Gregg Geller 1985 compilations

[Mike C]

Yes there was a policy by RCA not to release post 1973 songs because of the 1973 buyout and there was a row with EPE about this.
You can see even with the first ever Elvis CDs released in1984 the. 3 cd Box set The Legend which was a sort of a greatest hits compilation only went up to 1972 no tracks after 1972.
The exception been the compilation Always On My Mind which had tracks from after 73 on it.
May b there was a deal done with the estate by then.
I have all the 1985 50th amniversary releases on cd and vinyl .
I think it was a great idea to rerelease a lot of the 50s albums in original Mono with original artwork.
The best compilation was Reconsider baby which had some great tracks and unreleased material.
I think the A Golden Celebration box set was not great although it had all the 50s tv shows on it which were offically unreleased ,then to just put previously released 68 comback tracks and no songs from after 1968 was a major let down.

All these albums post-1977 contained tracks recorded after the 1973 buyout. This wasn’t a period where RCA didn’t release post buyout songs on purpose. If the theme of the album necessitated those songs inclusion they were included:

Elvis in Concert (1977) LP

Unchained Melody/Softly As I Leave You (1978) 45RPM

A Canadian Tribute (1978) LP

Our Memories of Elvis Vol 1 (1979) LP

Our Memories of Elvis Vol 2 (1979) LP

Elvis Aron Presley (1980) LP’s

Guitar Man (1981) LP

This Is Elvis (1981) LP

Elvis Golden Records Vol 5 (1984) LP (first Elvis USA CD release)

Always On My Mind (1985) LP

And several 45RPM Singles associated with these album releases.

The last LP in the Golden Celebration box with the 1968 TV Special tracks was definitely out of place. Additional studio outtakes from the 1956-1957 period would have been a better choice. Also, the Frank Sinatra 1960 appearance should have been included. An, otherwise excellent release.

I am not sure, but I believe the dispute between the estate and RCA started around 1982 and only ended in 1983 with settlement, including Colonel Parker, who had his contract definitively terminated with the estate.
As you can see from your list above, there is a gap in releases between 1981 and 1984.

The dispute between the Estate and RCA was related to the action brought by the guardian ad litem on behalf on Lisa Marie and the Estate against Col. Parker in 1981 with respect to his percentage of earnings taken during the last few years of Elvis' lifetime - the main claim was one of breach of his fiduciary duty. As part of the action, the Estate also sued RCA with respect to royalties owned and the 1973 buyout. One of the striking things we learned from the suit is that the Colonel never sought to audit RCA's books during Elvis lifetime. This was and remains a stranded practice in the management business. The Colonel's unwillingness to do so was a clear case of malfeasance.

Eventually, RCA agreed to settlement with the Estate whereby it upped the royalty rate on post-1972 recordings and agreed to pay fees for pictures and other items used on future RCA sets.

[Lonely Summer]

My memory of those post-1977 albums is that they contained either: 1) tracks recorded/released before the buyout, or 2) tracks released after the buyout. For example, Our Memories of Elvis was all material recorded/released under the new contract. The Legendary performer albums only went up to 1972.

[ForeverElvis]

My memory of those post-1977 albums is that they contained either: 1) tracks recorded/released before the buyout, or 2) tracks released after the buyout. For example, Our Memories of Elvis was all material recorded/released under the new contract. The Legendary performer albums only went up to 1972.

Some albums were actually a mixture of pre and post buyout on several albums:

Elvis in Concert (1977) LP
all tracks recorded June 1977

- I forgot to mention the 45RPM single - My Way (live - 21/6/77) / America (live - 13/12/75 MS) from October 1977 in my other post and the LP He Walks Beside Me from 1978 that contained material all pre-1973.

Unchained Melody/Softly As I Leave You (1978) 45RPM
recorded June 1977 / December 1975

-I forgot two albums, Mahalo From Elvis that contained both pre and post 1973 material and Elvis Sings for Children and Grownups Too! containing all pre-1973 material.

A Canadian Tribute (1978) LP
Little Darlin' recorded April 1977 and My Way recorded 1973 - all other tracks pre-1973.

- Elvis - A Legendary Performer Volume 3 came out November 1978 with all pre-1973 material.

Our Memories of Elvis Vol 1 (1979) LP
- tracks recorded 1973-1976.

Our Memories of Elvis Vol 2 (1979) LP
- tracks recorded 1973-1976 except Don't Think Twice, It's All Right recorded in 1971.

Elvis Aron Presley (1980) LP’s
- majority of material is pre-1973 but a good number of live tracks from 1973-1977 were included.

Guitar Man (1981) LP
- all vocal performances pre-1973 except for Loving Arms, You Asked Me To and She Thinks I Still Care are 1973-1976. All Instrumental performances recorded 1980. I suspect this whole album is listed as post 1973.

This Is Elvis (1981) LP
- had pre/post-1973 recordings. The overdubs done in 1980 may have been considered post-1973.

Greatest Hits Volume 1 (LP)
-all but one track, Steamroller Blues, were pre-1973.

Memories of Christmas LP
- all tracks recorded before 1973

The Elvis Medley LP
I Was The One
- this medley created in 1982 is probably considered post 1973, the rest of the albums material was recorded pre-1973. I wonder if the I Was The One overdubs are considered post 1973

Elvis - A Legendary Performer Volume 4 (LP)
- all tracks recorded before 1973

Elvis Golden Records Vol 5 (1984) LP (first Elvis USA CD release)
- four of the ten tracks are post 1973; If You Talk In Your Sleep, For The Heart, Moody Blue and Way Down.

The Rocker (1984)
A Valentine Gift For You (1985)
Reconsider Baby (1985)
- all tracks pre-1973

Always On My Mind (1985) LP
- 9 of the 13 tracks were post-1973, 4 were pre-1973.

[minkahed]

Wasn't Joan Deary the Producer of the 1981, "This Is Elvis" soundtrack ???

Remix Engineer: Dick Bogart

Mastered: Richard Simpson

[ForeverElvis]

Wasn't Joan Deary the Producer of the 1981, "This Is Elvis" soundtrack ???

Remix Engineer: Dick Bogart

Mastered: Richard Simpson

Yes

[drjohncarpenter]

The last LP in the Golden Celebration box with the 1968 TV Special tracks was definitely out of place. Additional studio outtakes from the 1956-1957 period would have been a better choice. Also, the Frank Sinatra 1960 appearance should have been included. An, otherwise excellent release.

You presume that " studio outtakes from the 1956-1957 period" were obtainable in 1984, they were not. Also, the 1960 "Frank Sinatra Timex Special" would have been musically and aesthetically out of place here, and its availability was also not certain in 1984.

Otherwise, many will argue, Gregg Geller among them, that the 1968 recordings were a perfect compliment to the tracks that preceded them.

The set began with some thrilling 1954-1955 Sun outtakes, some new, then delivered rockin' live TV performances from 1956 on "Stage Show" (all six appearances), "The Milton Berle Show" (both appearances), and "The Steve Allen Show."

Up next were never before heard 1956 concert recordings from Tupelo (both shows), pure bedlam. After that came legendary live TV performances from 1956-1957 on "The Ed Sullivan Show" (all three appearances).

The set downshifted to 1958-1959 German home demos, all unheard Elvis on guitar or piano, followed by a cool interview segment right into 1966-1967 home demos, unheard Elvis on guitar or piano.

Then the collection closes out with Elvis alone on guitar, reclaiming all the fire of his glory years on live TV recordings from 1968. They are not in any way "out of place."

They're the perfect capper to "A Golden Celebration" and foreshadow the January 1985 HBO broadcast of "One Night With You."

A story was being told here.

[drjohncarpenter]

Wasn't Joan Deary the Producer of the 1981, "This Is Elvis" soundtrack ???

Remix Engineer: Dick Bogart

Mastered: Richard Simpson

Yup. But every track on the collection was chosen by the film producers, Malcolm Leo and Andrew Solt.

It was their movie.

What she did was put together the audio for the LPs, album art and (slightly inaccurate) liner notes.

810418_RCA CPL2-4031_01.jpg

810418_RCA CPL2-4031_02.jpg

810418_RCA CPL2-4031_03.jpg

810418_RCA CPL2-4031_04.jpg

810418_RCA CPL2-4031_05.jpg

810418_RCA CPL2-4031_06.jpg

[pmp]

Wasn't Joan Deary the Producer of the 1981, "This Is Elvis" soundtrack ???

Remix Engineer: Dick Bogart

Mastered: Richard Simpson

Yup. But every track on the collection was chosen by the film producers, Malcolm Leo and Andrew Solt.

It was their movie.

What she did was put together the audio for the LPs, album art and (slightly inaccurate) liner notes.

Ah yes, we never get slightly inaccurate liner notes now, do we...

[drjohncarpenter]

Ah . . .

Another beautiful day, time for the post-chaser to check in once again.

[minkahed]

Probably one of the best compilation albums of the 1980's for the Elvis fan, especially this 1.

I can vividly remember as a young kid just playing those records constantly, driving my mom absolutely crazy, then was able to obtain a cassette version.

It was my 1st foray into Elvis' early Live TV recordings (which were outstanding) and then some other goodies like the edited "Promised Land", the phenomenal spliced, "Blue Suede Shoes", the beautiful, "Always on My Mind", the Hampton Roads, "Trilogy" and this was the place where I 1st heard the 1977 live version of "Are You Lonesome To-night ?".

Good Times Fer sure ....

Wasn't Joan Deary the Producer of the 1981, "This Is Elvis" soundtrack ???

Remix Engineer: Dick Bogert

Mastered: Richard Simpson

Yup. But every track on the collection was chosen by the film producers, Malcolm Leo and Andrew Solt.

It was their movie.

What she did was put together the audio for the LPs, album art and (slightly inaccurate) liner notes.

[drjohncarpenter]

Probably one of the best compilation albums of the 1980's for the Elvis fan, especially this 1.

I can vividly remember as a young kid just playing those records constantly, driving my mom absolutely crazy, then was able to obtain a cassette version.

It was my 1st foray into Elvis' early Live TV recordings (which were outstanding) and then some other goodies like the edited "Promised Land", the phenomenal spliced, "Blue Suede Shoes", the beautiful, "Always on My Mind", the Hampton Roads, "Trilogy" and this was the place where I 1st heard the 1977 live version of "Are You Lonesome To-night ?".

Good Times Fer sure ....

The RCA soundtrack to "This Is Elvis" gave me some hope that Joan Deary was going to provide more exciting releases in the future.

But it was not to be.

[ElvisNZ]

This article at this link
https://nostalgiakinky.com/2023/05/01/elvis-at-fifty-the-1985-gregg-geller-supervised-elvis-presley-albums/
Sums up Greg Gellers work in his own words with the Elvis catalogue
I think the other articles from the era make interesting reading
In my opinion Greg Geller was vital in Elvis becoming a respected entertainer once more
and in the 1980s and 1990s I purchased all the Elvis product released because each new
LP or CD was a pleasure to listen too I cannot say in 2023 that the Elvis product has the
same level of attention to detail today.

[sweetangeline]

This article at this link
https://nostalgiakinky.com/2023/05/01/elvis-at-fifty-the-1985-gregg-geller-supervised-elvis-presley-albums/
Sums up Greg Gellers work in his own words with the Elvis catalogue
I think the other articles from the era make interesting reading
In my opinion Greg Geller was vital in Elvis becoming a respected entertainer once more
and in the 1980s and 1990s I purchased all the Elvis product released because each new
LP or CD was a pleasure to listen too I cannot say in 2023 that the Elvis product has the
same level of attention to detail today.

awesome post...enjoyed reading immensely!!

[jetblack]

This article at this link
https://nostalgiakinky.com/2023/05/01/elvis-at-fifty-the-1985-gregg-geller-supervised-elvis-presley-albums/
Sums up Greg Gellers work in his own words with the Elvis catalogue
I think the other articles from the era make interesting reading
In my opinion Greg Geller was vital in Elvis becoming a respected entertainer once more
and in the 1980s and 1990s I purchased all the Elvis product released because each new
LP or CD was a pleasure to listen too I cannot say in 2023 that the Elvis product has the
same level of attention to detail today.

One of my all time favourite Elvis albums:-

ELVIS_PRESLEY_RETURN+OF+THE+ROCKER-370947.jpg

1. King Of The Whole Wide World
2. His Latest Flame
3. Little Sister
4. A Mess Of Blues
5. Like A Baby
6. I Want You With Me
7. Stuck On You
8. Return To Sender
9. Make Me Know It
10. Witchcraft
11. I'm Comin' Home
12. Follow That Dream

Andy

[martin018]

Loved that album when it came out. Also liked the UK compilation I Can Help.

[LSP-4445]

TIE soundtrack was a huge disappointment to me when I heard it as a kid in 1981.
And its no better today as I cant stand that some songs is cut short,especially Promised Land.
My favorite compilation from the 80s is without a doubt I Can Help…And Other Great Performances.
Played that vinyl a lot as it includes many of my favorite Elvis songs.
Way Down, I Can Help,Promised Land ++ on one release in the 80s was amazing

[dougkapp]

I can't see any connection between Gregg Geller's releases and FTD. I believe much more that the Legendary Performer series and Essential Elvis were the beginning of FTD than Geller's releases.
To me, The Rocker, The Return of The Rocker, A Valentine Gift For You, are just compilations, nothing more. Maybe in the US or Europe these releases have been perceived differently, but for me, as a collector since 1975, I never saw these releases as a "salvation" for the Elvis legacy.
Oh, I was forgetting: I think the mix of Stranger in My Own Hometow available on Reconsider Baby is horrible. Just my opinion.

[pmp]

This article at this link
https://nostalgiakinky.com/2023/05/01/elvis-at-fifty-the-1985-gregg-geller-supervised-elvis-presley-albums/
Sums up Greg Gellers work in his own words with the Elvis catalogue
I think the other articles from the era make interesting reading
In my opinion Greg Geller was vital in Elvis becoming a respected entertainer once more
and in the 1980s and 1990s I purchased all the Elvis product released because each new
LP or CD was a pleasure to listen too I cannot say in 2023 that the Elvis product has the
same level of attention to detail today.

I'm sorry, but that just isn't true. Other than the Complete Sun Sessions, nothing Geller did during his short time was responsible for people taking a new look at Elvis. Nothing he did made a dent in the US charts.

The Rocker was a 26 minute album of 12 well-known songs from the 1950s. There was nothing that wasn't well-known amongst Elvis fans, and little not well-known by the general public. Sure, the artwork was great. But what was the content of this disc other than less than half an hour of music fans already had

Return of the Rocker was maybe a bit more interesting, maybe, because of a couple of lesser-known tracks. But Return to Sender as a rock track. Really?

A valentine's gift for you was a baker's dozen of "love songs." Tomorrow is a Long Time is a nice choice. But otherwise there was nothing else obscure or hard to find. And it had one of the most nauseating back cover designs I've ever seen.

The Top Ten Hits and Number One Hits at least brought together most of Elvis's biggest hits together - but there was a great deal of repetition between the two, so what was the point?

It's worth remembering that not one of the above releases contained a single unreleased track. Only Reconsider Baby did that (and then not many). One album in five, and it managed #80 in the charts.

Geller's albums had looked great during this time, but were devoid of anything of real substance for the most part.

The Complete Sun Sessions, of course, was a different matter, as was The Memphis Record. But they followed a series of the mostly-dull re-treads already mentioned, and interest in Elvis was so low by that point that they didn't even chart, despite their quality and historical importance.

And that was the end of that.

Within the next year or two Ernst Jorgensen and Roger Semon came along and produced two stunning albums of mostly-unreleased material - two albums that actually DID lead to a change in the way that Elvis was viewed, and changed the way his catalogue was handled for the next few decades.

[minkahed]

This article at this link
https://nostalgiakinky.com/2023/05/01/elvis-at-fifty-the-1985-gregg-geller-supervised-elvis-presley-albums/
Sums up Greg Gellers work in his own words with the Elvis catalogue
I think the other articles from the era make interesting reading
In my opinion Greg Geller was vital in Elvis becoming a respected entertainer once more
and in the 1980s and 1990s I purchased all the Elvis product released because each new
LP or CD was a pleasure to listen too I cannot say in 2023 that the Elvis product has the
same level of attention to detail today.

One of my all time favourite Elvis albums:-



1. King Of The Whole Wide World
2. His Latest Flame
3. Little Sister
4. A Mess Of Blues
5. Like A Baby
6. I Want You With Me
7. Stuck On You
8. Return To Sender
9. Make Me Know It
10. Witchcraft
11. I'm Comin' Home
12. Follow That Dream

Andy

I was never really a fan of the cover art, but man I did love that album and CD.

I’m not quite sure what tricks Rock Rowe did at the board, but he definitely gave these songs a fresh new life and I was floored when I heard the whole King Of The While Wide World in it’s entirety.

[BobDylan]

I can't see any connection between Gregg Geller's releases and FTD. I believe much more that the Legendary Performer series and Essential Elvis were the beginning of FTD than Geller's releases.
To me, The Rocker, The Return of The Rocker, A Valentine Gift For You, are just compilations, nothing more. Maybe in the US or Europe these releases have been perceived differently, but for me, as a collector since 1975, I never saw these releases as a "salvation" for the Elvis legacy.
Oh, I was forgetting: I think the mix of Stranger in My Own Hometow available on Reconsider Baby is horrible. Just my opinion.

Even as a teen age Elvis fan in the 80's I was completely disapointed in most of the releases. I would go to the record store, look at the content, and put it right back as I already had that stuff. They could spin it any way they wanted to with a nice cover or colored vinyl, but in the end, it wasn't anything that most fans didn't already have, and in many cases many times over.

[drjohncarpenter]

I can't see any connection between Gregg Geller's releases and FTD. I believe much more that the Legendary Performer series and Essential Elvis were the beginning of FTD than Geller's releases.

To me, The Rocker, The Return of The Rocker, A Valentine Gift For You, are just compilations, nothing more. Maybe in the US or Europe these releases have been perceived differently, but for me, as a collector since 1975, I never saw these releases as a "salvation" for the Elvis legacy.
Oh, I was forgetting: I think the mix of Stranger in My Own Hometow available on Reconsider Baby is horrible. Just my opinion.

You mention just one of the most important titles Gregg Geller produced, while no mention of how his leadership planted the seeds for the turnaround in perception of what Elvis' posthumous catalog should be.

So no wonder you feel as you do. However, the first two pages of this topic do amplify what I'm talking about, maybe take a look?

[Rocker77]

Return of the Rocker by s one if my Favorite albums. I was to a Kud in the 80’s and I cut my teeth on Rocker , Return of the Rocker and The Memphis Record and Reconsider Baby. I spun these albums more tunes than I could remember. I bought pristine copies for my collection and also have cd’s. But I miss those 1 st copies as the Memories they hold will be with me forever. This is Elvis is also another fav. That was a cool set for a 12 year old kid who just seen the movie. Good times for sure. FTD’s are cool and a lot of the new releases are but there was just something about back then. It was a different era and time. You just had to be there and experience it. Elvis fans had it nice , Real Nice

[Markus K.]

I can't see any connection between Gregg Geller's releases and FTD. I believe much more that the Legendary Performer series and Essential Elvis were the beginning of FTD than Geller's releases.
To me, The Rocker, The Return of The Rocker, A Valentine Gift For You, are just compilations, nothing more. Maybe in the US or Europe these releases have been perceived differently, but for me, as a collector since 1975, I never saw these releases as a "salvation" for the Elvis legacy.
Oh, I was forgetting: I think the mix of Stranger in My Own Hometow available on Reconsider Baby is horrible. Just my opinion.

Even as a teen age Elvis fan in the 80's I was completely disapointed in most of the releases. I would go to the record store, look at the content, and put it right back as I already had that stuff. They could spin it any way they wanted to with a nice cover or colored vinyl, but in the end, it wasn't anything that most fans didn't already have, and in many cases many times over.

That's exactly how i perseived those releases back then. I was very picky when it came to buy new albums and one thing I wouldn't want was re-buying stuff I already had elsewhere on record.

As a kid in the eighties I was still building my core collection and a lot of the original LP albums were not available in the record stores - not to speak of EPs or singles. So I'd rather buy an original soundtrack album of say "Frankie and Johnny" with all new songs on it than a compilation like "Rocker". If I wanted different Elvis songs in a collection I'd just make a mix tape of it like kids back then would do.
These albums with re-released material where often the only Elvis vinyl available in the stores instead of original material and it drove me mad. That feeling from back then still carries over to today and is probably the reason why I couldn't care less for those years and what has been released at that time.
Of all the albums released between Elvis' untimely death and the time Ernst took over there were only very few I cared for: Elvis in Concert, the silver and the golden box (although I couldn't afford to buy them back then and only had them later from a friend) and to a lesser extent "This is Elvis" and "Guitar Man" as well as the "Memphis Record". It was so cool when the Essential Elvis series started and finally a lot of new things were available on new albums.
Of course this all changed later when the catalogue was re-built and re-purchasing material was a completely different thing now - especially with material being available digitally for the first time in great packages like the three decade boxes, the soundtrack double features and the gospel material.
But of course that was different than a handful of thrown together random songs like on the mess of releases up to around 1987.
I'm glad though for those of you who were happy with whatever they got back then. It wasn't fun times being an Elvis fan back then.

[dougkapp]

I can't see any connection between Gregg Geller's releases and FTD. I believe much more that the Legendary Performer series and Essential Elvis were the beginning of FTD than Geller's releases.
To me, The Rocker, The Return of The Rocker, A Valentine Gift For You, are just compilations, nothing more. Maybe in the US or Europe these releases have been perceived differently, but for me, as a collector since 1975, I never saw these releases as a "salvation" for the Elvis legacy.
Oh, I was forgetting: I think the mix of Stranger in My Own Hometow available on Reconsider Baby is horrible. Just my opinion.

Even as a teen age Elvis fan in the 80's I was completely disapointed in most of the releases. I would go to the record store, look at the content, and put it right back as I already had that stuff. They could spin it any way they wanted to with a nice cover or colored vinyl, but in the end, it wasn't anything that most fans didn't already have, and in many cases many times over.

That's exactly how i perseived those releases back then. I was very picky when it came to buy new albums and one thing I wouldn't want was re-buying stuff I already had elsewhere on record.

As a kid in the eighties I was still building my core collection and a lot of the original LP albums were not available in the record stores - not to speak of EPs or singles. So I'd rather buy an original soundtrack album of say "Frankie and Johnny" with all new songs on it than a compilation like "Rocker". If I wanted different Elvis songs in a collection I'd just make a mix tape of it like kids back then would do.
These albums with re-released material where often the only Elvis vinyl available in the stores instead of original material and it drove me mad. That feeling from back then still carries over to today and is probably the reason why I couldn't care less for those years and what has been released at that time.
Of all the albums released between Elvis' untimely death and the time Ernst took over there were only very few I cared for: Elvis in Concert, the silver and the golden box (although I couldn't afford to buy them back then and only had them later from a friend) and to a lesser extent "This is Elvis" and "Guitar Man" as well as the "Memphis Record". It was so cool when the Essential Elvis series started and finally a lot of new things were available on new albums.
Of course this all changed later when the catalogue was re-built and re-purchasing material was a completely different thing now - especially with material being available digitally for the first time in great packages like the three decade boxes, the soundtrack double features and the gospel material.
But of course that was different than a handful of thrown together random songs like on the mess of releases up to around 1987.
I'm glad though for those of you who were happy with whatever they got back then. It wasn't fun times being an Elvis fan back then.

That's exactly what I think about these 80's releases, a mess.
Always On My Mind would have been much better if it hadn't mixed songs from totally different phases of Elvis' career. Only the title track and the fantastic mix of It's Midnight save the album.
But all was not lost The Memphis Record, The Top Ten Hits and The Alternate Aloha saved the releases from this era.

[pmp]

I can't see any connection between Gregg Geller's releases and FTD. I believe much more that the Legendary Performer series and Essential Elvis were the beginning of FTD than Geller's releases.
To me, The Rocker, The Return of The Rocker, A Valentine Gift For You, are just compilations, nothing more. Maybe in the US or Europe these releases have been perceived differently, but for me, as a collector since 1975, I never saw these releases as a "salvation" for the Elvis legacy.
Oh, I was forgetting: I think the mix of Stranger in My Own Hometow available on Reconsider Baby is horrible. Just my opinion.

Even as a teen age Elvis fan in the 80's I was completely disapointed in most of the releases. I would go to the record store, look at the content, and put it right back as I already had that stuff. They could spin it any way they wanted to with a nice cover or colored vinyl, but in the end, it wasn't anything that most fans didn't already have, and in many cases many times over.

That's exactly how i perseived those releases back then. I was very picky when it came to buy new albums and one thing I wouldn't want was re-buying stuff I already had elsewhere on record.

As a kid in the eighties I was still building my core collection and a lot of the original LP albums were not available in the record stores - not to speak of EPs or singles. So I'd rather buy an original soundtrack album of say "Frankie and Johnny" with all new songs on it than a compilation like "Rocker". If I wanted different Elvis songs in a collection I'd just make a mix tape of it like kids back then would do.
These albums with re-released material where often the only Elvis vinyl available in the stores instead of original material and it drove me mad. That feeling from back then still carries over to today and is probably the reason why I couldn't care less for those years and what has been released at that time.
Of all the albums released between Elvis' untimely death and the time Ernst took over there were only very few I cared for: Elvis in Concert, the silver and the golden box (although I couldn't afford to buy them back then and only had them later from a friend) and to a lesser extent "This is Elvis" and "Guitar Man" as well as the "Memphis Record". It was so cool when the Essential Elvis series started and finally a lot of new things were available on new albums.
Of course this all changed later when the catalogue was re-built and re-purchasing material was a completely different thing now - especially with material being available digitally for the first time in great packages like the three decade boxes, the soundtrack double features and the gospel material.
But of course that was different than a handful of thrown together random songs like on the mess of releases up to around 1987.
I'm glad though for those of you who were happy with whatever they got back then. It wasn't fun times being an Elvis fan back then.

That's exactly what I think about these 80's releases, a mess.
Always On My Mind would have been much better if it hadn't mixed songs from totally different phases of Elvis' career. Only the title track and the fantastic mix of It's Midnight save the album.
But all was not lost The Memphis Record, The Top Ten Hits and The Alternate Aloha saved the releases from this era.

Alternate Aloha? That's the worst sounding multi track that RCA issued of Elvis. And it has some stiff competition!