Elvis Presley: Memphis (Box Set)

[Wayfarer]

Thanks to a friend i got the audio to this set already.. I'm not a fan of what they did with Don't Cry Daddy, Elvis regular vocal on the left, his harmony vocal overdub on the same level on the right channel. creates a VERY weird experience.

I think I'll take a listen to this before I will make an attempt to getting this! Thanks!

the sound quality is excellent throughout, we have quite a few unedited masters, don't cry daddy just isn't very good to me due to the above reason, i also don't understand why there are fades sometimes when they do give you a unedited performance (Elvis singing in the fade until felton says that's a gas or other comments being heard in the fade just before it ends), while other unedited masters have similar endings without fades.

Yes some are indeed longer….like For The Heart
And completely agree regarding fadeout…and wish more of them were unedited aka no fade out.
Always loved «Talk about the good times» and here I have my definitive version in
great mix and no fade

"Talk About The Good Times" is one of my all-time faves from him. I'm so glad to hear from you that that, since its original 1973 muddy mix this track is lifted somewhat out of that limit.

[JeroenNL]

Just heard a couple of songs. Blown away by it: Matt Ross-Spang does it again. Wow!!

The 1969 Masters are sounding so wonderful and Elvis voice SHINES like never before. Many new nuances to be heard better than ever before.

The Stax Masters: again… WOW!! Matt has put in the kick and the balls in many of the songs. Raised On Rock, If You Don’t Come Back and Three Corn Patches: they ROCK like never before!

Just listened to Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain: again, Wow! Listen to those guitar riffs after the guitar solo! For The Heart: holy smokes! Those piano riffs starting at 2:55 minutes onwards…!!

About the fades and sometimes no fades: I think we have to take into account that this is a mainstream release and that the producers want to present Elvis at his very best and therefore leave out things that the general audiance wouldn’t understand or will find weird etc. I think that is a logical thing to do.

This set is a WINNER with loads to discover and hear. I hope Matt will get to do a FULL Stax Boxset with outtakes

[Robert]

Just heard a couple of songs. Blown away by it: Matt Ross-Spang does it again. Wow!!

The 1969 Masters are sounding so wonderful and Elvis voice SHINES like never before. Many new nuances to be heard better than ever before.

The Stax Masters: again… WOW!! Matt has put in the kick and the balls in many of the songs. Raised On Rock, If You Don’t Come Back and Three Corn Patches: they ROCK like never before!

Just listened to Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain: again, Wow! Listen to those guitar riffs after the guitar solo! For The Heart: holy smokes! Those piano riffs starting at 2:55 minutes onwards…!!

About the fades and sometimes no fades: I think we have to take into account that this is a mainstream release and that the producers want to present Elvis at his very best and therefore leave out things that the general audiance wouldn’t understand or will find weird etc. I think that is a logical thing to do.

This set is a WINNER with loads to discover and hear. I hope Matt will get to do a FULL Stax Boxset with outtakes

Thanks and at midnight CET we can check out all tracks on Spotify already.
Any first observations on the Memphis '74 mix?

[luckyjackson1]

Just heard a couple of songs. Blown away by it: Matt Ross-Spang does it again. Wow!!

The 1969 Masters are sounding so wonderful and Elvis voice SHINES like never before. Many new nuances to be heard better than ever before.

The Stax Masters: again… WOW!! Matt has put in the kick and the balls in many of the songs. Raised On Rock, If You Don’t Come Back and Three Corn Patches: they ROCK like never before!

Just listened to Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain: again, Wow! Listen to those guitar riffs after the guitar solo! For The Heart: holy smokes! Those piano riffs starting at 2:55 minutes onwards…!!

About the fades and sometimes no fades: I think we have to take into account that this is a mainstream release and that the producers want to present Elvis at his very best and therefore leave out things that the general audiance wouldn’t understand or will find weird etc. I think that is a logical thing to do.

This set is a WINNER with loads to discover and hear. I hope Matt will get to do a FULL Stax Boxset with outtakes

Thanks and at midnight CET we can check out all tracks on Spotify already.
Any first observations on the Memphis '74 mix?

I didn't want to post, but: way too much echo. Ross-Spang did it again. Meh.
I also have the impression the concert runs too fast - or is it just me?

[Robert]

I didn't want to post, but: way too much echo. Ross-Spang did it again. Meh.
I also have the impression the concert runs too fast - or is it just me?

It's probably the former Memphis FTD approach, which wasn't artificially added reverb but a result of including the audience track in the mix.
In terms of creative license it's the right thing to do as it brings you closer to the actual concert sound.

I think it's one of the reasons the MSG FTD sounds so good, it gives you a more ambient feel and part of the audience reaction stays intact.

So happy to hear but I also know some fans prefer a dry mix.
The Legacy mix did that job, a snooze fest in my view but appreciated by others

[JeroenNL]

Just heard a couple of songs. Blown away by it: Matt Ross-Spang does it again. Wow!!

The 1969 Masters are sounding so wonderful and Elvis voice SHINES like never before. Many new nuances to be heard better than ever before.

The Stax Masters: again… WOW!! Matt has put in the kick and the balls in many of the songs. Raised On Rock, If You Don’t Come Back and Three Corn Patches: they ROCK like never before!

Just listened to Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain: again, Wow! Listen to those guitar riffs after the guitar solo! For The Heart: holy smokes! Those piano riffs starting at 2:55 minutes onwards…!!

About the fades and sometimes no fades: I think we have to take into account that this is a mainstream release and that the producers want to present Elvis at his very best and therefore leave out things that the general audiance wouldn’t understand or will find weird etc. I think that is a logical thing to do.

This set is a WINNER with loads to discover and hear. I hope Matt will get to do a FULL Stax Boxset with outtakes

Thanks and at midnight CET we can check out all tracks on Spotify already.
Any first observations on the Memphis '74 mix?

Was sended no samples of the ‘74 concert. Wait and see.

[LSP-4445]

Thanks to a friend i got the audio to this set already.. I'm not a fan of what they did with Don't Cry Daddy, Elvis regular vocal on the left, his harmony vocal overdub on the same level on the right channel. creates a VERY weird experience.

I think I'll take a listen to this before I will make an attempt to getting this! Thanks!

the sound quality is excellent throughout, we have quite a few unedited masters, don't cry daddy just isn't very good to me due to the above reason, i also don't understand why there are fades sometimes when they do give you a unedited performance (Elvis singing in the fade until felton says that's a gas or other comments being heard in the fade just before it ends), while other unedited masters have similar endings without fades.

Yes some are indeed longer….like For The Heart
And completely agree regarding fadeout…and wish more of them were unedited aka no fade out.
Always loved «Talk about the good times» and here I have my definitive version in
great mix and no fade

"Talk About The Good Times" is one of my all-time faves from him. I'm so glad to hear from you that that, since its original 1973 muddy mix this track is lifted somewhat out of that limit.

I like it a lot but must admit I do miss the backup singers a little as they are completely gone here.

[Rob]

Just heard a couple of songs. Blown away by it: Matt Ross-Spang does it again. Wow!!

The 1969 Masters are sounding so wonderful and Elvis voice SHINES like never before. Many new nuances to be heard better than ever before.

The Stax Masters: again… WOW!! Matt has put in the kick and the balls in many of the songs. Raised On Rock, If You Don’t Come Back and Three Corn Patches: they ROCK like never before!

Just listened to Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain: again, Wow! Listen to those guitar riffs after the guitar solo! For The Heart: holy smokes! Those piano riffs starting at 2:55 minutes onwards…!!

About the fades and sometimes no fades: I think we have to take into account that this is a mainstream release and that the producers want to present Elvis at his very best and therefore leave out things that the general audiance wouldn’t understand or will find weird etc. I think that is a logical thing to do.

This set is a WINNER with loads to discover and hear. I hope Matt will get to do a FULL Stax Boxset with outtakes

Now that's what I call excitement.

[Markus K.]

Additionally to what has been said above I like to point out that the STAX material has some fine focus on the organ, which I personally like.

Here are some random samples from each disc for you to give an idea of what to expect.

Disc 1

10 - Elvis Presley - Mystery Train.mp3

Disc 2

03 - Elvis Presley - Don't Cry Daddy.mp3

Disc 3

01 - Elvis Presley - Promised Land.mp3

Disc 4

07 - Elvis Presley - Steamroller Blues.mp3

Disc 5

05 - Elvis Presley - The Last Farewell.mp3

[LSP-4445]

Just heard a couple of songs. Blown away by it: Matt Ross-Spang does it again. Wow!!

The 1969 Masters are sounding so wonderful and Elvis voice SHINES like never before. Many new nuances to be heard better than ever before.

The Stax Masters: again… WOW!! Matt has put in the kick and the balls in many of the songs. Raised On Rock, If You Don’t Come Back and Three Corn Patches: they ROCK like never before!

Just listened to Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain: again, Wow! Listen to those guitar riffs after the guitar solo! For The Heart: holy smokes! Those piano riffs starting at 2:55 minutes onwards…!!

After listening to approx 20 of the tracks thru headphones im not as positive as you are.
Then again I have had mixed feelings about Matt Ross-Spang earlier works as well.
Like Promised Land has too much organ for my taste and the whole track sounds «messy/noisy» to me,same with a few others…sounds like everyone present in the studio is upfront in the mix 🫨
IMO the guitar is most important in this track but it sounds buried in the mix….at least to these old ears.
Will make a compilation playlist with the best ones as many of the tracks im not tempted to play again.
But if most people like MRS work on this release then great

[Johnny2523]

Its interesting to hear he'll have to go, the mix is great and Elvis is nicely blended with the backing vocals.. i didn't expect to hear J.D. say "Yeah.." after the song is over.

[elvinda58]

i always thought Elvis sang He'll have to go to an instrumental track Felton had laid down the previous night.

[elvis4life]

https://www.memphisflyer.com/the-kings-hometown-cuts

The King’s Hometown Cuts
New mixes from four eras of Elvis Presley recording in Memphis.

Alex Greene
4:00 a.m. Aug. 7, 2024

Having incorporated elements of Sun Studio, Phillips Recording Service, and Ardent Studios into the design of his own Southern Grooves studio, Matt Ross-Spang has an ear for history, so it’s no wonder that he’s become the go-to guy for mixing Elvis Presley. It started with his 2016 mixes of outtakes from Presley’s 1976 recordings at Graceland, and others followed, but his mixes on 2020’s From Elvis in Nashville compilation, stripping overdubs away from the raw tracks Presley recorded during marathon sessions in June of 1970, were Ross-Spang’s greatest feat, yielding such jaw-dropping tracks as the hard-choogling “Patch It Up.”

Now, following a brief similar to that of the Nashville album, Ross-Spang has outdone himself on a new box set dropping just as Elvis Week commences this Friday, August 9th. With a nod to last month’s 70th anniversary of Presley’s first recordings for Sun Records, Sony Music/Legacy Recordings will release Memphis, a set of five CDs and/or two LPs produced by Ernst Jørgensen, collecting everything Presley recorded in his adopted hometown.

Naturally, that includes Presley’s initial work with Sun Records’ Sam Phillips, though those foundational recordings were not tampered with (nor could they have been, not being multitracks), only given a thorough restoration and remastering. After the Sun era, there were three other distinct moments when Presley cut records in Memphis: in 1969 at American Sound Studio, in 1973 at Stax Records, and in 1976 during remote recording sessions the King set up in his own Jungle Room at Graceland. Also included is a live recording of Presley and his touring band at the Mid-South Coliseum in 1974. All of those recordings get the Ross-Spang treatment.

Working from digital copies of the original multitrack tapes offered him a glimpse into the recording techniques of a bygone age. “I was really excited to work on the Stax and American stuff simply because I’m a Memphis history nut,” he says, “and to get to hear those multitracks was really exciting. Working with Chips Moman at American, Elvis had a new band, a new producer, a new studio — everything was new. And yet Chips didn’t have nice technologies like RCA [in Nashville]. He committed all that music to four tracks, typically. And oftentimes he recorded the [reverb] chamber right onto the track. Or put the bass and the acoustic guitar on the same track. So it was really cool for me to open that up and see how much commitment he had, the vision he had from the beginning.”

Those American recordings yielded hits like “In the Ghetto” and “Suspicious Minds,” but the familiar versions, exploding with those distinctive string arrangements, are only hinted at here. The Memphis tracks reveal what preceded those orchestral flourishes: The sure-footed, house band Moman had assembled, aka The Memphis Boys, both soulful and rocking, playing their hearts out while the voice of Elvis rang out in the room. As Robert Gordon writes in the extensive liner notes, the new mixes put us “standing next to Elvis inside the recording studio, us and the basic band, hearing what he’s hearing.”

Moreover, it’s a master class in minimalist songcraft, as one hears guitarist Reggie Young weave his lines in with those of keyboardists Bobby Woods and Bobby Emmons, the latter’s organ parts suggesting an orchestra, yet molded out of rawer sounds. Here and there are occasional overdubs, as in the remarkable “Don’t Cry, Daddy,” where Presley harmonizes with himself. As Ross-Spang explains, “We left in some of the overdubs that they did on the spot there [at American], but we didn’t use things that they went back to Nashville to do.”

Ross-Spang didn’t have to mix these tracks entirely on his own. “It was really fun to get to work with Robert Gordon on this. I was sending him mixes and he was sending me notes back. And then producer Rob Santos and Ernst. Sometimes I can treat a mix too technically and not emotionally, but Ernst would give me very nontypical, emotional mix notes.” As the singer’s raw emotion explodes from the speakers, Memphis reveals Elvis to be one of the premier soul artists of his time.

[bigbopper]

Additionally to what has been said above I like to point out that the STAX material has some fine focus on the organ, which I personally like.

Here are some random samples from each disc for you to give an idea of what to expect.

Disc 1
10 - Elvis Presley - Mystery Train.mp3

Disc 2
03 - Elvis Presley - Don't Cry Daddy.mp3

Disc 3
01 - Elvis Presley - Promised Land.mp3

Disc 4
07 - Elvis Presley - Steamroller Blues.mp3

Disc 5
05 - Elvis Presley - The Last Farewell.mp3

Ouch! I wasn't prepared for this what the hell happened with Don't Cry Daddy ???? Where's the rockin' piano on Promised Land ? Why is the guitar buried in the mix ??? What a mess.......

[RyanD]

The 1969 disc is so poor that I am stunned it even made it out the door. I don't think anyone even listened to it before the thing went into production. There are errors on it all over the place. It's not all bad, but where it's bad it is glaring.

There's a very noticeable splicing error on "Any Day Now" around the 2:25 mark that sounds like when my CD player would skip in my car back in the 90s. You'll hear it right away. "Don't Cry Daddy" is horrendous, easily the worst version ever released with how they have Elvis' harmony overdubs in one channel, creating a weird echo effect (strange choice for a set that had been advertised as without overdubs). There's also instruments missing from it.

Additionally there are alignment issues with some of the instrument tracks in the mix, including Reggie Young's guitar on "Suspicious Minds." There are words missing from Elvis' vocal on "The Fair Is Moving On." The mix on "Long Black Limosuine" is poor and has alignment issues. Oof. There's more but I'll stop there.

The other discs are fine for the most part (1974 issues aside), but I'm stunned people would be praising the '69 stuff. It's a total mess. LIke "we need to recall this disc" kind of a mess.

[elvisalisellers]

Modified version of Ross-Spang's mix of "Promised Land" [again, characterised by a layer of tape hiss due to his insistency of mixing in analogue].

Elvis' vocal raised/delay effect reduced

Lead guitar amplified

Organ reduction

Presence applied to drum track

Narrower stereo spread

https://we.tl/t-RCV8oDLJ9g

[JeroenNL]

The boxset sounds fantastic. Don’t Cry Daddy is different but Elvis’ voice(s) are so beautiful. What a stunning performance. It all sounds crisp and clear! Love this set!

[Dan_T]

Additionally to what has been said above I like to point out that the STAX material has some fine focus on the organ, which I personally like.

Here are some random samples from each disc for you to give an idea of what to expect.

Disc 1
10 - Elvis Presley - Mystery Train.mp3

Disc 2
03 - Elvis Presley - Don't Cry Daddy.mp3

Disc 3
01 - Elvis Presley - Promised Land.mp3

Disc 4
07 - Elvis Presley - Steamroller Blues.mp3

Disc 5
05 - Elvis Presley - The Last Farewell.mp3

Thank you, Markus, noticed Amazon took payment today so should have mine by Saturday..hopefully ! They sound great BTW!

[RickGreekElvis]

I heard Mystery Train earlier this morning, it sounded like some stereo/reverb effect had been applied.

[Elvis2000]

I heard Mystery Train earlier this morning, it sounded like some stereo/reverb effect had been applied.

The Sun material is a copy of previous masters.

[RickGreekElvis]

I heard Mystery Train earlier this morning, it sounded like some stereo/reverb effect had been applied.

The Sun material is a copy of previous masters.

I just downloaded the one from Markus. Totally similiar to the previous Boy From Tupelo box set. Because i heard it on the radio, it may have been on the station's end (FM after all). I should be getting my copy tomorrow, I'm kind of impatient lol

[Johnny2523]

I think the sound quality is excellent, the best work for me has been done on the jungle room sessions, but i share the sentiment of ryan in that the memphis 69 material isnt done as great, the sound quality is great but the mixing isn't always the greatest i had listened to suspicious minds and also noticed that Reggie Young's guitar is out of sync, i wonder (as odd as it is to say) if the multitrack channels werent all at the same speed. But an engineer would have known that, so maybe it was a creative decision

[Elvis2000]

I heard Mystery Train earlier this morning, it sounded like some stereo/reverb effect had been applied.

The Sun material is a copy of previous masters.

I just downloaded the one from Markus. Totally similiar to the previous Boy From Tupelo box set. Because i heard it on the radio, it may have been on the station's end (FM after all). I should be getting my copy tomorrow, I'm kind of impatient lol

I did the same (thank you Markus), it's identical to the A Boy From Tupelo masters, which to be fair is hard to top so it's understandable that it's a straight copy. However, I do hope that Matt gets access to the Peter Jackson demixing tech one day and has a go at remastering all of the 50s material.

[Johnny2523]

And regarding don't cry daddy, the harmony vocal shouldnt have been put on the same volume as the main vocal, also if they wanted to include it, matt should have muted the parts where elvis didn't sing harmony, cause you get a phasing effect.

[RickGreekElvis]

Well this got interesting I went to check out the Qobuz link that started this whole thread, and if you listen to the sample of Mystery Train on there, it sounds very similar to what I heard on the radio. So is this a unique mix only found on the digital download version? https://www.qobuz.com/nz-en/album/memphis-elvis-presley/ohsagkcx7fetc