Customer Reviews

Elvis

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

With the Elvis recording going into popular domain in Europe this year, RCA BMG is finally getting it right. The original albums, as they were, with bonus tracks, in the best possible sound, with original cover and back cover of the albums. Beautiful. The sound restoration is to write home about, using DSD technology, Elvis is suddenly alive again. You can hear him with such a clarity, every vocal inflexion he makes, it it just breathtaking, even compared to the remasters done three or four years ago. These three albums: Elvis Presley , Elvis and Loving You belong in everyone collection in this form. ESSENTIAL.

This was Elvis' second album and is on par with his excellent first album. Like the first album, this one topped the US album charts and sold millions. In an apparent effort to tame Elvis' alarming image, RCA used a cover shot that would have been more appropriate for a Gospel album than an edgy Rock and Roll album (contrast it with the cover of his first album). While no big hit single was included on the original album (in the 1950's singles and albums were considered separate products and hit singles were often excluded from albums so as not to hurt sales of the single), several songs were released on EP's and were minor hits including: Love Me, When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again, Paralyzed, and Old Shep. Some other songs were international hits like Rip It Up and Ready Teddy. The CD is made even better than the original release by the inclusion of 6 bonus tracks including the huge hits Don't Be Cruel, Hound Dog, Love Me Tender, and Too Much. Highly recommended for fans of Elvis and early rock and roll!

Boy! In my opinion, this is truly one of Elvis's greatest albums ever! This is of course his second album for RCA in 1956 and believe me, it is truly one of his best ever. To hear him sing Old Shep really and truly brings tears to my eyes. Like the other reviewer said below, there are some fine rockers on this album but there are some beautiful country ballads like Old Shep which was a hit for Red Foley way back in the early 40's, When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again, Playing For Keeps which wasn't included on the original LP but added as a bonus to this digitally remastered CD, First In Line and many more! I of course have this CD when it came out in 1999 or so and it is great! I highly recommend this to all Elvis fans! Rock on, Elvis!

The moment Rip It Up begins you know your hearing something that sounds as fresh and new as the day it was first released. This is Elvis at his best singing songs with feeling...straight from the heart. When you listen to First In Line and Old Shep you will understand what set Elvis apart from other great rockers from that era. He wasn't merely a singer of up tempo material but sang everything. These songs are timeless. Great that the additional songs were added but this album was great without them. If you don't buy this you are missing something exceptional.

This is a nice recording and you get some fine vocals from Elvis but what in the heck happened to Scotty's guitar work? He was great on the "Elvis Presley" recording, which was basically a rockabilly record, but Scotty is badly slighted on this one. It's like they locked his guitar in the closet or something!
It's an interesting recording in that you can track the transformation or evolution of Elvis' music from rockabilly to rock-n-roll. The problem is, the rockabilly was 100 percent better music! It involved much more musicianship, was way more fun to listen too and got your toes tappin' way more than this type of rock.
Think of some of the greats who were rockabilly stand outs. Carl Perkins, early Elvis, Gene Vincent and a host of other wonderful talents. It is a shame rockabilly ever faded into near oblivion and it is a shame this recording could not have featured Scotty a bit more.

I know, technically, it was his second album; but while the first album was basically thrown together in New York (with the obvious exception of "I Love You Because," "I'll Never Let You Go," "Trying To Get To You," and "Blue Moon," all recorded at Sun,) this is the first time Elvis went to the studio with the sole purpose of recording an album...And what an album it was! There are three (count 'em!) Little Richard (LR) covers ("Rip It Up," "Long Tall Sally," and "Ready Teddy") and, in my opinion, they surpass the LR versions! Gone are the saxophones and piano that permeate LR's work; Elvis's versions are stripped to the bone and rockin'! Like the "first" album, there's blues material, country, and pop (try listening to "Paralyzed" without tapping your toes...I dare you!) Elvis could do it all...with ease; and this album proves it!

Elvis is the Alpha and the Omega of Rock & Roll, so what better place to start than this eponymously titled LP that says all that needs to be said. Too Much.

Jailhouse Rock

'68 Comeback Special

Elv1s 30 #1 Hits

The 50 Greatest Love Songs

Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith (Cover Image May Vary)

Elvis Presley - The Signature Collection (It Happened at the World's Fair / Speedway / Spinout / Harum Scarum / Jailhouse Rock / Viva Las Vegas)

Blue Hawaii

Aloha from Hawaii Via Satellite

The Big Lebowski: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Me and a Guy Named Elvis: My Lifelong Friendship with Elvis Presley

The music is 5 stars. That's why I bought the CD, the music!! I never bother with the booklet becaue I can't read the small print. But to deduct stars because there's not enough space between the tracks (as The Cosmos did) is ludicrous!! Where is it written that there must be 5 seconds between tracks.

Again, the music is GREAT!!

Hey, Youngsters! Even as others record Elvis' songs and you can't believe he actually made "Heartbreak Hotel" FIRST (his first NATIONAL hit), this is how he sounded near the beginning after becoming a national phenom. He was 21. The rare "Paralyzed" is included and "Love Me" which made the girls swoon. All that and much more. This is history. Grab it.

It's not fair to compare any Elvis album to the many compilations and boxed sets that have come out over the years only because the majority of these songs can be found on just about every one of them. However, when compared to other Elvis albums, this one is much better than the first one and is almost a greatest hits cd in its own right.

'Elvis' is a strong followup to Elvis' first LP, Elvis Presley: Legacy Edition and this version is exceptional to say the least considering they added the extra tracks. I don't need to go into a review of every song because either you've know them or you don't and if you don't, you're probably better off buying a greatest hits cd so you can get a real feel for Elvis' music.

However, I would like to comment on the quality of this disc. Given that the tracks are all DSD remasters, they have an awesome clarity to them that you can't find anywhere else, except for those few tracks that have made it onto other remastered collections. I purchased the MP3 version of this album so if you're wondering about the quality, they are all converted to VBR and average about 180mbps. Personally, I usually create my MP3s files with with a 192mbps CBR, but given the age of these tracks, I don't hear a difference at all.

All in all, if you're looking for original Elvis albums, get this one for sure. You won't regret it!