Customer Reviews

Elvis - The Great Performances Box Set

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

These recycled and re-energized Andrew Solt videos distinguish themselves with an embrace of Evis Presley the performer, primarily in his raw, younger years.

The hits are all here, coming back to life via a remarkable Dolby 5.1 audio mix that gets and deserves the "Rhinosonic" seal of approval. Purists have the option of a stereo (2.0) mix, but they'd be missing out on audio that gives this rock `n' roll music a fresh, wide-open feel -- room to twist and shout. 5.1 mixes often sound forced when delivering straight-ahead rock, soul or country, but a quick A-B comparison makes the choice an easy one. Bill Black's bass thumping through the subwoofer is a thing of sonic beauty.

The videos do a decent job of telling the familiar tale of a Memphis truck driver and mamma's boy who ascended to pop fame matched only by the Beatles. The definitive look at Elvis' greatest year remains the docu "Elvis '56," but Solt too understands the thrill and the importance of Presley's breakout run.

The images are all full screen. Quality of the footage ranges from ragged to pristine, with the criteria seeming to be quality of performance.

Discs 1 and 2 of the set ("Center Stage" and "The Man and His Music") are narrated by Presley pal George Klein, who keeps the chatter to a minimum, letting the music flow. U2 singer Bono narrates Disc 3 ("From the Waist Up"), which focuses on Presley's seminal TV appearances in 1956 and '57. Bono has a lot more to say than Klein, of course, but most of it is interesting. "Waist Up" aired on VH1 a few years back.

Easter eggs include Presley "jamming" with Liberace in a dressing room (no audio, alas) and a terrific "King Creole" trailer.

The first two discs of this set are really good, with much material that I had never seen before. The problem comes with disc three. The narrator (Bono of U2) will not be quiet, and frequently disrupts the music. To make matters worse, many of the performances on disc three are repeats. Surely they must have tons of footage they've yet to show. This is a good set, and one that I'd reccommend despite of the flaws. They includde songs from Elvis' movies, lip-synch performances, TV appearances, and home movies. What more could you want?

The packaging of this 3-disc DVD is outstanding. A mock blue suede covering, with images of Elvis etched on the back and front. The gatefold sleeve opens to reveal some beautiful artwork inside. It really has to be seen to be believed.

So, why not 5 stars? Well, I can understand some songs being repeated throughout the three discs, but WHY repeat the SAME performance? And, an even bigger sin, WHY commentate OVER some songs and/or edit them? (Considering Part 3 was only recently released, this would've given the producers the ideal opportunity to include different performances).

Parts 1 and 2 were previously released on VHS format some years ago, complete with limited edition booklets that are sadly missing from this box set. The DVD transfer is very good and the 5.1 sound quality fantastic. Seeing Elvis in colour performing "Blue Suede Shoes" (well, miming to the song) as part of his first screen test is still a thrill to watch.

Anyway, until a DVD of all the 56/57 TV performances is (officially) released, this is the best we're going to get. Buy it and judge for yourself. It is certainly worth every single penny.

All Elvis fans have had the following nightmare: They buy an attractively packaged Elvis video product with no less a name than "Elvis: The Great Performances," unwrap the product in a blind fury arising from the anticipation of witnessing what Heaven must surely look like, and find . . . gasp . . . heart attack . . . a made-for-late-night-T.V.-edited montage of movie clips featuring Elvis lip synching his songs while his hair does that weird swaying thing that it does whenever he lip synchs his songs in his movies.
We have all had the nightmare, but I had to live it when I bought this set. All Elvis fans with even the most basic senses of music and film appreciation, be advised that this video is nightmarishly bad.

Each disc keeps repeating what has already been shown on the other disc. I was disappointed because of this. One disc should
have been devoted to his rise in stardom and the other two should
have featured performances of Elvis doing what he did best
"Entertaining".

The good news is that Rhino has done an excellent job cleaning up the 40 year old audio and video. Elvis has never sounded so good. The bad is that the 155 minutes over 3 discs could easily have been 120 minutes on one disc at much lower cost by eliminating the duplicate songs! Several are seen twice, and Blue Suede Shoes is on all 3 discs!!

I should have listened to the Amazon.com reviews. Many of them said it looked like the same footage on each disc just from a different angle or a different song from the same concert. I didn't want to believe it but its true. However, I would recommend that you buy disc 1 and not the set. It is the best and captures every side of Elvis you will see in the other two. The version of "Unchained Melody" was fascinating. Not only was it very emotional and definitely touched me, but also shocking how heavy he was and was filmed just two months before his death. It may sound crazy but for me it was like a farewell song.

I enjoy this set very much. It is a must for Elvis fans. It is a nice gift box for a collector. It is more of the earlier years, and shows how much he matured in both his voice and performance. He is my favorite artist ever and anyone will enjoy this set......

This 3 DVD collection was very good. One drawback- several songs repeat on each DVD. Doesn't seem to have been created as a set when produced. It is still worth it, however.

As a relatively new Elvis fan, I generally speaking liked this selection. There are a lot of performances from Elvis's younger year that I very much enjoyed. The thing that bothered me though, was that the narration was very chopped up.
I liked first two discs well enough. The narrator was much more informative and interesting to listen to. However, I was very surprised, and disappointed when they totally switched to someone else on the third disc.
I felt that wa highly unorganized and strange. White the first two discs have fun performances and even some home movies.
The third I believe was just thrown together and made to make extra money. I personally would get something else for Elvis' performances. However, I'm not so disappointed because like I said I am a new Elvis fan. So I believe it's good for people who want a good introduction to him, but not for long time Presely fans though.