Customer Reviews

From Elvis In Memphis

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Elvis Presley wasn't just the King of Rock `n' Roll, he was an artist who prospered in spite of an unsympathetic manager, and a star who rose to a second great peak, resurrecting himself from the ashes of a moribund career. His incendiary, game-changing hits of the `50s led to the start of a bright film career, but after losing his crown in a repetitive string of artistically lean popcorn movies, it took a string of three key performances to regain the throne. The first, 1967's How Great Thou Art, was a gospel album anchored in Elvis' musical roots; the second, an iconic NBC comeback special in 1968, proved he still had the rock `n' roll spark; and the third, this 1969 return to his Memphis home ground, showed he still had something new and potent to offer. There was more, including live and country albums in 1970 and 1971, but the artistic and commercial renaissance of 1967-69, capped by this soul and gospel masterpiece (and its hit single, "In the Ghetto"), is one of the great comebacks in music history.

Even more impressive, the album's dozen tunes are less than half the Memphis sessions' output. RCA's 2-CD Legacy reissue collects 36 tracks from Elvis' stay at Chip Moman's American Studio, adding ten tracks from the second platter of From Memphis to Vegas - From Vegas to Memphis (subsequently reissued as Back in Memphis), four single mixes of album tracks, six non-LP singles (including the trio of chart hits "Suspicious Minds," "Don't Cry Daddy," and "Kentucky Rain"), and four bonus tracks. Having recorded in Nashville and Hollywood since his mid-50s departure from Sun, Elvis returned to Memphis to find soul music still heavily influenced by gospel and blues, but also powered by the bass-and-horns funk developed by the Stax, Hi, FAME, American and Muscle Shoals studios.

Buoyed by the success of his televised comeback, Elvis shook off the insipid material he'd been recording, and dug deeply into a set of blues, country, gospel and pop sounds, pushed by Moman and his crack studio band. You can hear Elvis rediscovering himself as he tests his crooning, wandering through a loose arrangement of "I'll Hold You in My Heart (Till I Can Hold You in My Arms)" that turns Eddy Arnold's 1940s country twanger into an emotion-soaked gospel. He's commanding with the testimony of "Power of My Love" and swaggering and blue at the same time on "After Loving You." He nails a slow-burning gospel-tinged cover of "Long Black Limousine," lightens to horn-lined Memphis melancholy with "Any Day Now" and closes the album with the stunning "In the Ghetto." The extras on disc one are finished tracks that include Bobby Darin's "I'll Be There," the Beatles' "Hey Jude," and the gospel "Who Am I?"

The ten tracks of the follow-up album open disc two, and though the sessions were well picked-over for the original album, there are several highlights in the second set, including the slow building blues rocker "Stranger in My Own Hometown," the dramatic farewell of "The Fair's Moving On" and the gospel soul "Without Love (There is Nothing)." Disc two's pay-off are the original mono single mixes, six of which don't appear on either Memphis album, including the hits "Suspicious Minds," "Don't Cry Daddy" and "Kentucky Rain," and the supremely funky "Rubberneckin'." All of these tracks have been previously released, scattered across LPs and singles, and brought together on collections such as The Memphis Record and Suspicious Minds. But never before has Elvis' homecoming been drawn as such a vivid portrait.

This brief leave from Col. Parker's stifling control gave Elvis a chance to go home, both literally and figuratively, and the circumstances in which to wax one of the two or three finest albums of his career. The energy created in Memphis sustained the King through a resurgent live show, but as the bubble closed back around him, these blue-eyed soul sessions turned into the last studio high point of his extraordinary career. Legacy's 2-CD set is delivered in a tri-fold digipack that reproduces the covers of both From Elvis in Memphis and Back in Memphis, and includes a 24-page booklet stuffed with photos and excellent liner notes by Robert Gordon and Tara McAdams. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]

The 40th Anniversary Legacy edition of this classic album is its best release to date!! Vic Anesini's mastering is fantastic! He brings the music to life as if it were recorded in 2009, not 1969. There are many reasons why you should buy this 2 disc issue. Aside from the mastering, this collection brings together all of the masters from those incredible sessions in one package. This includes the two albums that came from the sessions, From Elvis in Memphis and Back in Memphis, as well as the 10 other tracks that were released over time. Another fantasic offering from this package are the singles in original mono. In 1960 and 1970, when the vinyl singles were released, they were released in mono. Including these masters is a wonderful trip down memory lane. They do sound different, and to my ear perhaps even better that the stereo versions. It's a matter of taste. Ernst and Roger, if you read this, the only thing that would have made this package better would have been to include the stereo masters of the singles as well. Since we have the stereo version of In The Ghetto already in the album, it would have made the set complete to place Suspicious Minds, Don't Cry Daddy, and Kentucky Rain in stereo on the end of disc 1, leaving disc 2 with the mono versions for comparison. No matter, Vic Anesini has remastered those as well on other packages. This release is a must for all fans. It truly shows the mastery of Elvis Presley.

I own dozens of Cds By Elvis. This is the BEST STUDIO RECORDING OF HIS CAREER. Included in this collection are pop,rock,
R & B, soul, "the Memphis Sound", gospel, blues, and many other well known genres. The production is first class.
Outstanding remastering of the original material. There are two CDs included in this package. The first comprises the
original songs. while the second has newly remastered songs. The quality, production, song selection and arrangements
are outstanding. Of course you have the hits, In the Ghetto, Suspicious Minds, Don't Cry Daddy, Kentucky Rain, and Rubberneckin'.
If you only need one Cd by the King of Rock 'n' Roll, this is the one. Great selection of songs, outstanding production.
This is Elvis at his very best. This validates why he is the KING. You get 34 songs that showcase his voice and
the power of the artist. BUY IT!

The significance of the recordings that Elvis Presley made in his hometown with legendary producer Chips Moman during the first two months of 1969 can never be overstated. Given the often mediocre films he spent making at the almost dictatorial command of his manager the Colonel, and the even worse songs from those films that he was forced to sing, for much of the 1960s, he clearly had a lot on his plate that he wanted to get out there. The NBC-TV special of December 1968, where he got back to his roots, was the key to his resurrection as the King. And by returning to his proving grounds, to a producer whose American Studios was responsible for dozens of blue-eyed soul hits during the second half of the decade, he took recording seriously again, putting out arguably the best music of his entire life.

This Legacy Edition, in truth, is a 2-CD set that combines FROM ELVIS IN MEMPHIS (released in June 1969) with the underrated 1970 album BACK IN MEMPHIS (originally the second LP of the 2-LP late 1969 release FROM MEMPHIS TO VEGAS/FROM VEGAS TO MEMPHIS), along with four outtakes, and the mono releases of the classic hit singles ("In The Ghetto"; "Suspicious Minds"; "Don't Cry Daddy"; "Kentucky Rain") and B-sides ("Any Day Now"; "The Fair's Moving On"; "You'll Think Of Me"; "Rubberneckin'"; "My Little Friend"; "Mama Liked The Roses") that came from the sessions. There is a certain melancholia in the knowledge that the success of both of the original albums was not enough to prevent a very savage conflict between the Colonel and the headstrong Moman that resulted in Elvis never returning to American Studios after these sessions. Even so, the power and the energy that developed between Moman, Presley, and the American session crew is consistent in both recordings--and not just on the hits, either. The portentous "Long Black Limousine", the tragic despair of "Without Love", and the down-low blues/funk of "Stranger In My Home Town" (where Elvis and the musicians are clearly having the time of their lives) show that Elvis was much, much more than a mere hit-making machine, but capable of making albums that showed off his love for American roots music, whether it was pop, gospel, R&B, country, or straight-forward rock and roll.

The sheer fact of history is that, while those of today's generation of radio listeners may deem the recently departed Michael Jackson as the King of Pop, Elvis was, and always will be, the true King. And in this 2-CD collection of those two months spent on his own home ground, we see that greatness that lives on beyond his tragic demise on August 16, 1977. If you're a true music lover, you really shouldn't miss this for anything.

This is the first time to my knowledge the single version of " YOU'LL THINK OF ME " has ever been released on cd.
If you listen closely duning the guitar riff you can hear Elvis hum.

Along with the great packaging down to the orange RCA labels, this edition is worth every penny. The mastering is superb. Worth the price just for the mono singles if anything.

I had this CD when it first came out (had the vinyl album for years and years). Then I got THE MEMPHIS RECORD. Then the anthology SUSPICIOUS MINDS. They all included the same songs here, a few more in one, a different line-up in another...but I will definitely will be getting this newly remastered 2-CD set.

Why?

Because Elvis never sang any better. I will make an exception for his gospel recordings, because I really think Elvis believed he was doing what God wanted him to do in Life when he sang gospel. In the 1968 Singer Comeback Special, he was fueled by fear that he couldn't win his public back and he was great then. And before he knew he had us along, there were songs during his Vegas comeback that he completely threw himself into (like "Bridge Over Troubled Waters" from THAT'S THE WAY IT IS).

But I honestly believe you can hear this man's soul in the songs in FROM ELVIS IN MEMPHIS. I've heard "Long Black Limousine" my entire life but I still can get choked up listening to it. For Elvis, it was all about connecting with the listeners, giving himself to the emotion and pulling that from everyone who heard him.

I read in the Garulnick biography (a great read, btw--if I spelled the author's name correctly) that Elvis "performed" during his recording sessions. He liked to stand in the middle of the studio with the musicians all around him so he could feel all the instruments all at once. He hated singing to recorded music in a booth because he "couldn't feel it." The session musicians would marvel at his movements and performance in a recording studio as if he were onstage. Getting to the emotions of the song, expressing all the pain and power and feeling.

I still hear that in this music. I still hear the king at his best.

I cannot believe there is an Elvis song out there that my mother-diehard Elvis fan- nor myself-diehard in the making-have heard! I love this album, double disc!!!, lots of great songs. Love it, sounds great. Oh My God!!!!! Awesome!

Along with the '68 Comeback Special, this album (which includes its companion piece, Elvis Back in Memphis) represents the peak of Elvis' career. Why? Because for once, he stood up to the Colonel and did what he wanted. If only he had the cojones to do that more often! Actually, as has been well-documented, Elvis tried to fire Colonel Parker on numerous occasions, but because of his habit of spending money like a drunken sailor, he was in financial hock to the Colonel (and others), and his dad warned him that the family would be back in a trailer park in rural Mississippi if the Colonel was fired.

This set is excellent, and presents the material in much better sound quality than the '60s Masters box set from 1993. The mono single mixes are a nice addition, and actually sound better than the stereo versions in some cases (particularly "Kentucky Rain," where the backing vocals are clearly audible in mono, but almost indecipherable in stereo). I too would have liked to have had all of the stereo mixes included on this set, but I do have them on the 1993 box. In addition, the stereos of "Suspicious Minds," "Don't Cry Daddy," and "Kentucky Rain" are on the new ELVIS 75 box set, as well as other recent compilations; "Rubberneckin," which was remixed for the 2003 compilation 2nd to None, appears in its original stereo form on the companion CD single, as well as on 2007's Elvis at the Movies (from Elvis' final scripted film, "Change of Habit"). The stereo versions of "My Little Friend" and "Mama Like the Roses" are on the '60s box set, as well as several older compilations.

All in all, this set is well worth purchasing, and I got it at a great price from an Amazon Payments retailer.

For my buddy and rival, Mohair Sam.

I come out of jazz and progressive rock, but really, I am a music man. I could not care two wiffs about genre labals and I know master music when I hear it.

Image implications aside, I have always liked Elvis. No matter what the context, his abilities as a singer are unmatched and universally undeniable. Strip away the myth entirely, and you are left with one of the best voices--and uses of it ever.

I heard the 1950s stuff as a kid and like it. In the 60s, Elvis was trying to be a moive star, and the soundtracks fed him subpar material--though his singing continued to be great.

Memphis Sessions are to me the classic recordings of this classic singer. By 1969, recording had modernized. Elvis came to Memphis with his voice in full prime, infinately improved technology, and by far, his best backing band.

Elvis had great musical instincts, and you can tell by hearing this. He stayed who he was even in 1969. He did not try to go psychadelic or compete with the Beatles, Hendrix, or Joplin.

What he did do, perhaps his best asthetic move ever, was to choose a rubbery soul based on blues and gospel. Music that was completely him. Music that he synthasized in the 50s to create rock and roll: the ultimate fusion of African American song form. He probably did not even think about this; as with the Beatles with melody and Coltrane with harmonics, this was in Elvis' DNA.

"Rubberneckin'," "In The Ghetto," "Suspicious Minds," every track here has Elvis in absolute command of the art he knew so well. He has the voice of his youth, but the cofidence and timing of a master. Rarely do you hear a vocalist, a vocal ARTIST, with such natural ability in such prime form.'

This may not be the only best Rock and Roll ever recorded, but it is certianly undefeatable rock. Never has been topped, and never will be