“The King Goes Wild ” is a fun LP!!
The front cover has an interesting card-design, which catches the eye
nicely. This LP was released in
1975 as Wilde Productions PRP 207. This
version originated in Great Britain as is noted on the back bottom left corner
of the LP. Supposedly both the front and back cover photographs are from
Elvis’ third Ed Sullivan appearance Jan 6, 1957. There are no liner notes, nor any indication to state where
the material is derived from, only a track list with dates on the back.
Upon listening it is clear that the three Ed Sullivan appearances are
presented here.
Side 1: Tracks 1-4. “Don’t Be Cruel ”, “Love Me
Tender ”, “Ready Teddy ” and “Hound Dog ” are from September 9, 1956.
Tracks 5-7 “ Don’t Be Cruel ”, “ Love Me Tender ” and “ Love
Me ” are from October 28, 1956.
Side 2: Track 1 “Hound Dog ” is the final track
from the October 28, 1956 show. Tracks
2-8 “Hound Dog ”, “Love Me Tender ”, “Heartbreak Hotel ”, “Don’t
Be Cruel ”, “Too Much ”, “When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again” and
“Peace In The Valley are from the January 6, 1957.
Because the original English issue was limited, this LP
was reissued under the EP Records PRP 207 designation here in the States in 1975
under the same title and with the same artwork, save for the fact that there is
no country of origin listed on the back cover.
The record label of the English issue is yellow with black text, while
the US version has the familiar EP Records black background with white text.
Kinescopes of the original televised performances were
undoubtedly the audio sources for this release and the results are very
listenable and exciting. Keep in
mind the rather archaic recording processes of the day that preserved these
performances for us!! The English
version is a noisier pressing, as there seems to be more surface noise.
The US reissue is a cleaner pressing and it seems that side-one was
mastered with some of the high frequencies taken down, while side-two didn’t
have the high-end frequencies lowered as much.
The result on side-one is less noise of course, but results in a muffled
sound. The matrix numbers in the trail
off areas are handwritten but not the same.
Ernie Boyes Jr.