Hi everyone

150 editions of the EIN E-Alert! Who would have thought it three years ago when we started our weekly news bulletin. Since its beginning being circulated to 250 fans in Australia and New Zealand, the E-Alert is now read by more than 3,000 fans worldwide. Roll on edition #200!

It has been a big week for Elvis news with more than 40 news items, reviews and articles added to the site.

To celebrate our 150th E-Alert we are giving away three Elvis CDs. Details below.

Nigel & Piers

Now on www.elvisinfonet.com

News

• Elvis by the Presleys TV Special: website launched
• Elvis Presley Rock 'n' Roll Holiday Village
• Rose McGowan to co-star in CBS mini-series on Elvis
• Elvis' last performance "Adios" released on VCD in Chile
• Are you LOAFSOME Tonight?: baker plans Elvis bread tribute for 70th birthday
• Randy Quaid to play the Colonel in CBS TV mini-series on Elvis
• Elvis and China: an untapped goldmine?
• Elvis Collector's Fair in London
• First ever Cuban Elvis release
• Blue Christmas in top 10
• Elvis by the Presleys: publishing date and more announced for Priscilla & Lisa's book
• Elvis Born To Rock: link to online video
• The Boy, The Man, The King - The Elvis Story: new DVD
• Rising Star: New Elvis 10" vinyl release
• James Dean pips Elvis as the coolest icon of all time
• Becky Martin's house opened to public
• Fans can now sleepover at Presley family's former Lauderdale apartment
• Engelbert Humperdinck: does he know something we don't?

Reviews

• Christmas Peace: we've included our review of Christmas Peace below but on the site we have an independent review of Elvis' yuletide catalog
• The Memphis Lullaby A Play Script: EIN reviews one of the more unusual and touching Elvis book releases of the year
• '68 Comeback Special DVD

Interviews

• Red and Sonny West: audio link to a rare 1978 interview

Spotlight Elvis (Articles)

• Elvis Fans: The Following
• Redefining Elvis
• How Great Thou Art

ODD SPOT

• Elvis pig has fans "all shook up"
• Cougar sighting foiled by The King

"Breaking News"

Rose McGowan of the television hit, Charmed, to play Ann-Margret in upcoming CBS Elvis mini-series. Auction news: A number of fans listing their personal Elvis scrapbooks at auction. Asking price varies between US$30.00 and US$100.00.......copies of several Joe Tunzi books also listed on eBay with starting prices around US$100.00!.....a copy of the very rare book The Elvis Mystery sold for US$35.00......Elvis & Kathy by Kathy Westmoreland sold for US$75.00......you can pick up an original 1956 Elvis record player in very good condition for US$1,9995.00 on eBay...with 5 days to go, strong bidding for an original Sun single 209 (That's All Right Mama) was at US$211.50..... Mega rare Elvis Promo CD in case from Israel (only 100 made): this item is currently listed on eBay UK with a starting price of 300 pounds!

Elvis Presley vintage RCA Louisiana Hayride microphone. Starting price: US$10,000.00 - we mentioned this item in last week's alert. The microphone sold for US$37,500.00!

Elvis auction at Christies: December 17, 2004, Rockefeller Plaza, New York There are some great items up for sale including some genuine Elvis autographs (unlike the fakes so often found on Ebay). Two items we particularly like is the extraordinary hand-written setlist from 1971 including ‘Promised Land’ & ‘Like a Baby’! Yours for around $5,000. Also, who could say no to Elvis’ red shirt from ‘Spinout’ worth $7,000. For more info go here: http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/search/searchresults.asp?T=Lot&entry=presley

Elvis Presley - From His Roots: A new three CD set from ''Timeless Music & Video'' was recently announced. Disc 1- The 50's : 1. Blue Moon Of Kentucky; 2. I Love You Because; 3. I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone; 4. I Forgot To Remember; 5. Old Shep; 6. When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again; 7. How's The World Treating You; 8. How Do You Think I Feel; 9. (There'll Be) Peace In The Valley; 10. It Is No Secret (What God Can Do); 11. Your Cheatin' Heart (Take 9) ; 12. (Now And Then There's) A Fool Such As I . Disc 2- The 60's : 1. His Hand In Mine; 2. I Believe In The Man In The Sky; 3. In My Father's Hous; 4. You'll Never Walk Alone; 5. It's A Sin; 6. Without Him; 7. Guitar Man; 8. Just Call Me Lonesome; 9. You Don't Know Me; 10. From A Jack To A King; 11. Kentucky Rain; 12. It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin' . Disc 3 - The 70's : 1. I Was Born About Ten Thousand Years Ago; 2. Little Cabin On The Hill; 3. I Really Don't Want To Know 4. Snowbird; 5. Amazing Grace; 6. Help Me Make It Through The Night; 7. He Touched Me; 8. Help Me; 9. Green Green Grass Of Home; 10. Susan When She Tried; 11. Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain; 12. He'll Have To Go. (Source: Barry McClean, Elvis Collectors)

E-Alert Special:

Elvis - Christmas Peace

Elvis Presley’s original ‘Christmas Album’ has sold more copies than any LP that he ever released. Sales of the song ‘Blue Christmas’ alone are already around 22 million and the excellent CD compile ‘White Christmas’ was released just 4 years ago, so do we really need yet another Elvis Christmas album? Well, if it gives you an excuse to spin those Elvis classics just one more time to brighten up your Christmas season then, "Hell Yeah!" All of Elvis’ 20 Christmas songs are featured on the first CD. Kicking off with the classic ‘Blue Christmas’ before it heads down ‘Santa Claus Lane’ and calls those reindeer home with the sublime blues of Elvis’ favourite Christmas song, ‘Santa Claus Is Back In Town’.

If Elvis hated ‘Winter Wonderland’ it’s still fun to hear him sing it, while ‘If Every Day Was Like Christmas’ demonstrates just how well composer & friend Red West understood Elvis’ musical interest in the mid-sixties, while The Colonel squandered Elvis’ talents on the likes of ‘Double Trouble’ & ‘Old MacDonald.’

The audio here has been upgraded with a DSD transfer off the LP masters. While this is not the sensational improvement of ‘Elvis 30 #1s’ or ‘2nd to None’ it is an upgrade on the ‘White Christmas’ CD with a better dynamic range and a total openness to the high frequencies. This truly sounds as if it has come from the Master tape. If there are any complaints, it is that ‘Crying In The Chapel’ is not the perfect Studio copy as featured on ‘Elvis 30 #1s’.

However, far worse is the fact that whoever did the rough edit on ‘Silent Night’ clipped off the original piano intro, losing the beautiful start of the song. The original is available on your Elvis budget Camden Xmas LP! Joseph DiMuro is credited as Executive Producer (although Ernst & Roger still get noted as compilation producers) so I hope that he is severely reprimanded. What a ridiculous mistake!

All this is forgiven, of course, by the time we hit the penultimate track of Johnny Moore’s ‘Merry Christmas Baby’. Recorded at 2am in Nashville’s Studio B, decorated for the recording session in May 1971 with Christmas lights, you know that Elvis was born to sing this kind of material. It touched his soul and can melt a frozen heart. Listen to Elvis’ every soulful sigh - "Well I wanna’ kiss you baby, underneath your Mistletoe", indeed!

However the real bonus to this set is the second ‘Peace/Gospel’ CD.

A delightful compile of 20 essential Elvis religious songs and perfect for this time of year. From the raw and important statement of 1957’s ‘Peace In The Valley’ to the sublime ‘If That Isn’t Love’ from 1973’s Stax sessions the selection is perfect for the Christmas season.

‘Peace In The Valley’ was the very last song that Elvis sang on the Ed Sullivan TV shows and with it Elvis threw down the gauntlet showing the world that, although at the time he was perceived as the devil incarnate, religion and gospel music were deep in his soul. The studio version was recorded just one week after Elvis’ TV performance. Hopefully, for the general public who don’t own any of the Gospel box-sets, this will be the perfect introduction to Elvis’ religious side.

The fragility of ‘Known Only To Him’ contrasts superbly against the power and passion of ‘How Great Thou Art’, while the assembled backing choir of ‘Amazing Grace’ is just outstanding. Definitely worth a listen on headphones. The cover photo is one of the very best, featuring a clever reverse of Wertheimer’s ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ single cover against a snowy backdrop. It looks terrific, sounds great, and some fan club called the "Elvis Information Network" is noted on the Australian sleeve!

Running nearly an hour on each CD, and costing the same as a single CD this is a great Christmas gift.

Christmas Peace was recently re-issued by BMG and is available from your local record store.

(Reviewed by Piers Beagley)

Did you know?

• Elvis reportedly made a home recording of the Mario Lanza song, Be My Love, at Rocca Place, Hollywood in 1966-67
• Aloha From Hawaii reached #1 on Billboard's Top LPs chart. It was the first quadraphonic recording to do so.
• A crowd of 17,228 attended Elvis' evening performance at the Omni in Atlanta on 1 May 1975
• Lisa Marie joined Elvis in Palm Springs on his 42nd birthday
• Billboard reviewed Good Luck Charm/Anything That's Part of You saying, "Presley has two more smash sides here"

Elvis Pic of the Week

Elvis Trivia Question

On January 8 1966 RCA published a full page ad in the trade press. How many copies of "Tell Me Why" (single) did the ad say had been shipped?

(Last edition's answer: Too Much peaked at #2 on Billboard Top 100)

Win a CD

To celebrate the 150th edition of the EIN E-Alert, we have three copies of Elvis At Sun to give away. All you have to do to be in the running for one of the CDs is to click here and send us your name. Entries close on Sunday 19 December.

Contact EIN

The EIN E-Alert is a free information service from the Elvis Information Network (EIN) for Elvis fans. If you do not wish to receive future editions of the EIN E-Alert simply reply to this message with REMOVE in the subject line