The last truly great Elvis Presley album

[TG]

Well then, to use Tom's loose definition of album - any collection of songs issued by the label company is one then. In that sense, The Sun Sessions is an album.

And, by the way, you should use my loose definitions of everything. Your life would be much less complicated. Give it a try!

[GoogaMooga]

An album is something that was considered as a whole prior to release. Singles comps and live comps should not qualify. A whole concert recorded for the purpose of album release would be called a live album, but not an album alone. You'd need to qualify it as live.

[TG]

God knows I've belabored this point beyond anything that even resembles sanity.

An album is something that was considered as a whole prior to release.

Says who? Where and when was this law passed? Is it a world wide rule or have only a handful of countries adopted it? What about the tiny Republic of Togo?

Singles comps and live comps should not qualify. A whole concert recorded for the purpose of album release would be called a live album, but not an album alone. You'd need to qualify it as live.

Do we not call them live albums? You just did. Or compilation albums? Or greatest hits albums? If it's called a live album then it is an album. If it's a greatest hits album then it's an album. Qualifying it as a particular kind of album does not negate its very album-ness. How many distinctions do you need in your life?

[GoogaMooga]

We need to share some common terms in order to communicate effectively and avoid misunderstandings. The album may be a dying artform, but it was the predominant way of getting music out to the people for five or six decades.

You can call a comp an album if you prefix it with a qualifier, same with live.

[TG]

We need to share some common terms in order to communicate effectively and avoid misunderstandings. The album may be a dying artform, but it was the predominant way of getting music out to the people for five or six decades.

You can call a comp an album if you prefix it with a qualifier, same with live.

Okay, thanks. Will do.

[Muskrat]

This isn't really an Elvis album, but he's (sort of) on it, and our chance to hear the demo for "Do the Clam."

A collection of recently unearthed recordings, songs the future Country Music Hall of Fame member [Glen Campbell] would record as demos for Elvis, will be issued by Capitol/UMe on November 16th. Sings for the King, recorded between 1964 and 1968, includes the completely unreleased 1966 cut, “Any Old Time,” which Rolling Stone Country premieres today. Originally intended for Presley’s ears only, the song was penned by Sid Wayne and Ben Weisman and is one of the six tunes on the upcoming 18-track LP that ultimately went unrecorded by Presley. Weisman, however, had a staggering 57 of his compositions cut by the King during his career. The reel-to-reel tapes of these recordings were discovered by the album’s executive producer Stephen Auerbach in a storage space belonging to Weisman, his uncle by marriage.

[Muskrat]

And, by the way, you should use my loose definitions of everything. Your life would be much less complicated. Give it a try!

God knows, it's how I find my girlfriends.

[Matt Wilson]

Now, it's true that some albums have songs from different sessions, some even going back years, but those songs are appearing on LP for the first time - unlike The Sun Sessions.

In what way is that "unlike The Sun Sessions"? They were "songs from different sessions, some even going back years" and they appeared on the Sun Sessions LP for the first time. You seem to be saying exactly that. Where is the line drawn?

You're forgetting that all the songs on The Sun Sessions had been released before.

C'mon Tom, does this really need to be spelled out for you?

[TG]

Now, it's true that some albums have songs from different sessions, some even going back years, but those songs are appearing on LP for the first time - unlike The Sun Sessions.

In what way is that "unlike The Sun Sessions"? They were "songs from different sessions, some even going back years" and they appeared on the Sun Sessions LP for the first time. You seem to be saying exactly that. Where is the line drawn?

You're forgetting that all the songs on The Sun Sessions had been released before.

C'mon Tom, does this really need to be spelled out for you?

Golly, no. Just try for a bit of clarity in your posting. Your post seemed to be referring back to greatest hits albums or the like.

And The Sun Sessions is still an album. And the best one ever under Elvis’ name. So there.

[Matt Wilson]

Clarity? Go back and look at the quote of mine that you posted. I clearly mentioned "appearing on LP for the first time."

[TG]

And, by the way, you should use my loose definitions of everything. Your life would be much less complicated. Give it a try!

God knows, it's how I find my girlfriends.

See? And now they are always real girls!

[Matt Wilson]

Wait a minute, Tom's definition of album can get you a girlfriend?

That changes everything...

[TG]

Clarity? Go back and look at the quote of mine that you posted. I clearly mentioned "appearing on LP for the first time."

Oh, for Christ’s sake. The Sun Sessions songs were all appearing on LP for the first time. As in-they had never been on an LP before. Now if you had been clear and said previously unreleased in any form or something similar then that would have been different. It still would have been splitting hairs but it would have been different. Now go and listen to some song collections or recording compendiums or tune anthologies or whatever the hell you want to call them. Lord knows they are not albums.

[Matt Wilson]

Clarity? Go back and look at the quote of mine that you posted. I clearly mentioned "appearing on LP for the first time."

Oh, for Christ’s sake. The Sun Sessions songs were all appearing on LP for the first time. As in-they had never been on an LP before.

Does anyone else want to tell him?

[Matt Wilson]

This guy is telling ME about Elvis Presley albums...

[TG]

Wait a minute, Tom's definition of album can get you a girlfriend?

That changes everything...

Yeah, man. It’s a miracle. It’s like Hadacol-

Curls your hair
Keeps your skin smooth, clear and fair
Cleans your teeth white
Makes your eyeballs bright
It’s really won it’s fame
It really makes an old man young again

That comes from Hadacol Bounce by Professor Longhair. It was a 78 that eventually was released on an organized group of songs acquired and maintained for study, exhibition, or personal pleasure.

[TG]

This guy is telling ME about Elvis Presley albums...

No, apparently I’m telling you about one very specific Elvis collection of songs that, though they were released as 45s or 78s previously, were not then released on an LP for the first time even though they had never been released on an LP before. But not an Elvis album. You’ve made that very clear.

[Matt Wilson]

Look, you're clearly not a guy who ever admits he's wrong - and I've gotta take my kid to soccer practice. So go look up the track listings of For LP Fans Only, Elvis Presley, and A Date With Elvis. All Elvis albums and all released in the 1950s. Most of the Sun Sessions LP is on those earlier Elvis albums.

Okay?

[Muskrat]

An album is an album (for the sake of argument, a disc containing more tracks than there are on a single). Got the name because they were originlly book-like folders containing a number of 78 rpm singles. In that sense, a hits collection is as much an album as, say, Sgt. Pepper.



However, since the days of long-players, when somebody says they're cutting an album, they mean something more specific than a bunch of singles thrown together. Early country and r&b albums, for instance, were a bunch of songs recorded for (and often released as) singles; plus maybe some filler -- stuff that was recorded, but would never be seriously considered for released a single. (The filler was especially obvious on Phil Spector-produced albums -- he'd cut a couple of songs for the Righteous Bros. or Tina Turner, say, and, and often let somebody else produce the rest. Ike Turner puled crap in claiming it to be newly-recorded material, but that's questionable -- he was in the studio all the time. And of course Bill Medley started getting hits with his faux-Spector productions.

But when you say you're going to by somebody's album, does anybody really care about such distinctions?

[TG]

Look, you're clearly not a guy who ever admits he's wrong - and I've gotta take my kid to soccer practice. So go look up the track listings of For LP Fans Only, Elvis Presley, and A Date With Elvis. All Elvis albums and all released in the 1950s. Most of the Sun Sessions LP is on those earlier Elvis albums.

Okay?

Well, you think a person is wrong if their tastes or opinions don’t coincide with yours. I clearly didn’t know that the tracks had been released before on various LPs so, and to show you how wrong you can be, I will retract my previous statement about that. It doesn’t change what an album is or isn’t or that the fully collected Sun Sessions is Elvis’ best album. But I can happily admit I’m wrong and am happy to learn from my mistakes. You should try it sometime.