Customer Reviews

Elvis Presley - The 50 Greatest Hits

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

There have been many endless series of Elvis Presley best-of CDs. Soon another singles disc will be added to the list. However, this two CD does an admirable job of collection the best of Elvis on one package. True Kentucky Rain, I Was the One, or Paralyzed are absent. But this package hits most of the familiar ground, and includes the best of his movie years with Wooden Heart, Return To Sender, Viva Las Vegas, and Can't Help Falling In Love. And unlike Artist of The Century which had three CDs to work with, it does include Moody Blue, Way Down and Crying In The Chapel.

And the reviewer below wondered where "Caught In A Trap" was. There is no song by that name. It is the first line of Suspicious MInds, which is on this.

Is this release from Great Britain just another Presley compilation? Yes and No.

Design

The cover art, although done very stylish, it is nothing special. The image used on the cover is used on quite a lot of covers. Probably they used a well known and clean image of Elvis to appeal to the mass market this release of obviously aiming at.

Inside the booklet, a 3-page fold-out, we find some better (b/w) images of a young Elvis performing on stage. BMG also added some familiar quotes from Elvis, John Lennon and Bruce Springsteen.

Content

If you just look at the tracks, 50 of the greatest hits from the King Of Rock and Roll most of us already know / have. They used only the big hits for this compilation, including Elvis' 17 no. 1 hits in the U.K. The two CD's cover a great part of Elvis' recording career. Starting with "That's All Right Mama", recorded by an unknown singer in the SUN Studio's in Memphis in 1954, and ending with "Way Down", recorded by a musical legend, also in Memphis (at home in Graceland).

It is a showcase of a musical talent that transcended all tastes and styles The early fifties Rock and Roll (That's All Right) and the tracks that made him famous (Heartbreak Hotel and Hound Dog), classic movie tracks (King Creole and Love Me Tender). But also classic performances from the Comeback Special (If I Can Dream) and late sixties (Suspicious minds and In The Ghetto), a live track from his Vegas period (The Wonder of You) Ending with some hits from the seventies (Burning Love and Moody Blue) .

Conclusion:

This CD-set is obviously aiming for the mass-market, and has succeeded since it made the Top 10 in both England and the Ireland. For someone who just wants to have Elvis' greatest hits this is a good collection. For the die hard fan there's nothing special on this 2 CD set. For them it's just another overview of Elvis' hits.

This is best Elvis collection there is. All the American greatest hits collection are missing too many important songs and have too many unnecessary ones. Thank god the UK got it right. This collection is the best selling Elvis set in Europe and Asia. No wonder, it is far better than any other Elvis hits collection. If you are not made of money and love The King buy this one. All the others are just cheating you.

I was looking for a CD of Elvis tunes to have on hand for parties and some fun music. What I liked about this CD is that it was not too heavy and not too light. There was a great mix of every song that I remember and some that I didn't know about.

This is such a great album and the best place to start for those new to Elvis (is there anyone new to Elvis anymore!) It has a wide selection of tracks that is truly representative of his output and fairly decent packaging. His voice shines through on every track and you can see how his style developed as the album progresses. This is great listening, pure and simple!

Feel free to check out my blog which can be found on my profile page.

Elvis needs no building up, right? Nor does this collection!
It can be summed up in one word: brilliant - take a look for yourself!

Most collections of The Kings work leave out too many of his best songs, whereas this collection has all the great songs.

Only one complaint, but it's too minor too bring this collection down: it lacks liner notes and song information.
But it's still a five star collection.

All the American greatest hits CD's are terrible. They are missing key songs and have unnecessay ones. 'Greatest Jukebox Hits' and '50 Worldwide Gold Hits' are just plain weird. Thank god for this UK collection. It is the biggest selling Elvis CD set throughout Europe and Asia; and no wonder, because it has only the best of the best. Get this one and your friends will be saying, "Wow, where did you find this?" If you love The King but aren't made of money this modestly priced double CD is the way to go. Elvis lives -- overseas.

In America, Elvis' record label, RCA, continues to release one bad greatest hits collection after another. 'Greatest Jukebox Hits' and '50 Worldwide Gold Hits' are just plain weird. They don't have many essential songs and include many unnecesary ones. Thank god for the UK. They care enough to do it right. If you want the true Elvis story get this package. All your friends will be asking "Wow, where did you get this!?!" This is the best selling Elvis collection in Europe. The Kings Lives (overseas)!!!

Where is caught in a trap? Elvis's greatest song? Sorry its not an elvis album with out it