Elvis' Golden Records [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

Elvis Presley

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 15, 1997)
• Original Release Date: April 1958
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Bmg / Elvis
• ASIN: B000002X31
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #37,083 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

There are several books that supposedly introduce the uninitiated to the King--including Elvis for Beginners and The Complete Idiot's Guide to Elvis--and this 1958 compilation (his first) is an aural equivalent, spotlighting the initial post-Sun '56 and '57 hit singles that originally transformed the King into...well, the King! If you're not yet ready to invest in the King of Rock 'n' Roll box set, this makes for an excellent alternative. After all, it's awfully hard to go wrong with tracks like "Heartbreak Hotel," "Don't Be Cruel," "Hound Dog," and "Jailhouse Rock"--although they're now so overly familiar to most of us that they might as well be the national anthem. Nevertheless, rock & roll as we know it--and the very concept of "rock star"--essentially began here. --Bill Holdship

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Elvis' Golden Records, December 2, 1999

By	Mike Kurosky (Ft. Worth, Texas USA) - See all my reviews

This was the beginning of what was to become the largest collection of Gold Records in history. Garth Brooks may have out sold Elvis in the United States but Elvis Presley is the biggest record seller Internationally. In 1957 when this album was first released RCA had just begun what I call their Reign Of Terror. Never before has an artist been so mishandled by a record company. Elvis had enough gold records to warrant a double album but RCA chose to cut some of the songs and do a single album, and so they did from then on. Elvis' Golden Records Volume 1 through 5 were all treated this way. Now some 40 years later RCA has gone back and reissued all five albums digitally remastered on compact disk and have included all the tracks that should have been on the original albums to begin with. This particular album has six additional tracks that were not on the original album. What is interesting to note is some of these orignal exclusions were songs originally recorded at the Memphis based Sun Studios an independent studio ran by Sam C. Phillips who was the first person to record Elvis Presley. It's amazing to think that this independent label produced three gold hits That's All Right, Baby Let's Play House and Mystery Train this early on in Rock History. Theres not a bad song on this album. They are all repackaged very nicely. All the discs are redone to look like original Elvis 45 gold records. My suggestion: Purchase the whole lot. Vol.1-5. You will not be disappointed.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The holy grail of rock and roll!, July 12, 2000

By	Bob Martinez (Brooksville, FL USA) - See all my reviews

If there is only one Elvis disc to own, this has to be the one. Yes, I know that his Sun recordings prior to this was the early beginnings of rock and the development of a rock icon, but this captures Elvis in his rebellious prime. Elvis historians feel that after he came back from the army in 1960 he had lost his cutting edge on rock. These recordings are from the height of Elvis hysteria (1956-57) and capture some of his most historic recordings: Jailhouse Rock, Don't Be Cruel,Hound Dog, Teddy Bear, All Shook Up, Heartbrak Hotel etc. There are three Sun recordings on this set too from 1954-55 that are essential as well. The best thing though is the sound. I've never heard these recordings sound as good, even better than the boxed set. Loving You always sounded muffled before, now it is open and clear. This is Elvis the rocker, and ballad singer. Elvis the rebel on the cutting edge, before he entered the army in 1958 and became a pop singer, not the rock singer who turned the music world upside down. Without a doubt, these are some of the most important recordings of the 20th Century, whether you like him or not. A MUST!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The songs and the singer that started a cultural revolution, August 31, 1999

By	"60sfan" (RUSSELLVILLE, ARKANSAS USA) - See all my reviews

This is a superb collection of the music by the man who changed not only the world's musical direction, but also changed an entire culture. Elvis Presley, through his music and even his movies, changed the way the world viewed youth, sex, style and naturally enough, music and movies. This album contains the early, hard rockin' Elvis beginning with the song that started it all, "Heartbreak Hotel", the bluesy, edgey ballad of lost love. Elvis' vocal talents are on ample display in this selection, maybe like never before. An often overlooked piece, "Anyway You Want Me" is also featured. It is a wailing ballad of a desperate heart trying to attain the unattainable love. This is a hauntingly romantic song that I feel still strikes a nerve today. The rocker Elvis is featured in "Hound Dog" and "Jailhouse Rock", the latter of which far and away the best. "Hound Dog" was not a song that Elvis particularly liked and although it was a huge selling record, it cannot even compare with "Jailhouse Rock". If you want an example of early, classic rock n' roll, this is it. "Jailhouse Rock" may be the quintessential rock song of all time. But, my favorite on this album, is cool, yet plaintive, "Don't Be Cruel". This song is Elvis. It is the definition of 1950s cool. If I could only have one recording in my collection, it would probably be this one.If you are a Generation X-er and wonder what real rock n' roll was like, listen to this album. This is the way rock was born and brought up. Everything that has followed owes its roots to the songs on this album.