New item to the collection

I just ordered me a die cast model of the Dale Earnhardt legends car that features Elvis on it. I am super excited about this. Dale and Elvis are for sure two of the coolest people to ever walk this earth. This will look great beside my Dale Jr die cast I have with Elvis on it.

CLAMBAKE!

I finally was able to hunt down a Clambake movie poster. I have been wanting one of these for a long time now. It was not very easy to find one. I am very excited about it because Clambake is one of my favorites and also I think it just looks cool.

A look back at Elvis Week 08

I have had to neglect the blog for the most part this week. I have been having to work twelve hour day and then come home and rest. I am going to catch back up hopefully this weekend. Anyway to the week I spent in Memphis. Elvis Week was a blast as usual. The attendance was the smallest It has been in the eight years I have been going. I know it was coming off a anniversary year, which means usually the fallowing year less people show up. Other factors I know caused this but it was still a bit shocking. Although It was still a lot of fun. Music and Movies and Club Elvis at the first of the week was awesome. It was as good as last year. The only thing missing for me was The Dempsey's. I really like them and would not have minded them playing again this year. The Insiders Conference turned out to be pretty awesome as well, even though the first day was pretty slow. I think this is when I really started realizing how much of a difference this year was. The seating was not even half full for either day. The vigil was great and it is the reason we come. The rain did not bother me at all, although I was glad it pretty much stopped when the evening hit. Vince and I had a fun time before we left seeing Memphis and some sites we had not seen before that held meaning to Elvis fans. I bought lots of cool stuff as usual. Overall I got to say I had a blast and I can't wait to go back. I guess I just felt a let down after last year. When I look back on my past Elvis Weeks I point to 08 and 03 as weeks that did not have the same energy and feel. It has to be because those years came off the 25th and 30th anniversary. Those weeks I do not think will ever be topped. For me those were far and away the best weeks I have spent in Memphis. Last year was the best times I have ever had, so no matter what happened this past week it was not going to be the same.

I will say getting to go to the expo and meeting Chris Noel was one of the coolest things ever! She was freaking awesome. Also the Graceland VIP tour was really cool. I only do it every now and then but thought it was worth the money. I actaully saw more around back of the house this time. The last time I did the VIP tour they rushed me around and I hardly could see a thing.

Also a quick rundown of the things I got while in Memphis.

A few Elvis t shirts, Elvis and Priscilla Barbie set, Lansky shirt, The Complete 68 Comeback Special CD set, new Graceland DVD, Elvis Number 1 performances vol 2 DVD, picture of Elvis from It Happened, 56 Gibson instrument form the old Collectors Club collection, How Great Thou Art CD, and many other small things. I was really happy with what I got.

Also I got the fallowing FTD's....

Frankie and Johnny soundtrack,Elvis Sings Memphis, Tennessee, Out In Hollywood, The Impossible Dream,Elvis New Years Eve,and The Way It Was.

With these addition's my CD collection is now up to 144. My FTD collection 36 which is a total 44 counting the ones that are 2 disc. I am focusing on buying only FTD's now unless something is released mainstream that I really feel I need for the collection or if it is an old release I think is cool for some reason.

I am really digging into the Frankie and Johnny soundtrack at the moment and will do a review in the next few days.

EW DAY 3

Today we were out early and down at Graceland a little after 8:00. We had a ticket for the VIP tour. For you that have not been to Graceland, or have not done the VIP tour, a short explanation. It means you can tour the mansion and all the exhibits as many times as you want. You get to see an extra room, see the back of the property, and straight to the front of the line access. Anyway we were in a bind today. The Elvis and Priscilla barbies went on sale today at 10:00. Our tour was at 9:15. They has a ceremony for the unavailing of the dolls with an auction for doll set number one and then you could buy one of the first one's to come straight from Graceland. I had to be part of this. I had been wanting these dolls for a long time now. I was not going to order one from the Internet or get one in another store. No, I had to have one of the first ones from Graceland. So we went up to the house and just rushed in and out quick like. We got back in like 20 minutes, which is way fast. It usually takes me an hour or two to go through the house. We charged down to the place where the Barbies were going to be sold to get in line.
First they auctioned off doll set number one. That doll was autographed by Cilla and the money was to go to a good cause, Presley Place. The doll ended up going for $6,800! Then they gave out some signed wedding pictures from Elvis and Priscilla's wedding. Finally after an hour and a half, I got my doll. It was the highlight of the week so far. I think these are super cool and look cool. They are limited, so between all the crazy Elvis fans and all the Barbie collectors, these should be in demand and be worth some money. We finally got to start out day at Graceland and do the tour right. We did some of the exhibits first such as the car museum, Sincerely Elvis, and the Jets. Nothing new but still as cool as ever to see that stuff. Then we did the tour of the house the right way. Some cool new stuff in the trophy room and in the bonus room that is the VIP only room. I will go into more detail next week when I get home and post some pictures. We also saw the new Private Presley exhibit. I thought it was really well done. I will go into that more later on as well. Finally we went back to the room for some rest to get ready for second day of Music and Movie's day 2.
The night started off with Terry Mike Jeffrey and Band. He was joined later by some members of the TCB band that played with Elvis as well as the Imperials. It was a pretty good show. I was very excited because Terry played some Elvis movie music. He played Drums Of The Island from Paradise Hawaiian Style. You do not hear that often at Elvis events. Finally we got to what everyone on the lawn came to see, ELVIS! They played the 2001 edition of That's The Way It Is. It was cool seeing it on the big screen. When Elvis broke into Polk Salad Annie I was going nuts. After that was over it was around 11:00 and we were still not done. We went to Club Elvis at the Car museum. It is a dance party with Elvis music. It was pretty cool. Spankox, the DJ who just did the Baby Let's Play House Remix was on hand to do some of his other Elvis remixes. It was a lot of fun, I just wish I could have got there earlier to enjoy more beverages and really get into things. We only had an hour or so when we got there until it ended because it was so late when we got there.



Sorry I have no pictures from the event. No flash photography in the museum and the pictures I got are not that good. They are not even worth posting. Tomorrow is day one of the Elvis Insiders conference. It should be a lot of fun. I will be back with a post on it at some point. For now I am off to sleep. I hope this makes sense and I did not leave anything out. I am running on no sleep and I have been partaking in some beer drinking.

A Few New Additions To My Elvis Collection

I recently have had a few new additions to my Elvis collection, slowly but surely it's geting bigger. First I purchased the new Mcfarlene figure which was the 68 comeback figure with Elvis in his white suit. Later on I found a killer deal on a 3D wall art movie poster for "Elvis On Tour" also brought out by Mcfarlene toys. I found an awesome deal on the Mcafarlene rockabilly Elvis Figure on Amazon and purchased it, then a friend over the internet shot me an email of an ebay item that was the the 1993 Hasboro 68 Comeback Doll for $15!!! WHAT A STEAL!, I finally recieved it in the mail today. The last two additions are really kool as well, the first one is a book called Elvis American Idol which is really cool, it has a bunch of cool facts abnout huge events and some really good info, Last, a lady at work gave me a memorial magazine that was printed in 1977 after his death, it's in ok condition but I thought it was a cool addition. Remember to be sure to check back during our ELVIS WEEK 08 romp, it's gonna be awesome.

Finally! Date for release of Elvis and Priscilla Barbie's

The Elvis and Priscilla Barbie's are going to be released at Graceland during EW. You will only be able to get them there and they will be released in stores and such I would say very soon after that. 200 will go on sale August 12 at Graceland for around $70. I am going to be on a tour of the house when the go on sale. Damn my luck! If they still have one you can bet I will have one in my hands as soon as I can get to where they are. I think these look pretty cool and they are going to be limited. So I have to get one.

New items for the collection

I picked up a few new items for my Elvis collection last night. The 3D Elvis On Tour sign shown here was one of them. I have been wanting it for a long time and finally got it. I think it is pretty cool looking. Vince got one as well and discovered that it lights up, which I did not know. I also got the latest mcfarlane Elvis figure, Gospel Elvis. It is not the best looking one of the series, but not the worst. It still is pretty cool. I also got one of the Vegas edition figures as well. I have the 12 inch, but it has been the only one of the 6" that I did not have. I am glad I have them all now.

NEW ADDITION TO THE COLLECTION

I got my Baby Let's Play House remix today. I was glad to get it so I would have it to add to the collection. It has the original cover Elvis did and two remixes by Spankox. As I have said before, I like the remix alright so I will enjoy this. The extra long remix is pretty good.

This puts the CD collection up to 132 now.

Item I am needing

Fame and Fortune is a FTD that has been discontinued that I missed out on. This is something I just have to get somehow. I love Elvis from 60-64 and his work in 60 and 61 is some of his best, if not his best. If anyone happens to know where I might pick up a copy, let me know. I also missed out on the FTD's Out In Hollywood and Silver Screen Stereo. I really wish I could get those as well. I am really into the music from the movies and would love to hear those.

FLASHBACK

I am going to discuss one of my latest additions to my collection. Flashback is a book with many never before seen photos with a CD of outtake from 1958-1958. The book is from the people at FTD so it is top notch all the way. Sherif Hanna and Ernst Jorgensen has done a great job with this project. First off lets talk about the book. I enjoy seeing any new pictures of Elvis that I have not seen before. I have seen some of these pictures before, but most of them I have never seen. The pictures range from Elvis' signing at RCA to Elvis' on recording session while in the Army. I found the pictures of Elvis on stage in Miami interesting. You can just see Elvis on stage moving about in these pictures and seems to be putting on a hell of a show. I can only imagine the electricity in that auditorium. Also some pictures from the dressing room in Miami are featured. These are really neat getting to see Red and Gene. Pictures from the Love Me Tender recording session are featured here. A Reminder Elvis still did not have total control. Scotty,Bill, and DJ are nowhere to be found. Studio musician's from Nashville are put in there place because RCA made that call for a few different reasons.

Now on to the music. The disc is made up of twenty-five outtakes from the 50's. It starts out with a version of Heartbreak Hotel that has takes 5(1st part) and takes 4(2nd part). It is outstanding. I Was The One take 7 is on here and was really something I looked forward to hearing. This is one of my all time favorite songs and wanted to hear this. Blueberry Hill take 3 is found on here as well and it is interesting to hear the difference between this song and the take used for release. Many other great songs are on this disc. One song however jumps out at me and I like above all the rest. Treat Me Nice(1st version). This song really sounds different then the one used in Jailhouse Rock that we have heard over the years. The background melody and the overall feel to the song is different. Elvis' delivery is different but great. I actually think the song sounds better this way. I do not know the story behind this song and how it turned out the way it did, but it has me curious. This song has instantly became on of my favorite songs. This is exactly why I love the outtakes. When you hear several of them you can see where Elvis works his magic and how the songs take shape over various takes. It is a shame more of the outtakes from the 50's are not available.

Overall I am very happy with the purchase of this book. Some might not think the book and CD is not worth $65. The CD would have been around thirty if it was just a release, and thirty five bucks for the book is not all that bad. I think this was a great addition to my collection. I would recommend this book for sure.

New Items finally arrive

I got my latest order in today from Shop Elvis. The fallowing is a list of the items I got.

FTD-Studio B Outtakes 1961-1964
FTD 2 disc classic album, Something For Everybody
FTD 2 disc classic album, 50 Million Elvis Fans Cant Be Wrong
FTD book/CD, Flashback
That's All Right CD single

I am super excited and should have a few thoughts on them as I get to listen to them. So far I have only got to listen to a little of the Studio B outtakes. From what I have heard though. it is outstanding. I have a feeling this might be on of my favorite CD's ever!

This puts my Elvis CD collection up to 131.

Graceland Puzzle

A co-worker of mine bought me a 1000 piece puzzle this past week of Graceland painted by Thomas Kincaid. My plan is to put it together, frame it and hang it up. Hopefully it will occupy my mind after this god awful week ive had.

NEED THIS DOLL

This is the 68 Comeback doll from the 1993 Hasbro collection of Elvis dolls. I have the other two the offered, Teen Idol and Jailhouse Rock. So I really want to get this to have all three. These are my favorite of all the Elvis dolls/toys I have seen. Actually when I got the dolls I do have I was very young and did not know better, and took them out the box. So I would really like to have all three. Though the run anywhere from $40-$80 each from the looking I have done. Hopefully I can get around to getting these. They are very cool.

Searching

No real blog tonight. I am busy trying to find a Fun In Acapulco movie poster. I want one really bad. I have been on the lookout for a while. I want a 27"x41" or one close to it. I would take an original or reproduction. Anyway, back to looking. I will be back tomorrow with some thoughts on something Elvis related.

Elvis and Priscilla dolls

Mattel who makes the Barbie dolls is coming out with a Elvis and Priscilla set. They are due out this summer. Rumor has it that they will go anywhere from $70-$100 for the set. I never thought I would say it, but I am going to buy Barbie's and pay a chunk of change for them at that. Barbie has used Elvis before when they had the Barbie loves Elvis series. You can't get those now and they go for big bucks. I will get these as soon as I can. I think these are pretty cool even if that guy does not look like Elvis all that much.

Something I really want.....but should not even look into

gottahaveit.com is having a online auction with some rare memorabilia from Elvis, Buddy Holly, Johnny Cash, and many other stars. The highlight of a auction is going to be an Elvis jumpsuit,"Peacock". Though that is not what has got me interested. They are also offering the Clambake millionaire suit. I do not know what that is going for, but that would be the coolest thing ever to have. I am a huge fan of Clambake. I am almost tempted to seriously look into this. I am sure it is a lot of money, but if it was half way reasonable, Id buy it even though I don't have the money. I still think I am going to shoot an e mail to the site and gather more info on it.

Item I charish the most

I was talking with a guy at work not that long ago and he was asking me about my Elvis collection. He was wanting to know what item was my favorite. Without a doubt the picture above from Jailhouse Rock is my favorite. It is one of the nicest things I have. Though that is just part of the reason this is so dear to me. Back in 2005 when I first seen this on the Internet I knew I had to have it. For one I love the movie Jailhouse Rock. Also I just think this is a really cool image from the movie. It is hard to find good quality prints framed and matted right. This one has it all. Anyway the only problem was that is was about $450. I did not have the money to throw around at the time and decided I would save up for it. So monthly I put back money for it and about four months later I thought I had enough to get it. I had been keeping my money back in my bedroom. I came to find out this dirty poor guy who is my cousin had stole my money. He has took off with $800 which was not only for my picture but also for the next EW coming up. So by the time I had saved up the money to get the print again, you could not find it anywhere. American Royal Arts did this print but I could not find it on there site, as they are limited editions. I ran across one in Memphis during EW in 2006. I did not get it because I wanted to think on it a day. When I went back I decided to get it, but it was gone. I was truly crushed, I had never wanted an Elvis item so bad. So I said if I ever see one again I would get it, nothing would get in my way. When I arrived in Memphis last August the first thing I did was go to Gallery Elvis at Graceland to see if by some chance they had one. I was in luck, they had one on the wall! I snatched it up and took it with my, I did not care the cost! This is without a doubt the most money I have ever spent on anything in my collection. I have spent more money at one time on various Elvis items, but never on one single thing. Though because of the story above, The print is my favorite item ever.

I hope to get another one similar to it in August from the same people who put this one out. They are really nice and look great.

Mike's take on Elvis figures/dolls

I am going to give you an idea of my five favorite dolls or figures. Note that this list of mine is made up of the figures I have at the moment. At a later date I might shed some light into a few I don't have that I really want.

1.1993 Hasbro Elvis doll-Teen Idol(pictured above)
2.McFarlane Elvis 2-Rockabilly
3.X Toys Elvis doll-Blue Hawaii( not for sure I think these came out around 97-98)
4.1993 Hasbro Elvis doll-Jailhouse Rock
5.McFarlane Elvis 5-Jailhouse Rock

Overall I have about 10-12 Elvis toys of some kind. I think the Hasbro and the X toys are actually the best. The McFarlane are pretty damn cool, but I have an issue with the likeness of Elvis. With most of McFarlanes figures they look pretty life like. Elvis's however look nothing like him. All of them look different in the face for the most part. I mean it is not even close. Other then that they are key. If you take the face issue out of the McFarlane toys, they are top of the line.

Elvis Immortalized

After looking at different variations of Elvis figures from the past and present, I think it's safe to say that McFarline has won out hands down. The detail put into each figure is impeccable and they actually look like they will come to life. Ive narrowed it down 5 figurines in which I think are pretty damn cool.

1. 68 Comeback McFarline Figure

2. 50's Elvis McFarline Figure

3. Elvis in Gold Suit McFarline Figure

4. Elvis in Vegas McFarline Figure

5. Jailhouse Rock McFarline Figure

I just found out coming in August of 2008 McFarline is releasing a Aloha from Hawaii figure featuring Elvis in the famous American Eagle Jumpsuit. I know that figure is gonna kick ass. Maybe they should release one in the Tigerman Jumpsuit, ol Tiger doesnt get the respect it deserves. Speaking of Tigerman, tomorrow im gonna blog about the history of the song and how Elvis made it freaking awesome STAY TUNED!

I am on the lookout for a much needed Elvis item

I am needing a copy of Girls!Girls!Girls! on VHS. It is the only movie I don't have on VHS. I don't really need it, I wont ever use it seeing that I have it on DVD. I fill like a part of my collection is incomplete not having it. A new copy is going for around fifty dollars right now. I think I might have a source on a good used copy. Hopefully I can get it.