4 1/2 Stars

The British arm of RCA made a habit of outdoing the home office in compiling Elvis Presley recordings, and this one was no exception. Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, the standout rock & roll songwriting team of the late '50s and early '60s, began working with Presley after his cover of their "Hound Dog," originally written for Big Mama Thornton, became a big hit. The duo's primary assignments were the songs for the films Jailhouse Rock and King Creole, though their efforts also turned up in other Presley vehicles. There were enough of them to fill an LP, and RCA U.K. got an unusually cohesive Presley album by pulling together material recorded between 1956 and 1968. It then took the American company 11 years to release the same collection domestically. (Originally released on LP by RCA in the U.K. in June 1980 as RCA-International 5031, Elvis Presley Sings Leiber & Stoller finally was released in the U.S. on CD in June 1991 as RCA 3026 with the addition of one bonus track, a previously unreleased duet with Ann-Margret on "You're the Boss.") - William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide