Sings Sid Tepper & Roy Bennet [Import]

Elvis Presley | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 8, 2002)
• Format: Import
• Label: Bmg Int'l
• ASIN: B00005YSM1
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,049,758 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Lonesome Cowboy

2. New Orleans

3. G.I. Blues

4. Shoppin' Around

5. A Cane and High Starched Collar

6. Hawaiian Sunset

7. Slicin' Sand

8. Ito Eats

9. Island of Love

10. Beach Boy Blues

See all 27 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Puppet on a String

2. Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce

3. Kismet

4. Beginner's Luck

5. Petunia, The Gardener's Daughter

6. Drums of the Islands

7. Smorgasbord

8. Am I Ready

9. All That I Am

10. I Love Only One Girl

See all 25 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars ***4 1/2 Stars: Another Great Package From The Elvis French Fan Club***, December 10, 2008

By 

D.C. Hanoy (Athens, Georgia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sings Sid Tepper & Roy Bennet (Audio CD)

In 2000, the French fan club My Happiness released a 2CD set containing all the songs by Mort Shuman and Doc Pomus that Elvis sang, "Elvis Chante Doc Pomus & Mort Shuman." It was a great package, with even some outtakes and fun original demos by the songwriters. It was very well received, especially among collectors, so a follow-up was almost demanded. In cooperation with BMG France, My Happiness released a follow-up collection in 2002.

"Elvis Chante Sid Tepper & Roy C. Bennett" is the title of this release. "Tepper and Bennet? Those guys responsible for a lot of mediocre movie songs?" one might ask. Indeed, those guys are authors of the songs on this CD. To defend this choice the inlay text opens with placing Elvis' movies in the right context. The movies are what the audience wanted, yes, light-hearted entertainment, but nothing wrong with that. And Tepper and Bennett did what they were paid to do: write songs that fit perfectly within certain scripts. In the complete Elvis recording catalogue, 42 songs were written by these two, so it's a good idea to put a set like this together.

Design:

This 2CD set is a digi-pak with 4 panels. Each panel has an original photo of Elvis. Upon opening the CD case you'll find two great pictures, one from "King Creole" and one from "Flaming Star." CD #1 has the same print as the front, while CD #2 has another picture from "Flaming Star." Behind the first CD you'll find 6 original French movie posters (strange titles!). Behind the second CD are six record covers. The other panels, with very complete track listings, are decorated tastefully with pictures of Elvis in blue shades, like the Norwegian promo "Elvis 2000." Both CDs are picture discs.

Content:

Looking at the 42 Tepper/Bennett songs that Elvis recorded over a roughly 10-year period, it is hard to point out any "really bad songs," especially when you keep the context in mind. On the other hand it is very easy to point out great tunes: "New Orleans", "G.I. Blues", "Shoppin' Around", "Once Is Enough" and "All That I Am" to name a few. Of the 42 songs, only five were not recorded for a movie. The tracks are chronologically ordered and include six alternate takes. As an extra bonus we get 4 demos of songs submitted to Elvis, including one that he never recorded -- "Wife Number 99" -- submitted for Harum Scarum.

The bilingual (French and English) booklet is very complete: session information, release dates, movie information, well-known facts, little-known facts. And all are decorated with (French) movie posters. The booklet closes with some information about Sid Tepper and Roy Bennett, and some additional notes. A minor complaint is that the fan club logo isn't printed very well, and they sure deserved some recognition for this labour of love. -ElvisNews.com