Terrific Collection Of His Greatest Hits!

This collection of Elvis songs is perfect for someone who is interested in having the best of his single releases. For those of us who grew up hearing these songs being played as the background to the movie of our everyday lives, each brings back some dusty memories; hitching a ride in a friends reworked '51 Ford and hearing "Jailhouse Rock" for the first time, or driving to Pennsylvania for my older sister's wedding and listening to "Don't be Cruel " as we hurtled down the highway. Yet much of this music came relatively later in his career, which is to say after he returned from the Army after a two year absence doing his patriotic duty.

So we have quite a mixture of different kinds of Elvis music, for what came after he returned was far less edgy and different than it had been before. Now he seemed to stick much more closely to a formulaic kind of song, much more main stream in songs like "Stuck On You, "Good Luck Charm", and "Return To Sender". Which isn't to say they were not good or that we didn't like them. But a lot of what he recorded in the 1963-67 timeframe was a lot like what everyone else was doing, or had been doing, in pop music.

Yet there are some innovative and impressive songs here, such as "It's Now Or Never", which was almost operatic in its delivery. This was a side of Elvis we had never recognized in any of his previous work, and he showed exactly how good a voice he had to work with. So we have quite a range here, from the early work like "Good Rocking Tonight", "Baby, Let's Play House", "All Shook Up", and "Heartbreak Hotel", as well as some softer and more mainstream work like "She's Not You", "Devil In Disguise', and "Suspicious Minds". Anyone giving a good listen to the range on this CD can see just what kind of musical legs this guy had. Enjoy!

The Best Overview

This is the best overview of Elvis' career from 1956-1970 with all of his best songs from Heartbreak Hotel all the way to Suspicious Minds. The sound has been restored with great care and sound as good as the original records. Elvis is truly one of the greatest artists of the 20th Century and this is a great way to get the very cream of his music. Perhaps future editions of this album will include Sun Sessions material, 1970s songs, and live tracks as well as an updated CD booklet. Still, this is the best introduction, even better than the "Selections From The Artist Of The Century" collection. After this, buy "Sun Sessions", "Memories", "Tiger Man", and the "Gold Records" CDs as your next stops.

The biggest farce in music history; a negative million stars

Why would I say that? If you don't know, let me clue you in on the history of popular music:

In the early 1950's, a new form of music was coming out of the black youth culture, later to be known as rock and roll. Artists like Little Richard and Chuck Berry(the real kings of rock and roll) pioneered the art form. Because it was created by and for blacks, it was immediately dismissed by white america as "the devil's music" and to be eradicated. The mid 50's ushered in a new(and repackaged) form of rock and roll; in other words, a " lighter" singer out of Memphis, Tennessee came out and was instantly hailed as the King. Yes, you guessed it, Elvis. The first and ultimate industry creation to do black music and become the automatic champion of the art deserves none(that's right, NONE!)of his god like status in this country or this world. Now why would you called him the king if he hasn't earned the crown? Was he the best songwriter? No!(The majority of his hits were written by Earl Robinson, a BLACK man); was he the best guitarist? No!(that goes to Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton or Stevie Ray Vaughn);was he the greatest preformer? Hell, no!(that goes to Michael Jackson; Elvis wasn't even the greatest of his era!) My point is that elvis is a phoney, and one day the world will realize that.