A Monday Morning Quickie

We don’t only talk about old music here …

We also talk about new releases … of old music!  (lol)

And, occasionally, some stand-alone new releases of NEW material, too!

Peruse some of today’s offerings and see if any of these strike your fancy!  (kk)

 

Music Legends Strawbs To Release New Album “The Magic Of It All”

On July 14, 2023!

SUPERB NEW ALBUM BY STRAWBS FEATURING DAVID COUSINS, BLUE WEAVER AND JOHN FORD  (SIGNED POSTCARD AVAILABLE WHILE STOCK LASTS)

British music legends Strawbs will be releasing their new album “The Magic Of It All” on July 14th! Recorded in Cape Town, the album features David Cousins, Blue Weaver, and John Ford from classic 1970’s line up joined by some of the finest musicians and singers in South Africa.

Strawbs were high in the charts with “Grave New World” and “Bursting At The Seams” 50 years ago which coincided with a pivotal moment in the struggle for freedom in South Africa, when students and workers launched a new wave of resistance against so-called “resettlement”. The resistance in South Africa identified with Strawbs songs, especially “Part Of The Union”, “Lay Down”, and “New World”.

Recognizing this, South Africa documentary maker, Niel van Deventer, approached David Cousins with the idea of producing a documentary about Strawbs and the band’s influence around the world. Niel wanted to film while new songs were being recorded in a Cape Town studio. David Cousins came up with a bunch of his finest songs; Blue Weaver flew over to produce the sessions and co- write some of the material, while John Ford joined in with his contribution to the songs from New York.

Featuring brand-new songs recorded at the Academy Of Sound Engineering in Cape Town, with engineer Peter Pearlson, who worked with Paul Simon when he was recording South African musicians for the “Graceland” album. The South African musicians on this album include Mauritz Lotz, Schalk Joubert, Kevin Gibson, Byron Abrahams, Simangele Mashazi, Marzia Barry and Luna Paige. Cathryn Craig and Nicole Tee joined the singers from the UK. The documentary “The Magic Of It All” will be released July 14, 2023.

TRACK LISTING

1 Ready (We Are Ready)
2 The Magic of it All
3 All Along the Bay
4 Everybody Means Something to Someone
5 Our World
6 The Time Has Come (for Giving Back)
7 Slack Jaw Alice
8 Paris Nights
9 Wiser Now
10 The Lady of the Night
11 Christmas Ghosts

Strawbs “The Magic Of It All” will be available on CD and vinyl. To pre-order: https://www.cherryred.co.uk/artist/strawbs/

Here’s one that I’m looking forward to listening to … 

 

“Shine On: A Tribute to Pete Ham” To Be Released June 23 on Y&T Music 

35 track tribute to Badfinger legend Pete Ham

 

Y&T Music is proud to announce the release of a special tribute album, “Shine On: A Tribute to Pete Ham,” featuring 35 new recordings of songs written by the legendary founding member of the British rock band, Badfinger. All net profits will go to Mental Health America of Southeast Florida, the wonderful organization that is doing very important work in the field of mental health care and suicide prevention. The album will be released on all streaming services on June 23, 2023.

The musicians who’ve come together to salute this lost genius chose the songs they wanted to cover, as Pete Ham, along with the legacy of Badfinger, continues to move and inspire every generation.

“The more I learned about Badfinger,” says longtime Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers drummer Stan Lynch, who contributed to three of the Shine On tracks, “the more upset it made me, because they were so rich with promise. It’s not just a cautionary tale – it’s truly heartbreaking.”

As part of the Speaker Wars, with vocalist Jon Christopher Davis, Lynch turns “No Matter What” – Badfinger’s power pop anthem – into a gently swaying, country-rocking declaration of devotion. A second version of the song, with Davis and Indian vocalist Susmita Datta, re-imagines it as a psychedelic Hindustani dream. With ex-Georgia Satellite Dan Baird, Lynch put together The Chefs; the band contributed a raucous rave-up version of “I Can’t Take It,” one of the few full-tilt rave-ups in the Ham catalog. “That stuff was so infectious and fabulous, so obviously good,” Lynch says. “I never saw them live, but at the time when you heard those songs, you knew they were a cut above. The vocals were just so emotional. They weren’t showbiz. ‘Day After Day’ ripped my heart out.” That song, perhaps Pete’s most indelible gift to the world, is interpreted on Shine On by singer-songwriter Shelby Lynne, who masterfully found the emotional core and gave it a searing soulfulness that brings to mind nothing less than the legendary Dusty Springfield.

That sort of inside-out happens time and again on this collection, from the sweet heartbreak of Mary Lou Lord’s bared-nerves take on “Baby Blue” to Wreckless Eric and Amy Rigby’s spellbinding “Midnight Caller,” from Melanie’s heartbroken “Without You” (written by Pete with his Badfinger bandmate Tom Evans) to the love-has-no-limits rendition of “We’re For the Dark” by Mary Karlzen.

Each of the artists on “Shine On” – a true labor of love – would agree. We are all the better for however briefly sharing the planet with him.

THE SONGS

DISC 1

1. Mary Lee Kortes – No More
2. The Chefs – I Can’t Take It
3. Smokin' Novas - Shine On
4. The Speaker Wars (featuring Susmita Datta) - No Matter What (world version)
5. Sweet Lizzy Project - Perfection
6. The Delevantes - Know One Knows
7. Shelby Lynne - Day After Day
8. Rob Bonfiglio - Lonely You
9. Amanda Green - Name of The Game
10. Fernando Perdomo - Savile Row
11. Mary Lou Lord - Baby Blue
12. Arlan Feiles - Walk Out in the Rain
13. Tobin Sprout - Dear Father
14. Nineteen Hand Horse (Nathalie Archangel) - Blodwyn
15. Electric Piquete - Matted Spam
16. Balsamo Collins Riley - Keep Believing
17. Timothy LaRoque - I'm In Love
18. Mary Karlzen - We're For The Dark

DISC 2

1. Amy Allison - Apple of My Eye
2. The Speaker Wars - No Matter What (pop version)
3. Albert Castiglia Band (featuring Mandy Marylane) - Piano Red
4. Mic Harrison And The High Score - Meanwhile Back at The Ranch
5. Wreckless Eric & Amy Rigby - Midnight Caller
6. Diane Ward - Lay Me Down
7. Dennis Diken - Dennis
8. Melanie - Without You
9. Elsten Torres - Take It All
10. Nelson Bragg - Carry On Till Tomorrow
11. Jim Camacho - They're Knocking Down Our Home
12. Claudia Hoyser - Midnight Sun
13. The Parlophonics - Song For A Lost Friend
14. Life Boat - Crimson Ship
15. Jolynn Daniel - I Miss You
16. Ken Sharp - Just a Chance
17. Voice in Fashion - Timeless

To purchase: https://www.amazon.com/Shine-Tribute-Pete-Ham-Various/dp/B0C4FW4Y38

And ABKCO Records continues their Rolling Stones vinyl album reissues campaign with a number of new releases, all pressed on 180 gram vinyl …

 

ABKCO RECORDS EMBARKS ON MASSIVE CAMPAIGN OF THE ROLLING STONES VINYL REISSUES   16 Titles From 1960s Catalog, Some of Which Have Been Out-of-Print For Almost Four Decades, To Be Rolled Out Over Next Year On 180-Gram Vinyl, Continuing With UK Version of Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass) June 9   ABKCO Records reissued the US version of the seminal 1966 album Aftermath by The Rolling Stones on vinyl at the very end of March,kicking off the label’s enormous undertaking of getting 16 titles from the legendary rock band’s back catalog back in print in their original format. Throughout the remainder of the year and into early 2024, US and UK versions of albums recorded between 1963 and 1970, largely by the original Jagger/Richards/Jones/Watts/Wyman lineup, will find their way onto 180-gram vinyl. Some of these titles, including their debut live album Got Live If You Want It!, Between The Buttons (US) and the aforementioned Aftermath (US), have been out-of-print as stand-alone vinyl records for the past 37 years.    During the 1960s, it was customary for album release versions to differ depending on the territory in which they were released and this was the case with The Rolling Stones in that era, their UK label, Decca Records, and US label, London Records, had separate schedules, often utilizing different cover art and different tune stacks for a given title. In the case of Aftermath, the first Stones album containing only original Jagger/Richards compositions, Americans were treated to the groundbreaking hit “Paint It, Black” kicking off side 1, taking the place of “Mother’s Little Helper” (and sleeve art featuring David Bailey’s haunting color photograph of the band members with faces blurred) on the UK version.   April 28 saw the reissue of their 1967 opus Between The Buttons (US) which, despite utilizing near-identical cover art as its British counterpart, has the distinction of containing the number one hit “Ruby Tuesday” and the controversial “Let’s Spend the Night Together.” After this, a flurry of collections will be reissued, including the UK and US versions of The Rolling Stones first hits compilation Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass) on June 9 and June 16 respectively. This is followed on June 16 by the US-only release Flowers (1967), which partially served to give the American market songs that were omitted from the London Records-issued Aftermath and Between The Buttons, but also contained three previously unreleased tracks (“My Girl,” “Ride On, Baby,” “Sittin’ On A Fence”). The band’s first official rarities collection Metamorphosis will get its own vinyl reissue on July 14. Originally released in 1975 by ABKCO, and consisting of outtakes and Jagger/Richards demos written for other artists recorded between 1964 and 1970, many tracks utilize guest musicians such as Jimmy Page (“Heart Of Stone”) and John McLaughlin (“I’d Much Rather Be With The Boys”).   On September 15, both the US and UK versions of Out Of Our Heads (1965) will be reissued. This title marked a milestone in The Rolling Stones’ career – it was their first number one US album, containing their first chart topping US single “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.” It was also their last album of this era to primarily consist of covers (Don Covay’s “Mercy, Mercy,” Marvin Gaye’s “Hitch Hike” and Solomon Burke’s Bert Berns-penned “Cry To Me,” among many others). The UK version contains two underrated pop gems – “I’m Free” and the sublimely cynical “The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man.”   The Rolling Stones’ second hits collection Through The Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2) (1969), notable for its octagonal sleeve and epitaph for the then recently departed Brian Jones, will receive its vinyl reissue on October 20 (UK version) and November 10 (US version). The former contains “You Better Move On,” “Sittin’ On A Fence” and “We Love You,” while the latter contains “Paint It, Black” and “Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing In The Shadow?” Virtually every track on the stop sign-shaped package is ubiquitous, from “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” to “She’s a Rainbow.”   December 1 will see the reissue of the aptly titled sophomore UK album The Rolling Stones No. 2 (1965), as well as December’s Children (and Everybody’s) (1965), an American release gathering some of the material from Decca’s Out Of Our Heads as well as the hit single “Get Off Of My Cloud” and “As Tears Go By.” On December 1, Got Live If You Want It! (1966) will again see the light of day. Only released in the US, this live album contains performances from three concerts in England recorded earlier in the year, including a barn-burning version of  “I’m Alright.” The album is fleshed out with two earlier studio recordings: “Fortune Teller” from 1963 and “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long” from 1965, with added crowd ambiance.   Both originally released in 1964, ABKCO plans on vinyl reissues for the debut US album (England’s Newest Hit Makers) on October 6 and the debut UK album (The Rolling Stones) in early 2024. Their third US album The Rolling Stones, Now! from 1965 will also be reissued in 2024. The latter contains their number one UK hit “Little Red Rooster (a cover of the Howlin’ Wolf song written by Willie Dixon) as well as the Jagger/Richards ballad “Heart Of Stone.”   These 16 180-gram vinyl reissues will join The Rolling Stones back catalog that ABKCO has long kept in print, including 12 x 5 (1964), Aftermath (UK version, 1966), Between The Buttons (UK version, 1967), Their Satanic Majesties Request (1967), Beggars Banquet(1968), Let It Bleed (1969), the live album Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out! The Rolling Stones In Concert (1970), and the collections Hot Rocks 1964-1971 (1971) and More Hot Rocks (Big Hits & Fazed Cookies) from 1972.   The Rolling Stones black vinyl reissue release schedule:   June 9 - Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass) (UK version)   Side A 1.   Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing In The Shadow?  2.   Paint It, Black  3.   It’s All Over Now  4.   The Last Time  5.   Heart of Stone  6.   Not Fade Away  7.   Come On

Side B 1.   (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction  2.   Get Off Of My Cloud  3.   As Tears Go By  4.   19th Nervous Breakdown  5.   Lady Jane  6.   Time Is On My Side  7.   Little Red Rooster    June 16 - Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass) (US version)  Side A 1.   (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction  2.   The Last Time  3.   As Tears Go By  4.   Time Is On My Side  5.   It’s All Over Now  6.   Tell Me  Side B 1.   19th Nervous Breakdown  2.   Heart Of Stone  3.   Get Off Of My Cloud  4.   Not Fade Away  5.   Good Times, Bad Times  6.   Play With Fire    June 16 - Flowers  Side A 1.   Ruby Tuesday  2.   Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing In The Shadow?  3.   Let’s Spend The Night Together  4.   Lady Jane  5.   Out Of Time  6.   My Girl  Side B 1.   Back Street Girl  2.   Please Go Home  3.   Mother’s Little Helper  4.   Take It Or Leave It  5.   Ride On, Baby  6.   Sittin’ On A Fence    July 14 - Metamorphosis  Side A 1.   Out Of Time  2.   Don’t Lie To Me  3.   Somethings Just Stick In Your Mind  4.   Each and Every Day of the Year  5.   Heart Of Stone  6.   I'd Much Rather Be With The Boys  7.   (Walkin' Thru The) Sleepy City  8.   We’re Wastin’ Time  9.   Try A Little Harder  Side B 1.   I Don't Know Why  2.   If You Let Me  3.   Jiving Sister Fanny  4.   Downtown Suzie  5.   Family  6.   Memo From Turner  7.   I'm Going Down    September 15 - Out Of Our Heads (US version) Side A 1.   Mercy Mercy   2.   Hitch Hike   3.   The Last Time   4.   That’s How Strong My Love Is   5.   Good Times   6.   I’m Alright (Live)   Side B 1.   (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction   2.   Cry To Me   3.   The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man   4.   Play With Fire   5.   The Spider And The Fly   6.   One More Try    September 15 - Out Of Our Heads (UK version) Side A 1.   She Said Yeah   2.   Mercy Mercy   3.   Hitch Hike   4.   That’s How Strong My Love Is   5.   Good Times   6.   Gotta Get Away   Side B 1.   Talkin’ ‘Bout You   2.   Cry To Me   3.   Oh, Baby (We Got A Good Thing Goin’)   4.   Heart Of Stone   5.   The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man   6.   I’m Free    October 6 - England’s Newest Hit Makers Side A 1.   Not Fade Away 2.   Route 66 3.   I Just Want To Make Love To You 4.   Honest I Do 5.   Now I’ve Got A Witness 6.   Little By Little Side B 1.   I’m A King Bee 2.   Carol 3.   Tell Me 4.   Can I Get A Witness 5.   You Can Make It If You Try 6.   Walking The Dog   October 20 - Through The Past Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2) (UK version)  Side A 1.   Jumpin' Jack Flash  2.   Mother’s Little Helper  3.   2,000 Light Years From Home  4.   Let’s Spend The Night Together  5.   You Better Move On  6.   We Love You  Side B 1.   Street Fighting Man  2.   She’s A Rainbow  3.   Ruby Tuesday  4.   Dandelion  5.   Sittin’ On The Fence  6.   Honky Tonk Women    November 10 - Through The Past Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2) (US version) Side A 1.   Paint It, Black  2.   Ruby Tuesday  3.   She's a Rainbow  4.   Jumpin' Jack Flash  5.   Mother's Little Helper  6.   Let's Spend the Night Together  Side B 1.   Honky Tonk Women  2.   Dandelion  3.   2000 Light Years from Home  4.   Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow?  5.   Street Fighting Man    December 1 - The Rolling Stones No. 2 Side A 1.   Everybody Needs Somebody To Love (Version 2)   2.   Down Home Girl   3.   You Can’t Catch Me   4.   Time Is On My Side (Version 2)   5.   What A Shame   6.   Grown Up Wrong   Side B 1.   Down The Road Apiece   2.   Under The Boardwalk   3.   I Can't Be Satisfied   4.   Pain In My Heart   5.   Off The Hook   6.   Suzie-Q    December 1 - December’s Children (And Everybody’s)  Side A 1.   She Said Yeah   2.   Talkin’ ‘Bout You   3.   You Better Move On   4.   Look What You’ve Done   5.   The Singer Not he Song   6.   Route 66 (Live)   Side B 1.   Get Off Of My Cloud   2.   I’m Free   3.   As Tears Go By   4.   Gotta Get Away   5.   Blue Turns To Grey   6.   I’m Moving On (Live)    December 1 - Got Live If You Want It! Side A 1.   Under My Thumb 2.   Get Off Of My Cloud 3.   Lady Jane 4.   Not Fade Away 5.   I’ve Been Loving You Too Long 6.   Fortune Teller Side B 1.   The Last Time 2.   19th Nervous Breakdown 3.   Time Is On My Side 4.   I’m Alright 5.   Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing In The Shadow? 6.   (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction   Coming In 2024:    The Rolling Stones, Now! Side A 1.   Everybody Needs Somebody To Love (Version 1)   2.   Down Home Girl   3.   You Can’t Catch Me   4.   Heart Of Stone   5.   What A Shame   6.   Mona (I Need You Baby)   Side B 1.   Down The Road Apiece   2.   Off The Hook   3.   Pain In My Heart   4.   Oh, Baby (We Got A Good Thing Goin’)   5.   Little Red Rooster   6.   Surprise, Surprise      The Rolling Stones (UK version) Side A 1.   Route 66   2.   I Just Want To Make Love To You   3.   Honest I Do   4.   Mona (I Need You Baby)   5.   Now I’ve Got A Witness   6.   Little By Little   Side B 1.   I’m A King Bee   2.   Carol   3.   Tell Me   4.   Can I Get A Witness   5.   You Can Make It If You Try   6.   Walking The Dog  Speaking of The Rolling Stones, we already know that Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr make guest appearances on the band’s new LP … But now comes word that former bassist Bill Wyman will also be on board for a track, described as a “tribute to Charlie” … which presented sort of a “How can I say no” situation! (Wyman last appeared on a Stones album in 1989!  He joined them on stage for a couple of songs as part of their 50th Anniversary Tour when they appeared in London in 2012 … but even that is already eleven years ago!)  According to an unnamed source speaking to the Sun, Wyman flew out to Los Angeles several months ago to join the Stones' recording sessions in Los Angeles at the invitation of Mick Jagger.  "Bill hasn't seen the band together for years, but always loved Charlie.  This record's really a tribute to Charlie, so he couldn't say no." Anxiously awaiting its release!  (kk) ELVIS IS BACK --- AGAIN --- Elvis Presley’s Aloha Album is Back!  Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Aloha From Havaii via Satellite   Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite is the apogee of an astounding career trajectory that began with Elvis' return to live performance in 1968 with an electrifying "comeback" television special that restored him to pop dominance after a seven year hiatus from the concert stage. By 1973, Elvis was a living legend whose status as the world's first atomic-powered singer in the 1950s had evolved into movie stardom before his return to live performance generated a new iconography of Elvis. His watershed global telecast was the first full-length concert by any musician to be beamed around the world over communications satellites newly orbiting the earth in ever increasing numbers. A half century later, the live album and concert film from that performance are perhaps the most revelatory documents of the live shows that Elvis poured so much of his heart and soul into during the 1970s. The 50th anniversary edition of Elvis Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite — newly remixed and remastered for the occasion — will be available in a 3CD + Blu-ray combined package as well as in 2LP and digital configurations on August 11, 2023. Order Now       Yep …   RCA Records celebrates the 50th Anniversary of Elvis Presley’s “Aloha From Hawaii” concert and album … with a new commemorative set that captures the full live performance (plus some bonus studio tracks), the afternoon rehearsal show, and a BluRay of the concert itself as it was beamed via satellite all over the world.   (I bought the Quad 2-Record LP Set when it first came out in 1973 ... only quad album in my entire collection ... ever!!!  I guess it just never caught on.  Most people probably have their copy sitting on top of their Betamax machines these day, right next to their 8-track players.)  kk   Harvey Kubernik tells us …   RCA Records & Legacy Recordings Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Elvis Presley's Monumental Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite Worldwide Broadcast & Top-Selling Double Album with Release of Definitive Deluxe Edition on Friday, August 11   Elvis Presley Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite 50th Anniversary January 2023; 1973 Event Viewed by 1.5 Billion People; Harvey Kubernik Reissue Producer Interview with Ernst Mikael Jorgensen -- Harvey Kubernik Copyright © 2023 RCA Records and Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, will release the definitive 50th anniversary edition of Elvis Presley's monumental Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite record-setting global concert telecast/double live album on Friday, August 11. The 50th anniversary edition of Elvis Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite -- newly remixed and remastered for the occasion -- will be available in a 3CD + Blu-ray combined package as well as in 2LP and digital configurations. A press announcement from RCA/Legacy Recordings describes the upcoming product. "Elvis Presley’s Graceland in Memphis will present Elvis: Aloha from Hawaii 50th Anniversary Concert on August 16, 2023 as part of Elvis Week 2023. In addition, earlier that day, Sony will present a free Aloha from Hawaii Q&A and Listening Event at the Guest House Theater at 1:00 pm. Tickets for the concert and free listening event are available at ElvisWeek.com.  "Recorded live on January 12 and 14, 1973 at the Honolulu International Center Arena (capacity approximately 6000) and beamed into an estimated billion-plus television sets around the world, Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite made a new kind of broadcast history as Elvis and emerging global satellite technology instantaneously connected a major artist with his audience in previously unprecedented numbers. "Initially, Elvis' January 14th concert was telecast live via satellite to viewers in Asia and Oceania and presented with a delay in January in Europe. Needing to avoid a programming conflict with Super Bowl VII while also acknowledging that the film "Elvis on Tour" was enjoying an actively successful run in US movie theaters, NBC decided to air their ninety-minute version of Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite (featuring bonus performances recorded for the stateside broadcast) on April 4, 1973. Aloha from Hawaii became NBC's highest-rated program of the year. "Feeling the heat from the Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite global telecast, RCA Records fast-tracked a companion double album soundtrack into production with first pressings hitting US stores on February 4, 1973. The album was Elvis' first #1 in years, peaking at #1 on the Billboard pop and country charts, becoming the fastest-selling chart-topping album of Elvis' career. "The 50th anniversary edition of Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite is produced by Ernst Jørgensen and newly mixed by Grammy® Award-winning recording engineer Matt-Ross Spang. The set includes the original concert, rehearsal show and unique after-show recordings and rehearsals including "Blue Hawaii," "Hawaiian Wedding Song," "No More" and "Early Morning Rain." "The deluxe set includes a 28-page booklet featuring in-depth liner notes penned by lifelong Elvis fan/respected music critic Randy Lewis, rare photos and memorabilia from the event, and the first-ever visual release of Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite on Blu-ray. "Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite is the apogee of an astounding career trajectory that began with Elvis' return to live performance in 1968 with an electrifying "comeback" television special that restored him to pop dominance after a seven year hiatus from the concert stage. By 1973, Elvis was a living legend whose status as the world's first atomic-powered singer in the 1950s had evolved into movie stardom before his return to live performance generated a new iconography of Elvis. His watershed global telecast was the first full-length concert by any musician to be beamed around the world over communications satellites newly orbiting the earth in ever increasing numbers. A half century later, the live album and concert film from that performance are perhaps the most revelatory documents of the live shows that Elvis poured so much of his heart and soul into during the 1970s. "The 50th anniversary edition of Elvis Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite presents, for the first time in one authorized package, the entirety of the original January 14, 1973 performance, the previous night's dress rehearsal with a live audience (recorded in case of technical mishaps during the satellite transmission), several bonus tracks inserted into the US broadcast of the event and a Blu-ray transfer of the concert film. "Archival producer Ernst Mikael Jørgensen and Memphis-based recording engineer Matt Ross-Spang have fully remixed the album from the original 16-track live recordings—first captured on tape by esteemed mobile engineer Wally Heider and newly digitized for this release with audiophile 24-bit, 192 KHz transfers--to bring fans a fresh listen to what, for many, is the most treasured performance of Elvis' latter-day years on the road. "To me," Jørgensen said, "that is the biggest thing: [this album] never sounded this good and Elvis never sounded this good.'"  The musicians backing Presley in his Hawaiian performances are: Guitar: James Burton; Guitar: John Wilkinson; Guitar & Vocals: Charlie Hodge; Bass: Jerry Scheff; Drums: Ronnie Tutt; Piano and Glen Hardin. Vocal support came from J.D. Sumner & The Stamps, The Sweet Inspirations, and Kathy Westmoreland, all collectively augmented by The Joe Guercio Orchestra. In the four and a half years between the '68 special and Aloha from Hawaii, Elvis woodshedded his act with a rigorous series of live performances—over 500--in which he re-asserted the role he'd established in the '50s as one of the most electrifying performers of his generation. Both in Las Vegas and on tour to various parts of the United States, Presley refined and expanded his mastery of musical interpretation of songs long associated with him, while also putting his distinctive stamp on classic and more recent material first popularized by artists as beloved as The Beatles, Frank Sinatra, James Taylor, Hank Williams, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ray Charles, Jim Reeves and Hawaii's own Kuiokalani "Kui" Lee. The Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite program was produced and directed by television veteran Marty Pasetta, who'd done specials for Bing Crosby, Perry Como, Glen Campbell and had experience in Hawaii with Don Ho. Pasetta employed split screen techniques and quick cuts to mirror the energy Elvis & Co. put out on stage. The telecast also regularly offered extreme close-ups bringing viewers into contact with Elvis with an intimacy that even those in the audience didn't have. Over the decades I’ve interviewed musicians who recorded with Elvis Presley: Scotty Moore, Glen D. Hardin and James Burton.  Former RCA publicist Grelun Landon, who headed Public Affairs for the label in Hollywood arranged for me to attend a slew of Elvis 1971-1976 concerts and meet Presley’s manager, Colonel Tom Parker.   Landon also invited me to tour the RCA recording facilities with Presley entourage members and RCA executives. Elvis had recently been in one RCA studio room cutting vocals. In early January `1973, I watched the initial live feed broadcast of his landmark satellite concert from Hawaii, released to retail outlets as Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite, which celebrated a 50th anniversary in mid-January 2023.     Imagine hearing Elvis Presley’s magnificent voice isolated on those big Altec 604E Super Duplex speakers while actually being inside the environs of RCA, where Andrew Loog Oldham produced the 1964-1967 recording sessions of the Rolling Stones.  I glimpsed Elvis once in Dr. Morris Feldman’s Picwood Dental Office in West Los Angeles nearby the M-G-M studio in Culver City on a Saturday afternoon during the summer of 1967.     Presley arrived in a Rolls Royce, flanked by two guys, walked into the waiting room and gave a smile. When it was my turn for the chair, Dr. Feldman told me Elvis broke a tooth during the filming of a movie called Speedway.  I had penned the 5,000 word liner note booklet for their 40th edition the label issued in 2008. In 2007 I was interviewed for M-G-M Home Entertainment DVD deluxe version of Presley’s feature film Viva Las Vegas.    I asked poet/actor Harry E. Northup, who attended the March 1961 Elvis Presley benefit concert in Hawaii, about that memorable event, and Presley scholar, writer/musician Gary Pig Gold, about Presley’s legendary return to Hawaii in 1973.  Harry E. Northup: I saw Elvis in Hawaii in 1961. “When I was a teenager living in a small town in Western Nebraska, I fell in love with Elvis Presley’s songs and listened to them over and over. ‘Don’t Be Cruel’ was and is my favorite. When I was 17, I joined the US Navy. After Radio School, I was sent to Oahu where I was stationed at Pearl Harbor. On March 25th, 1961, I saw Elvis in a concert at the Bloch Arena, in Pearl Harbor. It was a benefit on behalf  of the Memorial Fund of the battleship USS Arizona. The audience was mostly service men. I sat in the balcony, stage right. He sang ‘Love Me Tender,’ ‘Hound Dog,’ ‘Don’t Be Cruel,’ among many others. He was electric; each time he made a move, even if it was with his little finger, the audience went wild. He was the King. Men and women loved Elvis. “I remember seeing a man dressed in a suit. He was carrying an attache case. A sailor buddy told me it was Colonel Parker. That was Elvis’ last public appearance for many years because he started making movies. “GI Blues is one of my favorite films of his because of the Army setting, the love theme and the lyrical songs that he sang. I feel grateful to have seen Elvis in such a perfect setting when he was young, clean cut and handsome.” Gary Pig Gold: Elvis and the 50th State long enjoyed a close relationship – 1961's USS Arizona benefit concert then box-office-busting Blue Hawaii, not to mention Paradise, Hawaiian Style five years later (actually, perhaps we shouldn't mention that one) – and the islands had frequently been a favored vacation spot for The King and his courtiers," reminds reluctant haole Gary Pig Gold. "It seems only fitting then that what turned out to be Elvis' final, and perhaps biggest of all bangs beamed clear 'cross the universe out of the Honolulu International Convention Center Arena minutes after midnight on January 14, 1973. Twenty-three songs in just under 80 minutes with 6,000-plus in attendance, $75,000 raised for the Kui Lee Cancer Fund, $2.5 million in production costs, over a quarter-million double QuadraDisc™ soundtrack albums moved within ten days ...and, most Earth-shattering – literally! – of all at the time? A satellite viewing audience 'in excess of one billion people.' At least according to the Colonel. "Whatever these numbers may truly be, the performance itself was truly extraordinary; the TCB Band by this point having spent countless Instamatic flashcube-illuminated hours on stage honing their sets to a flawless peak-and-valley-then-peak-again running order. And to demonstrate just how seriously Elvis himself took this event can be judged via his even more punishing than usual pre-Aloha fitness regimen: Drastically increased daily karate workouts under the supervision of Master Kang Rhee helped along with, according to those nearby, megavitamin vials, large quantities of protein drink, weighted racquetball workouts, diet pills by the handful, mineral water by the gallon and a daily injection understood to include the urine of a pregnant woman. “Nevertheless, come show time Elvis had 'dropped down to 165 pounds; thin as a rake and more handsome than ten movie stars' in the wise guy words of Memphis Mafioso Sonny West. All the better then to fill Bill Belew's custom 'white American Eagle' jumpsuit ...the $10,000 cape from which Elvis sailed clear into the audience at the conclusion of 'Can't Help Falling In Love.'"  Aloha From Hawaii via Satellite was the first time that a full-length concert was aired around the world and it was the most expensive up until then.  Over 6,000 fans were in attendance for both shows at the H.I.C. (now known as the Blaisdell Arena).  Presley’s fondness for Hawaii had first been demonstrated in March 1961, when he raised $62,000 with a concert at the Bloch Arena, toward the funding of the USS Arizona Memorial. The Aloha From Hawaii via Satellite concert that was actually heard was a second show, that started at 12:30 a.m. in Hawaii on Sunday morning, January 14, 1973.  Elvis delivered 24 songs that pulled tunes from every phase of his career.  In the U.S., the broadcast was in fact postponed so as not to conflict with M-G-M's Elvis On Tour.  When Aloha From Hawaii via Satellite was finally broadcast in the U.S. on April 4th, the Nielsen ratings had the show in 33.8% of homes and reaching 51% of those watching television.  The double-LP immediately sped up the charts, taking the #1 spot in Billboard's May 5th issue, knocking Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon out of the top spot.  It remained on the chart for 52 weeks, and was certified 5-times platinum by the RIAA.  The album was Elvis' first #1 since the Roustabout movie soundtrack from January 1965. Nor did Elvis want to duplicate very much of his then-current M-G-M theatrical release, Elvis On Tour, filmed in March-April 1972, the Golden Globe award-winning film which turned out to be the final motion picture of his lifetime. Following the 12:30 show, at about 3:00 a.m., the ensemble regrouped (without an audience) to cut five additional songs exclusively for the U.S. broadcast, four of which originated on Elvis' old Blue Hawaii movie soundtrack of 1961: "Blue Hawaii," "Ku-U-I-Po," "No More," and "Hawaiian Wedding Song."  The fifth was Gordon Lightfoot's "Early Morning Rain," emblematic of the contemporary folk-rock singer-songwriter boom to which Elvis was surprisingly well attuned in the '70s. It was not generally known at the time that the Friday evening (January 12th) dress rehearsal had also been recorded, as a safety backup.  Fifteen years later in June 1988 (more than a decade after Elvis' death), the show was finally issued on CD as The Alternate Aloha. In 1972 Presley gave a sold-out concert at Madison Square Garden in New York. Next was a further renaissance in his career with the Dennis Linde-written hit single “Burning Love.”  This was followed by Elvis On Tour, a road documentary. Then Colonel Parker touted his plans regarding a global satellite broadcast event that would “allow the whole world the chance to see a Presley concert.”      In early 1973, Elvis Presley was performing at one of the highest peaks of his career, and this new expanded soundtrack proves it. Aloha co-producer Ernst Mikael Jørgensen suggests in his essential research guide, Elvis Presley: A Life In Music (St. Martin's Press, 1998): "The immense pressure of being beamed live to one billion people didn't seem to faze Elvis a great deal; showing little evidence of nerves, he was highly focused, and he executed a flawless set that sparkled with all the flash of his image.  The unparalleled media attention and size of the audience, not to mention the worldwide number one album that followed, were perhaps the most effective statement ever engineered of one artist's worldwide power." Danish record executive, producer, author and Elvis Presley catalog guru Ernst Jorgensen has been a seminal force in the revival and inspection of Presley’s body of audio work for a decade. He has overseen and co-produced Presley box sets, including The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll From Nashville to Memphis, Walk a Mile in My Shoes, and Platinum: A Life in Music, all nominated for the Grammy Award while exceeding sales of over a million copies. 2013 Interview Harvey Kubernik and Ernst Jorgensen  HK: In preparing this expanded re-release of the original landmark event, what sort of reactions and initial observations came to you in assembling the project? EJ: The main issue here was completeness - to gather in one package both shows and also include the 5 extra songs Elvis recorded exclusively for the US broadcast. HK: Can you tell me anything about the original engineers? Were they RCA staff engineers or chosen by Elvis? EJ: This was recorded by RCA staff engineers and because of Elvis' producer Felton Jarvis' illness, RCA's A&R person Joan Deary oversaw the recording project. HK: In reviewing concert tapes of Elvis post ’68 Comeback Special, what strikes you most about his live shows and band that we hear on this 1973 endeavor?    EJ: Normally Elvis would chat a lot on his shows, especially in Las Vegas, but this is a very tight show, with as many songs as you could squeeze into the time frame of the show.  Elvis at his most determined and professional might be the best way to describe this. HK: Can you add anything about the sort of concert repertoire captured on this new re-release? How did Elvis usually select his set list? EJ: Since Elvis had just recently released a live album (from Madison Square Garden) it was important to include new repertoire - especially for the record release. Some of these had already been incorporated in the repertoire back in August (but not recorded) and some were added during rehearsals. The list of songs for the rehearsals is quite extensive, and with an eye to unreleased songs, it was also a question of flow in the program that Elvis was very aware of. HK: Is there anything you can offer in terms of the restoration process as far as assembling tapes and the full concept you have edited and compiled?   EJ: We wanted to have the original album in the mix it was originally released in. AS for the rehearsal show, we were less enthusiastic about the earlier release, and decided to re-mix the show HK: Elvis has always had a special relationship with Hawaii. Did you feel that as well? EJ: We certainly know he did - he went there often for both filming of his movies and later for his holidays. Whether it has any consequence for the actual is less likely. HK: Can you offer some observations about Elvis doing this revolutionary TV broadcast as opposed to his live shows. Did the technical preparation or collaboration take on a bigger undertaking as it was a new technical forum for broadcast. Elvis and the band rose to the occasion. EJ: I think the most important issue here was to be able to show the world - not just the U.S. - what an Elvis Presley show was like. Ultimately to sell a lot of records. It was always of the utmost importance for Elvis' manager, Colonel Parker, to do something for Elvis that maintained that his artist was on another level than any other performer. The Colonel also knew that Elvis delivered his best if he was challenged. HK: Can you compare and contrast the Elvis New York City Madison Square Garden 1972 live recording with this 1973 live recording in Hawaii? As far as quality, performances, tape results, and the growth of Elvis still evident as a stage performer. EJ: There is only seven months between the two events, so I think it's hard to talk about growth - both represent challenges to Elvis (he didn't think New York would like him), so Aloha is possibly only a step up in the circumstances of the show - the magnitude of a worldwide live broadcast - that he could deliver a flawless performance under even that kind of pressure. HK: One question about CD and vinyl. How has the Elvis catalogue benefitted from the CD formats as much of his early work was out on 45’s and album vinyl. The master tapes from his recording career seem to be in perfect shape and easy to transfer. EJ: We have worked on the ambition that we can always get the sound closer to what the original intent was by using the right equipment, analyze flaws coming from digital transfers - and we believe we have gotten better at - the goal is to hear the same on the CD as you hear on the original master tapes. Sounds easy, but it isn't. Tapes were recorded on different equipment, with various technical issues, but in general the tapes are brilliant. HK: Can you provide some reflections about the Elvis early and mid-70s live and studio catalogue. I think in general the reporting and documentation overlooked some real gems and great band playing. I saw five or six Presley shows in California during 1970-1976, and with the exception of the last one, his voice sounded great. I did write a story in ’76 for Melody Maker suggesting Elvis retire from the world of touring owing to obvious health issues I witnessed on stage. But this ‘73 concert collection presents an entertainer and not just the rocker most everyone, especially reviewers, still wanted him to remain.              EJ: I think all journalists and many fans basically wanted to still see Elvis as a rock ‘n’ roll artist, where Elvis himself strived for a bigger musical stance including ALL the music he loved - in many ways I think in his own mind, he may have felt that the summer of 1970 - the making of That’s The Way It Is, was his own crowning achievement: The repertoire, band, the freedom to perform exactly what he wanted to. HK: Why does Elvis and particularly his musical recordings still endear and endure?    EJ: Elvis’ life story is fascinating - it's in some ways a tragedy, and yet it's full of glorious moments of achievement. At the bottom of it all is however that he was a brilliant singer.”  (In 2008 Harvey Kubernik penned the liner notes to Elvis Presley the ’68 Comeback Special box set 40th anniversary edition. He is also an interview subject on the 40th anniversary deluxe edition Jailhouse Rock DVD where he comments on Presley’s singing, dancing and choreography for the “Jailhouse Rock” number captured on screen. Kubernik is the author of 20 books, including Leonard Cohen: Everybody Knows published in 2014 and Neil Young Heart of Gold during 2015.   Kubernik also authored 2009’s Canyon Of Dreams: The Magic And The Music Of Laurel Canyon and 2014’s Turn Up The Radio! Rock, Pop and Roll In Los Angeles 1956-1972.   Sterling/Barnes and Noble in 2018 published Harvey and Kenneth Kubernik’s The Story Of The Band: From Big Pink To The Last Waltz. In 2021 the duo wrote Jimi Hendrix: Voodoo Child for Sterling/Barnes and Noble. Otherworld Cottage Industries in 2020 published Harvey’s book, Docs That Rock, Music That Matters.  Kubernik’s writings are in several book anthologies, including, The Rolling Stone Book Of The Beats and Drinking With Bukowski. Harvey wrote the liner note booklets to the CD re-releases of Carole King’s Tapestry, The Essential Carole King, Allen Ginsberg’s Kaddish, The Ramones’ End of the Century and Big Brother & the Holding Company Captured Live at The Monterey International Pop Festival). And he sends us stuff here at Forgotten Hits all the time, too!!! (Now how cool is that?!?!)

More here:  https://theseconddisc.com/2023/06/09/elvis-aloha-beams-into-box-set-for-50th-anniversary/

 

>>>My daily dose of FH has me pondering a question.  The WLS jock line up from circa ‘73 shows Lujack. He had jumped to ‘CFL in the summer of ‘72.  Perhaps an oversight.  (Jay Grizzle)  

>>> That’s the promo shot that WLS ran … in fact, I think Bob Sirott even has this posted on his Facebook page or something.  But it makes me wonder …

I found this on Lujack’s bio page on The Radio Hall Of Fame site …

In the spring of 1967, Lujack pulled an evening shift at WCFL/Chicago, beginning a relationship with the Windy City that would last for decades. Four months later, Lujack jumped ship to WCFL’s Top 40 competitor, WLS. During his five years at WLS, Lujack honed his sardonic humor and launched “Animal Stories,” a regular segment that became his most popular feature. Lujack returned to WCFL from 1972–1976 before rejoining WLS, where he and fellow disc jockey Tommy Edwards teamed up as “Uncle Lar and Li’l Tommy.” Lujack chronicled his career in the 1975 autobiography Superjock.  

>>>And Lujack was most definitely with ‘CFL when they switched formats from Top 40 to “The World’s Most Beautiful Music” … earning a then ridiculous amount of money to play elevator music … so now I’m really not sure WHEN that promo photo is from!  (But I’ll betcha SOMEBODY on the list will clear it up for us!)  kk

UPDATE:  Near as I've been able to figure out, that promo ad has to be from the late '70's and NOT 1973 as previously reported.  The timeline just doesn't work out ...

So I'm going to say it's from likely 1977 ... although it could be as late as '78 or '79 ... but I doubt it.

If somebody out there can put a more accurate time stamp on this, we'd love to hear from you.  (kk)

FH Reader Charles Rosenay saw the Happy Together Tour in Long Island, New York, Saturday Night at the Westbury Theatre ...

 

And sent in some GREAT pictures to share with our readers ...

 

Thank you, Charles!!!

 

A final smile from Shelley ...