Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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37 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Close to perfect . . ., July 27, 2006
I purchased this collection mainly to consolidate my hodge-podge of Elvis vinyl, audio cassette, and a couple of CD's. I was looking for a single source that contained all of his most popular works. This one delivered what I was looking for quite satisfactorily, and ----
I was pleasantly surprised in discovering that the collection also contained some of his work that was new to me, but quite good. These tunes were unknown to me either because they were a bit less popular than the #1 stuff, or were simply a little older than my memory is (for example Fame and Fortune, Flaming Star, or Puppet on a String).
I note that some of the other reviewers are critical that CD #3 in the set, "The Story Continues", only contains 19 songs. I believe that answer is simply that the other 2 CD's, "30 #1 Hits" and "Second to None" were pre-existing stand alone album releases. Putting the three CD's into a single package yields a total of 81 songs. As these selections are biased towards "chart toppers" anyway, that is A LOT of high-end Elvis music. They didn't overlook much. There are a few little movie tunes that I would like to have seen included, but I'm happy with this collection.
I do have a criticism regarding the audio quality of some of the music. It is a mystery to me that a re-mixed 1959 song can sound crisp and pure, but one recorded in 1973 sounds like it is muffled through 12 inches of kleenex. Did different mastering technologies hold up over time better? Or is it just sloppy re-mixing?
Overall, the collection is close to perfect. The audio values on some of the songs are not quite as good, but I'm satisfied with the product.
Recommended as an excellent foundation for an Elvis collection.
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35 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Comprehensive, Affordable Collection of Elvis Hits, February 16, 2006
By compiling "30 #1 Hits," "2nd to None" and a third, new collection, "The Story Continues" in one collection, most mid-level Elvis Presley fans should have enough Jailhouse Rock to last 'em for a lifetime. Obviously, the die-hard fans already have this stuff.
To recap, "30 #1 Hits" has all the classics--"Heartbreak Hotel," "Jailhouse Rock," "Suspicious Minds" and "Burning Love." Because of its chronological sequencing, it is also marred by embarrassing tracks like "Wooden Heart," "Crying in the Chapel" and the unnecessary "Way Down." "2nd to None," though lacking the firepower of the first collection, is the better disc. Including Sun Sessions classic "That's All Right," his great cover of Carl Perkins' "Blue Suede Shoes," one of his best early singles, "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You," and his gradiose 1968 NBC-TV Special tracks "Memories" and "If I Can Dream," this is a more balanced collection. Also including fun stuff like "Viva Las Vegas" and "I'm a Roustabout," this disc covers his dreadful 60s movie years with respectability.
"The Story Continues" is a bit of a letdown -- leftovers from his career. But it is an interesting selection, focusing on Elvis' more placid songs, like "Ask Me," "Separate Ways" and "If You Talk in Your Sleep." Running only 45 minutes, it presents a listeners dilemma -- Should it have filled a whole 80 minutes? If so, would it just include 35 more minutes of mediocre Elvis tracks? Could they have included any previously unreleased studio outtakes?
Those criticisms aside, this is a comprehensive, affordable and FUN collection of Elvis Presley's music, one that puts aside the silly celebrity-worship and lets his reputation rest solely on his music -- which could be extraordinarily great and terrible.
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30 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Best Elvis Greatest Hits Collection!, December 28, 2005
This is the best Elvis "Greatest Hits" collection available. It contains all of his Billboard Top 20 hits plus several other hits and songs. It packages the previous "30 #1 Hits" and "2nd to None" CD's with a 3rd CD containing 19 songs. So if you do not already have "30 #1 Hits" and "2nd to None" this is the obvious choice!
If you already have "30 #1 Hits" and/or "2nd to None" the choice is not as clear. The problem I have with this collection is that they were rather skimpy with the new 3rd CD. It only contians 19 songs, Elvis' 19 top 20 hits that were left off the first two CDs. This could have been a must-have collection if they had included more songs on the 3rd CD. They should have included another 10 or so top 40 hits to really make this collection more attractive to those of us that already have "30 #1 Hits" and "2nd to None".
On a side note, the version of "I'm Yours" in this collection is 1965 single version and not the original released on the "Pot Luck" album in 1962. On the album version Elvis sings a dubbed "duet" with himself and also includes spoken words during the break in the song. The single version on here Elvis sings "solo" and there is no spoken part. Since this is a greatest hits collection, it is appropriate that they included the hit single instead of the album version.
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~ Elvis Presley
~ Elvis Presley
~ Elvis Presley
~ Elvis Presley
~ Elvis Presley
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by Elvis Presley 
