Link: LINK TO NEW ELVIS OVERDUBS
So many people these days shortchange themselves by only hearing their music on their smart phones or little earplugs inserted into their ears (iPods, etc.) They don't seem to grasp that these are NOT capable of reproducing the full range of sound. Unless one is investing in some high-end headphones (like some of my engineers wear), you simply are not going to hear the full audio spectrum or detail in the music.
I really regret that, because we put a lot of detail into these overdubs.
Secondly, I'm glad you enjoyed the CD. For people who think Elvis was overrated, or only sang rock 'n' roll, this new CD, "ELVIS: THE NEW RECORDINGS," is surely a revelation. Because this guy could actually sing! He was a serious vocalist and also played guitar and organ or piano on a lot of his own recordings.
When he was in the Army, stationed in Germany, he had the good fortune of having a buddy named Charlie Hodge, who had sung professionally in a gospel guartet. Charlie was a tenor, but he taught Elvis how to breathe correctly and worked with him, such that when Presley got out of the Army in early 1960, he had expanded his vocal range by an octave.
You may know the story that due to the mania surrounding Elvis's return stateside, and RCA's eagerness to get him back into the studio without a riot erupting, they booked a session under Jim Reeves' name. The musicians were surprised when the time arrived and Reeves never showed up -- since he was always so punctual (at least for his sessions, if not in his day to day life!). Then suddenly Elvis walked in the door. Later, he wrote Jim and thanked him and said he was deeply honored that an artist of Reeves' stature would help him in this way. They remained friends and in the next edition of my book I will tell you what plans Jim Reeves had that related to Elvis Presley in the future.
As for the CD itself, there are of course some up tempo songs, but also some beautiful ballads that are mellow and sweet. I used current members of the Grand Ole Opry band, Nashville strings, a top orchestrator based in Florida, and Arne Benoni in Norway got in on the act too.
For the past two weekends, two well known deejays have been playing these songs and raving about them. They report on this week's show that they only received ONE person who trashed the new overdubs and they read his letter on the air. He said the originals were best and proceeded to request they play a certain song from the past, which he held up as a shining example of what in his mind was a vastly superior recording. The sly main show host played this guy's request, and after the song was over he pointed out it was a Chet Atkins OVERDUB, with the Nashville A-team, that ELVIS HATED. He felt too often the record company covered up his voice with background vocals (even though he personally liked the Jordanaires, he didn't want them overwhelming him).
The show host concluded that the original tracks are NOT sacrosanct, and since we now have the technical means to improve them and bring Elvis' fine baritone voice forward so you can hear him better (like I have done on all my overdubs of various artists), then why not do it?
I'm still waiting for the Good Music Store to post some of the excerpts from these deejays and then I'll post a link here so you can hear some songs and how these real Elvis experts react to the new music.
One final note: they said this week that people would be smart to buy the CD NOW, since it's only priced at $16.95, because -- they predicted, to my surprise -- various Elvis stores would no doubt be buying them up and then pricing them at $30 or $40 per CD to make a killing on them. Interesting, huh?
Thanks again for your kind remarks. To hear excerpts from "ELVIS: THE NEW RECORDINGS," and order, click the link below. Note that this takes you to the main Good Music page. If you want to use PayPal, then just click the photo of the Elvis CD. If you want to use your credit card, click the yellow link on the opening Good Music store page that takes you to the Good Music Facebook page, where credit cards are accepted.
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