Customer Reviews

Concert Anthology 1954-1956

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These recordings are some of Elvis' earliest live recordings including his first appearance on the Louisiana Hayride radio program and the first use of "Elvis has left the building" to try to calm down screaming teenagers wanting more. They are pieces of rock and roll history and should be enshrined in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The problem is that the sound quality on some of the songs is very poor, which is inexcusable considering the historical importance of these performances and the availability of modern technology which can almost eliminate noise and enhance sound. You can hardly hear "Hearts of Stone" through the static and noise, which is a shame because what little you can hear makes you wish for more. Needs some serious audio work before I could recommend this package to anyone other than hardcore Elvis fans or rock and roll historians.

The second CD features "remixes" with some former members of the Stray Cats playing along with six of Elvis' performances. The result is interesting and makes one wish that Elvis had lived long enough to have a real jam session with the Stray Cats (of course if he had, The Colonel never would have allowed such a session). Most of the tracks sound pretty good. "Good Rockin Tonight" sounds like Elvis is singing through a megaphone, which is not a bad effect but takes a listen or two to get used too. They did not do a very good job of melding the old and new recordings on "Tweedle Dee" because it is obvious when they turn on and off the original recording. The others are not as obvious. If the price were cheaper, the second CD might make it worth picking up.

This has two disks. The first is of very poor sound quality due to the time it was recorded however the second is much better and makes buying this cd worth the cost.