Customer Reviews

Viva ELVIS- The Album

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

I agree with everything Tumbler said. I share his exact sentiments, and I'm enjoying this album.

BUT Viva Elvis is like a 90 minute show, right? So why do we have a 35 minute album? This makes me so angry because I've been waiting for this. And I was especially waiting to have "One Night With You" on CD, but it's not here. Nor are the great re-workings of "Return to Sender", "Hound Dog", and "It's Now or Never". Of course, if you've never seen the show, then you won't miss these tasty jams, but if you have seen the show, then you're in for BIG disappointment.

The album Executive Producers really blew it. Beatles Love has 26 tracks (26 TRACKS!!!), and here we only get a measly... 10, basically...

Super disappointed.

I have just listened to 'Viva Elvis' - The Album and I am not afraid to say I am in tears. It is PHENOMENAL and the sound AMAZING. Truly a listening and emotional experience and genuinely revolutionary in concept which should give it an excellent chance for a Grammy Award next year. This is truly Elvis for the 21st Century.

The whole album is built around a biographical theme with comments from Elvis, Ed Sullivan, Bill Black, Milton Berle etc. and snippets of other Elvis songs apart from those listed on the album cover. This is one album that I will be playing a lot and not just once or twice. Yes, we would have liked more tracks but the ones on the album are longer than usual apart from 'Memories' and 'You'll Never Walk Alone' which are linking themes as shown below. I would also have liked to have had the names of the individual female singers featured on the duets.

The album cover is very colorful, contemporary, and features a booklet containing many scenes from the 'Viva Elvis' show with details of the cast etc. Now on to my review:

1. Opening
The album opens with the strains of what is commonly known by Elvis fans as 'The 2001 Theme' together with females screaming and chanting "We Want Elvis". Great drums featured in the background. Elvis himself comments 'If You're Looking For Trouble'. There are also historical comments from Ed Sullivan and track 1 commences a countdown into track 2. A fitting start to the album.

2. Blue Suede Shoes
Heavy version with drums and harmonica up front. Has a distinct Bo Diddley feel to it and again comments from Ed Sullivan and Milton Berle. Lots of sound wizadry here.

3. That's All Right
Has a great feel to it and commences with a similar opening to 'I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine' with comments by Horace Logan and Bill Black. Screaming girls add to the atmosphere. Also snatches of 'When It Rains It Really Pours'.

4. Heartbreak Hotel
This track has a great powerful Blues feel to it and starts out with Elvis doing his famous 'Well, Well Well' routine. A really heavy version follows which quite literally bounces along with great Harmonica/Sax/Brass/Drums and Piano. Snippets of 'Stranger In My Own Home Town' (informal rehearsal) as featured on 'The Essential 70's Masters Box Set. 'Polk Salad Annie' even gets a mention.

5. Love Me Tender
A beautiful duet with a really great female singer and a very contemporary arrangement with acoustic guitar adds up to a real winner. Elvis closes the duet by singing a snippet of 'In My Way' from the movie 'Wild In The Country'. In my opinion this would make a great single release.

6. King Creole
This track commences in a similar fashion to the opening of the film of the same name with strains of 'Crawfish'/'Gumbo'. Slower than the original version with the cast singing along. Elvis also sings a snippet of 'Hard Headed Woman'. The track ends in the same fashion as the beginning with 'Gumbo'. 'Elvis also sings a snippet of 'New Orleans'.

7. Bossa Nova Baby
Commences with Elvis making comments in the recording studio to Hal Wallis. We are then treated to an excellent version of this well known track featuring drums/sax/piano/bass and organ. During the song a part of the arrangement is reminiscent of 'Barbara Ann' by The Beach Boys. Elvis comments "It's Hot In Here". Ends with a great Boots Randolph style sax. A contemporary version without losing the original feel. This would be a great track for the programme 'Dancing With The Stars'.

8. Burning Love
Commences with the famous comment made by Elvis (on the 'Elvis sails' EP) to the Press Corps on joining the U.S. Army. On being asked "What's your idea of the ideal girl?" Elvis answers with much laughing '"Female Sir". A heavy version follows with guitar/drums and guitar to the fore. There is also a piece of dialogue included from the movie 'Jailhouse Rock' where Elvis has just kissed Judy Tyler (Peggy Van Alden) and she turns to him in disgust and states "How dare you think that such cheap tactics would work with me?" and Elvis replies "That ain't tactics honey, its just the beast in me".

9. Memories
A short orchestral piece of 'Memories' which is really a means of segueing into

10. Can't Help Falling In Love
This is a really fine contemporary version of this classic track and sung as a duet with a great female singer similar in style to Mariah Carey. Elvis opens the track accompanied by acoustic guitar. Very melodious. Interestingly the track fades out with Elvis repeating part of the song 'Love Me'.

11. You'll Never Walk Alone (Piano Interlude)
A beautiful short piano solo played as if it were Elvis himself and segues into the final track.

12. Suspicious Minds
Great up tempo closer for the album which is heavy on drums/piano/bass and guitar. Similar type female backing group as the Sweet Inspirations. A very melodious version with Elvis urging everyone on near the end shouting "C'mon, C'mon, C'mon".

Finally, I would like to make this important point. To fully appreciate this album one needs to treat it as a whole and not just a conglomeration of unrelated tracks. As stated earlier it is truly a unique 'listening experience' and and one that is linked biographically to cover all Elvis eras from 'That's All Right' to 'Suspicious Minds' taking in the 50's, the Movies, the Army, the 68 TV Special and Vegas. Special thanks go out to Erich van Tourneau and his team for this innovative concept in recorded music and to EPE and Sony Music Entertainment for their support for the project.

This album will whet the appetite of fans worldwide to go and see the show 'Viva Elvis' when it eventually goes on tour and bring back fond memories for those who have already seen it. I personally cannot wait.

Whenever there are "remixes" with Elvis songs, you know hot buttons will be pressed any certain people will be irate. These songs are not "remixed" a la "Little less Conversation" but are certainly new arrangements, using new instrumentation, in some cases, a duet co-vocalist, and the modern recording technology to preserve and enhance the sound quality of his voice. Elvis always loved improved recording technology (check out his Madison Sqare Garden interview) and in this album his voice is presented in clear, pristine quality. People will have different feeligns about the arrangements but I believe that the vast majority of Elvis fans feel grateful to have a great "new" Elvis CD to listen to. These version in no way diminish the originials and I'll listen to both. The Elvis Presley Estate has been so much more protective of Elvis's music than his management was in his lifetime, you know this is a recording made with love and respect. It's also really good music. I love it.

I saw Viva Elvis at Aria when it was in previews in January 2010. I thought the show was absolutely fantastic and was really looking forward to this CD. Unfortunately, the CD pales in comparison to what I saw/heard at the Cirque show. For starters, the CD is less than 1/2 the length of the show - many great songs are missing (inclusing Viva Las Vegas). But mostly, this music just loses something without the amazing visuals that are part of the Viva Elvis show. Save the money you might spend on the CD and use it to buy a program when you see the Viva Elvis show.

This could easily have been a disaster. Anyone who listened to Spankox's RE:Versions would have given this a wide berth and although Junkie XL and Paul Oakenfold did pretty good jobs on remixing Elvis tunes as dance tracks - that's all they were - you would want to listen to a whole album of it. But this is a totally different concept. Elvis has been resurrected in the 21st Century here and you can really believe that he was there when these tracks were being recreated. It really is a piece of art. Anyone who is too precious about Elvis' music not to appreciate this, maybe, hasn't really got the idea of Elvis as a contemporary, an innovator in his time and probably, thinks of him as a strictly oldies artist, which makes him totally irrelevant today. But Elvis, is always relevant. What if he was around today? What would he sound like? These questions are never answerable, but here's an idea. Just like people wondered who would win the ultimate fight - Muhammed Ali V Marciano - and had a computer take the stats and put them together to give us the Super Fight, Viva Elvis gives us a sample of what they think Elvis would be like today. Thankfully, it is brilliant and all credit to the wizardry of those involved. But it goes to show that Elvis' voice is still the main attraction and that's what this is all about.

This CD is awesome! I'm a huge Elvis fan and the new upbeat sound is great....well worth the money! This is one I will enjoy. I have so many Elvis CDs, I was a little scared that this one wouldn't be any different, but it is different and very enjoyable!

Having watched the show a couple of months ago I couldn't wait for the CD to come out. There are some great new arrangements on here. My only complaint is how short this CD is. There are only 12 tracks, and a whole lot of the music from the show is not on the CD. I was looking forward to the new versions of "Viva Las Vegas", "Return to sender", "Gotta a lot of living to do", "It's now or never", "One night with you", etc. I hope the rumor of a vol 2 is true so we can get the remainder of the songs. These new arrangements really inject new life into Elvis' music and as great as the original recordings are, with the new technology ane bigger sound, they are contemporary and will appeal to a whole new generation. In closing, if you're looking for an Elvis CD with a new sound that you can jam to on your next party this is it!

These are amazingly imaginative remixes of Elvis's best-known songs. I wasn't aware of the Cirque Du Soleil when I saw this album as a new release. I grabbed it from eMusic, and am surprised as just how much fun it is. Whether it's "Burning Love" redone as a 70s'-Who-like power song, or tended duets of "Love Me Tended" or "Can't Help Falling In Love", the album is a joy to listen to. If you liked the Beatles "Love" album from a few years back, you'll like this.

Imagine if Elvis were alive today and put on a concert with re-worked versions of selected songs from the 1954-1972 portion of his career, using modern technology and editing techniques. That sums up "Viva Elvis: The Album," which is a celebration of the music and life of Elvis Presley. While the "Listen for free" song samples here on Amazon made me think only 2 or 3 of these songs would be great, it turns out that the entire album is a surprise masterpiece. Much like a concert, this album should be listened in one sitting to be truly enjoyed. Don't let the bits from the song sound samples fool you, this is a spectacular release. Part of the fun is listening out for various Elvis-related sound clips mixed into the songs - almost like "Easter eggs." Highly recommended.

There's nothing more polarizing than taking the vocals of one of the three greatest performers to ever live (the other two are, of course, Michael and Freddie) and putting new music behind it, especially when that music is not a note-for-note remake of the original backing track, but instead influenced by bands and artists like The Hives (Burning Love to Walk Idiot Walk), Jet (That's All Right Mama to Are You Gonna Be My Girl) and the Killers (Suspicious Minds to All These Things That I've Done). Not to mention altering Elvis's phrasing to that more akin to a hip-hop artist than an old school rock and roller (King Creole.)

I've been an Elvis fan for 8 years, and having grown up as a teenager in today's world liking Elvis when everyone else was digging more modern rock acts, I endured a lot of teasing and taunting for liking an artist many of the people my age considered an "oldies" artist and, more importantly, a stereotype and a punchline.

I only wish I could rub this album in those people's faces, but alas, we're all heading our ways in the world, but this project has converted many of my non-Elvis-liking friends and coworkers into fans - some to the point they've come to me to find his original work (I of course direct them to the masterpiece that is From Elvis in Memphis: Legacy Edition)

I have every single one of Elvis' original master tracks (and many, many compilations, original albums, and FTDs) and by far this is one I listen to most frequently. The reason? Unlike many of Col. Parker's bottom-of-the-barrel compilation albums like the Camdens or the movie soundtrack albums, this album is a true Elvis concept album, comparable in the Elvis Anthology only with Elvis Country in that it feels like ought to be listened to all the way through, not one track at a time as you feel.

Elvis has always been known as a "singles" artist rather than an "album" artist, and it feels (and sounds) good to finally have an album that feels like a true package rather than a compilation of random songs with no theme. It's loud, it's fun, and it's a great package altogether.

I will admit, however, that being a soundtrack to the Cirque show, it would have benefited and could easily have doubled in length from the inclusion of the other songs, which include Don't Be Cruel, One Night, All Shook Up, Saved, Got a Lot O' Livin To Do, Return To Sender, Are You Lonesome Tonight, It's Now Or Never, Viva Las Vegas, and Hound Dog. Oh well, here's hoping for Viva Elvis 2!