Customer Reviews

Artist of the Century

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It's got to be said: Elvis and box-sets are a golden combination! This box-set is a compilation of all Elvis-hits and other songs chosen by his fans, critics and fellow-musicians around the world. Although all the material has already been released (a few alternate takes would have been nice for the fans), it's absolutely a great buy for all those people eager to get a great compilation of Elvis songs. Because of the special lay-out also Elvis-fans will enjoy this box-set, but probably they will more enjoy the 3 different LP-versions of this box-set (black, blue and red vinyl). An important minus is the fact that BMG didn't include a single song from 1977. They could have included a live-version of "My Way", "Unchained Melody" or "Hurt". Especially because the box celebrates Elvis as beeing the "Artist of the Century" and therefor you can't exclude his last year. Nevertheless a great box!

In the two decades-plus since Elvis' death, the King has been anthologized ad nauseam. Some of these collections have been terrific, either when thoroughly documenting a phase of his career (The King of Rock 'n' Roll 4-CD box) or providing listeners with rare tracks and alternate takes (Platinum: A Life in Music). Artist of the Century attempts to do neither.

Its goal is to provide a general overview of the artist for the casual fan (like me who was two years old when "Heartbreak Hotel" was released in 1956). By the time I was a teenager, the Beatles ruled the pop world and Elvis was seen by me as a relic of the fifties. I have since reassessed my opinion of Elvis and over the years have added several of his classic recordings to my collection: The Complete Sun Sessions, From Elvis in Memphis, The Complete 50s Masters and Top Ten Hits.

When Artist of the Century came out, I already had much of this material, but what it did give me was a general overview of his career. Are there glaring omissions for the serious fan? How coud there not be for a three-CD set that spans 22 years? Even if all you wanted to do was cover all of his hits--he had 107 counting the poshumously released singles--this 75-track collection couldn't fit them all in.

Accept this collection for what it is--an opportunity for the fan who wants SOME Elvis in his collection, but isn't enough of a completist to need ALL of the songs he ever recorded. You get five of his classic Sun recordings, most of his 50s and 60s top ten singles, his final two top ten chart entries of the seventies, and enough of the lesser singles and album tracks to give you a sense of the impact Elvis had on the pop music scene during its infancy. The booklets are informative (lots of album/single covers, track-by-track recording personnel and commentary), but being glued into a trifold box makes them awkward to read. It is not definitive, but it is representative of the career of arguably the greatest performer of the twentieth century. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Yes,he really was the Artist of the Century. It's not just his sales figures, but his impact on music and society that make Elvis Presley the icon of the 20th Century. Here are 75 reasons why h was the King of Rock and Roll. At first glance, this CD seems to be aimed at the Elvis neophyte. But a closer look reveals that while most of the hits are here, there's a nice sprinkling of album cuts that will thrill the die-hard fan, as well. Disc 2, which covers the post-Army/pre-68 Comeback is the most surprising of the 3 discs. Disc 3 which covers the 68 comeback/70's is fine, but the 70's cuts are disappointedly selected. While all the big hits are here, I was saddened to see that "Viva Las Vegas", "Kentucky Rain", "Hurt" and "Too Much" are absent. There was room on the package for these tracks, and RCA should've extended this to 80 tracks. Still, this is highly recommended for beginners and Elvis fans alike. Good sound, liner notes and the thrill of remembering the King of Rock and Roll again.

This three-CD set is a study in contrast.

First, and most important, this is The King. Elvis Presley is presented at his versatile best, with foot-tapping, hip-swinging rockers, heart-tugging ballads, socially-conscious cerebral cuts from late in his career, and even a token appearance by a Christmas melody. The tracks are originals and the remastering is excellent. It's not an anthology, and his marvelous movie-music is conspicuously absent, but seems to have been replaced by very hard to find early offerings and excellent covers of other artist's hits, again from late in his career.

The down-side to the set is the absurd packaging. The CDs are set in "base-only" jewel cases which are glued to a cardboard cover. The individual booklets (one for each of the three CDs) are also glued into place, facing their respective CD. The result is that the booklets cannot be removed for ease of reading, the jewel cases are basically useless, and the unwieldy cardboard package (10 inches wide by 5 1/2 inches high) has the portability of a brick.

That problem notwithstanding, the heart of this collection is the music, and that heart beats loud and strong. Considering the price, this set is a superior value.

Just remember to pick up a few loose jewel cases when you order "Elvis Presley - The Artist of the Century." You'll need them.

This is indeed the almost perfect introduction for all you Elvis "beginners" out there, although it falls a bit short on the 1973-1976 period, with only 2 songs representing those years (Promised Land and For the heart) How about hits like Moody blue, Way down, Steamroller blues, My boy, or worthy album tracks like T-R-O-U-B-L-E, How great thou art, Hurt, etc. ? Also, if you indeed decide to buy this still GREAT collection, do yourself a favour and buy the AUSTRALIAN VERSION, because of the fact that it adds 5 BONUS SONGS: Judy, Raised on rock, Kentucky rain, Edge of reality, Way down. Thus it gives you 80 of the best songs ever by The King, instead of 75. TCB.

It has always been somewhat of a challenge to recommend just ONE collection of Elvis recordings to the casual listener.Sure, there are the endless "Greatest Hits" collections available...but not a SINGLE set, in my opinion, brings it all together.Until now.This is it. The one to get when you're getting only one.I have been a fan of Elvis Presley's music for nearly 25 years, and listening to this set was like discovering him all over again.Back-to-back-to-back you get not only the all important hits such as "Jailhouse Rock" & "SuspiciousMinds", (as the package states: "more Gold & Platinum" than any other collection) you also get the great (and seldom-heard) PERFORMANCES like the down-n-dirty "Reconsider Baby"or the swamp rock anthem "PolkSalad Annie"---and in incredible sound quality. My only complaint would be theommission of several essentials ("King Creole", "Kentucky Rain", etc) that could have easily been included, but this is a small concern when compared to what we ARE presented with.Over the course of these threeCD's, you will be treated to awide spectrum of musical styles---from Rockabilly to ballads, from rip-roaring Blues to over-the-top Vegas-style stage numbers. If you're just discovering Elvis for the 1st time or re-discovering him for the 10th, "Artist Of The Century" is an indispensable purchase.This is it. The ONE to get.Recommend it to a friend.

Considering that this is only a three-disc set, this is really an unbelievable "best-of" set that is rather more inclusive than the usual "Number Ones" or "Top 10" compilations.
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The three disca are (more or less) divided by the three main phases of Elvis's career; the "Sun Records through Army Enlistment" phase constitutes Disc 1, the "Post-Army through Pre-Las Vegas" phase (ending with "Tiger Man" from the '68 TV Special) makes up Disc 2, and the "Las Vegas/Sequined Jumpsuits" phase is covered on Disc 3.
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The 2nd disc offers the most consistently strong collection of tunes (it really does say a lot for the Beatles that so much of this tremendous work was pushed into the background during the 1960's), and offers proof to anyone who ever suggested that Elvis had somehow "lost it" after leaving the service that he was in fact a more developed and far more powerful singer who would have been capable of singing the phone book and having a hit; the 3rd disc actually shows the great man beginning to decline as the musical arrangements begin to overpower the presence of even Elvis's voice (but criticism of the work itself should be saved for another forum).
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The biggest (the ONLY) disappointment lies within the packaging of the material. I love the anecdotes and the background information included for each song...but the way the booklets are affixed to the packaging makes for unwieldy access, and the plastic which affixes the CD's to the box is not very well secured. My set is starting to fall apart, and I've not owned it for very long. But if you prefer to keep your CD's in a storage wallet, this is of little consequence...and when considering the sheer brilliance of the music that is included in this set, the packaging becomes an afterthought...buy this collection for the songs and the (surprisingly affordable) price, but if you're like me, you will wish that RCA had done a better job packaging the discs.

Back in '99 when this came out, I had mixed feelings. I knew I was going to buy it no matter what, I just didn't know why RCA/BMG was releasing another "greatest hits" compilation. There was all the golden records volumes, the top ten hits, the number one hits, plus all the lesser known greatest hits packages in between. We had heard "Jailhouse Rock" and "Teddy Bear" hundreds of times, if not more. So when it came out, I was expecting just another thoughtless collection of his greatest hits wrapped up in a new package. I was wrong, for the most part. Yes, this has all of the classics but then it has some lesser known songs which are very often overlooked and underplayed such as "Lawdy, Miss Clawdy", "Anyplace Is Paradise", "Baby, I Don't Care", "Such A Night", "It Hurts Me", the wonderfully covered "Down In The Alley" as well as 2 of his Christmas Christmas selections. This set perfectly mixes the #1 smash hits with the lesser known songs and B-sides wrapped up in a very attractive package which each disc pretty much separates the 50s from the 60s from the 70s and each disc has its own very imformative booklet along with dozens of quotes by other notable people which I find to be a very nice touch. Overall, this set is the perfect way for the casual fan that wants a little more than the 18 song number one hits but doesnt want to spend over $$$ on the 3 50s, 60s, and 70s box sets and with 75 well picked songs in all, it does just that.

Before this box came out I was always at a loss when asked to recommend a decent one-stop Elvis best of, but this will do nicely! All the hits are here, along with the fans and critics' faves. The Australian version could have been even better, containing 5 extra tracks that were big 'down under', but they were added out of chronological sequence to the end of the CDs which kinda spoils things. Still, well done BMG/RCA (at last)!

I read about this collection in a music magazine that was doing an entire issue on Elvis. It highly reccomended the collection and as all of my Elvis records are vinyl, I was very excited at the prospect of a collection of CD's featuring the cream of his life's work. I was not disapointed...

This really is an excellent value for money package. 3 cd's (75 songs) featuring the king at his best. The collection really is an anthology covering the young Elvis on disc 1, (starting with the Sun years) and moving through to the "middle-aged" Elvis on disc 2 and finishing with the elder Elvis on disc 3.

All the major hits are here, but what really sets the collection apart, are a number of lesser known blues and gospel inspired tracks. This really is the cream of Elvis and I was delighted to discover recordings I'd never heard before.

With each cd comes a booklet providing notes on each song (very interesting reading) and quotes from various artists such as John Lennon and Bob Dylan.

Elvis fans won't be disapointed and those who want to discover what an amazing and versatile performer Elvis was will love this too.