Elvis Presley At 3AM - Lake Tahoe 1973 (Memphis Recording Service)

[emjel]

I'm not calling anybody a 'simpleton', so it seems to me that you are being manipulative here.

The mails that I am referring to have been seen by various Elvis dealers, so that's fact and not hearsay.

https://www.elvis-collectors.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=116323&start=75#p1964258

Just to refresh , the above was a post made by another member. Here it is should you not wish to click on the link;

"And yet you see a handful of simpletons talking about grey market products AFTER the FTD label stops.
Maybe they'll just poach RCA titles from that point.
The simpletons will love it!"

Member @Lee Wood responded to that comment by writing "You should stop being abusive. It's unnecessary, it's childish".

And you responded by writing "You may not like it, but he's right".

That to me suggests that whilst you did not actually write the word, you agreed with the terminology, thus inferring the same people who do not agree with you are simpletons.

Regarding the mails etc supposedly sent by JP to EJ, stating on a forum that they have been seen by Elvis dealers is not necessarily factual evidence but simply hearsay. Perhaps they too have an axe to grind against JP like you do and they want to paint him as a a nasty person. Can you now understand what I am getting at here, that without any firm evidence, it’s all just supposition based on "he said, she said" type of thing.

[Lee Wood]

MRS calls it his mission statement to destroy FTD.

You’ll have to clarify that a little better. MRS calls it his mission statement, but who does "his" refer to?

JP has said precisely that to different European dealers. Apparently, he hates Ernst with a passion (jealous?) and has sent him various threatening mails.

Hmm, unless you have the proof, I'd say these are dangerous statements.

[emjel]

That's your conclusion. The facts are what they are.

Your friend also sent me various bizarre mails, because of my postings here. In one of them, he threatened to rape my children. And mind you, this was because I merely wrote that I did not like the fake stereo releases. I was shocked, because it seemed like an absurd reaction to me simply stating a viewpoint. There is something seriously wrong with this guy.

The two of you always seem to be defending everything he does (in itself interesting & raises various questions) and no doubt you will even try to defend this.

But it tells me all I need to know about this lowlife.

This has nothing to do with defending him but taking an open viewpoint. At this moment in time, you have offered nothing by way of proof to back up your claims of what was said or wasn’t said by him to anyone.. And now when challenged about that, you suddenly and out of the blue offer up more unsubstantiated comments about threatening emails that he has apparently sent to you.

You are walking a very dangerous line here on an open forum with all these accusations too. I hope you have documents to backup your claims, because whilst you may think this is all a bit of innocent banter on an Elvis forum, you may end up facing a libel claim of defamation of character. I’ve seen it happen, so my advice would be to let all of this drop and just walk away and just learn to accept that the MRS releases will keep coming until they don’t. You must have enough FTD releases to keep you happy in life without all this unnecessary agenda of putting MRS down.

[emjel]

Your attempts at intimidating me won't work. Like I said: the facts are what they are.

I am still absolutely shocked about the fact that this guy would write me these terrible mails, from his company mail address even, to tell me he would rape my children. Only because I stated my opinion about fake stereo here on FECC.

So I am asking you as a man and as a father: do you find his actions normal?

This isn’t about intimidating you but giving you some basic friendly advice.

[JimmyCool]

[Lee Wood]

That's your conclusion. The facts are what they are.

Your friend also sent me various bizarre mails, because of my postings here. In one of them, he threatened to rape my children. And mind you, this was because I merely wrote that I did not like the fake stereo releases. I was shocked, because it seemed like an absurd reaction to me simply stating a viewpoint. There is something seriously wrong with this guy.

The two of you always seem to be defending everything he does (in itself interesting & raises various questions) and no doubt you will even try to defend this.

But it tells me all I need to know about this lowlife.

Who are you responding to?

[ParadiseRoad]

Your attempts at intimidating me won't work. Like I said: the facts are what they are.

I am still absolutely shocked about the fact that this guy would write me these terrible mails, from his company mail address even, to tell me he would rape my children. Only because I stated my opinion about fake stereo here on FECC.

So I am asking you as a man and as a father: do you find his actions normal?

I hope you reported this to the police?

I sure hope it was reported to the police, because if it’s true it is a criminal offence that definitely needs to be reported and handled by law enforcement. On the other hand if it isn’t true, then it’s totally unacceptable and potentially quite dangerous openly claim that an easily identifiable person has threatened you and your family in such a way.

[Lee Wood]

Your attempts at intimidating me won't work. Like I said: the facts are what they are.

I am still absolutely shocked about the fact that this guy would write me these terrible mails, from his company mail address even, to tell me he would rape my children. Only because I stated my opinion about fake stereo here on FECC.

So I am asking you as a man and as a father: do you find his actions normal?

I hope you reported this to the police?

Or at the very least sent a letter from a lawyer warning him to cease and desist.

[emjel]

This is precisely about intimidating me, and we both know it. And the 'friendly advice' sounds like something that would come from a thug. You can stick that advice where the sun don't shine.

But you still haven't answered my question: as a man and a father, how do you feel about the threats your friend made against me and my children?

As i previously wrote, this has nothing to do with attempting to intimidate you but just offering advice. But let me ask you that if you were sitting in front of a lawyer and they said that they were just giving you some friendly advice on the matter, would you then categorise them as being some kind of thug. As for what I can do with my friendly advice, all I can say is that if you went to charm school, I suggest that you ask for a refund as they clearly failed to deliver on the course.

With regard to your closing paragraph, the person you are continually ranting about is not my friend - I don’t know him personally, even on a casual basis. However, what I would say and even question is that based on some of the comments made by various other members on this thread, and indeed others threads too, who also complain in no uncertain terms about the releases put out by MRS and its ethics etc etc, that why does it appear that you have been singled out with threatening communications…..I’m not seeing any "me-too" comments from others who share your thoughts and opinions. But perhaps they’ll start popping up in the next few days.

As for your repeated question about how I, as a parent would feel about receiving such a threatening communication, my question back to you would be "why would you feel the need to ask such a question in the first place?" I cannot imagine any member on here condoning such threats and I too wonder that if you have such evidence, whether you have reported such a threat to the relevant authorities.

[Markus K.]

What FTD is the same concert as this new MRS.

This time MRS decided to steal their source material from FTDs rather recent "From Vegas to Tahoe" three CD set and from a rather early FTD release called "Taking Tahoe Tonight!" from 2003.

[emjel]

What FTD is the same concert as this new MRS.

This time MRS decided to steal their source material from FTDs rather recent "From Vegas to Tahoe" three CD set and from a rather early FTD release called "Taking Tahoe Tonight!" from 2003.

Clearly, you do not understand the terminology of stealing something. Also when making these claims or accusations, please provide irrefutable evidence to support them.

[Markus K.]

What FTD is the same concert as this new MRS.

This time MRS decided to steal their source material from FTDs rather recent "From Vegas to Tahoe" three CD set and from a rather early FTD release called "Taking Tahoe Tonight!" from 2003.

Clearly, you do not understand the terminology of stealing something. Also when making these claims or accusations, please provide irrefutable evidence to support them.

Sure. The recordings miracolously made their way onto JPs HDD out of thin air. Get real.

[emjel]

What FTD is the same concert as this new MRS.

This time MRS decided to steal their source material from FTDs rather recent "From Vegas to Tahoe" three CD set and from a rather early FTD release called "Taking Tahoe Tonight!" from 2003.

Clearly, you do not understand the terminology of stealing something. Also when making these claims or accusations, please provide irrefutable evidence to support them.

Sure. The recordings miracolously made their way onto JPs HDD out of thin air. Get real.

Sure…that you mean that you do understand the terminology of stealing something or sure that you agree you do not. I suspect it is the latter and As I wrote, you have to prove how MRS got it. That’s actually getting real and not just making assumptions.

[Lee Wood]

What FTD is the same concert as this new MRS.

This time MRS decided to steal their source material from FTDs rather recent "From Vegas to Tahoe" three CD set and from a rather early FTD release called "Taking Tahoe Tonight!" from 2003.

Clearly, you do not understand the terminology of stealing something. Also when making these claims or accusations, please provide irrefutable evidence to support them.

Sure. The recordings miracolously made their way onto JPs HDD out of thin air. Get real.

Sure…that you mean that you do understand the terminology of stealing something or sure that you agree you do not. I suspect it is the latter and As I wrote, you have to prove how MRS got it. That’s actually getting real and not just making assumptions.

Playing the intimidation game again?

I suspect English isn't your first language.

Intimidation: to frighten or threaten someone, usually in order to persuade the person to do something he or she does not wish to do.

[emjel]

What FTD is the same concert as this new MRS.

This time MRS decided to steal their source material from FTDs rather recent "From Vegas to Tahoe" three CD set and from a rather early FTD release called "Taking Tahoe Tonight!" from 2003.

Clearly, you do not understand the terminology of stealing something. Also when making these claims or accusations, please provide irrefutable evidence to support them.

Sure. The recordings miracolously made their way onto JPs HDD out of thin air. Get real.

Sure…that you mean that you do understand the terminology of stealing something or sure that you agree you do not. I suspect it is the latter and As I wrote, you have to prove how MRS got it. That’s actually getting real and not just making assumptions.

Playing the intimidation game again?

No, wrong again. I am simply trying to ascertain whether the member completely understands the concept or the meaning of stealing something. So far, he has not done that. Perhaps you can help him out. And in the meantime, it would be helpful if you could get to grips with understanding the meaning of intimidation.

[Markus K.]

Emjel, you are beyond help regarding this matter. You obviously decided to ignore the obvious fact, that there is no other source for the two May 73 Tahoe shows than the FTD releases.
In order to release a tweaked product from it you have to rip the material from these two discs.
You can be all technical and semantic but every little child will have no difficulty in understanding that this is simply stealing from others.
In case you are not able to understand such a simple and basic concept of human interaction you are beyond help in this regard.

[norrie]

Sure…that you mean that you do understand the terminology of stealing something or sure that you agree you do not. I suspect it is the latter and As I wrote, you have to prove how MRS got it. That’s actually getting real and not just making assumptions.

I’ve had a look at a few of your postings, and I’m just wondering what your agenda here really is, since you don’t even seem to be much of a fan. You go around here intimidating people that criticize MRS, insinuating legal action or other consequences. And you do it all under the cloak of anonymity. In this thread, you have already intimidated various people with your veiled threats / innuendo. Why are you doing this? Does your friend send you freebies?

I find your actions and your behavior here very odd, and I have now contacted FECC about the matter. To you it may be simple internet chatter, but please remember that your actions can have consequences. You may think that you can get away with this behavior, and that you are safe doing this under an alias, but please remember that everything can be traced.

Oh, and you probably have smelly feet too.

Talking about anonymity and aliases and you go by "Union Ave"

norrie

[emjel]

Emjel, you are beyond help regarding this matter. You obviously decided to ignore the obvious fact, that there is no other source for the two May 73 Tahoe shows than the FTD releases.
In order to release a tweaked product from it you have to rip the material from these two discs.
You can be all technical and semantic but every little child will have no difficulty in understanding that this is simply stealing from others.
In case you are not able to understand such a simple and basic concept of human interaction you are beyond help in this regard.

Unfortunately, it is you who is beyond help regarding this matter as you are failing to grasp what I and others are saying. You seem to think we are defending MRS regarding this release but we are not - we are simply asking you and other accusers to provide substantiating proof regarding what you claim, and is factual beyond any reasonable doubt. At the moment, you have not done that. Now you may think that it appears to be the case that MRS have used FTD tapes or FTD’s discs to create their own versions, and I may even agree that it looks suspicious, but stating that something appears to have happened or looks like it has happened, does not make it factual.

When you state that I have decided to ignore the obvious fact, that there is no other source , you have still not provided any evidence or proof that "only one tape exists" and that another copy has never been made, anywhere, so there is no "obvious" fact in this matter to consider - Just because you think it is because it suits the "I hate MRS" agenda, does not make it factual.

If, as has been suggested by someone else that soundboard recordings were handed over to RCA for safe keeping, or some kind of future release, how did Bruce Jackson acquire some to sell to FTD? Did he make copies or did he simply fail to pass them on to RCA? And if member fans here are asking FTD to buy other soundboard tapes from collectors, that "suggests" that other copies of recordings also exist and are not exclusively in the hands of RCA or Sony. Perhaps Elvis said to whoever it was who recorded some of the soundboards, that they could keep a copy for themselves. And if so, maybe that person whoever they are was the source for this MRS release. The thing is that we simply do not know.

So I repeat that whilst it may look suspicious that MRS has used the FTD recordings to enable this future release, because it would appear that these recordings are not in the public domain, without full knowledge of how MRS acquired these recordings and any firm evidence to support that, then throwing out slanderous accusations is not a particularly good idea.

[Lee Wood]

Sure…that you mean that you do understand the terminology of stealing something or sure that you agree you do not. I suspect it is the latter and As I wrote, you have to prove how MRS got it. That’s actually getting real and not just making assumptions.

I’ve had a look at a few of your postings, and I’m just wondering what your agenda here really is, since you don’t even seem to be much of a fan. You go around here intimidating people that criticize MRS, insinuating legal action or other consequences. And you do it all under the cloak of anonymity. In this thread, you have already intimidated various people with your veiled threats / innuendo. Why are you doing this? Does your friend send you freebies?

I find your actions and your behavior here very odd, and I have now contacted FECC about the matter. To you it may be simple internet chatter, but please remember that your actions can have consequences. You may think that you can get away with this behavior, and that you are safe doing this under an alias, but please remember that everything can be traced.

Oh, and you probably have smelly feet too.

Talking about anonymity and aliases and you go by "Union Ave"

norrie

Surely that's his real name, isn't it?

[emjel]

Sure…that you mean that you do understand the terminology of stealing something or sure that you agree you do not. I suspect it is the latter and As I wrote, you have to prove how MRS got it. That’s actually getting real and not just making assumptions.

I’ve had a look at a few of your postings, and I’m just wondering what your agenda here really is, since you don’t even seem to be much of a fan. You go around here intimidating people that criticize MRS, insinuating legal action or other consequences. And you do it all under the cloak of anonymity. In this thread, you have already intimidated various people with your veiled threats / innuendo. Why are you doing this? Does your friend send you freebies?

I find your actions and your behavior here very odd, and I have now contacted FECC about the matter. To you it may be simple internet chatter, but please remember that your actions can have consequences. You may think that you can get away with this behavior, and that you are safe doing this under an alias, but please remember that everything can be traced.

Oh, and you probably have smelly feet too.

Pot/kettle comes to mind here. You talk about me intimidating and then write that my actions have consequences and that I can be traced. If that is not intimidating, and even threatening, then I’m not sure what is. I’m not threatening to take action on you - I’m just advising you that the person who you are bad mouthing could. Any person on here with even just reasonable intelligence could see I have not been intimidating you.

Don’t seem to be much of a fan?? What just because I’m not throwing accusations out at MRS. I’ve been a fan for the last 62 years, so I think I can safely say that I am a fan.

Anonymity!!! Well that’s a laugh - virtually everyone on here uses some kind of alias and not their real name. I mean if I sent a letter to you, would I address it as Mr Union Ave…..Dear Mr Ave.

Contacting whoever at FECC will simply highlight the libellous accusations you have been making about MRS and the owner so at the very worst, the whole thread will get pulled and in fact, that may be a good thing.

With regards your closing comment, I shake my head in disbelief.

[ORION]

Well, this has become quite the topic. I own a few MRS products, and have enjoyed them. I must admit though that I never really thought about the source of the tape(s), that was used to create the MRS disc. However, part of what was said below did give me a moment to pause and think about a few things.

Now you may think that it appears to be the case that MRS have used FTD tapes or FTD’s discs to create their own versions, and I may even agree that it looks suspicious, but stating that something appears to have happened or looks like it has happened, does not make it factual.

There have been quite a few instances where the bootleg market beat FTD to the punch by releasing a soundboard first. I even believe that in several instances that there has been talk of Ernst/FTD using the bootleg as a source for the FTD release. The Boston '71 show immediately comes to mind as well as the flawless soundboard from the Richmond, VA show in March of '74. Even Cisco on the Elvis on CD site said: Amazing fidelity ! One of the best sounding soundboard concerts yet released ! When FTD finally released this show, Ernst hailed it as a "mono" fold down of the multi-tracks or something. I'm sure the techies on here will correct me, but my ears tell me that it's the same source tape. Did Ernst use the bootleg ? My ears say yes, but I can't prove it. If not, the "two" source tapes used are not many generations apart. Regardless, there have been times when it seems the bootleggers have possessed a tape or a duplicate tape of what FTD has access to. So, it may be possible that MRS has a tape that is a dub of the original that FTD has OR FTD might have a dub of the original that came from some super-secret dark fan that we hear about who possesses the holy grail of Elvis items in his impenetrable palace of Elvis treasures and that this fan sold the tape to MRS. MRS did acquire the Sept. '70 soundboard from someone...

I'm sure we'll (OK, "I'll" probably never know) never know the true "from where" regarding these two shows, but I look forward to legally purchasing them and quite possibly enjoying them. The August '72 shows from MRS sound amazing to me - much better than my FTD sets with the same shows - and FTD has still yet to give us the opening show from January 1972. Maybe this is a tape that never made it to the Sony/FTD archives and we'll look at Ernst as using a bootleg as a source to release this show - if they ever do. Did Ernst use the bootleg of this show to add a few tracks to the "An American Trilogy" CD?

[emjel]

Just received an email regarding this release from an Elvis dealer that this is due out toward end of February and whilst I have both shows on FTD releases, I may just take a punt on buying this to see how this mono2stereo conversion sounds. I read on one of the FB sites a few days ago that the new sound is likely to be very impressive. The artwork looks pretty good too, but I wish they’d go back to their bigger sleeves as I have always felt even from when CD`s first came out, that the wow factor simply wasn’t there with the 5" cases.

[PiersEIN]

Back On Topic and away from personal slander...

It is easy to see that the same people moaning about MRS were the same FECC posters who praised the bootleggers when they put out the stolen RCA material first time around.
ie, Madison was such a GREAT label putting out stolen RCA material, yet in 2023 MRS is so so horrible when they put out the same stolen RCA material.
Now that is ironic.

Well, this has become quite the topic.
The August '72 shows from MRS sound amazing to me - much better than my FTD sets with the same shows - and FTD has still yet to give us the opening show from January 1972. Maybe this is a tape that never made it to the Sony/FTD archives and we'll look at Ernst as using a bootleg as a source to release this show - if they ever do. Did Ernst use the bootleg of this show to add a few tracks to the "An American Trilogy" CD?

SO TRUE - the MRS audio remaster of 1972 Closing Night puts Madison's, Rock Legends' and also FTD's version to shame.
There is no way you can go back to the hissy old versions when you hear the MRS remaster.

If FTD have already released the recordings, and fans have already bought them, and MRS according to you are just copying what FTD have already released, why would fans waste money to buy the MRS release? How would that affect FTD’s income?

If MRS put out something new prior to FTD putting it out, once again, that is not MRS’s fault but FTDs. Further, and under that scenario, if FTD have not yet released it, then MRS cannot have stolen it from them.

If you are suggesting that MRS have an advantage over FTD because they sell their products across Europe and the U.K. via record shops and places like Amazon, then once again, that is the fault of FTD’s business model
Bottom line here is that the ball seems to be well and truly in FTD’s court.

And emjel is right.

if MRS put out material AFTER FTD has released it, it will not affect FTD sales.
I am a collector so have usually first bought the bootleg, then the "improved bootleg", then the FTD version and now the MRS version.
And in almost all cases the MRS version has been the best audio remastering.

MRS has never affected my FTD purchases. Except when MRS put out their "1971 Vegas" collection which was of course before FTD put out a lesser package of exactly the same material.
And then, obviously, MRS could not have used the FTD release as a source.

As far as I am aware MRS stick to the 50 year Public Domain rule yet there are other labels selling Elvis product on Amazon that do not stick to that rule.
ie 'Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, 5th July 1976' on the Rox Vox label.
They have plenty of sales and reviews but unlike MRS no remastering and the same old bad audio.
Why are the MRS haters here not discussing these other Amazon sellers who are definitely breaching the PD laws?

If MRS sales threaten FTD (which i doubt they do) then FTD / SONY should be releasing similar cheap sets.

I am certain that MRS major sales come via Amazon and the general public - the majority of whom wouldn't buy or likely don't know about the FTD label.
SONY did a cut-down set with 'Tupelo', it only is a shame that SONY won't green-light more of the same.

Of course, the easy money is via digital and SONY artists such as Harry Styles, Adele, Beyonce, Sza, Travis Scott, Pharrell Williams etc are making a ton of money for the label
Let's face it Doja Cat (who did Hound Dog in the Baz ELVIS movie) has recently sold 35 million records so is unfortunately far far more important to SONY's income than anything old school like our man Elvis.

If MRS can make good quality ELVIS product and flog it via mainstream on-line stores then perhaps we should be more angry at SONY for not doing the same.

Cheers,
Piers

[emjel]

Back On Topic and away from personal slander...

It is easy to see that the same people moaning about MRS were the same FECC posters who praised the bootleggers when they put out the stolen RCA material first time around.
ie, Madison was such a GREAT label putting out stolen RCA material, yet in 2023 MRS is so so horrible when they put out the same stolen RCA material.
Now that is ironic.

Well, this has become quite the topic.
The August '72 shows from MRS sound amazing to me - much better than my FTD sets with the same shows - and FTD has still yet to give us the opening show from January 1972. Maybe this is a tape that never made it to the Sony/FTD archives and we'll look at Ernst as using a bootleg as a source to release this show - if they ever do. Did Ernst use the bootleg of this show to add a few tracks to the "An American Trilogy" CD?

SO TRUE - the MRS audio remaster of 1972 Closing Night puts Madison's, Rock Legends' and also FTD's version to shame.
There is no way you can go back to the hissy old versions when you hear the MRS remaster.

If FTD have already released the recordings, and fans have already bought them, and MRS according to you are just copying what FTD have already released, why would fans waste money to buy the MRS release? How would that affect FTD’s income?

If MRS put out something new prior to FTD putting it out, once again, that is not MRS’s fault but FTDs. Further, and under that scenario, if FTD have not yet released it, then MRS cannot have stolen it from them.

If you are suggesting that MRS have an advantage over FTD because they sell their products across Europe and the U.K. via record shops and places like Amazon, then once again, that is the fault of FTD’s business model
Bottom line here is that the ball seems to be well and truly in FTD’s court.

And emjel is right.

if MRS put out material AFTER FTD has released it, it will not affect FTD sales.
I am a collector so have usually first bought the bootleg, then the "improved bootleg", then the FTD version and now the MRS version.
And in almost all cases the MRS version has been the best audio remastering.

MRS has never affected my FTD purchases. Except when MRS put out their "1971 Vegas" collection which was of course before FTD put out a lesser package of exactly the same material.
And then, obviously, MRS could not have used the FTD release as a source.

As far as I am aware MRS stick to the 50 year Public Domain rule yet there are other labels selling Elvis product on Amazon that do not stick to that rule.
ie 'Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, 5th July 1976' on the Rox Vox label.
They have plenty of sales and reviews but unlike MRS no remastering and the same old bad audio.
Why are the MRS haters here not discussing these other Amazon sellers who are definitely breaching the PD laws?

If MRS sales threaten FTD (which i doubt they do) then FTD / SONY should be releasing similar cheap sets.

I am certain that MRS major sales come via Amazon and the general public - the majority of whom wouldn't buy or likely don't know about the FTD label.
SONY did a cut-down set with 'Tupelo', it only is a shame that SONY won't green-light more of the same.

Of course, the easy money is via digital and SONY artists such as Harry Styles, Adele, Beyonce, Sza, Travis Scott, Pharrell Williams etc are making a ton of money for the label
Let's face it Doja Cat (who did Hound Dog in the Baz ELVIS movie) has recently sold 35 million records so is unfortunately far far more important to SONY's income than anything old school like our man Elvis.

If MRS can make good quality ELVIS product and flog it via mainstream on-line stores then perhaps we should be more angry at SONY for not doing the same.

Cheers,
Piers

That just about sums it up nicely Piers. FTD seem to have lost a bit of direction in the last 18 months. Quite why there has been a sudden need to put out triple soundboard sets that cost so much is questionable and the increase in prices certainly hasn’t helped. A friend has just told me this recent batch of releases which comprises of Elvis Now 1972, the latest soundboard set and the vinyl for FEPB has cost him over £320 inc shipping. That’s a serious amount of money especially at this time of the year.

[drjohncarpenter]

Back On Topic and away from personal slander...

It is easy to see that the same people moaning about MRS were the same FECC posters who praised the bootleggers when they put out the stolen RCA material first time around.
ie, Madison was such a GREAT label putting out stolen RCA material, yet in 2023 MRS is so so horrible when they put out the same stolen RCA material.
Now that is ironic.

Well, this has become quite the topic.
The August '72 shows from MRS sound amazing to me - much better than my FTD sets with the same shows - and FTD has still yet to give us the opening show from January 1972. Maybe this is a tape that never made it to the Sony/FTD archives and we'll look at Ernst as using a bootleg as a source to release this show - if they ever do. Did Ernst use the bootleg of this show to add a few tracks to the "An American Trilogy" CD?

SO TRUE - the MRS audio remaster of 1972 Closing Night puts Madison's, Rock Legends' and also FTD's version to shame.
There is no way you can go back to the hissy old versions when you hear the MRS remaster.

If FTD have already released the recordings, and fans have already bought them, and MRS according to you are just copying what FTD have already released, why would fans waste money to buy the MRS release? How would that affect FTD’s income?

If MRS put out something new prior to FTD putting it out, once again, that is not MRS’s fault but FTDs. Further, and under that scenario, if FTD have not yet released it, then MRS cannot have stolen it from them.

If you are suggesting that MRS have an advantage over FTD because they sell their products across Europe and the U.K. via record shops and places like Amazon, then once again, that is the fault of FTD’s business model
Bottom line here is that the ball seems to be well and truly in FTD’s court.

And emjel is right.

if MRS put out material AFTER FTD has released it, it will not affect FTD sales.
I am a collector so have usually first bought the bootleg, then the "improved bootleg", then the FTD version and now the MRS version.
And in almost all cases the MRS version has been the best audio remastering.

MRS has never affected my FTD purchases. Except when MRS put out their "1971 Vegas" collection which was of course before FTD put out a lesser package of exactly the same material.
And then, obviously, MRS could not have used the FTD release as a source.

As far as I am aware MRS stick to the 50 year Public Domain rule yet there are other labels selling Elvis product on Amazon that do not stick to that rule.
ie 'Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, 5th July 1976' on the Rox Vox label.
They have plenty of sales and reviews but unlike MRS no remastering and the same old bad audio.
Why are the MRS haters here not discussing these other Amazon sellers who are definitely breaching the PD laws?

If MRS sales threaten FTD (which i doubt they do) then FTD / SONY should be releasing similar cheap sets.

I am certain that MRS major sales come via Amazon and the general public - the majority of whom wouldn't buy or likely don't know about the FTD label.
SONY did a cut-down set with 'Tupelo', it only is a shame that SONY won't green-light more of the same.

Of course, the easy money is via digital and SONY artists such as Harry Styles, Adele, Beyonce, Sza, Travis Scott, Pharrell Williams etc are making a ton of money for the label
Let's face it Doja Cat (who did Hound Dog in the Baz ELVIS movie) has recently sold 35 million records so is unfortunately far far more important to SONY's income than anything old school like our man Elvis.

If MRS can make good quality ELVIS product and flog it via mainstream on-line stores then perhaps we should be more angry at SONY for not doing the same.

Cheers,
Piers

Almost a thousand-word post.

Look away, nothing to see here . . .