Elvis 30 #1 Hits
- Elvis's '#1 Hits' Could Have Follow-Up in September
By Darryl Morden
(Launch, March 31, 2003)
The successful 2002 collection of Elvis Presley's hits, Elvis: 30 #1 Hits, could be followed up by another anthology in September.
While BMG -- the music corporation that has the rights to Presley's RCA recordings -- would not confirm a release, sources say the company is looking to create another remix hit like last year's JXL remix of "A Little Less Conversation."
Elvis: 30 #1 Hits topped charts in 15 territories, including the U.S., Canada, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Spain, Sweden, Ireland, and Denmark.
Other reissues of Elvis material include a new version on DVD of the documentary Elvis, The Colonel & Me, packaged with a new cover. The DVD looks at photographer Ed Bonja's life on tour with Elvis, and the new release includes 20 minutes of previously unseen film clips from 1971 and 1976.
In additional Elvis movie news, his film with Mary Tyler Moore, Change Of Habit, has been re-released by Universal and NBC Era Home Entertainment in China. For collectors, the actual DVD is a picture disc with the same photo as the cover packaging.
- ALBUMS: Newest Elvis treatment is shoddy
By Howard Cohen
(Miami Herald, January 3, 2003)
Elv1s: 30 #1 Hits: 5.1 DVD Audio (RCA).
Since his death 25 years ago, Elvis Presley's catalog has been mishandled by RCA with mindless compilations and shoddy products glutting the shelves. This unfortunate treatment of Presley's music was remedied, to some extent, last fall when RCA deleted a large number of superfluous titles and issued the concise, digitally remixed and remastered Elv1s: 30 #1 Hits CD. It sold so well, RCA uses that title to enter the DVD-Audio format with its first release, and it's a return to careless treatment. Unlike the Warner Music Group, for example, which goes to some expense repackaging its titles for the new audiophile format and includes extras on its DVD-Audios like on-screen menus, videos, lyrics and a choice of sound mix (Advanced Resolution, DTS, Dolby Digital or improved stereo), the Elvis disc is insultingly cheap (in execution, not price, as it lists for $21.98). The DVD-Audio offers no on-screen component and Dolby Digital is the only sonic option. The booklet and the standard jewel case are the same as the standard CD. The only difference is that the sequencing runs newest to oldest song, rather than the other way around.
As for the touted 5.1 Surround Sound, it is virtually nonexistent. Half the songs are mono! How can one suitably mix 45-year-old mono tracks into five channels? The original stereo tracks don't take to the new format either, with the possible exception of Burning Love, in which a subtle percussion element can be heard tapping in the rear channel. You would do just as well playing your less expensive CD on a home theater system.
- Canada Kinder To U2 Best-Of Than U.S.
By Gary Graff
(Yahoo! News / LAUNCH Music, November 15, 2002)
U2's The Best Of 1990-2000 was bested by Eminem's 8 Mile soundtrack in the U.S., but the Irish quartet prevailed north of the border. The Best Of 1990-2000 is the Number One album in Canada, with first-week sales of nearly 56,000, topping the Number Two 8 Mile by more than 11,300 copies. U2 guitarist the Edge tells LAUNCH that he sees music as a way to reach people on a deep, personal plane. ... U2 is not the only classic rock favorite in the Canadian top 10 this week: Elvis Presley's Elvis 30 #1 Hits sits at Number Five, Santana's Shaman is Number Nine, and the Rolling Stones' Forty Licks is Number 10.
- Faith Hill Goes to No. 1
By Justin Oppelaar
(Yahoo! News / Associated Press, October 25, 2002)
Faith Hill has bumped Elvis Presley out of the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200. SoundScan reports "Cry" sold more than 472,000 copies for the week that ended on Oct 20. Presley's "Elvis 30 (NU)1 Hits" slipped to third after three weeks at No. 1. But the King still has staying power - this release has already sold more than 1 million copies.
- King dethroned by Faith
(CNN / Reuters, October 24, 2002)
Elvis Presley stepped off his throne at the top of the album charts after a three-week reign, unseated in a double onslaught from a country-pop megastar and a muscle-bound rap pioneer. Faith Hill was the undisputed queen of the hill Wednesday, after selling more than 472,000 copies of her fifth studio LP, "Cry" (Warner Bros), in its first week out, according to data compiled by Nielsen SoundScan.
- UPDATE 1- Elvis still the king of the charts
By Justin Oppelaar
(Yahoo! News, October 17, 2002)
Elvis fans -- 1,043,122 of them -- can't be wrong: The King vanquished yet another would-be rival for supremacy in the album charts this week, hanging on to the No. 1 spot for the third frame running. Elvis lovers snapped up slightly more than 205,000 copies of RCA Records' high-profile compilation "Elvis 30 #1 Hits" in the week ended Oct. 13, according to Nielsen SoundScan data issued Wednesday. RCA's BMG parent has also successfully exported its Elvismania revival: the album has sold almost 6 million copies worldwide to date, topping the album charts in 24 countries. Despite the downturn from previous weeks, sales figures for "Elvis" have shown signs of holding up well through the holiday season -- a make-or-break time for BMG, which has spent close to $10 million marketing the disc. The Bertelsmann-owned label isn't counting on Presley exclusively to make Christmas merry, however. Its fourth-quarter slate includes new material from Whitney Houston, Santana, Christina Aguilera, the Foo Fighters and Busta Rhymes, among others. Presley managed to fend off the latest effort from New Jersey arena-rock vets Bon Jovi. "Bounce," their Island Records release, scanned just under 160,000 copies in its debut outing. That was enough to push last week's silver medalist, the Rolling Stones 2-CD compilation "Forty Licks" (Virgin), down to third with 147,000 units sold.
- Bon Jovi Can't Bounce Elvis: "30 #1 Hits" Number One for third straight week
By ANDREW DANSBY
(Rolling Stone, October 17, 2002)
Three weeks in stores and Elvis Presley's 30 #1 Hits remains the best-selling album in the country. The King's collection of repackaged classics sold 205,000 copies, according to SoundScan, to push its sales past 1 million copies. And E has had some formidable competition. Last week 30 #1 Hits held off the Rolling Stones' own collection, Forty Licks (which fell to Number Three with sales of 147,000 this week), and this week it topped Bon Jovi's Bounce, which still moved 160,000 copies to jump in at Number Two. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers latest, The Last DJ, was the only other Top Ten newcomer, selling 74,000 copies at Number Nine.
- Elvis: 30 #1 Hits [Review - 5 star rating]
By Parke Puterbaugh
(Rolling Stone / Reuters / Variety, October 17, 2002)
Like the Beatles' 1, Elvis Presley's Elvis 30 #1 Hits aims to be the proverbial offer no one can refuse. For neophytes catching up with rock history, 30 # 1 Hits will serve as textbook and gold mine. For longtime fans, the upgrades in sound quality are at least noticeable and at times revelatory.
... 30 #1 Hits actually numbers thirty-one songs, from 1956's "Heartbreak Hotel" to 1977's "Way Down," plus the bonus thirty-first track, "A Little Less Conversation," the surprisingly successful recent remix of an Elvis movie-era obscurity by a Dutch DJ.
The team responsible for remastering and, in many cases, remixing the tracks claims to have been the first to lay hands on the master tapes since they were put in storage. The improvements are significant: Take "Suspicious Minds," for instance. Comparing the version on 30 #1 Hits against that on RCA's 1993 Essential 60's Masters box set is no contest. The sonic enhancements -- a fuller, punchier sound, including tighter bass and more detail on the guitars -- allow the song to leap from a brittle two dimensions to a brilliant three. Even "A Fool Such as I," a tune from 1959 -- and limited by that decade's technology -- gains in presence and stature, as the Jordanaires' vocal backups and Hank Garland's stinging, jazzy guitar licks hold their own against Presley's airy, nuanced vocals.
In his lifetime, Presley scored eighteen Number One hits on Billboard's singles charts. This collection has been extended to thirty-one by including songs that topped the country, R&B and the U.K. pop charts. Not that anyone will complain about having thirty-one songs of this caliber on a single CD. Even Elvis might want to re-enter the building for a bargain like that.
- Elvis remains king of charts for third week
By STEVE GORMAN
(Miami Herald / Reuters, October 16, 2002)
Long live the King. Elvis Presley is extending his reign over the U.S. pop charts for a third straight week thanks to a greatest-hits album released 25 years after his death, according to sales data issued on Wednesday. "Elvis: 30 #1 Hits" sold 205,000 copies during the week ended Oct. 13, pushing its three-week domestic tally over the 1-million mark and relegating the veteran rock band Bon Jovi to the No. 2 spot for the biggest album debut of its career. A similar pattern occurred in the U.S. charts the week before, when the Presley retrospective deprived the Rolling Stones of what would have been their first No. 1 album in 21 years. The Stones' latest hits package, "Forty Licks," slipped from No. 2 to No. 3 in its second week with sales of 147,000 copies, according to album sales tracker Nielsen SoundScan. The heavily promoted "Elvis" album also has been a tremendous hit overseas, selling nearly 6 million copies worldwide and topping the charts in two dozen countries, according to RCA Records. The album has reigned supreme in Europe for a second consecutive week, RCA said.
- Charts: Platinum Elvis!
By David Jenison
(All Star / CD Now, October 16, 2002)
It's no wonder they call him the King. In three short weeks, Elvis Presley's 30 #1 Hits has passed the one million copies sold mark, making this his fastest platinum release. At the same time, Elvis held the number one spot all three weeks, fending off major debuts by such heavyweights as the Rolling Stones, Bon Jovi, Xzibit, Beck, India.Arie and the new American Idol compilation. For the week ended Sunday, Elvis' 30 #1 Hits turned platinum by selling another 205,000 copies, according to SoundScan numbers.
Bon Jovi, which was formed six years after Elvis passed away, scored the week's top debut at number two, selling 160,000 copies of their eighth album, Bounce. ... Next week, the King's reign will likely end as Faith Hill's Cry positions itself to become the fifth country chart-topper of the year, at least according to those who still consider the singer country.
- Bon Jovi Debuts At No. 2; Elvis Presley Stays On Top
(All Star / CD Now, October 16, 2002)
Elvis Presley just won't let go of the No. 1 position as his Elvis 30 #1 Hits keeps its spot on The Billboard 200 for the third week in a row, blocking Bon Jovi from taking the honors. The band's Bounce comes in at No. 2.
- Bon Jovi Faces Off With Elvis
(Yahoo! News / Launch.com, October 14, 2002)
Bon Jovi's new album, Bounce, is expected to debut in the upper regions of the Billboard 200 on Wednesday (October 16). Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora told LAUNCH that he expects the album to battle Elvis Presley's Elvis: 30 #1 Hits for the top spot. "You know I'm anxious to see how it's going down. Obviously it's being well received everywhere else. And right now from what I'm hearing we're neck-and-neck with the King right now. He's up yesterday, we're up today, and it's like, literally [the difference is] 7,000 records, which is not a lot of records," he said. "So we have a chance at coming in Number One and after 20 years of being in a band that's pretty cool."
- Young conquers album charts
(BBC NEWS, October 13, 2002)
The debut album of Pop Idol winner Will Young has gone straight into the album charts at number one. From Now On features several songs written by Young as well as the chart-toppers Anything Is Possible/Evergreen and his cover of The Doors' Light My Fire. Sales figures for the first week of release have yet to beconfirmed. Young's album ended the chart-topping reign of the Elvis Presley compilation album Elvis - 30 Number 1 Hits, which had spent two weeks at number one. The Elvis single A Little Less Conversation took over the top spot in the singles charts from Young's track Light My Fire earlier this year. The Rolling Stones' compilation album Forty Licks held on to the number two spot for a second week.
- Elvis, Rolling Stones trounce youngsters
By Jon Zahlaway
(Sound Spike, October 10, 2002)
A slew of newcomers surface in this week's Top 20, but two old-time rock icons -- one of whom died 25 years ago -- will occupy the top slots on the forthcoming album chart. "Elvis: 30 #1 Hits," which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart after selling more than a half-million copies during its first week out, will stays put this week. The Presley best-of set moved nearly 337,000 copies during its second week in stores, according to industry sources. Running a close second to the King of Rock and Roll is "Forty Licks," a two-disc hits collection from the Rolling Stones. The album debuts at No. 2 thanks to first-week sales of about 310,000.
- Elvis, Stones Top Billboard Albums Chart: What Year Is This?
By Joe D'Angelo
(VH1.com, October 10, 2002)
When Neil Young sang "The King is gone but he's not forgotten," and the Rolling Stones covered Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away," it's doubtful either believed the lines would hold true more than 20 years later. But that's just the case on next week's Billboard albums chart. Elvis Presley and the Rolling Stones will reside in the #1 and #2 positions, respectively, according to SoundScan figures released Wednesday (October 9). Elvis 30 #1 Hits sold more than 336,000copies last week to bring the double album's two-week sales to more than 837,000 copies. The Rolling Stones, knee deep into their Licks World Tour and the subject of a multimedia blitz punctuated by a shirtless and shrivel-skinned Keith Richards gracing the cover of Rolling Stone, saw their umpteenth greatest-hits collection, Forty Licks, a double album featuring four new songs, move more than 309,000 copies in its first week out.
- Elvis Still the King: Presley holds off Stones in battle of compilations
(Rolling Stone, October 10, 2002)
Got debuts if you want 'em. The fall parade of new material has begun, as four new albums marched into the Top Ten this week (after five did the same last week), and eleven jumped in the Top Fifty. But all the newcomers had to kneel before the King, as Elvis Presley's 30 #1 Hits held onto Number One for the second straight week, with 337,000 copies sold, according to SoundScan. The Big E held off the Rolling Stones' own career-spanning anthology, the two-CD Forty Licks, which enjoyed an impressive 310,000-copy first week to debut at Number Two. And the hits just keep coming. Xzibit continues to be the Scottie Pippen of hardcore rap, not quite achieving the robust sales of a DMX, but the 157,000 copies he moved of his latest, Man vs. Machine, was good enough for a Number Three bow. And Elvis, the Stones and Xzibit were all able to hold off the teen-spirit compilation American Idol, which arrived at Number Four with 146,000 copies sold.
- Elvis Deprives Stones of U.S. Chart Satisfaction
By Dean Goodman
(Yahoo! News / Reuters, October 9, 2002)
Elvis rolled the Stones on the U.S. pop album charts, depriving the veteran rockers of what would have been their first No. 1 album in 21 years, according to sales data issued on Wednesday. The Elvis Presley retrospective "Elvis: 30 #1 Hits" sold nearly 337,000 copies in the week ended Oct. 6, its second week of release, while the Rolling Stones' hits package "Forty Licks" opened at No. 2 with sales of 310,000 units, according to tracking firm Nielsen SoundScan. The Stones' tally marks the best album debut of their career since SoundScan started tabulating the charts with point-of-sales data a decade ago. The band's previous best opening was in 1997, when their studio album "Bridges to Babylon" opened at No. 3 with 160,000 units. "Forty Licks," a double-CD set that boasts 36 career-spanning hit tunes and four new songs, marks the first joint venture between the Stones' current label, Virgin Records and their old label, closely held ABKCO Records. ... Presley, whose two-week total rose to 838,000 units, has benefited from aggressive pricing at mass-market retailers. The single-disc RCA Records package carries a list price of $18.98, but is currently selling for $13.99 at KMart Corp. and $14.99 at Best Buy Co. Inc. . "Forty Licks," with a $29.98 list price, is selling for $19.99 at Kmart and $24.99 at Best Buy, spokeswomen at the chains said.
- Elvis Rolls the Stones
By David Jenison
(Eonlinecom, October 10, 2002)
The King's greatest hits were just a little bit greater than the Stones'. ... [as below]
- Elvis Rolls the Stones
By David Jenison
(Yahoo! News, October 9, 2002)
The King's greatest hits were just a little bit greater than the Stones'. In the most-anticipated battle of dinosaurs since Jurassic Park, Elvis Presley's new best-of collection, Elvis 30 #1 Hits, bested the Rolling Stones' umpteenth anthology, Forty Licks, for the top spot on the album charts. Elvis debuted at number one last week with more than 500,000 copies sold, but many expected the Stones to, um, roll over Elvis this week. But Elvis refused to leave the building. For the week ended Sunday, Elvis 30 #1 Hits held number one, selling 337,000 copies, according to SoundScan. As a double-disc set, Forty Licks' higher retail tag may have stunted its chances of toppling the King. Still, the Stones' latest greatest-hits package opened at number two with a 310,000-copy first week. Of the five Top 10 debuts on last week's charts, only Elvis remained for today's rundown.
- Elvis Knocks Disturbed Out of No 1
(antiMusic, October 5, 2002)
The King of Rock n Roll has ended Disturbed's ride at the top of the Billboard charts, giving them something to really be disturbed about (sorry I couldn't resist). "Elvis 30 #1 Hits" logged a half a million units sold its first week in stores and this is also the very first time Elvis has had an album debut at No. 1. Elvis also captured the top spot in 16 countries including Spain, Belgium, Argentina, New Zealand, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Chile, Switzerland, Austria and the United Arab Emirates. Guess he still is the King!
- Elvis top of US album charts
(BBC, October 4, 2002)
Rock and roll legend Elvis Presley has returned to the top of the US album chart, 25 years after his death. His record, Elvis' 30 Number One Hits compilation, was released worldwide on 24 September and went to the top of the US chart after selling 500,318 copies. According to industry analysts Nielsen Soundscan, this is the first time an Elvis Presley album has debuted at number one in the US. Last Sunday, the album went straight to number one in the UK album chart. If it maintains its position this weekend, it will mark the first time in more than 40 years that Presley has topped the album charts both sides of the Atlantic in more than 40 years.
- THE KING REIGNS AGAIN!
(NME.com, October 3, 2002)
ELVIS PRESLEY's '30 #1 HITS' compilation has topped the US BILLBOARD CHART - and is the first of the King's albums to go straight in at the top Stateside. The best-of collection has sold more than half a million copies its first week in stores. The album also reigns supreme on charts in 16 other territories, including the UK, Canada, France, Australia, Brazil and the United Arab Emirates. Elvis return will keep The Dixie Chicks'
'Home' at the Number Two position, with weekly sales of more than 133,000
copies, and Avril Lavigne's 'Let Go' at Number Three, selling124,000 copies. The
current Number One album, Disturbed 's 'Believe', will drops three places to
Number Four, having sold more than 117,000 copies, less than half of its previous chart-topping total.
- Elvis Is Everywhere: The King returns to the top of the charts
By ANDREW DANSBY
(Rolling Stone / Reuters /Variety, October 3, 2002)
For twenty-five years, one month and sixteen days the King has been gone but not forgotten. And if the droves that flock to Graceland aren't sufficient proof, if his cosmic sales milestones of yesteryear aren't enough to wow in the age of first week sales, well, Elvis can now cram some SoundScan girth into his jumpsuit of milestones. Elvis' 30 #1 Hits sold a half-million copies in its first week, according to SoundScan, to put the King back at Number One. 30 #1 Hits is a triumph of marketing. Unlike the Beatles' 1, which anthologized an under-anthologized musical institution, Elvis has as many compilations as he did handguns, from 1959's skinny 50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong to the tight and terrific The 50 Greatest Hits (the '68 comeback special of Elvis anthologies) released just two years ago. That collection, apparently twenty hits too many, was met with considerably lesser fanfare. Sure, the recent twenty-fifth anniversary of his death spiked interest. And there's also the boosted sound quality to consider, as well as the inclusion of E's latest Number One, the Junkie XL remix of "A Little Less Conversation." But while it's great to have Elvis back in business, the album's success was practically preordained by cleverly plotted hype. And the September release, rather than mid-August during the actual anniversary of his death, dropped into stores just late enough to fade a smidgen before bounding back towards the top of the charts come the holidays, as 30 #1 Hits finds its way into stockings.
This week's Top Ten: Elvis Presley's 30 #1 Hits; Dixie Chicks' Home; Avril Lavigne's Let Go; Disturbed's Believe; Nelly's Nellyville; India.Arie's Voyage to India; Eminem's The Eminem Show; Beck's Sea Change; Peter Gabriel's Up; and Nas' Lost Tapes.
- King Elvis Tops U.S. Charts; American Idol Reigns
By Sue Zeidler
(Yahoo! News / Reuters / Variety, October 2, 2002)
A collection of Elvis Presley's No. 1 hits shot straight to the top of the charts this week, showing the King of Rock 'n Rock still rules even 25 years after his death, while a new "American Idol" also continued to reign supreme. ... a single by bubbly 20-year-old "American Idol" champion Kelly Clarkson who wowed a national TV audience on the Fox network's summer reality series, remained at No. 1 on the latest Hot 100 singles chart from Nielsen SoundScan, for a second week in a row.
- Dead Elvis: King of the World
By David Jenison
(Yahoo! News / E! Online Music, October 2, 2002)
Elvis Presley is making like a latter-day Julius Caesar. The King of Rock effectively rules over half the planet today, with his latest album commanding the charts of 17 different countries. Not bad for a guy 25 years dead.
- Elvis Presley still the king
By Rob Evans
(SoundSpike / Reuters, October 2, 2002)
Twenty-five years after his death, Elvis Presley's reign as the King of Rock and Roll continues, as evidenced by his spot at the top of the forthcoming Billboard 200 album chart. "Elvis: 30 #1 Hits," a best-of compilation of previously released tracks, sold more than half a million copies during its first week out, making it Presley's first-ever No. 1 debut on the U.S. album chart, according to RCA Records. The album also debuted at No. 1 in 16 other countries, including Spain Belgium, Argentina, New Zealand, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Chile, Switzerland, Austria and the United Arab Emirates, the label announced.
- Elvis tops album charts
(CNN / Reuters, October 2, 2002)
A collection of Elvis Presley's No. 1 hits shot straight to the top of the charts this week, showing the King of Rock 'n Rock still rules even 25 years after his death, while a new "American Idol" also continue to reign supreme. For the week ended September 29, Presley's "Elvis 30 Number One Hits" compilation, released by Bertelsmann AG's RCA Records on September 24, sold 500,318 units, according to Nielsen Soundscan, marking the first time an Elvis album has debuted at No. 1 in the United States. With the help of a $10 million massive, global marketing and promotion campaign by RCA and its parent BMG, the collection, featuring songs like "Don't Be Cruel," "Jailhouse Rock," and "Return to Sender" also debuted at No. 1 in Spain, Belgium, Argentina, New Zealand, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Chile, Switzerland, Austria and the United Arab Emirates.
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