TOO MUCH MONKEY BUSINESS: The Elvis Forum

Alright. I really enjoy all the wonderful vinyl stuff shared in this corner of the forum. Also, the knowledge and the enthousiasm displayed here is extraordinary!
But (there's always a but) I have nothing to add other than a well-meant "Thanks!" after each post in each thread.

So I thought I'd start a new thread about something I do have a bit of knowlegde of, and about stuff that I can actually share: Presley's worldwide rare and interesting CD's.

We'll see if this has any of the regulars' interest, or that it maybe even activates some of the non-posting members to start posting. If not, one of the higher powers here can always take this thread out of it's misery.

RCA / BMG only btw. No other labels.

And I will post all scans as thumbnails (due to the otherwise large size of the images slowing these pages down), so CLICK the image to get the bigger picture.

"Rock And Roll - The Early Days" (1985)

One of the 1st compilations that featured an Elvis recording.

The 1st USA release, 1985.
CD pressed in Japan.
Inlays printed in the USA.









The 2nd USA release, 1988.
CD and inlays pressed/printed in the USA.









The 1st German/European release, 1985.
CD pressed in Japan.
Inlays printed in Germany.

Good god almighty! In less than a week on this forum you break
the rules already! Count yourself blessed being Dutch, Maverick!
I would not have permitted these little uglies posted here by
some bloody foreigner...( or are we Dutch the foreigners here?)
Go ahead, cowboy. And let's see if it brings in new blood on
this section? Do me one favour, keep all cds under one roof,
please! Ugly little shits that they are! Giddy up and go, cowboy!
Good luck.

From 1983 German RCA limited edition 3-CD box
limited to 5000
This was the first ever Elvis release on CD & one of the earliest commercial CDs ever issued

Hmm, almost a week before I broke my 1st rule? I must be getting old ...

All little ugly CD's under one fine roof. Sure thing!




This was released in april of 1984.

Btw, Jans, I would appreciate own scans, and rather not pics found on the web. Otherwise this topic will be filled in no time with not so rare CD's and terrible quality pics. Unless you took that wonderful pic yourself!
The set you posted is of course a classic and highly collectible.

"1987 - Ten Years After - The Elvis Presley Commemorative Album" (1987)

This CD was pressed in Japan, and is collectable enough as it is.
But this is a promo version that not many collectors knew even existed.

Mav, it would be a good idea to post the news about your
rare cds topic on Spinnin' in the Elvis TODAY section.
It helps waking up readers there.

Cool! Who will be so kind to move this damn thing?

But I own this one...
Nice picture isn't it ?

Wel I'll be damned!

I swear, when I typed that message about posting original scans etc, for a sec I thought 'this guy HAS this set!!'', no idea where that thought came from. But, I went back and edited my post.

If you have this ----> you MUST have more! Go on, do Rijff and me a favour, and post some more.
Preferably something that is not on elvisoncd.com.

How about this ugly bastard?

"Elvis Presley & Jim Reevs - Christmas Favorites" (1991)

From the USA.
It's a RCA Special Product.

The first CD's are with a terrible sound>>>>tracks with electronically reprocessed stereo as taken from LP masters.



colonel snow

You are talking about the first 4 USA CD's. These terrible reprocessed stereo babies go for around $ 300 each nowadays and are among some of the most wanted US pressings.

Nice thread chaps. But vinyl is still king. I'm afraid I just can't get excited by CDs. Also I've noticed going back to some CDs I bought 20 years ago they won't even play properly and skip, jump and skip. My vinyl from +50 years doesn't.
Rich

Thanks for this new thread, Maverick !

And I can think of an advantage that it has over vinyl.

The CD sleeves are easily scanned................. unlike those massive vinyl album covers that won't fit in a scanner !

Thats why they are so easy to forge,sorry dont like them,dont collect them.

When you have over 4000 Elvis cds in your collection plus around 8000..vinyls....its impossible to have all of them scanned.also cause I am not so young....and the years are going fast..
So today..I put some cds scans..but I have the most rare items ..NOT scanned..at all..

I wasn't suggesting that anyone scan their whole collection !

But if you need to put up a sleeve to illustrate a post, the vinyl album covers have to be photographed in order to do it !

Those pesky scanners are just too small !

I have lots more cd's. But I have no idea if there are rare ones among them.
I have a few from Japan. Blue Hawaii / His Hand In Mine / Elvis In Concert.
I also have the CAMDEN cd You'll Never Walk Alone from Canada which Bruno shows.
Never new this one was rare.

Here are my cd boxes (not rare).

Here's the Japanese On Stage release using the 50th anniversary label. Cover normal so did not upload

Aha! This thread is going places!

If you want to learn about the rarity of a certain CD or pressing, www.elvisoncd.com is your absolute best source. Check this incredible site out, it's a true labor of love!

The Camden CD's are nice to have, but not rare. Even the 1st pressings are hardly worth the mention since they were produced in huge quantities.

The 'Collector's Gold' set in the bottom right corner seems to be the Canadian pressing. Also the German Club Edition, and the Japan pressing came in a fat jewel case.
The USA and European pressings were released in a 12" format box (like the 50's Masters, etc).

One of the rarest Japanese Cds. RpcD16 Merry Christmas

And here is the megarare USA pressing of this CD.
Maybe the rarest of all US pressings.

The guys at elvisoncd have this particular CD valued at a whopping EUR 300,-
Link: http://www.elvisoncd.com/eigenecd/CD/m/merrychristmas-us.htm

"Merry Christmas" (1984)

but what makes it rare? I wanna read the spicey details here,
and not elsewhere, Mr Bob, please.

You probably would get a minor stroke when you see my cds
scattered all over the place. Some are in boxes in the company of
toys from the time when my son was a baby. They have been there for
at least 16 years...untouched since they were put to sleep, next to
Winnie the pooh & friends.

The simple answer:
It's a question of demand and supply. Just like with the price of rare vinyl. Stamps. Highlclass Hollywood callgirls.

The bit longer answer:
For example, this (very ugly!! man, how I hate that cover) USA "Merry Christmas" pressing, was only available for an extremely short time, for 2 or 3 weeks in 1984. At this time the CD was very new to the customers, which resulted in poor sales. And next to that, RCA started dumping the Presley catalogue onto CD the next year (and the many years that followed .... as we all know), and around Christmas 1985 "Elvis' Christmas Album" saw the digital light of day, as a result of which the "Merry Christmas" CD did not get a 2nd pressing.

These are the 3 main reasons. But the biggest reason is that all collectors want to have it, which made the value go sky high.


Hahaha, no I would not get a stroke. I am a collector, yes. But I also play these CD's whenever I feel like it, and so does my oldest kid. I rather listen to Presley's original work (in the form it was intended to enjoy) than to the same songs on a 30 track compilation CD.

Don't know how many CD's you got (left), but if it's a mega-bunch of them, they will drop the price of what's already out there.