Customer Reviews

Reconsider Baby

5 star:		(6)
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A 12-song compilation of Elvis' most notable blues sides for the label. A good place to start digging Elvis' commitment to the music - always returning to it right up through the '70s like an old friend, whenever he needed a quick fix of the real thing - as he takes on everything from R&B slices like Tommy Tucker's "High Heel Sneakers" to Percy Mayfield's "Stranger in My Own Home Town." Major highlights on this collection are Elvis playing acoustic rhythm guitar and driving the band through a take of the Lowell Fulson title track, blistering versions of two Arthur Crudup songs, an unreleased Sun recording of Lonnie Johnson's "Tomorrow Night," and the R-rated take of Smiley Lewis's "One Night (of Sin)." - Cub Koda, All Music Guide

This is a collection of blues songs by Elvis Presley. It was released back in 1985 with the intention to prove that Elvis was a great blues singer. Mission accomplished. Elvis tears it up on these blues songs. One thing that made this album special was the previously unreleased versions of some of the songs here. This was the first time the Sun master of "Tommorow Night" was released without the horrible overdubbing that was added in 1965. This marked the first release of the version of "One Night" with the original "dirtier" lyrics. "Ain't That Loving You Baby" is a previously unreleased alternate take played at a faster tempo. "Stranger in My Own Home Town" features an alternate mix that sounds noticeably different to my ears. And "Merry Christmas Baby" is a much longer edit than ever before, lasting over seven minutes. This is a revelatory CD which is well worth finding a copy of.

THIS CD IS CLASSIC LATE 50'S EARLY 60'S ELVIS.IF YOU LIKE JAZZ AND BLUES THIS CD IS PERFECT.I HAD THIS IN CASSETTE AND JUST HAD TO GET IT IN CD FORM.

Peter Guralnick's contention that this blues singer is "unencumbered by myth or self-consciousness" doesn't survive the widely admired title (and lead) track. Especially by the late '60s, he's a white boy who knows he's getting fonky--and who doesn't surround himself with especially fonky musicians. So rhythms falter, and arrangements get out of hand. The great singer and hillbilly cat puts his weird stamp on almost every tune anyway. But despite the uncensored "One Night," and the salacious "Merry Christmas, Baby," only once does he outdo himself--on the unreleased Sun master "Tomorrow Night," which was already pretty ethereal in Lonnie Johnson's original. Grade: A- Robert Christgau, Christgau's Record Guide

I first read about this compilation in a book called, THE ALL MUSIC GUIDE TO THE BLUES. Although, I never thought of ELVIS as a BLUES performer,It made sense to me that a white cat from Tupelo, Mississippi could be influenced by it. The late great John Lee Hooker, once dedicated a song called "Tupelo", to him when he passed away, and considered him to be a very good friend. So did James Brown and Little Richard. Howlin' Wolf, said that he was a good BLUES singer as well. That all being said, I thought that if I were ever going to check out an ELVIS album ,it would be this one. I really dig this compilation! It has some great ELVIS BLUES tracks from 1954 to 1971. It shows that not only was ELVIS a great BLUES singer, but that he was also inspired by the music,style and the culture as well. That slick, greased up, pompadour hairdo that he had known as a "CONK", in African- American culture at the time(See: Little Richard and Chuck Berry), as well as those slick baggy suits that he wore, were both the standard for ALL of the black BLUES cats, that came before him. The vocals, on these songs are full of style,soul,passion and rhythm. The Bands, also give it up and are tight, and on time. My fav tracks are: "Reconsider Baby" ,"When It Rains,It Really Pours","Ain't That Loving You Baby", "I Feel So Bad" and my favorite "Hi-Heel Sneakers". ELVIS really gets low down,greasy and funky on that track! I would consider ELVIS to be the best white BLUES singer ever, and I've heard a lot of great ones in my time. ELVIS is still relevant today anytime you see cats like EMINIM or Justin Timberlake. This is a good compilation that all BLUES fans should check out!

I was very impressed with the quality of this product & the amount of time it took to ship to me. I wasn't expecting it so soon. I got it as a birthday present for my husband & I was thinking I would have to tell him his present was in the mail but thankfully I didn't. :)