Elvis 56 [IMPORT]

Elvis Presley

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 16, 1996)
• Original Release Date: April 16, 1996
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B000002WX6
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #223,240 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
The organizing principle of Elvis 56 is simple: that's the year Presley recorded these 22 tracks (including an alternate take of "Heartbreak Hotel," the opening track, recorded on January 10, 1956). It's also the year that Presley would become the biggest pop phenomenon since Frank Sinatra by kicking up a fuss as a red-hot regular on TV variety shows. In the studio, Presley's first recordings for RCA drew from the same pool of rhythm & blues tunes that he'd been interpreting at Sun Records. 1956 was the year Presley sang great songs by Otis Blackwell ("Don't Be Cruel," "Paralyzed," "Ready Teddy") and the Leiber-Stoller team ("Hound Dog," "Love Me"). He also essentially swiped Carl Perkins's "Blue Suede Shoes," and tried to do the same with such other contemporary hits as "Lawdy, Miss Clawdy" and "Shake, Rattle, and Roll." Note that on the same day he recorded the galvanizing "Heartbreak Hotel," Presley also cut a most Sun-like (and wholly appropriate) "Money Honey." The compilation chronicles a remarkable year in which every song rang true; the booklet includes exquisite period photos of Presley taken by Alfred Wertheimer. A video of the same title that chronicles the year in pictures is highly recommended. --John Milward

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The pure stuff, May 31, 2003

By	Anna M. Allred "Teacher and Reader" (Talbott, TN USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Elvis 56 (Audio CD)

This is why Elvis is still the king of Rock and Roll and why he caused so much controversy in 1956. The raw sensuality of Elvis' voice is richly captured on this compliation. Makes me want to travel back in time and see him as he was, at his best!

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent music, a bit of a superflous collection, August 10, 2003

By	Docendo Discimus (Vita scholae) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Elvis 56 (Audio CD)

This album collects most of what Elvis Presley committed to tape during his first full year as a recording artist with RCA.

"Elvis 56" is filled with classics like "Heartbreak Hotel", "Hound Dog", "Shake, Rattle & Roll", "Don't Be Cruel" and "Love Me", as well as several equally excellent, if somewhat lesser-known songs ("Paralyzed", "Any Way You Want Me", "One-Sided Love Affair", and covers of Lloyd Price's "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" and Arthur Crudup's "So Glad You're Mine").

This is a very enjoyable collection filled with good pop hooks and some fine musicianship (would have been nice with some more insightful liner notes and recording information). The only problem is that most Elvis fans probably already have most or all of this music.
But if you don't, and just want a bit of 50s rock n' roll, rockabilly and pop to keep your fingers tapping on the steering wheel on your way home from work, "Elvis 56" is a really fine purchase, although it's by no means a definitive early Elvis Presley retrospective.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Elvis's Best Year in the 1950's , November 28, 2005

By	Anton Karidian (Tennessee) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Elvis 56 (Audio CD)

This CD is a good sample of much of the best of 1950s Elvis. Though it covers only 1956, that was his biggest year in that decade. This is mostly a combination of his original albums ELVIS PRESLEY and ELVIS, minus the Sun Studio recordings of 1954-55 that were on those albums (which you can get separately). At 22 tracks it's quite sizable, and emphasizes rock and blues along with a few slower ballads. It's also got a nicely-done booklet with many photos. There's not a lot of unusual material here if you've already got most of his '50s stuff, but of the alternate takes of "Shake, Rattle, and Roll" and "Heartbreak Hotel," the latter is especially interesting. Sound quality is unusually clear, and the packaging is attractive. This album gives good evidence why the Beatles were huge Elvis fans in the '50s.