From the RDM label 'Golden Elvis!' combining Elvis' two "Golden Records" compilation albums released in the fifties.
24 Golden Smashes all in Stereo
Elvis' Golden Records series has proven to be very popular with long-time fans and also the general public over the years, with the first two volumes perfectly summing-up Elvis' stunning first chart-success.
24 hits were compiled on the two original albums, creating an excellent showcase for Elvis' rock 'n' roll years. However, while this period would remain associated with the rockers that climbed to the top of the charts, Elvis' versatility was already noticeable in his ballads and country songs.
With these two Golden albums presented here in stereo for the first time, Elvis' fabulous 50s hits are ready to be rediscovered and reinvestigated.
EIN's Piers Beagley checks out this fabulous Stereo compilation..
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In the fifties when Scotty, Bill and D.J were in RCA studios with Elvis “banging his box the way Arthur Crudup did” they were of course playing in “stereo”. It was RCA’s engineers such as Thorne Nogar who mixed the multiple microphone feeds down to MONO.
Elvis and the band were not playing to a single one-track microphone.
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Producer Anthony Stuchbury is back with his stereo version of Elvis’ two 1958 "Gold Records" compilations, again on the French RDM label. It was released last month, September 2024.
Elvis changed the very world we live in with his unprecedented success in the 1950s. While Elvis’ sultry looks and US TV performances contributed to his nationwide success, it was his almighty RCA 45 rpms that rocked the world.
'Elvis’ Golden Records' released in March 1958, encapsulated his stunning creativity in one perfect 14 track album. Why it didn’t make #1 in the charts I’ll never know.
Elvis’ Gold Records Volume 2 neatly wrapped up his final singles of the decade but disappointingly only featured 10 tracks. Why Col Parker didn’t Include ‘Hard Headed Woman’, ‘I Was The One’, ‘Playing For Keeps’ or ‘My Baby Left Me’ to create another value-for-money 14 track LP beggars belief.
The two albums are neatly combined here in Anthony Stuchbury’s RDM release ‘Golden Elvis!’ Mono to Stereo. And it is a sensational compilation.
From the almighty blast of ‘Hound Dog’, via ‘Jailhouse Rock’, ‘Too Much’, I Need Your Love Tonight’, through to ‘Doncha’ Think It’s Time’ Elvis in the fifties doesn’t get much better.
While a few of Elvis’ early singles were included on previous RDM Mono to Stereo releases, 16 tracks are brand new here and it is an amazing STEREO journey.
What I appreciate about Stuchbury’s stereo production is that he doesn’t lose the power of the original mono singles and if you switch your loud-speakers between the FTD mono releases and these RDM stereo versions they have the same dynamic quality.
To be honest some of the original RCA mono singles, with all the musical instruments mixed down into one channel behind Elvis’ vocal, actually lacked some “brightness” that you can now hear in these new stereo versions.
The whole point of these STEREO releases is that
- If RCA could have recorded and released stereo versions of these 50’s Elvis sessions at the time they would have.
- In stereo fans can explore the individual musicianship that went into creating these classic mono releases in much more depth.
The Packaging.
Once again David Parker has created a very nice design which includes 3 pages of detailed sleeve notes. As he neatly observes…
Perhaps it’s no coincidence that the first volume in the Gold Record series appeared during March 1958. Elvis had been drafted during the same month, and from this point onwards the Colonel’s focus slowly began to shift towards the recycling of old masters, which would be used to keep a steady supply of ‘new’ Presley product in the stores whilst Elvis completed his army service.
The design features some fabulous use of gold with the lovely bonus of a ‘gold’ CD. |
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The sleeve is also a neat homage to Elvis’ two original albums. And if you think you’ve spotted an error with the listing of both ‘Any Way You Want Me’ as well as ‘Anyway You Want Me’ then check out the original sleeve of ‘Elvis’ Golden Records’ since that is exactly what RCA also did back in 1958!
The Music
Kicking off with ‘Hound Dog’ in stereo (as previously issued on 'Elvis Presley Rock ’n’ Roll No.2’) this nicely demonstrates how the simplest of arrangements - one cutting guitar (left), fantastic percussion (right) and those all-important Jordanaire handclaps and backing-vocals (right) along with Elvis’ full boar vocal - created rock’n’roll that would change the world. With Elvis’ centred vocal you can even more appreciate how throat-tearing the 31 takes must have been. Listen carefully at 01:40 “They said you were high-classed, well that was just a lie” and you can hear how Elvis, presumably jumping around in the studio, moves away from the mic. This is beautiful work.
‘Loving You’ is new to this set in stereo. With Scotty Moore’s gentle guitar (left channel) and Dudley Brooks piano now on the right, the session sounds far clearer here. On the original mono single they were combined and almost buried behind Elvis’ vocal. Interestingly @00:51 Scotty Moore falters slightly which if released as a stereo mix might have meant yet another take. This is truly wonderful in stereo.
Similarly on the new stereo ‘Jailhouse Rock’ there is plenty to explore. Scotty Moore rocking on the left channel, the tinkling piano of Dudley’s Brooks on the right with the rhythm section of DJ Fontana and Bill Black centred really powering along this classic rocker. Elvis’ vocal is super clear and you can observe how hard he had to sing to get to the end of the track. Once again you can notice @2:12 when Bill Black stops playing for a moment which you wouldn’t notice on the old mono version (but no doubt Thorne Nogar in the control room would have). This again proves how spontaneity can beat perfection.
I can truly recommend that fans should BLAST these classic tracks through a good HiFi and Loud-Speakers.
And then for further listening pleasure use quality headphones to delve even deeper into how Elvis and his fellow musicians created such magic.
Other highlights from the new Stereo versions included here are..
‘Treat Me Nice’ – One of my all-time favourite Elvis songs and this sounds fabulous in stereo. The percussion and bass placed left channel, Scotty Moore and Dudley Brooks’ piano on the right with Elvis and the Jordanaires centred. The intro where the piano is purely right channel and then the rhythm section bursts into action is sensational. There’s also a lovely deep Bill Black bass-line emphasised on this mix. And here Elvis’ clean vocal delightfully exposes his cool vocal mannerisms of the time such as @01;36 “whoa, whoa, whao, whaao’ know I’ll be youra slave, ah h’if you-a-ask-a me to”! This is fabulous.
‘I Need Your Love Tonight’ with cutting Hank Garland guitar on the left channel, percussion / bass / Floyd Cramer piano right, you can now clearly hear everything that went into creating this stunning classic.
Ballads such as ‘My Wish Came True’ and ‘Don’t’ really benefit from Elvis’ superb vocal being raised and separated from the other musicians. Although on stereo ‘Don’t’ listen out not only for DJ’s beautiful brushwork on the right channel but also the obvious squeak from his drum pedal. (check @ 01:16 & 01:28 onwards)
‘Where My Ring Around Your Neck’ This is a great mix with the guitar (previously buried in the mono mix) now nice and clear on the left channel and fabulous Bill Black walking-bass right. The drums & Elvis’ guitar backslap are centred which adds more of an explosive sound to the overall mix.
‘One Night’ another all-time favourite now features Scotty Moore guitar clear on the left channel with DJ drums placed on the right. With Elvis’ powerful vocal in the centre you can hear more of how this deceptively simple arrangement created such a stunning Number 1. Listen for Elvis’ amazingly pleading “has been too lonely too long….” @01:57. This is great.
Similarly ‘A Big Hunk Of Love’ with Elvis and the rhythm section centred truly powers this rock’n’roll song along. The piano is on the right channel, guitar left, and now you can really feel how much Ray Walker’s (his first session) deep-bass contributed to the overall feel. When Hank Garland plays his solo, left channel, now you can clearly hear every part of Elvis joyfully singing along. This sounds fantastic.
‘A Fool Such As I’ is other track with a great stereo intro with guitar left, Floyd Cramer’s piano vamp on the right, drums centred. Again during the solo @1:35 listen out for Elvis’ encouraging hand- claps. Yet another brilliant stereo version.
‘Doncha’ Think It’s Time’ – a song that never really gelled and took 48 takes, always sounded a bit of a muddled mess in mono. Here the stereo mix – with both Scotty Moore’s and Tiny Timbrell’s guitars clear on the right channel along with Dudley Brook’s light piano playing, the percussion and bass left, it really opens up the mix and gives it a much more satisfying sound overall.
And this is what this STEREO collection is all about, by listening closely fans can now hear all the small bits and pieces that were pulled together to create Elvis’ life-changing 1950’s singles.
Overall Verdict: These versions are not a replacement for the classic
MONO singles - which fans have surely played to death – but a better representation of how Elvis and the musicians sounded while working in the studio before a RCA engineer mixed them down to a single mono track.
When Elvis was recording in the studio, the musicians were playing in “stereo”.
Tracks like ‘A Big Hunk Of Love‘, ‘Treat Me Nice’, ‘Where My Ring Around Your Neck’ blasting out of Loud-Speakers in stereo now have even more of a powerful feel than before. While the ballads and songs such as ‘A Fool Such As I’ sound even more vibrant with Elvis’ vocal lifted apart from the musicians.
Highly Recommended.
EIN Note: Unfortunately for Australian & Kiwi fans (& possibly other non-EU), overseas shipping from RDM is twice the price of buying the actual CD. A cheaper option is to get a friend to order it in Europe and then post the CD (without the plastic case) as a regular letter postage. This saved me 20Euros postage!
Go here to RDM to order only 15.00€ (with 40% off now) and check the great STEREO audio samples
Review by Piers Beagley.
-Copyright EIN October 2024 -
EIN Website content © Copyright the Elvis Information Network.
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Fans should also check your local Elvis dealer for the best price including delivery.
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‘For LP Fans Only’ ‘A Date With Elvis’ Mono II Stereo' CD review: From the RDM label, "Two classic 1959 Elvis albums, for the first time in stereo".
'For LP Fans Only' brought together songs previously released on 45rpm or on EPs, such as the classics 'That's All Right', 'Lawdy Miss Clawdy', 'Mystery Train' or the song 'Poor Boy'.
'A Date with Elvis' was based on the same principle of compiling previously published 45rpm or 'Extended Play' songs from Elvis' past. It contained other Elvis SUN classics plus 'Baby, I Don't Care' and the haunting 'Is It So Strange'.
Looking back, these two 1959 albums were a strange compilation with their short running time and odd track selection..
The stereo mixes created by producer Anthony Stuchbury, are authentic to original Mono releases but now sound more like the original studio sessions.
Featuring twenty fabulous 50's tracks, EIN's Piers Beagley checks out this intriguing Stereo compilation..
(CD Reviews, Source;ElvisInformationNetwork) |
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'Elvis Presley Rock ’n’ Roll No.2' MONO II STEREO CD Review: Luckily for inquisitive Elvis collectors, producer Anthony Stuchbury is back with his take on Elvis’ second album ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll No.2’.
Rediscover Elvis Presley's second album and four key 1956 singles with a new STEREO mix!
The stereo mixes newly created for this CD allow you to find the naturalness of the original recordings and give the impression of being in the heart of the studio with Elvis and his musicians.
With Mono II Stereo fans can embrace a new way of listening to old albums, rediscovering 'The Young Man with the Big Beat' all over again.
The Stereo 'Bonus Singles', Love Me Tender, Anyway You Want Me, Too Much, Hound Dog, Don't Be Cruel, Playing For Keeps, My Baby Left Me, I Want You, I Need You, I Love You all add to the interest
The stunning thing with ‘Mono > Stereo’ is that you can now tune in to parts you have never heard before.
EIN's Piers Beagley investigates what he discovered from these new Stereo versions.
(CD Reviews, Source;ElvisInformationNetwork) |
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'Elvis Presley Rock ’n’ Roll No.1’ "Stereo" CD Review:
Luckily for inquisitive Elvis collectors, producer Anthony Stuchbury is back with his take on Elvis’ first album ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll No.1’ - this time on the French RDM label.
Elvis’ very first LP had two key variations, the well-known classic RCA album and also the UK HMV version. This compilation starts with the 12 tracks from the RCA album then the extra five cuts from the HMV version plus the life-changing ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ single.
It’s a stunning selection of nineteen brilliant Elvis recordings.
“Mono II Stereo” remixing needs a producer who understands what Elvis’ sessions were all about and Stuchbury is not only a super-collector but also a man who really knows his Elvis recordings.
His work here is truly impressive.
With The Beatles releasing their early singles in DES stereo for 2023 Doncha' Think It's Time for RCA / SONY to do the same for Elvis.
EIN's Piers Beagley checks out the wonders of Elvis' first album in stereo
(CD Reviews, Source;ElvisInformationNetwork) |
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Anthony Stuchbury 'From Elvis At Sun' Interview: There are two new 'Mono II Stereo' releases about to come out from the Memphis Mansion label.
'From Elvis At Sun' features all of Elvis' SUN masters in new stereo versions while the 10" vinyl 'Best Of Elvis' is a neat stereo upgrade of the original HMV october 1957 UK album.
The question of whether Elvis' mono fifties classic recordings should be re-released in "new stereo" is hotly debated among hard-core collectors and so EIN wanted to ask Memphis Mansion's producer / audio engineer Anthony Stuchbury some key questions.
Questions including...
- Do we really need stereo versions of these mono classics?
- Since EMI are releasing The Beatles in "new stereo" perhaps it is time for RCA to do the same for Elvis..
EIN's Piers Beagley asked the questions..
(Interviews, Source;ElvisInformationNetwork)
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'From Elvis at Sun' Stereo CD Review: A new ‘From Elvis at Sun’ “Mono II Stereo” release from the Danish Memphis Mansion label.
The compilation includes the five classic SUN SINGLES plus the other nine alternate cuts that RCA would purchase from Sam Phillips.
Keen Elvis fans must surely have a serious fascination about how Elvis' early ground-breaking recordings were created.
Why do Elvis' classic rock’n’roll singles sound so good, especially given the low quality recording equipment of the time? And how were they laid down in the studio?
One way to discover the wonders of 50’s rock’n’roll inventiveness is to examine "stereo" versions of the old mono recordings and it is only since the creation of the cutting-edge audio process DES (Digitally Extracted Stereo) that we can do this.
Previous Mono <> Stereo versions have not quite made their mark. So is it possible that this new 2023 set can help fans appreciate the real magic and brilliance of Elvis at SUN?
EIN's 2,600 word review by Piers Beagley looks in-depth at whether new upgrades in "DES" software can help create something special from these old SUN classics...
(CD Reviews, Source;ElvisInformationNetwork) |
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‘Elvis Reborn: New Mono to Stereo’ CD In-Depth Review: The publicity notes, "Hear 30 classic Elvis songs like you've never heard them before... in STEREO! These are NOT "overdubs". All of the sounds you hear are the original musicians backing Elvis, but with a clarity that exposes for the first time sounds you never heard before!"
The MONO vs STEREO debate is a fascinating discussion, so we need to get some facts straight before we investigated the possibilities of this new Elvis "Stereo" release.
The earliest recordings of the sound era were recorded in MONO with the singer and orchestra carefully positioned around one microphone. But even in Sun Studios it was actually Sam Phillips who created Elvis' classic mono recordings.
Elvis and the Blue Moon Boys were not playing "mono" - nor were they recorded via one microphone. So listening in "Fake Stereo" can fans really learn anything new about how some of these life-changing songs that Elvis recorded in the studio were created?
Is it truly possible that these "DES Stereo" versions actually sound better than their original classic mono vinyl releases?
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'ELVIS: Closing Night 1972' MRS CD Review: This MRS 2CD set features a live performance recorded on 4 September 1972,during the last night of Elvis’ seventh engagement in Las Vegas at the Hilton Hotel.
The show is presented in stereo. A bonus CD of remastered rehearsal tracks, recorded days before the engagement began, is also included.
While Elvis is perhaps not as full-blast as on the 'Opening Night' here MRS's 'Studio D' engineer has done some brilliant audio remastering, removing the bad cassette-tape-hiss of all previous releases. Emphasising the instrumentation with this "Stereo remaster" not only elevates Elvis and the musicians' performance but also places the listener right into the audience.
This night Elvis rocked into 'Johnny B. Goode' and even performed the golden-oldies with some real respect.
It's a great show.
Go here as EIN's Piers Beagley discovers something new in this re-release - the near perfect bookend to MRS' examination of Elvis’ 1972 Summer Festival.
(CD Reviews, Source;ElvisInformationNetwork) |
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See EIN review of 'Young Man With The Big Beat'.
See EIN review of 'Elvis Is Back!' Legacy Edition review:
See EIN review of 'The Complete Elvis Presley Masters' in-depth Review
See EIN review of 'On Stage' 40th Anniversary LEGACY in-depth review:
See EIN review of From Elvis In Memphis (40th Anniversary Legacy Edition)
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