Although last week the news was that the Follow That Dream release 'The Making of Jailhouse Rock' was delayed, the sets were dispatched to dealers around the world. Some luck fans already received their copies.
The German Elvis Presley Gesellschaft posted an unboxing of this great looking set:
From the press-release: David English and Pål Granlund bring you the ultimate backstory on how the MGM movie 'Jailhouse Rock' starring Elvis Presley and Judy Tyler was made. This ultimate collector's edition includes two hardback books, providing a fascinating and comprehensive insight from script to screen into the making of the film, 3 CDs and a single.
The first book, titles 'The Making of Jailhouse Rock The Movie' is a 365-page deluxe hardback book featuring many newly discovered photographs, details of deleted scenes, pages from the script, shooting schedule, memos, contracts, and cast and crew memories. The second book, titled 'The Making of Jailhouse Rock The Music' is a book filled with 85 pages of photos, documents and detailed session information, including pages from a newly found MGM recording session log.
Also included with this release are 3 CDs containing the entire recording sessions mixed for the first time, from the original binaural tapes to mono sequences in recording order. And officially released for the first time - the complete instrumental versions of '(You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care', featuring Elvis on Bass Guitar. The 45rpm vinyl single is a special collectible, with a photo sleeve that recreates the Vince Everett single 'Treat Me Nice' as seen in the movie 'Jailhouse Rock'.
Also released is the FTD double LP 'Elvis: Raised On Rock - I’ve Got Rhythm In My Soul'.
Publicity stated: The album contains masters, rough mixes and alternative versions of great songs recorded at Stax Studio in 1973 such as “Find Out What’s Happening”, “Just A Little Bit”, “For Ol’ Times Sake” and “If You Don’t Come Back”. Also included are the instrumental tracks for “The Wonders You Perform”, “Sweet Angeline”, “Color My Rainbow”, “Good, Bad But Beautiful, and the rehearsal take of “It’s Diff’rent Now”.
ELVIS: February 1970 Las Vegas International Hotel
Due for release from an unknown import label in January 2022 is the 7-CD set 'ELVIS: February 1970 Las Vegas International Hotel'. It features 12 concerts and Felton Jarvis' Rough Mix Album with some bonus songs. Nothing we haven't seen before.
CD 1: January 16, 1970 Opening Show (Mono):
CD 2: February 15, 1970 Midnight Show / February 16, 1970 Dinner Show
CD 3:: February 16, 1970 Midnight Show / February 17, 1970 Dinner Show / February 17, 1970 MS / February 18, 1970 Dinner Show
CD 4: February 18, Midnight Show / February 19, 1970 Dinner Show
CD 5: February 19, 1970 Midnight Show / February 18, 1970 Rehearsal / Bonus Songs
CD 6: The Felton Jarvis Rough Mix Album / Bonus Songs
CD 7: February 23, 1970 Closing Show
From Elvis in Memphis - UltraDisc One-Step Pressling
Although already announced in 2020, the Mobile Fidelity's UltraDisc One-Step 180g 45RPM 2LP box edition of 'From Elvis In Memphis' should be available soon. The set, limited to 10,000 copies, comes with a hefty price-tag of 150 Euro / £150.00.
Publicity stated: 'From Elvis in Memphis' retains the distinction of being the most cohesive, passionate, mature, and emotionally invested record Elvis Presley ever made. Named one of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time by Rolling Stone, the white-soul landmark features backing by “The “Memphis Boys” and teems with rhythm-heavy country, gospel, R&B, and blues.
Lauded for its natural, open sonics, the 1969 set now comes across with remarkable clarity, presence, and warmth courtesy of a premium restoration befitting a king.
The lavish packaging and gorgeous presentation of the UD1S From Elvis in Memphis pressing befit its extremely select status. Housed in a deluxe box, it features special foil-stamped jackets and faithful-to-the-original graphics that illuminate the splendor of the recording. No expense has been spared. Aurally and visually, this UD1S reissue exists as a curatorial artifact meant to be preserved, pored over, touched, and examined. It is made for discerning listeners that prize sound quality and production, and who desire to fully immerse themselves in the art – and everything involved with the album, from the images to the finishes.
Sharing much in common with the full, rich, orchestrated Stax Records sound, From Elvis in Memphis oozes with choice nuances and distinctive flourishes that on this ultra-hi-fi edition not only arise with previously unheard transparency and sharpness, but complement and serve the whole. Take the specific tonalities and blending of violas, cellos, and horns that communicate mood and serve as counterpoints. Or lively performances of the backing quintet, and how the piano and Hammond organ trace the lines of the melodies and Presley's lead. Listen to the uplifting support provided by the cadre of backing vocalists (more than a dozen credited), unrivaled in Presley's canon and a precursor to the approach he'd soon adopt in Las Vegas.
Of course, From Elvis in Memphis precedes the icon's transition into his glitzy jumpsuit phase – and follows his merciful move away from the hoary soundtrack work that consumed nearly a decade of his creative life and prompted a rebirth that began in 1968. As the bridge between eras, the record seizes on Presley's rejuvenated attitude and commitment to quality, facets that drip from the fervency with which he delivers every word. For the same reasons, and for the fact it traces back to Presley's original roots and hip-shaking guise, the album further remains a cornerstone of American music history.
Writing about the work's 40th anniversary for Rolling Stone, James Hunter correctly observed: "From Elvis in Memphis represented the full-on immersion in the Memphis idea of Elvis Presley, the American singer second only to Frank Sinatra for the ability to conjure a particular sonic universe with his merest vocal utterance. And from the album's first song, in which a bluesy Elvis espies a woman 'Wearin' That Loved On Look,' to its last, in which a more straight-up-pop Elvis regrets the injustices of life 'In the Ghetto,' his fully engaged, newly energized voice finds its most logical album setting in years."
Incredibly, Presley and company completed more than two dozen cuts for From Elvis in Memphis. One, "Suspicious Minds," turned into the vocalist's final chart-topping single and lingers as one of his most beloved rock n' roll numbers. Even though it never formally appeared on the record, the non-album song is included here as a bonus track and attains newfound depth, energy, and swagger. Coupled with the other dozen tracks – including the sultry "Power of My Love," balladic take of Dallas Frazier's "True Love Travels on a Gravel Road," and driving cover of Hank Snow's I'm Moving On" – it makes for the finest Elvis listening experience available.
The tracks
Wearin' That Loved On Look
Only the Strong Survive
I'll Hold You in My Heart (Till I Can Hold You in My Arms)
Long Black Limousine
It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin'
I'm Movin' On
Power of My Love
Gentle on My Mind
After Loving You
True Love Travels on a Gravel Road
Any Day Now
In the Ghetto
Suspicious Minds
More About Mobile Fidelity UltraDisc One-Step
Instead of utilizing the industry-standard three-step lacquer process, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab's new UltraDisc One-Step (UD1S) uses only one step, bypassing two processes of generational loss. While three-step processing is designed for optimum yield and efficiency, UD1S is created for the ultimate in sound quality. Just as Mobile Fidelity pioneered the UHQR (Ultra High-Quality Record) with JVC in the 1980s, UD1S again represents another state-of-the-art advance in the record-manufacturing process.
MFSL engineers begin with the original master tapes and meticulously cut a set of lacquers. These lacquers are used to create a very fragile, pristine UD1S stamper called a "convert." Delicate "converts" are then formed into the actual record stampers, producing a final product that literally and figuratively brings you closer to the music.
By skipping the additional steps of pulling another positive and an additional negative, as done in the three-step process used in standard pressings, UD1S produces a final LP with the lowest noise floor possible today. The removal of the additional two steps of generational loss in the plating process reveals tremendous amounts of extra musical detail and dynamics, which are otherwise lost due to the standard copying process.
The exclusive nature of these very limited pressings guarantees that every UD1S pressing serves as an immaculate replica of the lacquer sourced directly from the original master tape. Every conceivable aspect of vinyl production is optimized to produce the most perfect record album available today.
MoFi SuperVinyl
Developed by NEOTECH and RTI, MoFi SuperVinyl is the most exacting-to-specification vinyl compound ever devised. Analog lovers have never seen (or heard) anything like it.
Extraordinarily expensive and extremely painstaking to produce, the special proprietary compound addresses two specific areas of improvement: noise floor reduction and enhanced groove definition.
The vinyl composition features a new carbonless dye (hold the disc up to the light and see) and produces the world's quietest surfaces. This high-definition formula also allows for the creation of cleaner grooves that are indistinguishable from the original lacquer. MoFi SuperVinyl provides the closest approximation of what the label's engineers hear in the mastering lab.