Just out is 'Rock and Roll No. 2 - Mono II Stereo', featuring an update version of the classic HMV classic LP in audio quality and songs.
Publicity stated: "This new Mono II Stereo CD edition pays homage to the now legendary British cover and allows you to rediscover 20 songs that have made rock history. The real reason to get this CD is of course the newly created stereo mixes." And it does, this could have been a cover from the fifties, all the elements are there. The liner notes by David Parker place the album in the historical context, completing the picture.
Where these 70-years old tracks sounded "one-dimensional" until now - this is no criticism of course, that was simply how they were released originally - Anthony Stuchbury really opened up these songs, making them sound more spatial, and at the same time he kept the sound authentic. This allows us to hear these songs as they - probably - sounded when they were recorded in the studio with Elvis and the band doing what they did best.
Since Anthony is a friend of mine, I'll just present some first impressions after listening to these songs through headphones and over a stereo set.
The album opens with 'Rip It Up', this great track tells us that we're playing a Rock and Roll album. Listening to this rocker you get the feeling you're standing next to the band, the song sounds very open and you hear all musicians standing around you, compared to the more "flat" original. On 'Love Me' Elvis is very upfront in the mix, it is almost like he is stepping out of your speakers and into your room. I never paid that much attention to guitar fills I just heard on 'My Blue Moon Turns Gold Again', great to discover a new element in such a well known song.
'Long Tall Sally' rips through your room and ears like a real rocker should! On 'First In Line' I hear a lot of echo, like Elvis is singing in a cathedral with his backing musicians standing (way) back behind the altar. Although this is how it was originally recorded, I would have preferred a little less echo.
Since Anthony is a friend of mine, I'll just present some first impressions after listening to these songs through headphones and over a stereo set.
The album opens with 'Rip It Up', this great track tells us that we're playing a Rock and Roll album. Listening to this rocker you get the feeling you're standing next to the band, the song sounds very open and you hear all musicians standing around you, compared to the more "flat" original. On 'Love Me' Elvis is very upfront in the mix, it is almost like he is stepping out of your speakers and into your room. I never paid that much attention to guitar fills I just heard on 'My Blue Moon Turns Gold Again', great to discover a new element in such a well known song.
'Long Tall Sally' rips through your room and ears like a real rocker should! On 'First In Line' I hear a lot of echo, like Elvis is singing in a cathedral with his backing musicians standing (way) back behind the altar. Although this is how it was originally recorded, I would have preferred a little less echo.
Fortunately 'Paralyzed' brings us that original rock and roll sound again, listening to Elvis singing, being untrained performer he is, he sure knows how to deliver a song! On 'So Glad You're Mine' you can hear that even better in these new mixes, here his voice has a little raw edge adding emotion, he really is glad she's his girl. This mix really allows you to hear this.
Opening up 'Old Shep' and 'Anyplace Is Paradise' had the risk that they would sound like 'First In Line', but here the balance is better, Elvis' voice, on top of the piano, perfectly amplifies the sad story of the boy's dog. Likewise for the latter song, the guitar, piano and bass sound crystal clear and demand their place in the spotlight during the solo's. These are some of the highlight on the album for me.
Another highlight was 'Ready Teddy', it rocks even more that 'Long Tall Sally!' Up there with 'Old Shep' is 'How's The World Treating You', just listen to the guitar and piano, two very instruments that are the hardest to separate using these techniques. Here we hear the craftsmanship of the audio-engineer. And knowing he only uses "two cans and a piece of string", I take a bow for his work.
I never paid much attention to the drums (or bongo's) on 'How Do You Think I Feel', but here they are more audible. Again, great to discover new elements in songs I heard so often.
'Love Me Tender' sounds very delicate, adding to the sincere sounding Elvis. On 'Any Way You Want Me' he puts in some real beggin' emotion, making an almost impossible promise to his sweetheart, but here the separation of the backing doesn't really work for me. It could be due to the drum brushes or the quality of the original recording. Oddly enough the brushes are less of a problem on 'Too Much', but the entire backing is more simple than on 'Anyway You Want Me'.
On the classic 'Hound Dog' the - "tommy gun" - drum and clapping of the Jordanaires carry the song behind Elvis taking the lead with the guitar taking over during the break. Very good. And perhaps even better, 'Don't Be Cruel' with the bass very prominent in the mix driving the song, these two got several spins.
To my surprise the more spatial sound worked very well on 'Playing For Keeps', not one of my favorite songs, but here it gets an extra dimension. It adds to the emotion and hearing how rich Elvis voice and vocal capabilities are, you now hear that our man is really pulling various registers on this performance.
Playing 'My baby Left Me' was a treat! Elvis really loved Crudup's songs, and this is perhaps his best cover of Crudup's work. Added to that are the various layers of instruments, opening with the drum, adding bass and guitars before Elvis joins in making a whole of it all. Great!
Closing the album is 'I Want You, I Need You, I Love You', one of my personal favorites. Here too it is like Elvis steps right out of your speakers, singing "I Want You, I Need You, I love You", a "call" that will please the girls :-) This is how the song must have sounded at the recording session, so great to be able to listen to this favorite in this stereo studio quality!
Audio-quality
Overall the audio sounds great to my ears: very clear, but not too clean(ed), staying true to the original sound. In the past digital "deconstruction, cleaning and reconstruction" of these songs often resulted in a sound in which some elements seemed to drop in and out of the mix, but not forming a whole. You don't hear that here.
Opening up 'Old Shep' and 'Anyplace Is Paradise' had the risk that they would sound like 'First In Line', but here the balance is better, Elvis' voice, on top of the piano, perfectly amplifies the sad story of the boy's dog. Likewise for the latter song, the guitar, piano and bass sound crystal clear and demand their place in the spotlight during the solo's. These are some of the highlight on the album for me.
Another highlight was 'Ready Teddy', it rocks even more that 'Long Tall Sally!' Up there with 'Old Shep' is 'How's The World Treating You', just listen to the guitar and piano, two very instruments that are the hardest to separate using these techniques. Here we hear the craftsmanship of the audio-engineer. And knowing he only uses "two cans and a piece of string", I take a bow for his work.
I never paid much attention to the drums (or bongo's) on 'How Do You Think I Feel', but here they are more audible. Again, great to discover new elements in songs I heard so often.
'Love Me Tender' sounds very delicate, adding to the sincere sounding Elvis. On 'Any Way You Want Me' he puts in some real beggin' emotion, making an almost impossible promise to his sweetheart, but here the separation of the backing doesn't really work for me. It could be due to the drum brushes or the quality of the original recording. Oddly enough the brushes are less of a problem on 'Too Much', but the entire backing is more simple than on 'Anyway You Want Me'.
To my surprise the more spatial sound worked very well on 'Playing For Keeps', not one of my favorite songs, but here it gets an extra dimension. It adds to the emotion and hearing how rich Elvis voice and vocal capabilities are, you now hear that our man is really pulling various registers on this performance.
Playing 'My baby Left Me' was a treat! Elvis really loved Crudup's songs, and this is perhaps his best cover of Crudup's work. Added to that are the various layers of instruments, opening with the drum, adding bass and guitars before Elvis joins in making a whole of it all. Great!
Closing the album is 'I Want You, I Need You, I Love You', one of my personal favorites. Here too it is like Elvis steps right out of your speakers, singing "I Want You, I Need You, I love You", a "call" that will please the girls :-) This is how the song must have sounded at the recording session, so great to be able to listen to this favorite in this stereo studio quality!
Audio-quality
Overall the audio sounds great to my ears: very clear, but not too clean(ed), staying true to the original sound. In the past digital "deconstruction, cleaning and reconstruction" of these songs often resulted in a sound in which some elements seemed to drop in and out of the mix, but not forming a whole. You don't hear that here.
Listening through headphones you can do a little audio archeology yourself. If you pay attention you hear little elements you never noticed, errors by the musicians, artists not playing as solid as we always thought they did, splices by RCA you never noticed before and more. Give it a try.
Technology progressed, and with the craftsmanship of this producer, the result is as it should be, music that sounds authentic. That is more important that music that sound like stereo.
Playing the music over a proper stereo-set you hear that the songs sound as a whole, through headphones, the stereo-effect is more audible, but not too prominent.
Conclusion
My conclusion is simple, these are the go to versions for me now! The songs sound so much better, but still as they originally did. Listening to this new set several times, I saw myself giving the up-tempo rock and roll classics a few extra spins, they really rocked! Sorry neighbors! Focussing on the new mixes, you may forget what a great compilation this album was, with the bonus songs making it even better. Elvis was really on fire in this phase of his career, singing all kinds, recording old and new classics. Audio-enthusiasts will probably prefer the ballads, they sound crystal clear.
I would not mind seeing a vinyl release with these new mixes!
Judge for yourself
The CD is on sale for the affordable price of 15 Euro at the RDM-Edition website. You can also listen to sound samples of all songs and judge for yourself (if you don't want to take my word that these will be you new go-to versions).
Visit the >>> RDM-Edition website for the previews and to order the CD.