Customer Reviews

Elvis Presley: The Memphis Flash - Elvis Presley, Sun Records and How it All Began

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As I've grown older, I have come to admire Elvis' early music the most, essentially everything that came before "Heartbreak Hotel."

This documentary attempts to go back to Elvis' early years and determine the various elements that came together to produce the phenomenon that hit the world in 1956. There are visits to his homes and schools in Tupelo and Memphis, interviews with his friends and classmates, an overview of the Memphis music scene in the early 50s, and some remarkably intelligent commentary by several music historians who actually know quite a bit about him. All the while, excerpts from his early hits play in the backgroud.

Unfortunately, there are no full performances of those early hits on this dvd, but they are available on Elvis '56 - In the Beginning.

Because "Colonel" Tom Parker (the "Colonel" is an honorific the Bilious Bag of Gas bestowed upon himself) kept pushing Elvis to turn out a lot of music that is mediocre at best, there are relatively few disks available that fully reflect Elvis' remarkable range of talents. The general consensus is that the best of those that do is Elvis - The '68 Comeback Special (Deluxe Edition DVD), although I found it to be scripted and forced.

For those who are interested in learning more about Elvis, Bobbie Ann Mason's brief biography Elvis Presley (Penguin Lives) is excellent.

I purchased this item as a Christmas gift for my husband so I am unable to give a review at this time. Sorry. W. Cooper