Elvis Presley: The Mono Masters 1960-1975 Box Set 5CDs (2016)

MONO is how most listeners first heard Elvis in the 1950s and 1960s, when it was the predominant audio format. Until 1968, each Elvis album was given a unique MONO and STEREO mix, but Elvis always regarded the MONO mix as primary. This was also true for singles. Up until affordable home STEREO systems in the late 1960s, the record industry always regarded STEREO as secondary, going back to its debut in the late 1950s. MONO singles, EPs and LPs were the standard for retail and radio. Simply put, MONO had all of the sound mixed in a single channel and was meant to be listened to on a turntable with a built-in speaker, a car radio, or a stand-alone AM radio receiver. The goal was to create MONO master takes with as much clarity and power as possible.
When EMI released MONO masters of the Beatles in 2009, they received rave reviews. Left out in the cold were Elvis' loyal fans. Somehow, SONY didn't see a reason why they might want the pleasure of listening to his original MONO mixes. So when we first heard about the existence of the original MONO master tapes of Elvis' hit singles, it was an easy decision to make these available to the fans in a five-disc collection. Elvis' acclaimed MONO tracks have been newly-mastered for CD, using the best digital technology. Hours were dedicated to concentrated listening, fastidiously comparing these master tapes with mint, MONO first pressings. The result is a perfect reproduction of Elvis' original MONO vinyl sound!
Here is an overview of what drew my attention on first listen:
Lonely Man and Feel So Bad are certainly not better and His Latest Flame has a weird echo, while Witchcraft sounds a bit muffled. On the positive side of CD 1 are Just Tell Her Jim Said Hello and They Remind Me Too Much (fuller, warmer), while What'd I Say and Viva Las Vegas always sounded better in mono than in stereo to me.
On CD 2 Such a Night and Never Ending get an extra edge. Do the Clam, not exactly my favourite Elvis song sounds very clear in this mix. Crying in the Chapel really comes inside, to speak with Louis van Gaal. Not much difference for Blue Christmas and Santa Claus Is Back In Town ;). Frankie & Johnny sounds much better too, almost as if Elvis is not bored singing it.
Big Boss Man (CD 3) sounds sharp, more aggressive, which is better fitting the lyrics. About Clean Up Your Own Backyard can be said the same, but overall these (late 60s) recordings sounded great in stereo too.
On CD 4 Kentucky Rain sounds very familiar, since I only knew the mono version for a couple of years. The Wonder of You sounds like he was singing it in a stadium instead of a Vegas hotel, very "spacy". I'm Leavin' has a bit of a different feel too, the tambourines seem to be more upfront. Merry Christmas Baby sounds great in any version, even in April. We Can Make The Morning has a lot of echo, but the drums are more present also. I kinda like it.
The last CD brings Bosom of Abraham in the lesser known bathroom version, indeed.. the echo is a bit overdone. The choir at First Time Ever really sounds like a (huge) choir. Burning Love doesn't sound the same either. If You Talk in Your Sleep should be "just" downgraded to mono, but somehow it sounds pretty different too, not only obvious during the intro, but also the backing vocals has another vibe. Promised Land sounds a bit like the original of It's Easy For You… recorded through the telephone.
Personally I do like most of these versions, it is way better than really altered Elvis songs and still something different. The way Elvis recorded them is enough, in mono or stereo!

Tracklist:

CD 1:
01 Stuck On You
02 Fame And Fortune
03 It’s Now Or Never
04 A Mess Of Blues
05 Are You Lonesome Tonight?
06 I Gotta Know
07 Surrender
08 Lonely Man
09 I Feel So Bad
10 Wild In The Country
11 (Marie’s The Name) His Latest Flame
12 Little Sister
13 Can’t Help Falling In Love
14 Rock-A-Hula Baby
15 Good Luck Charm
16 Anything That’s Part Of You
17 She’s Not You
18 Just Tell Her Jim Said Hello
19 Return To Sender
20 Where Do You Come From
21 One Broken Heart For Sale
22 They Remind Me Too Much Of You
23 (You’re The) Devil In Disguise
24 Please Don’t Drag That String Around
25 Bossa Nova Baby
26 Witchcraft
27 Kissin’ Cousins
28 It Hurts Me
29 Kiss Me Quick
30 Suspicion
31 What’d I Say
32 Viva Las Vegas

CD 2:
01 Such A Night
02 Never Ending
03 Ask Me
04 Ain’t That Loving You Baby
05 Do The Clam
06 You’ll Be Gone
07 Crying In The Chapel
08 I Believe In The Man In The Sky
09 (Such An) Easy Question
10 It Feels So Right
11 I’m Yours
12 (It’s A) Long Lonely Highway
13 Puppet On A String
14 Wooden Heart
15 Santa Claus Is Back In Town
16 Blue Christmas
17 Tell Me Why
18 Blue River
19 Frankie And Johnny
20 Please Don’t Stop Loving Me
21 Love Letters
22 Come What May
23 Spinout
24 All That I Am
25 If Everyday Was Like Christmas
26 How Would You Like To Be
27 Indescribably Blue
28 Fools Fall In Love
29 Long Legged Girl (With The Short Dress On)
30 That’s Someone You Never Forget
31 There’s Always Me
32 Judy

CD 3:
01 Big Boss Man
02 You Don’t Know Me
03 Guitar Man
04 Hi-Heel Sneakers
05 U.S. Male
06 Stay Away
07 You’ll Never Walk Alone
08 We Call On Him
09 Let Yourself Go
10 Your Time Hasn’t Come Yet Baby
11 A Little Less Conversation
12 Almost In Love
13 If I Can Dream
14 Edge Of Reality
15 Memories
16 In The Ghetto
17 Any Day Now
18 Clean Up Your Own Backyard
19 The Fair’s Moving On
20 Suspicious Minds
21 You’ll Think Of Me
22 Don’t Cry Daddy
23 Rubberneckin

CD 4:
01 Kentucky Rain
02 My Little Friend
03 Mama Liked The Roses
04 The Wonder Of You
05 I’ve Lost You
06 The Next Step Is Love
07 Patch It Up
08 You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me
09 I Really Don’t Want To Know
10 There Goes My Everything
11 Rags To Riches
12 Where Did They Go Lord
13 Life
14 Only Believe
15 I’m Leavin’
16 Heart Of Rome
17 It’s Only Love
18 The Sound Of Your Cry
19 Merry Christmas Baby
20 O Come All Ye Faithful
21 Until It’s Time For You To Go
22 We Can Make The Morning

CD 5:
01 Bosom Of Abraham
02 He Touched Me
03 An American Trilogy
04 The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
05 Burning Love
06 It’s A Matter Of Time
07 Separate Ways
08 Always On My Mind
09 Fool
10 Steamroller Blues
11 Raised On Rock
12 For Ol’ Times Sake
13 If You Talk In Your Sleep
14 Help Me
15 Promised Land
16 It’s Midnight
17 My Boy
18 T-R-O-U-B-L-E
19 Bringing It Back
20 Pieces Of My Life

2016 MP3 320 CBR Rock and Roll Box Sets Discography Rockabilly Blues Golden Era Gospel Bootlegs

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