Awesome

It was an excellent cd except for his song Tutti frutti. That song is the most nerve racking version ever recorded. The best is Blue Suede Shoes and I Got a Woman. Elvis was the "BEST EVER" recording artist and has a sensational voice.

Elvis Presley: The First Rock'n'Roll Album ?

I have an appreciation for many forms of music but my musical growth stemmed from this one seed. This was the first album I ever bought when I was 9 or 10 years old (1973). Of all the music I've enjoyed in my life, my favourite genres are Rhythm & Blues, Rockabilly and Rock'n'Roll. And in the center of this musical era, you can't avoid Elvis Presley. If you collect the finest albums of the Rock'n'Roll/Rock period, this album is a must!
At the time that this album was originally released (March-April 1956), Elvis was a singles artist having only his smash hit single 'Heartbreak Hotel'/'I Was the One' on the national charts. RCA Victor's A&R man, Steve Sholes (supervisor of country and R&B recordings and the man who purchased Elvis and his Sun recordings from Sam Phillips in 1955) assembled this album from the collection of Sun singles and new RCA Victor Nashville recordings (Elvis' first RCA recording session, January 1956) where Sholes hoped to replicate the Sun sound.
The result is an album that documents an emerging new sound that will not only excite millions of young ears but will also influence many Rock, Pop and Country music artists all around North America and, more interestingly in terms of Rock history, overseas. The new sound here is Rockabilly and what we're hearing is a classic '50s Rockabilly quartet: Scotty Moore on electric, lead guitar, Bill Black on acoustic "doghouse" bass, D.J. Fontana on drums (lots of snare), and Elvis as the centerpiece, with vocals, acoustic guitar, and, for the stage audiences, gyratin' visuals. Elvis envisioned himself as a Pop ballad singer (a la Dean Martin) but this was the new style and sound that Sam Phillips, who originally produced and recorded black R&B talent at Sun Records, convinced him would make him stand out and be noticed. From 1954 to 1956, Elvis and the band honed this sound to a unique style through the sessions at Sun and through continuous live performances throughout the South. This, now, is the point where Elvis and his new sound is moving from being a regional phenomenon (via the regional Sun singles recordings, live stage performances and local radio play) to a becoming a national sensation (via a big-time record label, along with its publicity machine, and national television appearances).
Elvis came to form in a truly unique period in American music history and his style and tastes were formulated from many musical sources available to him in the early- to mid-1950s Memphis, Tennessee region: Gospel, black Rhythm & Blues/Rock'n'Roll, Pop, Country and Hillbilly (from which he helped develop Rockabilly). These sounds merged at this time and Elvis did not discriminate. He was infuenced in them all and he let them pour out developing his own style and genre.
Most of the selections were covers of other records by other artists but it's the sound that was cutting-edge, new and exciting. Five of the selections are Sun Session recordings on an album for the first time. The others are new Country and Rockabilly recordings including then-Rockabilly king, Carl Perkins' 'Blue Suede Shoes' which was one of Elvis' staple live-performance numbers along with the Ray Charles, Little Richard, Joe Turner and Lloyd Price R&B covers included in the selection. I find it interesting that his covers of the R&B tunes are the most hard-hitting rockabilly numbers on the album. Critics of Elvis who diminish his contributions to Popular/Rock music due to his frequent use of cover tunes, especially those of black R&B artists. Elvis was never about "writing his own songs." Elvis was about style, performance, talent and originality. Let the Beatles and the Rolling Stones be famous for writing their own songs (even though many of their early recordings were cover songs). For me, Elvis has been the focal point from which I have been able to research my fond interests in black Rhythm & Blues music (c. 1941-62) and old Country (c. 1928-70).
Selections 3 through 14 make up the original selections from this classic album. The remaining six tracks are bonus selections which were originally three 7-inch singles recorded during the same session period.
And the album cover! It was a uniquely simple creation, a '50s-style design classic in itself!
Each time I listen to this seminal album, I am awed to be taken back to a truly original sound that would launch a great new era of music that has become known to us as the Rock Era! To complete the journey, I recommend this CD along with one of Elvis' Sun Session collections.
'Elvis Presley': The new sound of Rock'n'Roll, the "fad" that never died!

First full-length LP from the King of Rock and Roll

Elvis Presley (1956.) Elvis Presley's first album.



In the mid-fifties, Elvis Presley came onto the musical scene - and fast became popular. However, not all of that popularity was well-received - many parents thought that the music that he performed and the moves he did while on stage were a bad influence to their children (looking back at this, it's actually rather funny that that stuff, which is pretty tame by today's standards, caused all this controversy.) Elvis, started his musical recording career on Sun Records, but ended up switching record labels. And on his new label, he released his first, full-length LP - the first rock and roll album to ever hit number one on the pop charts! How does the debut album from the man who would become known as the King of Rock and Roll measure up? Read on.



As soon as you begin listening to this album, one fact will instantly become evident - These recordings are considerably more raw and stripped-down than most of the Elvis Presley recordings that fans of the King have come to know and love over the years. Despite the shoddy production, this is still an excellent album. With the King's first LP, he covers a plethora of the musical stylings of the time - country-styled songs, fifties-style love ballads, early rock-style tunes, and a variety of others. Many of the tunes present here are actually covers of other fairly well-known tunes of the day. For instance, Blue Suede Shoes was originally performed by the King's former Sun Records mate, Carl Perkins (although it was Elvis who would make this song popular.) Sure, many of these songs pale in comparison to some of the King's later work, but you can't deny it - every song on here is excellent, and has stood the test of time.



When this album was rereleased on CD, they did more than just rerelease it - they also added bonus tracks! There were many tracks that Elvis recorded in this era that were only released as singles, and weren't put on the LP (in this era, rock and roll was generally a singles-oriented genre, not an album-oriented one like it is today, so it wasn't unusual for artists to release songs as singles and not put them on albums.) Tracks 1, 2, 15, 16, 17, and 18 are bonuses that weren't on the original LP, but were recorded in the same era. Among them are the legendary Heartbreak Hotel, which has since become a fan favorite. It's an excellent album without the bonus cuts, but they're the icing on the cake.



Can I really say anything else? The King's first full-length LP is a damn fine album. If you're a fan of early rock and roll, or just a fan of Elvis Presley in general, his first LP is one that you need to add to your collection. If you're new to the King, you might be better starting off with a hits compilation, such as the Thirty Number One Hits set. Although not perfect, this is still a highly recommended LP. Four out of five stars.