In October 2023 RDM-Edition released the first album in their ‘Mono II Stereo’ CD series, and now, a year later we hold the 4th CD in our hands. Being fans from the first moment, we looked forward to this coupling of the first two volumes Elvis’ classic Golden Albums.
By Rogier van Luyken and Kees Mouwen
Design
He also wrote the liner-notes which amply cover the history of the albums featured on this compilation, providing the context behind these songs. In line with the title of the album, the CD isn’t a replica vinyl CD, but a gold plated CD, a nice detail.
Content
The history of ‘Elvis’ Golden Records’ is well known - if only because volume 1 is considered to be the first ‘Greatest Hits Album’ to be released - and volume 2 because of its iconic cover. In a review for AllMusic, Bruce Eder commented on volume 1: “Each of the 14 songs had earned a Gold record award for a million sales, a record unequaled at that time by anyone else in Rock and Roll ... Elvis' Golden Records does give a bite-sized glimpse of where Elvis had come from and where he was going (for better or worse) musically on the eve of heading into the Army.” If this would have been Presley’s musical legacy, it would have been legendary! Fortunately we know he was to become even more successful returning to music and movies 1960.
The main reason to buy this album is of course the new Stereo mixes by Anthony Stuchbury, created from the original Mono versions. Stereo versions of these albums have been released on CD before (1984), using the “electronically reprocessed stereo” sound, but even RCA retracted these and replaced them in the original monophonic versions as the simulated Stereo versions simply weren’t good enough.
But now, 40 years later, we get these albums again, but as newly created Stereo Mixes. And this time around, they sound as they should! As on previous releases by this producer, these mixes were not created using “Digitally Extracted Stereo” techniques to create stamps of each element and placing the instruments and backing vocalists to the right of left speaker and Elvis in the middle to create a stereo effect. No these mixes were created using various tools - and a set of “golden ears” as the producer stated in an interview, not wanting to give his secrets away - mixing of all the vocals and instruments in their proper place, consistent with the original Masters recorded at the sessions, to present an authentic analogue stereo sound.
This is where these mixes differ from most new stereo mixes. On some songs you hear that Stuchbury managed to add real depth to the listening experience, that is something else than creating a stereo effect. As we all know, some of the original mixed-down Mono versions lacked some brightness that you can now hear in these new versions. And of course the producer made some ‘producer’s choices’ when he thought that would benefit the presentation of the song, but this has been the standard ever since Sam Philips added his slap-back effect relaying his recordings through an extra tape-recorder to make his songs sound fuller.
Content
The history of ‘Elvis’ Golden Records’ is well known - if only because volume 1 is considered to be the first ‘Greatest Hits Album’ to be released - and volume 2 because of its iconic cover. In a review for AllMusic, Bruce Eder commented on volume 1: “Each of the 14 songs had earned a Gold record award for a million sales, a record unequaled at that time by anyone else in Rock and Roll ... Elvis' Golden Records does give a bite-sized glimpse of where Elvis had come from and where he was going (for better or worse) musically on the eve of heading into the Army.” If this would have been Presley’s musical legacy, it would have been legendary! Fortunately we know he was to become even more successful returning to music and movies 1960.
The main reason to buy this album is of course the new Stereo mixes by Anthony Stuchbury, created from the original Mono versions. Stereo versions of these albums have been released on CD before (1984), using the “electronically reprocessed stereo” sound, but even RCA retracted these and replaced them in the original monophonic versions as the simulated Stereo versions simply weren’t good enough.
This is where these mixes differ from most new stereo mixes. On some songs you hear that Stuchbury managed to add real depth to the listening experience, that is something else than creating a stereo effect. As we all know, some of the original mixed-down Mono versions lacked some brightness that you can now hear in these new versions. And of course the producer made some ‘producer’s choices’ when he thought that would benefit the presentation of the song, but this has been the standard ever since Sam Philips added his slap-back effect relaying his recordings through an extra tape-recorder to make his songs sound fuller.
The audio on this disc sounds very fresh as it has been cleaned where possible, without losing the original elements. Listening to other mixes - and with respect to those producers, as it is always hard to use new technology on old and classic recordings without having access to the original tapes, which weren’t always released without faults - we don’t hear any artifacts, echo’s or reverb as on other newly created mixes.
Some examples of the above is the mix of 'Any Way You Want Me' which does not sound as spatial as some of the other songs on this set all elements more or less mixed together behind Elvis. This is because the original version of this song was recorded / released too loud and a little distorted, so there was no perfect master available. And what about that squeaky sound in the background of ‘Don’t’ which the producer left in. That is DJ Fontana’s foot-pedal, which could have used some WD-40 oil.
But enough on the mastering and mixing of these classics, we buy these new mixes to enjoy Elvis of course. Here are some of the observations we made while listening to this compilation of compilation albums:
There is some overlap on some on songs with previous ‘Mono II Stereo’ releases such as ‘Hound Dog’, ‘Don’t Be Cruel’, ‘Too Much’, ‘Love Me’ and others. So far, we presume that these are the same masters used for the previous releases that are also used for this new release. However, they do fit in the concept of this album of course: a great collection of songs that doesn’t want to make you skip any of the titles and just play it straight all the way through. And listening to these songs presented like this, there is plenty to explore.
Among the new material presented here, some stand out among the others. ‘Loving You’ sounds nothing short of amazing (warm, rich and Elvis’ voice sounds out of this world), ‘Treat Me Nice’ is a highlight, it's like you never heard before and could have been recorded yesterday. ‘That’s When Your Heartaches Begins’ really benefits from Anthony’s craftsmanship and he lifted the master to a whole new level. The same goes for ‘I Beg Of You’ and ‘Doncha’ Think It’s Time’, these are now our to go to versions from now on!
A couple of songs do not match the outstanding ones as just summed up. Besides the afore mentioned ‘Anyway You Want Me’ there is also ‘A Fool Such As I’ that seems a bit lower in volume compared to other tracks and lacks a bit of bass / warmth. Same goes for ‘I Got Stung’. All in all Anthony delivers another work of art and let’s a whole lotta songs shine like never before.
An importsant note, to enjoy this release in the best possible way we advise you to play it on a loud volume though a good stereo-set in your living room, not on a computer or through (small) headphones. Elvis in the fifties doesn’t get much better.
Conclusion
It is amazing what technology can do, but that couldn’t happen without the care and observant detail for where everything should go on the final master. Our compliments to Anthony Stuchbury and David Parker for the presentation of the audio and package, and to the RDM-Edition for releasing this album like this. It can easily compete with the (mono) releases on Elvis’ official record label, which strangely still hasn’t embarked on a Mono to Stereo release. But hey, who are we kidding, this album actually blows the originals out of the water as this ‘Golden Elvis’ really shines.
And yes, we do realize that these are alternative mixes, not replacing the originals, but it simply offers a great new listening experience, matching today’s stereo audio standards, but without losing the original analogue Elvis sound.
It is amazing what technology can do, but that couldn’t happen without the care and observant detail for where everything should go on the final master. Our compliments to Anthony Stuchbury and David Parker for the presentation of the audio and package, and to the RDM-Edition for releasing this album like this. It can easily compete with the (mono) releases on Elvis’ official record label, which strangely still hasn’t embarked on a Mono to Stereo release. But hey, who are we kidding, this album actually blows the originals out of the water as this ‘Golden Elvis’ really shines.
And yes, we do realize that these are alternative mixes, not replacing the originals, but it simply offers a great new listening experience, matching today’s stereo audio standards, but without losing the original analogue Elvis sound.
Go to the >>> RDM-Edition website to listen or pre-order the CD for just 15,00 Euro!