How was it so often in movie history? Very often the second part of a successful movie was only a poor copy of the first part. After "Praytome Publishing" was mainly responsible for the worldwide marketing and the sales in Europe of "Elvis: Behind The Image Vol.1", the tasks now increased heavily with Vol. 2.
Due to the fact that the sales of the first DVD in Europe exceeded the sales of the USA, "Bud Glass Productions" decided to take the production of the DVD to Europe for keeping the costs as low as possible.
Here its primarily about tolls and shipping costs for the Elvis wholesalers in Europe. With this logical step it was possible to offer the numerous European fans the "Behind The Image" products to a price as low as possible.
At this juncture it was especially taken care of that there is at least one wholesaler available in every European country. In this case a co-operation with "Praytome Publishing" was the first choice because the previous co-operation had been very successful and the friendship between Bud Glass and Greg Retkowski, the CEO of "Praytome Publishing", brought the required mutual trust. In addition, Greg Retkowski's experiences concerning media, music, marketing and management were already very voluminous before the co-operation with "Bud Glass Productions" and he could also offer the financial background required for supporting Bud Glass' ambitious plans.
Due to his work as a producer for national and international stars in the music business Greg Retkowski was able to fall back on a capacious team of experts and on the required logistic. The crew of "Praytome Publishing" was immediately enlarged with Elvis historian André Mester (www.Elvis-History.com), with whom Greg Retkowksi had already been working together successfully on several different products (amongst other things Elvis).
After BTI - Vol.1 had become the most popular collectors DVD, at the beginning of the production the question came up "how to improve a great product?". So it was decided to advance the essence of Volume 1 in every part.
In the past reasonable care of the releases was not exsercised so the biggest artist of our century wasn't presented in the way he deserved.
Obviously in their opinion, a Elvis product sells anyway; so there is no need to try hard. Neither concerning the marketing nor concerning the production itself. So Elvis and his fans had to pass on some features on releases. Just like in current movie-DVDs the fan gets on "Behind The Image - Volume 2" features like a clearly arranged interactive menu (not only a single background picture and a play button), zoom and transitions, several relevant integrated music in the navigation, AC3 sound, capacious trailer and bonus material. All features a current DVD production has got.
The idea of not only showing the interview partner during the interview, but showing fitting footage or pictures, like it was already done in Volume 1, to amend the told story, has been enhanced. In the second part of the DVD it was decided to not only use interviews, there was an expensive documentary produced, in which the star guests have their say.
Due to the fact that the sales of the first DVD in Europe exceeded the sales of the USA, "Bud Glass Productions" decided to take the production of the DVD to Europe for keeping the costs as low as possible.
Here its primarily about tolls and shipping costs for the Elvis wholesalers in Europe. With this logical step it was possible to offer the numerous European fans the "Behind The Image" products to a price as low as possible.
At this juncture it was especially taken care of that there is at least one wholesaler available in every European country. In this case a co-operation with "Praytome Publishing" was the first choice because the previous co-operation had been very successful and the friendship between Bud Glass and Greg Retkowski, the CEO of "Praytome Publishing", brought the required mutual trust. In addition, Greg Retkowski's experiences concerning media, music, marketing and management were already very voluminous before the co-operation with "Bud Glass Productions" and he could also offer the financial background required for supporting Bud Glass' ambitious plans.
Due to his work as a producer for national and international stars in the music business Greg Retkowski was able to fall back on a capacious team of experts and on the required logistic. The crew of "Praytome Publishing" was immediately enlarged with Elvis historian André Mester (www.Elvis-History.com), with whom Greg Retkowksi had already been working together successfully on several different products (amongst other things Elvis).
After BTI - Vol.1 had become the most popular collectors DVD, at the beginning of the production the question came up "how to improve a great product?". So it was decided to advance the essence of Volume 1 in every part.
In the past reasonable care of the releases was not exsercised so the biggest artist of our century wasn't presented in the way he deserved.
Obviously in their opinion, a Elvis product sells anyway; so there is no need to try hard. Neither concerning the marketing nor concerning the production itself. So Elvis and his fans had to pass on some features on releases. Just like in current movie-DVDs the fan gets on "Behind The Image - Volume 2" features like a clearly arranged interactive menu (not only a single background picture and a play button), zoom and transitions, several relevant integrated music in the navigation, AC3 sound, capacious trailer and bonus material. All features a current DVD production has got.
The idea of not only showing the interview partner during the interview, but showing fitting footage or pictures, like it was already done in Volume 1, to amend the told story, has been enhanced. In the second part of the DVD it was decided to not only use interviews, there was an expensive documentary produced, in which the star guests have their say.
In my opinion, as expensively as on this DVD the artist Elvis Presley should be presented.
Praytome Publishing
The producers already managed to redefine a new set standard with Volume 1. This DVD has set standards in all areas and was the most expensive private production of a single collectors DVD until today. After the shooting in Las Vegas (November 2002) work lasting for months on the DVD followed, and it was released in March of 2004. It was consistently declared as "masterpiece" by the experts. On this, please read the section titled "In the press". Further information on the content of the DVD you get under "Content".
The Documentary
The cast of the documentary is like the "who is who?" of the Elvis scene. All interview partners give here for the first time insight in their life with Elvis and report here exclusively of private moments with the King Of Entertainment.
Teaser
When the DVD was released the teaser, in which an animated Elvis dances to didgeridoo music, caused enthusiasm. This fulminant start underlines immediately how innovative this DVD is in exposure to the topic Elvis. The awareness "Elvis - a cultural heritage and a phenomenon of centuries" finds here its visual conversion. After the release of the DVD the fans attested the producers, that only this first part was worth the purchase.
Cynthia Pepper - The Making Of "Kissin' Cousins"
Despite her young age the actress Cynthia Pepper was able to look back on a big Hollywood movie and stage career already before her co-operation with Elvis. Besides her own TV series she acted at the side of James Stewart in diverse successful movie classics.
The title of this doceumentary is chosen right: The Making of "Kissin' Cousins". Such a flood of information, pictures of the shooting and memorabilia chroma keying, cinema posters from the several countries and the funny stories Cynthia knows to tell, are centralized in a documentary how you would expect the bonus material of the "Kissin' Cousins" DVD to be.
The title of this doceumentary is chosen right: The Making of "Kissin' Cousins". Such a flood of information, pictures of the shooting and memorabilia chroma keying, cinema posters from the several countries and the funny stories Cynthia knows to tell, are centralized in a documentary how you would expect the bonus material of the "Kissin' Cousins" DVD to be.
After watching this documentary you will have a totally different look on the movie "Kissin' Cousins" and will remember certain scenes with a smirk. Cynthia Pepper tells, besides her own life story, not only how she got to know Elvis but to the "scenes behind the camera" also belong explanations how it was reached at that time to show Elvis in a double role on the silver screen.
But the viewer becomes also aware of how much Cynthia Pepper was coined - by her co-operation with Elvis - not only professionally but also emotionally. Not later than when Cynthia describes how she has found out about Elvis's death.
But the viewer becomes also aware of how much Cynthia Pepper was coined - by her co-operation with Elvis - not only professionally but also emotionally. Not later than when Cynthia describes how she has found out about Elvis's death.
Ed Hill - Losing A Friend
Exclusively and for the first time on this DVD we experience Ed Hill's personal life story. Ed is one of the few people, who has always refused over the years to write a book about his time with Elvis. Especially this factor makes us extremely proud to be able to present you his personal story here for the first time. Here the adjusted concept and the evolution of the DVD in a direct comparison to Volume 1 has really an effect. It is not about an interview or some statements given about Elvis, but about a capacious documentary, which catches dramatically hold of the life story and the collective work with Elvis.
This documentary doesn't only clear rumors and misinterpretations about the person Elvis, but makes it necessary that some chapters of Elvis's life have to be written new. The fullness of unpublished photos and movie recordings makes it here impossible to list all and so it is in the magazines circulating for which it is impossible to write a review which comes up to the DVD. For the first time in the Elvis history we see a pre-program of the Stamps on Super8 which is alone already a sensation. Especially this segment is an example for you finding on this DVD hidden sensational and unpublished Super8 material, which some of the "minutes counting fans" don't count, so that we didn't find one critic making a declaration of the content without any mistakes.
Ed Enoch - He Gave The World Music
Ed Enoch is, just as Ed Hill, a long-time member of the group "J.D. Sumner & The Stamps Quartet". You have to make yourself clear that all of the musicians Elvis worked with had their own audience and their own career and gave concerts in sold out halls and still give today.
So these people look back on a moved life and also Ed Enoch has a considerable life story to show, he tells you on this DVD. Surely most of the fans remember the moving documentary "He Touched Me" where Ed Enoch told in emotional words about Elvis's religiousness and his connection to Gospel music.
So these people look back on a moved life and also Ed Enoch has a considerable life story to show, he tells you on this DVD. Surely most of the fans remember the moving documentary "He Touched Me" where Ed Enoch told in emotional words about Elvis's religiousness and his connection to Gospel music.
On "Elvis - Behind The Image Volume 2" Ed talks for the first time about his personal life story and his friendship to Elvis, which was much more than the co-operation. Ed really goes here into the details: the successful concert tours, the collective work in Las Vegas and the private moments he shared with Elvis. Ed here uses the opportunity to clear a lot of myths and lies. Especially at the late Elvis , the famous Jungle Room - sessions and the 1977 CBS Special this DVD takes a closer look.
From now things have to be considered new and it shows clearly that a lot of this "negative stories" we had to read in the past in books and in the yellow press are were not true. Exactly this part of the documentary is not only the climax but especially the details of the life of the late Elvis and the details on the moment of his death and the following funeral ceremony make this part exciting, captivating and emotionally rousing like a thriller.
From now things have to be considered new and it shows clearly that a lot of this "negative stories" we had to read in the past in books and in the yellow press are were not true. Exactly this part of the documentary is not only the climax but especially the details of the life of the late Elvis and the details on the moment of his death and the following funeral ceremony make this part exciting, captivating and emotionally rousing like a thriller.
Original Screenshots von der DVD "Elvis: Behind The Image - Volume 2"
During the further development of the concept for part 2 of this documentary series it was decided to fall back on fantastic movie material again. No easy job considering the historically important and incomparable footage of part 1. The most important change was, that you not just activate the bonus material in the interactive menu by clicking, but that you get an explanation before every concert footage within the scope of a mini documentary telling the viewer all important information on the concert.
Bonus Features
Unedited Concert Footage
Bud Glass Productions took care for not only the lovers of documentaries getting their money worth but also the collectors of Super8 material. Also here the DVD is a novelty. You are not only getting a tiny piece of a few seconds that's supposed to make you beg for more, but also of this part was taken totally care: The footage used in the documentary is included on the DVD in the "Bonus Material" area unedited and in full length. On every "Elvis - Behind The Image" product the Super8 material is transferred from the original reels with the most modern laser technology. It is unexceptional unreleased material, which has never before circulated.
Candid Material
During the further development of the concept for part 2 of this documentary series it was decided to fall back on fantastic movie material again. No easy job considering the historically important and incomparable footage of part 1. The most important change was, that you not just activate the bonus material in the interactive menu by clicking, but that you get an explanation before every concert footage within the scope of a mini documentary telling the viewer all important information on the concert. Bud Glass Productions took care for not only the admirers of documentaries getting their money worth, but also the collectors of Super8 Material. Also here the DVD is a novelty. You are not only getting tiny clips of a few seconds, but also on this area was totally taken care of: the footage included in the documentary is on the DVD in the "Bonus material" area unedited and in complete length available. For all "Elvis - Behind The Image" products is valid that the Super8 material comes from the original reels and was transferred for the first time with the most modern laser scanning technology. It concerns unexceptional unpublished material which has never been circulating, not even in the fan scene.
Concert Material
Houston, Texas - Hofheinz Pavillion - November 12, 1971 - 08:30 P.M.
When the first part was released the trailer for part 2 on the DVD caused big excitement. In the fan scene it was assumed that the material must be 16mm because of the great quality of this recordings.
During the digital transfer and restoration in Hollywood the responsible person who has been working for years in the movie business commented the material as follows: "…impressive work of the person who filmed…astonishingly and incredibly straight camera work, considering that it was filmed without tripod and professional equipment".
If you watch this from the first row filmed material from 1971 for the first time and didn't hear the comment of Bud Glass before you would surely be one of the people who thought during a preview of this concert, they watch outtakes of "Elvis On Tour".
As usual for "Elvis - Behind The Image" you are not only getting a short clip, but a complete overview of the concert - Elvis coming on stage, and going again, and the action between Elvis arranges on stage and which is really unique.
When the first part was released the trailer for part 2 on the DVD caused big excitement. In the fan scene it was assumed that the material must be 16mm because of the great quality of this recordings.
During the digital transfer and restoration in Hollywood the responsible person who has been working for years in the movie business commented the material as follows: "…impressive work of the person who filmed…astonishingly and incredibly straight camera work, considering that it was filmed without tripod and professional equipment".
If you watch this from the first row filmed material from 1971 for the first time and didn't hear the comment of Bud Glass before you would surely be one of the people who thought during a preview of this concert, they watch outtakes of "Elvis On Tour".
As usual for "Elvis - Behind The Image" you are not only getting a short clip, but a complete overview of the concert - Elvis coming on stage, and going again, and the action between Elvis arranges on stage and which is really unique.
Dallas, Texas - Memorial Auditorium - November 13, 1971 - 08:30 P.M.
Also this rare recordings from the fall tour of '71 were filmed, as well as the recordings from the day before, filmed by Sue Wiegert. The fans know Sue for a long time because she was interviewed already in the cinema version of That's The Was It Is (1970) but it was not mentioned that she is a direct friend of Elvis. Due to that, she had certain privileges , which lead to her being able to film this concert relatively unhindered. In this recordings you can see clearly that the artist Elvis Presley showed big achievements over an unbelievable time frame.
The fantastic material shows impressively that Elvis even added to his stage presence and aggressiveness after the "That's The Way It Is" - time. This recordings prove once more, how unforced Elvis acted when there are no official cameras pointed on him. So the statement that you get to see an Elvis who doesn't take after the Elvis of the '68 Comeback nor the Elvis of "That's The Way It Is" or "Elvis On Tour".
Before you haven't seen this recordings, you have seen nothing. Neither the circulating Super8 recordings, nor the clips released on DVD show this quality and dynamic. Although you see here two days in a row, the recordings of Elvis are completely different.
Once more you realize, just like it was after the first part of the documentary: Who thinks he would know the stage show of Elvis during the several years, is wrong. Elvis appeared more than 1000 times and there are only a few motion pictures of that circulating, so that you can be anxious to which surprise is offered you this time.
Also this rare recordings from the fall tour of '71 were filmed, as well as the recordings from the day before, filmed by Sue Wiegert. The fans know Sue for a long time because she was interviewed already in the cinema version of That's The Was It Is (1970) but it was not mentioned that she is a direct friend of Elvis. Due to that, she had certain privileges , which lead to her being able to film this concert relatively unhindered. In this recordings you can see clearly that the artist Elvis Presley showed big achievements over an unbelievable time frame.
The fantastic material shows impressively that Elvis even added to his stage presence and aggressiveness after the "That's The Way It Is" - time. This recordings prove once more, how unforced Elvis acted when there are no official cameras pointed on him. So the statement that you get to see an Elvis who doesn't take after the Elvis of the '68 Comeback nor the Elvis of "That's The Way It Is" or "Elvis On Tour".
Before you haven't seen this recordings, you have seen nothing. Neither the circulating Super8 recordings, nor the clips released on DVD show this quality and dynamic. Although you see here two days in a row, the recordings of Elvis are completely different.
Once more you realize, just like it was after the first part of the documentary: Who thinks he would know the stage show of Elvis during the several years, is wrong. Elvis appeared more than 1000 times and there are only a few motion pictures of that circulating, so that you can be anxious to which surprise is offered you this time.
San Bernadino, California - Swing Auditorium - May 10, 1974 - 08:30 P.M.
Los Angeles, California - Forum - May 11, 1974 - 02:30 P.M. & 08:30 P.M.
Las Vegas, Nevada - International Hotel - September 01, 1974 - Midnight Show
Los Angeles, California - Forum - May 11, 1974 - 02:30 P.M. & 08:30 P.M.
Las Vegas, Nevada - International Hotel - September 01, 1974 - Midnight Show
Before this recordings you are also getting a mini documentary, which is full of unpublished photos showing Elvis in the several stage outfits. Conspicuous is that you realize watching the footage that pictures obviously can't give an account of the unbelievable beauty and glory of the suits. Never before have you seen the stones and diamonds twinkle in such a manner. Elvis wears here, besides the Rainbow-Suit, the American Eagle Suit, and Peacock-Suit also the black Spanish-Flower-Suit. That this suits in moving pictures are an rarity doesn't have to be emphasized. A little anecdote to this recordings is, that the Colonel personally stopped Sue when she filmed these recordings because she had "pushed too hard" over the years and filmed always more often and more unstopped, so this clips don't have the usual length like the already presented recordings.
A comment about the soundtrack
All amateur recordings of this footage were recorded in 1970 without sound. Cameras with sound were not before the end of 1974/ beginning of 1975 available and payable for normal human beings.
Also because of the legal situation it is not possible to add original Elvis music to such recordings. Even if you would be allowed to use it, this opportunity wouldn't be the right solution for the most footage. This results from the fact, that a reel was only 3 minutes long. The filming person wanted to capture as many impressions of the concert as possible, so he or she filmed as many sequences as possible, which are, however, only a few seconds long, due to the total running time of the reel. If you would try to lip-synchronize the recordings the resulting material would sound like a broken record. Apart from that, only a fraction of the amateurish recorded live appearances is suited for the so called overdubbing. Even if the person filmed 3 or 4 reels per concert, you would have to cut a concert of one hour down to 9 or 12 minutes, and here is again the "broken record-effect.
If you eclipse the lip-synchronity, you could use Elvis songs as background music. But Elvis moves wouldn't fir to the music. It would all seem "out of tempo" and seem strange to the fans which would keep them away from the actual pleasure.
You have to see Super8 recordings as what they actually are: The gives us the opportunity to experience Elvis in situation during the several years, which wouldn't be available for us otherwise, because from the official side it was failed to make film documents for the posterity. To make only one example: if amateurs didn't film Elvis in 1975 it wouldn't be possible today to see the star in the according year live.
We didn't want to expect of the fans to watch a silent movie, so Bud Glass Productions decided to go a different way. Instead of using, like in cheap productions usual, some non fitting karaoke tracks or some kind of elevator music, the team used especially for this DVD composed songs, which were recorded in a studio by musicians. For the first time ever you can find such high quality music on an Elvis-collectors-DVD, which underlines the shown recordings stylishly and enjoyably. So you can totally enjoy watching the most charismatic artist of music history working on stage. Also here the producers wanted to add up and let compose new tracks, which were again recorded by top-class musicians. This DVD has, too, its own theme songs which accompanies the viewer in the menu navigation.
The actual theme song of the documentary series "Behind The Image" - sung by Russ Howe, has already such a recognition under the fans, that the producers decided to use it for part 2, too, so that the viewers immediately while putting the DVD in, feel at home in the "Behind The Image" world.
Also because of the legal situation it is not possible to add original Elvis music to such recordings. Even if you would be allowed to use it, this opportunity wouldn't be the right solution for the most footage. This results from the fact, that a reel was only 3 minutes long. The filming person wanted to capture as many impressions of the concert as possible, so he or she filmed as many sequences as possible, which are, however, only a few seconds long, due to the total running time of the reel. If you would try to lip-synchronize the recordings the resulting material would sound like a broken record. Apart from that, only a fraction of the amateurish recorded live appearances is suited for the so called overdubbing. Even if the person filmed 3 or 4 reels per concert, you would have to cut a concert of one hour down to 9 or 12 minutes, and here is again the "broken record-effect.
If you eclipse the lip-synchronity, you could use Elvis songs as background music. But Elvis moves wouldn't fir to the music. It would all seem "out of tempo" and seem strange to the fans which would keep them away from the actual pleasure.
You have to see Super8 recordings as what they actually are: The gives us the opportunity to experience Elvis in situation during the several years, which wouldn't be available for us otherwise, because from the official side it was failed to make film documents for the posterity. To make only one example: if amateurs didn't film Elvis in 1975 it wouldn't be possible today to see the star in the according year live.
We didn't want to expect of the fans to watch a silent movie, so Bud Glass Productions decided to go a different way. Instead of using, like in cheap productions usual, some non fitting karaoke tracks or some kind of elevator music, the team used especially for this DVD composed songs, which were recorded in a studio by musicians. For the first time ever you can find such high quality music on an Elvis-collectors-DVD, which underlines the shown recordings stylishly and enjoyably. So you can totally enjoy watching the most charismatic artist of music history working on stage. Also here the producers wanted to add up and let compose new tracks, which were again recorded by top-class musicians. This DVD has, too, its own theme songs which accompanies the viewer in the menu navigation.
The actual theme song of the documentary series "Behind The Image" - sung by Russ Howe, has already such a recognition under the fans, that the producers decided to use it for part 2, too, so that the viewers immediately while putting the DVD in, feel at home in the "Behind The Image" world.
General Information on Trailers
In general fans collect (and Elvis fans are no exception) every little piece of their star. That doesn't only concern print media. They also collect commercial trailers from the TV and even documentaries where their star is only mentioned. Unfortunately the biggest star has to live with the worst marketing.
And when the fan has the luck to get a clip on an Elvis production it is often cheap produced without love, what actually doesn't accord to the artist Elvis Presley. Here, the "Behind The Image Team" goes a different way. The trailer produced by them do not only advertise a product, but they were levied to an art form. They are unusual complex (q.v. the trailer of BTI 3 and the trailer of the book "Born To Rock") and show the love to the detail and the professionalism every product of "Bud Glass Productions" and Praytome Publishing has got. That's why the whole Elvis world is looking forward in advance to every new trailer giving an insight of the newest product.
Here we want to offer you the trailer to the according product you are interested in for download. Don't miss the trailers of our other releases. You find them on the left in the menu by clicking the desired product.
Please note that the according trailers are always clips in the so called web quality (for quicker downloading). So the quality does never show the quality of the DVD/book.
Of course you'll also find all available trailers in the bonus material section (on the medium DVD) in DVD quality.
A lot of costumers attested us in their numerous E-Mails and letters that the trailers are the best the existing in the Elvis world and some even said that only the trailers were worth the money for the DVD. Q.v. "In The Press"!
So now lean back and PUMP UP the volume of your speakers :-)
And when the fan has the luck to get a clip on an Elvis production it is often cheap produced without love, what actually doesn't accord to the artist Elvis Presley. Here, the "Behind The Image Team" goes a different way. The trailer produced by them do not only advertise a product, but they were levied to an art form. They are unusual complex (q.v. the trailer of BTI 3 and the trailer of the book "Born To Rock") and show the love to the detail and the professionalism every product of "Bud Glass Productions" and Praytome Publishing has got. That's why the whole Elvis world is looking forward in advance to every new trailer giving an insight of the newest product.
Here we want to offer you the trailer to the according product you are interested in for download. Don't miss the trailers of our other releases. You find them on the left in the menu by clicking the desired product.
Please note that the according trailers are always clips in the so called web quality (for quicker downloading). So the quality does never show the quality of the DVD/book.
Of course you'll also find all available trailers in the bonus material section (on the medium DVD) in DVD quality.
A lot of costumers attested us in their numerous E-Mails and letters that the trailers are the best the existing in the Elvis world and some even said that only the trailers were worth the money for the DVD. Q.v. "In The Press"!
So now lean back and PUMP UP the volume of your speakers :-)
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Information about the BTI 2 DVD - Trailer
At the time of the release of BTI 2 (the trailer was produced when in advance) nobody did know what kind of epic this sequel would be. The Interview partners (Cynthia Pepper, Ed Enoch and Ed Hill) were top secret back then. The Super 8 Footage was so extraordinary that fans claimed it as professional 16mm shots which - unfortunately - is not true. It's a pity, that the Candid Footage from the Tailer didn't make it into the final version of the DVD. Now the fans hope that these privat footage will make its way into the final cut of BTI 3.
Well, did this trailer take your breath away? For orders please use the menu on the left.
Well, did this trailer take your breath away? For orders please use the menu on the left.
Print Media
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Interview with Bud Glass in the English "Essential Elvis" Magazine No. 28 (2003)
Interview with Bud Glass taken from the Magazine No. 28 of the English Club "Essential Elvis" (June 2003)
If you are interested in a membership or want to get in contact with the club please use the following website for more information: www.essentialelvis.co.uk
© 2003 by Essential Elvis
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Review in the German "Graceland" Magazine No. 164 (2005)
DVD-Review taken from the "Graceland" Magazine No. 156 (May / June 2004)
If you are interested in a membership or want to get in contact with the club please use the following website address for more information:
www.EPG-ev.de
© 2004 by Elvis Presley Gesellschaft
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Interview with Bud Glass in the Spanish "Club Elvis" Magazine No. 44 (2003)
Interview with Bud Glass taken from the Magazine No. 44 of the Spanish "Club Elvis" (2003)
If you are interested in a membership or want to get in contact with the club please use the address on the flyer below for more information.
© 2003 by Club Elvis - Spain
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Advertisement in the English "Essential Elvis" Magazine No. 35 (2004)
Clippings taken from the Magazine Nr. 35 (July 2004) of the english Club "Essential Elvis"
If you are interested in a membership or want to get in contact with the club please use the following website address for more information: www.essentialelvis.co.uk
© 2004 by Essential Elvis
World Wide Web
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Review on the website www.Elvisbay.com
„The wait is over!“ it said in the add for this new DVD „Behind the Image vol. 2 - Welcome to his world”. Sure it was, but that wasn’t my problem, the question that struck my mind was:
Was it worth waiting for?
To find out, every arrangement was made to have a nice evening with some fellow Elvis addicts and watch the show. The kids were sent to their grandparents (thanks mom & dad) and my wife was sent to the local restaurant and disco. The table was filled with coke, peanuts and popcorn. The peanutbutter-sandwiches were lying in the fridge and were waiting for their execution. (as usual)
So the lights went down, the volume went up (as a compensation) and 4 noses and 8 feet were pointing towards a 42” flatscreen. The DVD started.
Suddenly all 8 feet jumped simultaneously from the table … what the hell is this … !!!!!!!
Unseen shots of Elvis, dancing to a didgeridoo !! Suddenly we fly over the amazon and see people like Einstein, Martin Luther King, Hitler, Ronald Reagan and Elvis.
We see Elvis’ arrival in Germany. We see the festival in Edinburgh. Why do I get to see this, what do they want to tell me?! I’m confused but also very fascinated.
Suddenly I hear 3 people yelling at me: again, again, show that again .. !!We looked at this intro about 4 times and stopped the DVD. We just had to talk about it !!
We saw a man of our time and heard his heartbeat, suddenly he starts dancing to one of the oldest instruments of the world. A great way to show how timeless Elvis is. Than we fly over the world and see its history, humans come to the world and change everything. People have changed the world in a good way and in a bad way. We see both. This explains why we see Hitler, but why do we see nazi Germany a second time? The first time it’s part of the history of the world. The second time it’s part of Elvis’ career. This was the reason for Elvis coming to Germany. Elvis’ stay in Germany had a big, big impact on his career. Just think about what would’ve happened if he didn’t went to Germany. (this may be a good topic in a forum by the way)The conclusion of this intro has to be that only a very few people changed the world in a way that never will be forgotten. Elvis is one of them. A heavy start in every way.
As this was supposed to be an interview documentary, we decided to have a look at what Cynthia Pepper has to say first. The interview starts with information about “Kissin’ Cousins” which flows into the actual interview. Since this is no review, I will not go into details about the interview. What’s interesting me is the question why they took Cynthia Pepper, why about “Kissin’ Cousins” ? Tell someone you like this movie and you’ll be smashed in the face and killed with words. How can you like one of the worst movies Elvis ever made !!! Nobody does or did !!!!!
And that’s a fact !!!
After looking at this interview, it seems appropriate to re-think this fact.
It may be that “Kissin’ Cousins” doesn’t fit into this time, where Schwarzeneggers, Stalones and others massively reduce the over-population of this world. But what about the 60s ? Was it such a bad movie back than ? The facts, provided in this interview, certainly show me it wasn’t.
Take another look at the figures in the interview and you’ll see it was a successful movie. Which means that it was exactly what people wanted to see during that time.
Or do you think a little kid, called Schwarzenegger, forced everyone to go to the movies and buy the Soundtrack?
“Kissin’ Cousins” will certainly not be nominated for an Oscar. Compare it to the Rock Hudson and Doris Day movies of that time and you'll see no big difference. Why is it than that we complaint about Elvis and not about the other 200 similar movies that came out that year?
Think and try to find another reason for Elvis being the highest paid actor of that time, besides he’s just simply worth it! Hell, he even got more than Elisabeth Taylor (the best paid actress). Actors like John Wayne got $100.000 for a movie, Elvis was paid $1.000.000. (this would be about $75.000.000 in our time) Any questions left?
By the way, did you know that "Kissin' Cousins" grossed more than "Jailhouse Rock"?
What about the soundtrack, was it really that bad? The single itself reached #12 in the top-50. No #1 hit, I agree but still a big selling single. We're talking about the time the (lord have) mersey-beat came up.
During this time Elvis continued to pop up in the top-50, which is a big succes. Stars of todays music (like Jennifer Lopez) have 1 or 2 hits a year and what about Elvis?
Kiss Me quick ( #34) - Viva Las Vegas EP (#29) - What I’Say ( #21) - Such a Night ( #16) - Ask Me (#12) - Aint That Loving You Baby (#16) and his biggest hit Never Ending b-side of Such I Night … a million seller !!Don't forget "One broken heart for sale" a big hit outside the US.
Still not convinced? The album sold around 3,000,000 worldwide (in 1964/65), that's something Michael Jackson can't achieve these days. How many copies are sold until now is not known. Take for example the 30 #1 Hits CD, it sold 7.000.000 about a year and a half ago. Even though it's still in the charts and being sold all over the world, the sales figures are stil at 7,000,000 today ?!?
Our (grand)children will laugh about the things we like today. But does that make those things bad during our time? Do you really consider throwing away “Lord of the Rings” because of what your (grand)children might think?? It seems to be the right time to re-think Elvis’ movie career !! We should see it in the perspective of the time when it was made.
I'm pretty sure we all would dress up like a clown and dance the hula for half the money that Elvis got.
As it was getting late, we decided to have a look at Ed Hill and Ed Enoch without stopping the DVD. It seemed to us that both would tell the same story we heard 1000 times before from others.After the lengthy interviews, we were totally confused. In fact, confused is an understatement.
What are they trying to tell us??? What did they say exactly ???
First both men tell us how they respected Elvis as a musician. I must admit, I always feel good to hear a musician, who worked with Elvis, confirm my own opinion about Elvis. (His music is the reason why I became addicted to Elvis) But that was not what confused us.
There were three things, told by both, that started a lengthy discussion. First it was the way Elvis was on stage during the last years of his life, second it was about the Graceland sessions and last but not least it was the news about Elvis’ death.
I always had a problem with those who know better what happened on stage than the once who were actually there. So, let’s face the facts.
Elvis never thought that anyone would listen to all of his concerts, they were not intended for that. It was a show to be performed in different places to a different audience. So why can anyone complaint about the shows being so similar? In fact, Elvis changed his act very often compared to modern day bands and singer.
People are listening to soundboards to judge Elvis’ performance.
Hey, what’s that !!!!! How can you judge a live performance by a soundboard. I think you can only really tell when you were there, because it seems to me there’s a visual part to a live concert as well. Maybe, but just maybe, you could whisper your opinion after listening to an audience recording, but never after listening to a soundboard. That’s just insane and shows how much these experts know about what they’re talking about. It seems that they don't know what a soundboard is. For those a small (incomplete and simple) explanation. There were two different kinds of soundboards. One was taken from the soundsystem that was responsible for he sound the audience heard. The other soundsystem was responsible for the sound the band heard.
The soundboards we have come (mostly) from the "band" soundsystem. These can be used by a musician to study certain songs, but cannot be used for reviewing a show.
Next thing is that we don’t have all concerts on tape and that we only have a few concerts on film. How can you judge about Elvis’ concerts if you know so less about them? Why is Elvis out of breath at a certain point in the show? Is it possible he just did some heavy karate-moves? Was he standing on his hands and singing with his head down? WE JUST DON’T KNOW !!! Perhaps this is a reason to keep quiet and listen to those who were actually there?!
I’ve heard some very humorous stories about Elvis on stage, it tells me a lot about this man. It was a delight to hear some positive things again, I was getting tired of all those experts bashing on Elvis.
Next point of discussion were the so-called Graceland sessions. We were always told how high Elvis was, how strange he behaved and how bad his voice was.
After the release of The Jungle Room Sessions I had some doubts about these stories. Somehow it just didn’t fit. Now, after listening to two men who were there, my suspicion was confirmed. Sure, Elvis sung moody songs during this time. Emotionally he was down and I can understand that completely. He had been locked up most of his life, locked up in a golden cage, but still locked up. Around the age of 40 you start thinking about your life. A life that wasn’t too good to Elvis or do you want to live like him? I certainly won’t.
I can't help but think this is not the only lie we were told about these sessions. How about the X-rated version of "Hurt". We were told it was burned by Felton Jarvis' wife after Felton died.
Now you tell me how she's supposed to do that !!!! First of all, we have this version on bootleg, second we did get alternate takes of "Hurt". Do you really think this woman cut this special part out of the tape and burned it?? Burn a piece of tape with Elvis' voice on it ??? Come on, tell this to your grandmother !!!
About his so called strange behavior, I can be very short. It’s all a matter of interpretation. You can always tell a story in a negative way if you want. But it’s funny that most of the guys who were there at those moments don’t recall it in that negative way.
Sometimes there's another reason however. Let's do a little test to show what's meant. Switch yourself into "Brainless-Mode" and take a look at the pictures that were taken at the "Jungle Room Sessions". What do you see? It's Elvis at home (posing for a picture) wearing a police uniform. What comes to your mind? Probably something like: What a weirdo.. did they remove his brain.. is he high on drugs.. ??? In every case, the conclusion will be that Elvis is totally insane and stoned as a rock. Period!!
Now it's time to put your brain online again. Take a look at the pictures again and explain what you see. It's still the same Elvis at home (posing for a picture) wearing a police uniform. Now you see a man who collects everything related to the police (like we do with everything related to Elvis). You see a man so proud of what he has, that he wants to show it to others (like we do). His only problem is: he's Elvis Presley !!! He can't go out (like us), he can't invite other collectors (like we would), he can' go to any convention (like we do) and he even has no friends to share his passion with !!
And ehhhhh ........... wanna hear something else !!! Elvis invited a few police officers to join the session and the guy on the picture with Elvis is a police captain who gave Elvis the uniform !!!!! Elvis put the uniform on and posed for a picture. What's wrong about that?? Hell...... there are even Elvis fans wearing jumpsuits in public !!!!! Now, you tell me who the weirdo is ! How stoned can we get !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Next thing that comes to your mind: Is that Elvis in 1976? Is this the same fat, bloated and stoned Elvis, all the others are talking about? (or are the others constantly talking about Elvis Costello?) I don't know, I can't tell because I wasn't there. But if I look at the pictures and listen to the (horrable mixed) sessions, I tend to believe that the two Eds are telling the truth.
Okay, back to the interviews. It was really puzzling to hear the reaction of both men when they were told the (last) tour was cancelled. None thought Elvis would’ve died!!!
No, it was Vernon they were thinking of !! Isn’t that strange ??? Why didn’t they expect that Elvis died ?? All the experts told us Elvis was high on drugs 26 (twenty six !) hours a day, that he was carrying suitcases filled with pills and bottles filled with liquid heroin.
This is all BULLSHIT. Read the autopsy report and you’ll know what was in Elvis’ body when he died. Or could this also just be another complot to sell rose tinted sunglasses? Come on guys, read the facts and not the gossip!!! Phewwwww, that’s a discussion !!! It sure gave us something to think about and changed our minds (and the DVD had only just started.)
Next thing we wanted to see was the 8mm bonus material. The first thing that struck our minds was that some of the dates didn’t fit to the shown pictures. Strange !!!
Didn’t the producers know what they were talking about, did they make a mistake or was there (again) something they wanted to tell us?
Let’s take the 8mm film from San Bernadino May 10, 1974 for example. The picture shown is from 1976, which a blind person wearing sunglasses will even see at night. This is so obvious, we couldn’t believe it wasn't done on purpose.
So what are they trying to tell us? Elvis, wearing the same jumpsuit in 1974 and 1976 ?? Hmmmm …. 1976 … wasn’t that the year where Elvis was supposed to be so extreme fat, bloated and out of shape? So we immediately started looking at pictures of Elvis during 1974 to 1977.
As we all know, pictures sometimes don’t tell the truth.
But if you look at a lot of them you can build an opinion pretty close to the truth. Looking at Elvis’ body, you can’t see anything unusual. We all change when we grow older, no one looks like twenty when he is over fourty. That’s something we have to accept, it’s nature. Elvis isn’t thin, but you can’t say he’s really fat.
What makes Elvis look fat, is his face. His face is bloated, which is very common with people who take cortisone. Back in the 70s people were given cortisone very easily, nowadays this has changed because we know about the side-effects. And these are exactly what Elvis was fighting against. Trying to get rid of the water in your body is almost impossible and that’s what Elvis tried to do with dieting. We now know this is the wrong way, but back in the 70s???
What about Elvis’ so-called aggressive behavior? Did you ever talk to a bodybuilder and ask him how they are when loosing weight before they compete? Yup, they become extremely aggressive.
Some become so aggressive they leave their family during this period. It has something to do with loosing too much fat and extreme dieting.
But, hey .... what are we talking about .... wasn't this supposed to be a nice and relaxed evening to see a simple DVD ??? After looking at the clock, we found out that the local disco will be closing in just a few hours and we didn't see any of the bonusmaterial yet !!
It was time to make a decission and we decided to shut up and see the 8mm stuff without saying a word. So, on we went .....
After seeing the first live shots you could feel a tension coming up, a strong desire to shout things like "great stuff, never seen that quality before !!!"
Than Elvis makes a big, big mistake. He starts to move like someone putting a 10.000 Volt wire in is behind. Gone was the silence and on was the discussion.
Was this the same guy we knew from TTWII and On Tour ?? In what physical shape must this guy be to move that way, sing and don't be exhausted ??? We all thought we knew how Elvis performed on stage. Didn't we see TTWII & On Tour a quadriple times, even backwards and in slow- motion?
Sure we did !!! But we often forget, we don't see the real Elvis in those documentaries. Elvis knew they were filming, so he acted different than he would've done during his normal concerts. Another good example for this is the Aloha-show. You can clearly see he's not comfortable with all those cameras around. So in fact we have no idea what an Elvis concert was like! There we were, sitting around the table in silence. Four Elvisfans, good for at least 150 years of collecting, thinking they knew it all !! Just to find out they know only a very small part of Elvis.
Behind the Image vol. 1 allready proved us completely wrong and now with vol. 2 we get another smash in the face.
What bothered us the most is that we believed all the bad stories they told us about Elvis, without thinking about it. We just didn't THINK, we wanted to believe that gossip. Suddenly we felt like small kids running around the streets yelling: Elvis is a junky ... Elvis is a junky ...
We were unfair to a man who gave us some of the greatest moments in our life, a man who made us friends. A man who could easily have stopped working in 1970 and have a wonderfull life. But he didn't do that, he didn't do that for US, the fans. We all think that we know what happened, in fact we don't.
We believe the Goldmans among us, and we call those who were there liars. Isn't that strange??
Ed Enoch told us that Elvis was a "live-performer" and that he didn't like singing to a wall. After seeing this incredible quality 8mm footage, it becomes clear that Elvis loved to do live performances. You can clearly see this by the way he performs, by the expression on his face and by the way he interacts with the audience.
He didn't need a big show with flashing lights, dancers or computer animated tricks to entertain the audience. He's just out there on his own, with some musicians and a guy at a switch to put the lights on and off. No artist of today could do that, they probably even don't know it's possible to do a show without all that crap. The bonus material on this DVD showed us very clearly what a great performer Elvis was. There have never been anyone like him until today.
This DVD made us think about the man behind the image, exactly what the title was !! Thanks guys.
With the coke, peanuts and popcorn still on the table we decided to call it a day. The peanut butter sandwiches had to wait for their execution.
Text and Pictures were taken from the Elvisbay Website
Review © 2004 www.elvisbay.com
