Letter: Elvis the Pelvis regains his sense of balance

IN HIS review of Elvis Presley: The King of Rock 'n' Roll/The Complete '50s Masters (Sunday Review, 2 August), Richard Williams misses the point. Over the years, compact disc remasterings have done much to clarify the quality of Presley's voice, but the balance between voice and instruments has frequently been lost, as has much of the original tension. CDs generally have been interesting, but the original recordings were dramatic studio events. A five-minute comparison of 'Blue Suede Shoes' on the '50s Masters with any other CD would have made that clear.

Ernst Jorgensen and Roger Semon, who spent eight years working on the original tapes and acetates, have produced a stunning recreation of the sound on the old 78s and 45s. Presley made these recordings in studio conditions which would have left artists such as Madonna or Michael Jackson helpless. 'Mystery Train' and 'Hound Dog' remain the greatest rock 'n' roll tracks ever recorded because they were live performances captured on tape. In the '50s Masters, those performances have been rescued from obscurity.

William Bedford

Grimsby, South Humberside