The Country Side of Elvis [Original recording remastered]

Elvis Presley | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 6, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Bmg / Elvis
• ASIN: B00005RDC8
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #71,460 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A dream for country music fans, October 10, 2003

By 

Peter Durward Harris "Pete the music fan" (Leicester England) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Country Side of Elvis (Audio CD)

Whether you like it or not, Elvis changed country music forever when he became popular in the fifties with his rock'n'roll music. However, there is a saying - you can take the singer out of the country but you can't take the country out of the singer. So it was that Elvis recorded a lot of country songs throughout his career. Some were tucked away on B-sides or album tracks but others were A-side singles. Sometimes his recordings were faithful to the original and sometimes not. This compilation illustrates all aspects of the country songs recorded by Elvis.

I forgot to remember to forget was the first country chart-topper for Elvis. At that stage, nobody could have foreseen how his career would progress. Blue moon of Kentucky, as written by bluegrass inventor Bill Monroe, was a slow ballad. Elvis recorded it as an up-tempo rocker - this was definitely not a faithful cover. Eventually, Bill Monroe paid Elvis the highest compliment by recording an up-tempo version of his own. A fool such as I (originally a Hank Snow song) is another song that Elvis does in a more upbeat rocking style than the original, but the change is nothing like as dramatic as Blue moon of Kentucky. Old Shep, a very sad story about a dog that had to be put to sleep, is very faithful to the Red Foley original. I understand that Red based the song on the sad end to a dog he once owned.

All of the above songs and several others here were recorded in the fifties, but when most people think of Elvis singing country songs, they think of the latter part of his career. Indeed, the majority of the songs here were recorded following his comeback in the late sixties. Although this period of his career was inconsistent, he seemed to enjoy singing country, so the songs included here are among the best he recorded in his final years. It is interesting to note that Moody blue and Way down were both number one country hits, yet both have been omitted from this collection.

Always on my mind, though written with Elvis in mind, was first recorded by Brenda Lee - six months before Elvis cut it. There goes my everything was a Jack Greene country hit that gave both Engelbert Humperdinck and Elvis an international pop hit. Green green grass of home was a Porter Wagoner country hit that gave Tom Jones an international pop hit and which became a minor UK hit for Elvis.

There are several covers of Eddy Arnold songs, including It's a sin, Just call me lonesome, I'll hold you in my heart, I really don't want to know and Make the world go away.

Jim Reeves is also well represented via I love you because, How's the world treating you, There's always me, Welcome to my world and He'll have to go. I know Jim wasn't always the original singer, but I think of those songs as his.

Other covers include Your cheating heart (Hank Williams), I'm moving on (Hank Snow), From a jack to a king (Ned Miller), Release me (a country hit for several singers including Ray Price, which became an American pop hit for Esther Phillips and a major international pop hit for Engelbert Humperdinck), Help me make it through the night, For the good times (both songs written by Kris Kristofferson that became country and pop hits for various singers), You gave me a mountain (an extremely sad Marty Robbins song about the break-up of a marriage), I'm so lonesome I could cry (Hank Williams), There's a honky tonk angel (Conway Twitty), Susan when she tried (Statler brothers) and She thinks I still care (George Jones).

This is a fascinating collection of country songs recorded by Elvis. Many great songs that could have been included have been left out but every track here is worthy of inclusion.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars His best country collection!, September 5, 2006

By 

A Fan (VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Country Side of Elvis (Audio CD)

This is Elvis' best country collection. It includes some of his earlist records for Sun Records right on through to his last recordings. It includes his first local number 1 hit "Blue Moon Of Kentucky" which was number 1 one the country charts in Memphis in 1954 and his first national number 1 hit "I Forgot To Remember To Forget" which was number 1 on the Billboard country charts for 5 weeks in 1955. Other favorites include the early country rocker "I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone", the orginal version of "Guitar Man", the classic "Kentucky Rain", a great version of "Fairytale", and one of his latter rockers the underappreciated "T-R-O-U-B-L-E".

Highly recommended if you are a country music fan!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent country collection, March 22, 2007

By 

A Fan (VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Country Side of Elvis (Audio CD)

Not to be confused with the 2 CD US release "The Country Side of Elvis ", this is an excellent collection of some of Elvis' best country songs. It includes several songs that made the country charts in the US including It's a Matter of Time, There Goes My Everything, and Fool. You Don't Know Me was a moderate hit on the US pop charts peaking at 44. Highly recommended if you don't already own one of the many Elvis country collections, though the import price is a little high.