Frankie And Johnny [Soundtrack] [Original recording remastered]

Elvis Presley | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 26, 2010)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Sony special product
• ASIN: B002YQSYWE
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #35,881 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Frankie And Johnny

2. Come Along

3. Petunia, The Gardener's Daughter

4. Chesay

5. What Every Woman Lives For

6. Look Out, Broadway

7. Beginner's Luck

8. Down By The Riverside / When The Saints Go Marching In

9. Shout It Out

10. Hard Luck

11. Please Don't Stop Loving Me

12. Everybody Come Aboard

Editorial Reviews

The King's version of that old folk tune reached #25 in '66, followed onto the charts by Please Don't Stop Loving Me . Here are those plus the rest of this hit soundtrack LP!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Elvis is taken for a ride on a riverboat, January 26, 2010

By 

hyperbolium (Earth, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Frankie And Johnny [Soundtrack] (Audio CD)

There are a number of commonly held misconceptions about Elvis Presley's film career: Elvis couldn't act, his movies were all throwaways, and the soundtracks were populated entirely with substandard material. But key films in the King's catalog show that he could indeed act, if called upon, there are several high-quality dramatic and musical films in Elvis' oeuvre, alongside many good lightweight romantic musical comedies, and his soundtracks are laced with hits and terrific albums sides. To measure the highpoints of Elvis' soundtrack catalog by virtue of the low points (of which there are admittedly many) is to miss out on a valuable dimension of Presley's musical career.

1966's Frankie and Johnny was Elvis' twentieth film, and co-starred Donna Douglas who was then starring on television's Beverly Hillbillies. The soundtrack was recorded in Hollywood with the usual mix of West Coast studio players (including guitarist Tiny Timbrell), and longtime Elvis associate Scotty Moore. The Jordanaires are replaced here by the Mello Men on background vocals, and a brass section (trumpet, trombone and tuba) was brought in to give a New Orleans edge to several of the songs. The songwriters included many of the usual crew, such as Sid Tepper, Roy C. Bennett, Ben Weisman, Sid Wayne, Doc Pomus & Mort Shuman, and the trio of Florence Kaye, Bernie Baum and Bill Giant.

Many of the album's songs are meant to evoke the era of river boats and music calls, but they're campy, faux-Dixieland theatricality doesn't survive the transition from film to soundtrack album. Elvis sounds as if he's being forced to march along to "Down by the Riverside," though he loosens up for the second half of the medley with "Saints Go Marching In." Pomus & Shuman's "What Every Woman Lives For" would be a more appealing blues if the message wasn't so retrospectively sexist (though, to be fair, it is Elvis singing, and it's possible that every woman does live to give him their love). The revival "Shout it Out," though lyrically light, gives Elvis a chance to rock it up, and the blues "Hard Luck" features Charlie McCoy on harmonica.

Several of the tracks feel under-arranged, as if producer Fred Karger was in a hurry to get these tracks finished. Perhaps when you have the film's director Fred De Cordova (of Tonight Show fame) waiting on you and you're asking Elvis to sing mediocre material, you get what you can get. Sony's reissue features a four-panel booklet and no liner notes discussing the music or its making. The 27-minute running time suggests that the earlier import two-fer or Follow That Dream's collector's edition might be more compelling to Elvis diehards. Still, the budget price and remastered sound make this reissue attractive. [©2010 hyperbolium dot com]

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A revisit of the New Orleans jazzy sound, December 28, 2005

By 

Petter Sellers - See all my reviews

This review is from: Frankie & Johnny (Audio CD)

Here we have Elvis present a new approach on the New Orleans sound, a far cry from "King Creole".
The title song, an old American classic, is actually given a powerful treatment and it holds pretty well on the top of the album.
Later on we receive songs that do not instigate any exciting listening experiences and the case is certainly made for "Petunia, the gardener's daughter". Still, the out-takes of even that tune provide a fresh look for avid collectors. A gypsy-like song by the name Chesay is sheer pleasure and is wonderfully mastered by Elvis. As far as the ballads go, in this album we are treated with more than the usual one or two. "Beginner's luck" and coming near the end strong and emotional "Please don't stop loving me" are real cult classics that command repeat performances.
Do listen to the overall out-takes because they vividly colorize the recording set and let you in the making process of the album.

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome, December 20, 2010

By 

C. Gregory "Simplexity" (Cincinnati, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Frankie And Johnny [Soundtrack] (Audio CD)

I have these songs on various cds, as I am a very big fan of Elvis and have a huge collection (but by no means complete) I am a music collector, and wanted to have the cd presented this way (as it's very affordable)My father who has passed away was a big Elvis fan as well, only difference is he was growing up while Elvis was hitting. So this is a way to listen to the cd in the same format (at least in terms of song listing) as my dad did when he was younger. However, even though I have these songs, I find they sound just a bit different, not sure if this is due to the remasterring of the album or the fact that it seems like in each medium the song was present, maybe a different take was used. However this copy is very pristine. The tracking is great and the packaging is nice (though minimal) reflecting the original vinyl version. A Great addition to any collection.