BLOG | AUG. 15, 2024

Matt Ross-Spang Discusses New Elvis Presley Box Set, Memphis

BY GEOFF STANFIELD

Article image

Across more than 100 tracks, MEMPHIS captures Elvis from the earliest stages of his career at Sun Records/Memphis Recording Service to his final recordings in Graceland’s Jungle Room, with stops at other iconic studios such as American and Stax along the way. On this new collection, listeners have never been closer to Elvis – as all overdubs are stripped from the material by Matt Ross-Spang, who mixed all the tracks leaving fans with only what Elvis heard "in the room".

I caught up with Matt, who we interviewed in Tape Op #117 , and asked him a few questions about the process of reimagining this album from The King!

What was your approach going into the project?

The producer, Ernst Jorgensen, is the compass of the whole project. He is a leading historian (and fan) of Elvis, and a wonderful A&R man. He has an incredible knowledge of all the recordings of Elvis. He really guides me through each project. Otherwise, I try to honor the original producer/engineer and artist's vision, and not get carried away trying to "perfect" everything. It's easy to go too far with some of the new tools at our disposal.

Was the goal a totally new presentation of the tracks, or to simply strip the overdubs away?

Ernst could speak best to this, but with the last few boxsets Ernst has had the brilliant idea to remove the overdubs so you can hear the magic of Elvis and the band in the room. A fly-on-the-wall perspective, so to speak. I think this box set really shows what an impact Memphis and its characters had on Elvis.

How much reference to the original music did you do?

Quite a bit! That's extremely important to me.

Was it remixed using the original gear?

I mix these projects analog on the desk with very few plug-ins. I happen to use mostly vintage equipment, which I used on these mixes (Pultecs, 1176s, a Fairchild 670 copy, EMT plates, and a real echo chamber).

How much restoration was needed?

Not much! They had some incredible engineers and studios. I did a little noise reduction on certain tracks if the hiss was overbearing, but for the most part you could put the faders at "0" and hear a wonderful balance!

Any surprises or challenges once you were under the hood?

The American [Studios] sessions were mostly tracked to 4-track, so things were committed together, like electric guitar/piano, bass/organ, or bass/acoustic. I love those commitments, so for me it was all a joy to get to hear! Most times the reverb was committed to the vocal, and the American chamber was stellar so I loved it!

We're there any stand-out tracks for you?

It's hard to pick a favorite, but I love "Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues," "True Love Travels on a Gravel Road," "For the Heart," "Promised Land," and "Kentucky Rain"!

Be sure to check out Matt Ross-Spang's interview with Dan Reeder in Tape Op #162 !

SPONSORED
Tape Op Podcast LISTEN NOW Latest Podcast Episode

NEW! EP104: JOSH "DEAKIN" DIBB

MORE ENTRIES

Tunde Adebimpe: Thee Black Boltz

April 18, 2025

Tunde Adebimpe: Thee Black Boltz

BY Geoff Stanfield

Ian Brennan interviewedTunde Adebimpe forTape Op#155, and he has just releasedThee Black Boltz, a beautifully conceived album full of interesting soni...

New Bon Iver: SABLE fABLE

April 13, 2025

New Bon Iver: SABLE fABLE

BY Geoff Stanfield

Listening toSABLE, fABLE, the new release from Bon Iver, it dawned on me that he and co-producer Jim-E Stack, have created a collection of songs that ...

New Music from Dirty Projectors

April 4, 2025

New Music from Dirty Projectors

BY Geoff Stanfield

We interviewed David Longstreth of the Dirty Projectors back in 2013 forTape Opissue #93. His new release,Songs of the Earth, is a return to a sound a...

New Music From Tortoise

March 31, 2025

New Music From Tortoise

BY Geoff Stanfield

Members of Tortoise have graced the pages ofTape Opfor years. We interviewedJohn McEntirein 2001 for issue #23, and more recently we coveredJeff Parke...

New Music From Lucy Dacus and Perfume Genius Produced By Blake Mills

March 30, 2025

New Music From Lucy Dacus and Perfume Genius Produced By Blake Mills

BY Geoff Stanfield

We interviewed producer and guitarist Blake Mills inTape Op#115and for ourpodcastin 2019. He’s produced newly-released records for both Lucy Dacus –Fo...

Fort George Brewery and Tape Op Overdub IPA

March 21, 2025

Fort George Brewery and Tape Op Overdub IPA

BY Geoff Stanfield

Brian Bovinizer is the Marketing and Sales Director at Fort George Brewery in Astoria, Oregon. Being aTape Opreader, some 11 years ago he spottedTape ...

Mdou Moctar Releases Tears of Injustice

March 5, 2025

Mdou Moctar Releases Tears of Injustice

BY Geoff Stanfield

Released in 2024, Mdou Moctar'sFuneral for Justiceis a raucous, distorted guitar-driven album that, along with bands such as Tinariwen, turns the idea...

Panda Bear Releases Sinister Grift

March 4, 2025

Panda Bear Releases Sinister Grift

BY Geoff Stanfield

It's always a good day when I discover that there is new music from Panda Bear. It hits all the marks for me; nods to the classics, modern concepts, s...

New Music From Rafiq Bhatia

February 25, 2025

New Music From Rafiq Bhatia

BY Geoff Stanfield

We hadRafiq Bhatiaas a guest on ourDISCussion podcastin June of 2023. His new release, a collaboration with pianist Chris Pattishall,Each Dream, A Mel...