ELVIS PRESLEY COMPLETE '50s MASTERS VERY RARE ORIG '92 6-LP MONO BOX SET w/BOOK+

$

128

WE CURRENTLY HAVE   MORE THAN 500  LISTED ITEMS

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·       ELVIS PRESLEY – THE KING OF ROCK'N'ROLL: THE COMPLETE  ‘50s MASTERS  –  ULTRA-RARE ORIGINAL 1992 RCA / BMG 6-LP MONO BOX SET # PL-90689(6)

·       (YES, FOLKS, THIS IS A GIGA-RARE LP BOX SET, NOT A MUCH MORE COMMON CD VERSION)

·       ORIGINAL U.S. PRESSING

·       LIMITED, NUMBERED EDITION (THIS COPY IS # 06825)

·       140 TRACKS !!! VIRTUALLY EVERY SINGLE NOTE ELVIS SANG FROM THE MOMENT HE CUT HIS FIRST PRIVATELY-MADE ACETATE TO DECEMBER 31, 1959.

·       15,000 COPIES ONLY!  THAT'S IT!

·       3 RARE B&W PHOTOS OF ELVIS SUITABLE FOR FRAMING

·       NUMBERED CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY, SIGNED BY PRESIDENT AND SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF RCA/BMG RECORDS

·       INCLUDES 14 (FOURTEEN!) PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED PERFORMANCES -- PRACTICALLY AN ENTIRE ALBUM WORTH OF UNHEARD-OF ELVIS!)

·       48-PAGE COLOR BOOKLET WITH MANY UNSEEN PHOTOS FROM THE GRACELAND PHOTO ARCHIVE

·       FIRST RELEASE OF 'THAT'S WHEN YOUR HEARTACHES BEGIN' FROM THE LEGENDARY, LONG-MISSING 1953 ACETATE

·       FIRST RELEASE 'FOOL, FOOL, FOOL' DEMO NEVER OTHERWISE RECORDED BY ELVIS.

·       THE COMPLETE '50s SESSIONOGRAPHY

·       THE COMPLETE '50s DISCOGRAPHY

·       BIOGRAPHICAL TEXT BY THE LEGENDARY PETER GURALNICK

·       INCLUDES A SHEET OF RCA RECORD LABEL 4-COLOR STAMPS DEPICTING ELVIS' '50s RECORD COVERS: NOTE: THIS IS NOT A SHEET OF POSTAGE STAMPS AND WE ARE NOT ENTIRELY SURE WHAT RCA MEANT BY THIS.

·       PREPARED WITH THE COOPERATION OF THE ELVIS PRESLEY ESTATE.

·       INCLUDES ALL SIX ORIGINAL, CUSTOM INNER SLEEVES AND CUSTOM RECORD LABELS (GENERIC ON ONE SIDE, MIMICKING THE BOX SET'S LOGO, B&W IMAGE OF ELVIS ON THE OTHER)

·       THE ULTIMATE REMASTERED VINYL COLLECTION FROM ORIGINAL RCA AND SUN MASTER RECORDINGS

·       THIS IS THE ORIGINAL, AUTHENTIC, FIRST U.S. PRESSING; THIS IS NOT A REISSUE, AN IMPORT, OR A COUNTERFEIT PRESSING.

·       CLEAN, WEAR-FREE LABELS

·       ORIGINAL, 1” THICK, LAMINATED CARDBOARD BOX

·       COVER HAS A NIFTY 'HYPE' (ADVERTISEMENT) STICKER STILL AFFIXED TO THE SHRINK WRAP.

 (?PLEASE SEE THE IMAGE OF THE COVER, LABEL OR BOTH, SHOWN BELOW)

(Note: this is a REAL image of the ACTUAL item you are bidding on. This is NOT a "recycled" image from our previous auction. What you see is what you’ll get.  GUARANTEED!)

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Since The King of Rock 'n' Roll was the complete '50s masters, it was easy to assume that its five-disc '60s sequel, From Nashville to Memphis: The Essential 60's Masters, rounded up all the masters from that decade, which is simply not the case. The producers deliberately avoided the soundtracks to Elvis' movies, which perhaps makes sense, given that they are roundly and rightly disparaged as Presley's low point, which then opened the doors to presenting just what they judged as the best non-soundtrack recordings he made during the '60s. They also disregarded the gospel recordings, saving them for the double-disc 1994 collection Amazing Grace: His Greatest Gospel Songs, leaving this as an overview of the best of his pop and rock material of the '60s, all recorded after he got back from the army. Instead of being a detriment, this is a brilliant move, distilling his erratic, wide-ranging '60s recordings to their very best, providing a relatively comprehensive overview of the greatest material Elvis recorded during his most inconsistent decade. Its biggest flaw is that in its zeal to overlook the soundtracks, the box skips over even the hits from the films, so this does not have "Can't Help Falling in Love," "GI Blues," "Follow That Dream," "Viva Las Vegas," "Little Less Conversation," and "Return to Sender," as well as other, lesser hits. They are missed, particularly because there is a surfeit of pop-oriented material from the early '60s. That's one area where this box excels: It proves that Presley did turn toward pop in the early '60s. Contrary to conventional wisdom, he did not abandon rock & roll, and there are many tough performances from the early years of the decade that stand their own with the '50s RCA sides, but by the middle of the box — which roughly corresponds with the middle of the decade — it becomes clear that Elvis needed to change his approach, and he did with stunning power.

Prior to the 1992 release of the five-disc box set The King of Rock 'n' Roll: The Complete 50's Masters, RCA's approach to reissuing Elvis Presley on CD -- or on LP, for that matter -- was rather scatter-shot, seeming to follow the dictates of the market more than the demands of history. There were some excellent releases of archival material and in 1987, on the tenth anniversary of the King's death, there was a stellar series of compilations, but most of what was released was a constant stream of recycled hits, which this box most certainly is not. This set is sharply and expertly assembled, presenting Elvis' peak as a creative and cultural force in staggering detail. Despite the subtitle of this box, this does not contain everything Presley recorded in the '50s; there are alternate takes not present on this set, including second takes for Sun that were included on the subsequent collection Sunrise, and after this release, more acetates recorded around the same time as his privately recorded "My Happiness" (unveiled here for the first time) were found and released. That said, those alternate takes are the province of collectors, particularly since the best of those are chronicled on the fifth and final disc of this set. That means, anything a real serious fan or listener needs is on this exhaustive set, since it chronicles the rise of the greatest figure of American music in the 20th century.

The first disc is largely devoted to the released Sun singles, both the As and Bs, and this remains the rawest, liveliest, nerviest music Presley ever cut, retaining its power over the years; decades later, it still sounds alive and unpredictable -- it still is possible to hear rock & roll being created in its very grooves and it's just as thrilling to hear the kinetic energy of this lean combo create an entirely new music; anybody who doubts Elvis as an innovator need only hear this to be proven wrong. Toward the end of the first disc, Elvis leaves Sun for RCA, and the production is a little cleaner and the material a little more streamlined, but that's just a relative judgment. This is still the birth of rock & roll, and when "I Got a Woman" and "Heartbreak Hotel" inaugurate the RCA years, that wild energy is still palpable, even now. As this set illustrates, partially through its sheer scope, that energy could be dissipated by an inclination to move toward the pop mainstream, which could result in beautiful, heartbreaking ballads, but also the safe pop crooning that debilitated his career in the '60s. Fortunately, at no time in the '50s did he sink into the murk that enveloped him for a period in the '60s. He may have recorded forgettable ballads and trifle (including, ironically, one of his few compositions, the corny "We're Gonna Move"), sometimes succumbing to either his trite side or the demands of the marketplace, but the remarkable thing about this box is how consistently compelling, even thrilling, this music is. The overly familiar hits, and they're all here, are given new life in this context, which has the feeling of history unraveling in front of your ears. That's what makes this box set transcendent -- the music and annotation alone would make it necessary for libraries, but this is better because it is thoroughly listenable, while presenting history in a compelling narrative context. Yes, some of these tunes sound like light pop tied to their time, but they make for very few cuts on this 140-track box. Most of this is dynamic, thrilling music that presents Elvis at his very best. Historically, this is surely essential, but what makes the box so great is that it's so entertaining, providing ample proof that Elvis' music is indeed every bit as influential and timeless as the history books state.

(EXCERPT FROM AN ONLINE REVIEW BY STEPHEN THOMAS ERLEWINE, ALL MUSIC GUIDE  /ALLMUSIC.COM/)

For additional historical information on this album, including track listing ?click here

TO SEE IF WE HAVE OTHER LISTED ITEMS BY THIS GROUP OR ARTIST ? CLICK HERE

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·       CONDITION:

·       RECORD

(IMPORTANT NOTE: unless otherwise noted, ALL records are graded visually, and NOT play-graded!; we  grade records under the strong, diffuse room light or discrete sunlight)

(a)          WE GRADE THE VINYL AS STRONG VG++. A few light abrasions  ARE VISIBLE, but they appear fairly  insignificant relative to the overall condition of the vinyl, and are only moderately visually distracting. For most part, the vinyl looks impeccable, without any MAJOR visual flaws or imperfections. Much of the original luster is intact, and the vinyl shines and sparkles almost like new.

(b)          The records come in their original, custom, inner sleeves, which are UNIQUE to this box set.

(c)           The album comes with the original extras (booklet, stamps, custom inner sleeves, signed certificate, 3 bonus photos and other extras listed above) included and complete.

(d)          The records are pressed on a RELATIVELY  thick, inflexible vinyl. This is NOT a thin, flimsy ('dynaflex' type),  vinyl, but not the thickest, most rigid vinyl either.

·       BOX

THE BOX IS  NEAR MINT

The following flaws or imperfections are noted on the cover:

-        Cover has JUST A HINT of ring wear (nothing significant); On the scale from 1 to 10 (1 being the least, and  10 being the most severe), we assess the severity of ring wear as 1.

NO OTHER IMPERFECTIONS ON THE BOX:

-        No split seams

-        No cut-out (drill) holes.

-        No cut-out corners

-        No saw-marks or indents

-        No dirt/dust rubbing stains (friction marks caused by rubbing against other covers)

-        No wrinkles or creases

-        No yellowing from aging

-        No writing

-        No stamps

-        No tearing: no chips, dents or nicks on the seams

-        No peel-off marks

-        No stains

-        No mold or mildew spots

-        No stickers or labels

-        No water damage

-        No razor marks, scratches, pressure marks, lines, streaks, or  cuts.

-        No warping

-        No wax, glue, paint or liquid drops on the cover

-        No glue traces or wax residue.

-        No RIAA stamps or stickers. 

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POSTAGE & SHIPPING:

PLEASE NOTE: DUE TO SIGNIFICANT WEIGHT OF THIS SET, THE INTERNATIONAL POSTAGE FOR THIS SET WILL BE SUBSTANTIAL AND POSSIBLY PROHIBITIVE.  THIS SET DOES NOT QUALIFY FOR OUR USUAL SHIPPING REBATES AND COMBINED SHIPPING AND WILL HAVE  TO BE INVOICED AND SHIPPED SEPARATE FROM ANY OTHER ITEMS,   UNLESS THE WINNING BIDDER PAYS SEPARATELY, BUT REQUESTS THAT THE SHIPPING BE COMBINED WITH OTHER ITEMS.

We offer THREE postage rates for both Domestic and International Mail: Media Mail, Priority Mail and Express Mail for domestic, and First Class, Priority International Mail, and Express International Mail for international orders. INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS PLEASE NOTE: WE RECOMMEND that you pay for USPS International Priority Mail OR International Express mail when making a payment in order to obtain tracking information, which is NOT available for First Class International shipments.

INTERNATIONAL POSTAGE rates vary from country to country. For SPECIFIC international and domestic postage rates ?click here. While you can be rest assured that ?our packaging is careful, sturdy and impact-proof, please note that damage, loss or theft in transit is always possible, and in the case of some countries even PROBABLE. To discuss this potential problem and ensure flawless delivery, please contact us thru eBay BEFORE placing a bid.

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OUR REFUND POLICY :

WE OFFER UNCONDITIONAL MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE WITHIN 14 DAYS FROM THE RECEIPT OF THE MERCHANDISE, NO QUESTIONS ASKED (THE BUYER PAYS FOR THE RETURN POSTAGE); Still sealed items MUST be returned sealed in order to be eligible for a refund Some restrictions apply. Please read our complete refund policy before placing a bid. ?Click here  for the full text of our policy

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