Tuesday, November 15, 2022

November 15 - Sold Out in Tampa and Palm Springs

The Millbranch Music import record label announced the release of 'Tampa Wave'.

Publicity stated: Millbranch Music is back with its second release in 2022! After the overwhelming success of our recent CD / DVD set 'From Sea To Shining Sea' we were able to obtain more new and great 8mm footage plus a first generation audience recording from Elvis' April 1975 tour!

'Tampa Wave' is a 2-disc set: The CD includes Elvis' full performance of the evening show in Tampa, Florida (April 26, 1975), taken from the original tape which has been recorded by a by then “experienced” fan who had a great seat in the 5th row - and his recording equipment with him! 

For our last two releases we have worked strictly with soundboard recordings, but since the Tampa show we got the original tape of is really a very good audience recording with a lot of information regarding the excitement of the crowd in the rather small building Elvis played in (7,500 in attendance), we decided to work with it on our brand new project. After all, Elvis-Fans would miss a lot if there were no audience recordings - some of them sound probably even better than quite a few dry sounding SB's - but that will always stay a matter of audible taste of course.

The DVD in our new set has a running time of almost 100 minutes and includes rare and high-quality 8mm-footage of the Tampa evening show from April 26, 1975 (the same as you can hear on the CD) and more impressions from the same tour with the concerts in Lakeland, FL (Evening show from April 27 and the show from April 28) and Atlanta from May 1st. 

As a very special bonus the DVD contains an absolutely stunning performance from Elvis' concert in Richfield, filmed at his magnificent July 75' tour (July 18). The quality and length of the material we invested a lot of money in recently will blow you away! You will get 53 minutes from this show which is almost 80% of the whole performance. 

Especially in the last two years, there have been a lot of releases which have shown some great 8mm footage on DVD. We appreciate this development because it makes it possible for fans to get a good look at what Elvis Presley concerts were like all through the 1970s and not only at the time-frames of 'TTWII', 'Elvis On Tour', 'Aloha From Hawaii' and 'Elvis In Concert', where Elvis-Fans can watch professional material of for many years already. 

In the last couple of years more and more of the old private film-reels which seem to have remained hidden since the 1970´s showed up - reels that have been copied over and over and later put on rather bad video cassettes which have also been copied and copied over and over again, losing so much information with each ongoing copy. Nowadays, it is possible to work with those reels from back then, getting great results in terms of picture quality (at least in quite big parts) so we can see Elvis in all its glory on almost every tour and every Las Vegas engagement he did and taste a bit of the excitement from way back 45+ years ago.

Great times to be an Elvis-Collector! Make sure you´ll get your copy of our brandnew Millbranch release at your favorite dealer!

Tracklist CD:Also Sprach Zarathustra - See See Rider - I Got A Woman / Amen - Dialogue - Love Me - If You Love Me (Let Me Know) - Love Me Tender - Teddy Bear / Don’t Be Cruel - Help Me - Burning Love - Introductions - What‘d I Say - Drum Solo - Bass Solo - Piano Solo - School Days - My Boy - T.R.O.U.B.L.E - Hawaiian Wedding Song - Let Me Be There - An American Trilogy - Can’t Help Falling In Love - Closing Vamp.


Sold Out 18

The Pyramid import label released volume 18 in their fan shot 8mm 'Sold Out!' DVD series. 

Publicity stated: Wintertime is nearing, and the temperature is dropping. But fortunately, there’s always “Sold Out” to keep us all warm. And the new volume # 18 is once again chock-full of footage that will get your temperature risin’!

The joy of seeing Elvis live in concert is something that most of us never got to experience, but this remarkable series takes you back to the concert years with rare & unreleased 8mm films that put you right in the audience. With the highly collectable “Sold Out” series, fans are getting the definitive collection of Elvis on 8mm in a comprehensive and entertaining way, presented in gorgeous digipacks with relevant photos and liner-notes by Elvis’ musicians and fans who filmed the shows. To own, and to enjoy always.  

Pyramid has already released 50 hours of footage, and this new volume contains three more hours, this time focusing on the period 1973 – 1976. There are so many cool and delightful moments, that it’s hard to pick them all out. ‘Steamroller Blues’ is one of the hottest versions ever, with Elvis striking a kick-ass karate pose right from the get-go, and a fan getting so excited that she virtually assaults him! Or another clip where Elvis looks with amazement as he asks the houselights to be turned up, and then commenting: “It’s a long way from Ellis Auditorium in Memphis, J.D.”, no doubt referring to the gospel shows that he attended as a youngster. There’s also various memorable moments in the ’75 footage, including a powerful version of ‘You Gave Me A Mountain’ with different phrasing.

The clips on this volume are long, and really give you the feel of being there at an Elvis show. There’s close-up footage from 1976 with Elvis in solid form. At one point he curls those famous lips, and he jokingly says that it’s like, “I have a fish hook in my mouth!”. This volume also documents the brief revival in late ’76, with Elvis looking slimmer and sounding really good. ‘Hurt’ is one of the highlights and cuts through the air like a razorblade!

Pyramid takes pride in presenting these 8mm films as they were originally filmed, with the restoration focusing on respecting the history of these remarkable films, and not altering it. No edits, no cuts, no manipulations…. Just the real deal: the be-all, end-all record of the 8mm footage filmed during the concert years. From the great highs to the sad lows… it’s all there, and it’s all Elvis. This series shows without any doubt why he will always be the greatest performer ever; the man was born to sing.

Bring some sunshine to your home with the new “Sold Out”!

ELVIS – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the music companion to the Warner Bros. Pictures biopic film ELVIS, from Baz Lurhmann. This critically acclaimed film stars Austin Butler as Elvis Presley and Tom Hanks as his enigmatic manager, Colonel Tom Parker. The soundtrack features a sampling of original songs from Elvis’s extraordinary body of work from the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s, and new recordings celebrating his diverse musical influence and enduring impact on popular artists of today.


Soundtrack Vinyl

The vinyl edition of the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack of 'ELVIS' has been released by RCA records, a couple of days before the official release date. Walmart released an exclusive gold colored vinyl edition. 

It includes plenty of A-list names across the musical spectrum. Starting with Elvis himself, additional artists included here are Doja Cat, Nardo Wick, Jack White, Chris Isaak, Eminem, Swae Lee, Diplo, Kacey Musgraves, Jazmine Sullivan, Tame Impala, Stevie Nicks, and many others.


Award


The 'ELVIS' movie is the winner of 2 coveted Camerimage Awards, including the Audience Award, along with the Festival Director’s Award to duo Cinematographer-Director. Congratulations to Baz Luhrmann, Mandy Walker along with the cast and crew.

Following the Elvis screening, Luhrmann and Walker returned to the stage for a conversation about the movie. The director received enthusiastic applause as he stated his commitment to the theatrical experience. “I said, ‘I’m not going to make the movie if it goes straight to streaming,'” he said. “We’re making theatrical movies for the theater.”

Baz Luhrman posted on Twitter: "A wonderful reception here at Camerimage Festival and an honour to receive a Golden Frog. It’s been an incredible 18 year collaboration with Mandy Walker and I, along with the cast and crew of Elvis can’t sing your praises enough ⚡️#tcb #elvis"

Luhrmann told Deadline that each of the film’s live performances were shot all the way through, with Austin Butler performing full concerts on screen. The director said he would almost certainly release footage of these extended concerts at some point in the future, but he killed rumors that an extended theatrical cut of the movie is on the way.

“There is no such thing as the four-hour cut. It’s a four-hour director’s assembly, and that just means we put all the stuff together,” he said.

The Warner Bros. pic is currently one of the year’s highest-grossing movies, with US$286 million worldwide, and throughout the film’s promotional campaign, Luhrmann has discussed the importance of the theatrical experience to his filmmaking practice. 

Later Tuesday evening, during a masterclass with local filmmakers in Torun, Luhrmann said he fought hard during negotiations for the film to keep it off streaming services and in the cinema.


Elvis Presley’s Modernist Palm Springs Honeymoon Sold!

The midcentury home where Presley and his wife Priscilla famously once stayed is a certified historic landmark. 

The unique midcentury-modern Palm Springs home where Elvis Presley and his wife Priscilla honeymooned has sold for its full US$5.65 million listing price after just six weeks on the market, the Wall Street Journal reports. 

The certified historic landmark, which was designed by Modernist architect William Krisel in 1960, sports a dramatically sloped roof atop circular rooms. Inside, the curved walls are lined with rustic exposed rock and lots of glass overlooking the landscaped yard and pentagon-shaped pool. Its modern design and integrated electronic controls for temperature, outdoor lighting, and sprinklers earned the dwelling the nickname the “House of Tomorrow.”

(Source: FECC / Amazon / Memphis Mansion / Baz Luhrmann / Architectural Digest / Deadline)