Baby, let's play loud: The essential Elvis set

By Steve Marinucci
Published June 26, 1992, San Jose (CA) Mercury News

ELVIS PRESLEY
''Elvis: The King of Rock 'n' Roll -- The Complete '50s Masters"
(RCA; 5 CDs, or 5 cassettes)
(star)(star)(star)(star)

If Elvis' long reign on the charts and his influence on rock 'n' roll makes him the King, then his recordings from the '50s were truly the crown jewels. It was a time when Elvis was at his rawest, his sexiest -- and his most influential. This historic set, two years in the making, features 140 tracks from that era, 14 of which have never been released before. The five CDs ($79.98) or cassettes ($69.98) comprise the master takes of all Elvis' '50s studio recordings.
More important, the sound quality is a vast improvement over past releases, even past CDs, thanks to a two-year worldwide search begun in 1988 to find the best masters available.
The production team took Elvis' early Sun recordings from 1954-55 and cleaned them up by stripping away the excess echo and reverb that RCA had added over the years and restoring them to nearly their original state. The result makes Elvis' vocals sound clearer and more up-front on "I Love You Because," for example.
On the original RCA tracks, the efforts are even more noticeable. The tracks sound much sharper and cleaner, giving them a greater urgency than ever before: Elvis' energy bursts through "Tutti-Frutti," and "Jailhouse Rock" has the intensity of a lightning bolt.
Then there are the usual unreleased goodies. Foremost among these is the world premiere of "That's When Your Heartaches Begin," the flip side of "My Happiness," Elvis' legendary $4 demo recorded in 1953 for his mother at the Sun studios. Although the demo is marred by surface noise, the young Presley sounds surprisingly confident as he performs the song in a version very close to the one he'd do later for Sun.
Other rarities include another segment from the Million Dollar Quartet session with Elvis singing "Reconsider Baby" and a bluesy 1955 acetate, "Fool, Fool, Fool," that Elvis never otherwise recorded.
The set also includes a beautiful 92-page booklet with notes by Peter Guralnick and a set of stamps of Elvis' record covers.
Separate boxed sets covering the '60s and '70s are planned. If this set is any indication, they'll be worth the wait.

Computer users all hooked up

By Steve Marinucci
Published March 6, 1992, San Jose (CA) Mercury News

If computers are bringing the world a little closer, place part of the blame on TSN -- The Sierra Network.
TSN is an on-line IBM and IBM-compatible service strictly for fun from computer-game manufacturer Sierra On-Line. After creating a profile graphic, members can hook up with others across the country and play games (including chess, checkers, backgammon, hearts and miniature golf), send electronic mail or just chat.
The network soon plans an upgrade that will include paint- ball games and an on-line version of Sierra's World War I combat game, Red Baron, in which computer pilots can battle others across the country. Duck!
The network supports VGA, EGA and Tandy graphics and requires 640k memory. Hourly rates are $2 an hour from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. (and weekends from 6 p.m. Friday to 6 p.m. Monday) and $7 an hour 6 a.m. to 6 p.m Monday through Friday, with a $4.95-per-month minimum. Many California users also can access the system for a flat rate of $11.95 a month.
Free start-up kits, which include a $10 TSN credit, are available by calling (800) 743-7721. A retail version of the kit, which comes with $25 TSN credit and $25 credit for use on the Compuserve on-line network, lists for $29.95 and is available at various computer software dealers.

It's a '60s thing; you wouldn't understand

By Steve Marinucci
Published September 6, 1991, San Jose (CA) Mercury News

If you were a rock 'n' roller (and even if you weren't), you'd eventually find your way to ABC's "Shindig!" in the '60s. Just about everyone (except Elvis) did. The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Chuck Berry and the Everly Brothers were just a few of the acts audiences saw on their TV screens.
Recent Rhino Home Video releases include "Frat Party" (with clips of the Kingsmen, Jerry Lee Lewis, the Sir Douglas Quintet and the Isley Brothers), "Motor City Magic," spotlighting Motown, and "Jackie Wilson," featuring the only live performances by the singer available on video.
And in the tradition of Rhino's "Golden Throats" audio releases, "Frat Party" also features rock 'n' rollin' Zsa Zsa Gabor, above with host Jimmy O'Neill, and her immortal rendition of "High Heel Sneakers."
Later this month Rhino will release "Groovy Gals," which includes the Supremes, Aretha Franklin, Petula Clark, the Shangri-las and Lesley Gore, and "Soul" featuring James Brown, Joe Tex, Booker T. and the MGs and a duet with Tina Turner and Marvin Gaye.
Each volume lists for $14.95 and is available at video stores.