amongst the best 8mm footage around. It’s amazing to see this footage after all these years: small gestures that you hadn’t seen before, suits that you hadn’t seen on film, his fun interaction with the audience, superb vocal performances… It’s almost like rediscovering the man and his unbelievable talent. 

Someone who can often be seen in this footage, usually at the end of shows, is Elvis’ bodyguard Dave Hebler. In Vegas footage, you can usually see him holding the curtain for Elvis, while on the road he is often at the edge of the stage. We tracked him down, and he kindly agreed to write the liner-notes for this release, as an exclusive for Pyramid. The liner-notes that Mr. Hebler wrote are some of the best-ever on an Elvis release. His thoughts and observations make for truly fascinating reading, and it gives us fresh insights into Elvis as an artist and performer. Dave also intimates how Elvis felt about fans filming the shows.

Pyramid always goes that extra mile to give the fans a quality product at an affordable price. Great care is taken during the restauration process of the high-resolution transfers from the original 8mm films. Our aim is to stay true to what was originally recorded, and present it in the best way possible. And it’s certainly a nice compliment when even Elvis’ own friends and musicians tell us that they enjoy what we are doing, and that this is as close as it gets to seeing the man himself in concert. 

Packaged in a beautiful 3-panel digipack, this is a true collectors dream and a feast for ears and eyes. 

(Source: Elvis Club Berlin / FECC / Facebook)