50 hits is enough to start you off in the right direction.

This relaese, originally released in 1985 to commemorate 50 years after the birth of Elvis Presley, went double platinum a short while ago. Each song on this fantastic release is quite a gem. It gives a little variety of Elvis' musical talent. The rocker, "Hound Dog", the romantic, "Love Me Tender", from the heart, "If I Can Dream", the love songs "Can't Help Falling In Love", the movies, "Blue Hawaii", and so much more! I was excited to get this years ago. Excellent song choices with very poor packaging. On a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being the best): Packaging = 2, Sound Quality = 4. It might be a little poor in those areas, but a must-have to start your Elvis collection.

50 original versions crammed onto 2 CDs.

This collection is just what it appears to be: Elvis' top hits in their original versions crammed onto two CDs. I bought this collection because it had the largest number of Elvis songs I wanted in a single package, without having to buy an expensive box set. I don't know enough to comment on the mixing, but it sounded fine to me; the older songs sound like mono. One unique thing I'd never heard before was the pair of aborted takes left in the intro of "Such A Night," where Elvis miscounted the number of intro riffs. Two songs that really stood out as timeless, quality songs were the newer, longer pieces with strings: "Kentucky Rain" (1970) and "Suspicious Minds" (1969). The songs here aren't in chronological order or any other logical order that I can detect, which is a minor annoyance since these songs cover such a wide span of years and sound.

A Lot of the Essentials

So many compilations of Elvis' hits suffer from a lack of chronology. A 1950s hit will sound so much different from, say, "Moody Blue". But there are enough hits on this CD to make it a good investment. There are fewer of the songs other artists made popular which Elvis covered in his recording career after his 1968 "comeback" TV concert. (Was he trying to claim them as his own?) There is some sense of continuity with the real ELVIS hits and it makes for good listening. Enjoy.