I Believe: The Gospel Masters [Box set]

Elvis Presley | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 10, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 4
• Format: Box set
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Sony Legacy
• ASIN: B001PPLKI0
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,797 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #16 in Music > Christian > Southern Gospel
  • #89 in Music > Classic Rock > Southern Rock

Editorial Reviews

This unique collection is a befitting tribute to Elvis Presley's 3 x Grammy Award-winning gospel and inspirational work. Discs 1 through 3 feature his entire non-secular studio masters in chronological order. Disc 4 covers the additional masters made for Elvis' movies, his comeback TV special in 1968, and recordings made live on stage. Disc 4 also includes two segments of Elvis singing religious songs in a more informal setting. The first segment includes Elvis with J.D. Sumner and The Stamps relaxing at the end of a long day at RCA's Hollywood studio on March 31, 1972. The final three recordings were done at his Los Angeles home in 1966, in preparation for the album HOW GREAT THOU ART. This four discs set is remastered from the original tapes using the latest DSD technology for optimum sound quality. As with his secular music, Elvis invented his own version of gospel, drawing from every element of his vast musical knowledge - without any musical prejudice or racial barriers. I BELIEVE - THE GOSPEL MASTERS offers the most comprehensive overview of Elvis' non-secular performances and provides testament to Elvis's musical excellence and his contribution to the popularization of religious music.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nobody sings gospel like the King!, March 16, 2009

By 

steve_manassas (Manassas, VA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: I Believe: The Gospel Masters (Audio CD)

Nobody sings gospel like the King! This is a great-sounding collection of Elvis' best gospel recordings. How does it compare, you might ask, to the two previous Elvis gospel retrospectives - AMAZING GRACE: HIS GREATEST SACRED PERFORMANCES (1994) and PEACE IN THE VALLEY: THE COMPLETE GOSPEL RECORDINGS (2000)? Quite well, actually. I BELIEVE: THE GOSPEL MASTERS contains 54 of the 55 tracks from AMAZING GRACE. The only missing track is "Miracle of the Rosary"; why that was left off, I have no idea. As for the PEACE IN THE VALLEY collection, there are 21 tracks (22 if you count "Rosary") not found on I BELIEVE. But unless you're a hard-core Elvis completist who has to have everything, there's a lot less missing than meets the eye; 12 of the missing 21 tracks are from the Million Dollar Quartet sessions, which can easily be found on THE COMPLETE MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET (2006); if you want the MDQ, why not buy the whole thing? Of the remaining nine, seven are home or informal recordings ("When the Saints Go Marching In" from December 1956; "I Asked the Lord" and "He" from 1959-60; a 1:20 version of "Hide Thou Me" from 1966 (replaced on I BELIEVE by the longer 5:01 version from the TODAY, TOMORROW AND FOREVER box set (2002)); "Farther Along" and "Oh Happy Day" from 1970; and a giggle-filled version of "The Lord's Prayer" from 1971. The other two missing tracks are the Ed Sullivan Show version of "Peace in the Valley." which can be found on THE ED SULLIVAN SHOWS DVD set; and the 1977 live version of "How Great Thou Art" from ELVIS IN CONCERT, which was the King's last gospel recording before his death, but is not as good as the 1974 live recording.

I BELIEVE also contains two tracks not found on the earlier compilations: "I Was Born Ten Thousand Years Ago," from ELVIS NOW (1972) and the megahit single "If I Can Dream" from the '68 Comeback Special.

The only changes that I would have made to this set (which is why it gets only 4 stars, not 5) would be to add "Miracle of the Rosary," the single "Where Did They Go, Lord" (from WALK A MILE IN MY SHOES - THE ESSENTIAL '70S MASTERS (1995)), and the full unedited Gospel Medley (including "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child" with Darlene Love) that was issued on PEACE IN THE VALLEY and the compilation MEMORIES: THE '68 COMEBACK SPECIAL (1998). I BELIEVE uses the edited version from the original ELVIS - NBC-TV SPECIAL album (reissued last year as part of THE COMPLETE '68 COMEBACK SPECIAL CD box set).

Other than that, the set is perfect.

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An amazing collection!, March 11, 2009

By 

A Fan (VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Believe: The Gospel Masters (Audio CD)

This is an outstanding collection of Elvis' Gospel music. Gospel was one of Elvis' early musical influences and loves. He puts his heart into every performance and of course his voice is unmatched. The only "Grammies" he won were for his Gospel recordings.

The first three CDs include songs recorded for 1957's "Peace in the Valley" EP and his three outstanding Gospel albums 1960's "His Hand in Mine", 1967's "How Great Thou Art", and 1972's "He Touched Me" along with some other Gospel songs recorded during the period that were released on other albums. The EP and all three Gospel albums were hits when they were released and all have been certified PLATINUM or MULTI-PLATINUM by the RIAA. Some of the songs were hits on the singles chart in the US, including "Peace in the Valley", the classic "Crying in the Chapel", and "You'll Never Walk Alone".

The last CD has Gospel songs from his movies, from the 1968 comeback TV special, including the moving "If I Can Dream" (while it is not technically a Gospel song, it is certainly inspirational), and live concert performances. There are also a few demo recordings.

The songs have all been remastered and sound better than any previous releases. This collection is a must for Elvis and Gospel music fans! Highly recommended!

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome sound quality and packaging!!!, March 12, 2009

By 

Bill Porter "thenexte" (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Believe: The Gospel Masters (Audio CD)

For anybody who's on the fence about this new Elvis gospel box set I'd just like to point out that in comparison to the previous offerings "Amazing Grace" (1992) and "Peace in the valley" (1999) this new box set features dramatically improved sound quality and is a must-have if you didn't get last year's individually reissued gospel albums. It doesn't get any better than this!