"BLACK VELVET IN THAT LITTLE BOYS SMILE"

"BLACK VELVET IN THAT SLOW SOUTHERN STYLE" Although this is a compilation & being an Elvis purist myself, I still think it rates as one of his finest & one of the best albums ever.It boasts tracks from his legendary Sun sessions, where producer Sam Phillips discovered his dream of "finding a whiteman who had the feel of a Negro" & cuts from his early days at R.C.A.This album has a mixture of music styles containing Rockabilly, a sound that many critics believe Elvis' his guitarist & bass player invented.Take a listen to the classic "Mystery Train" &"My baby left me" There are also Rock n'Roll numbers(Shake Rattle & Roll),Rhythm & Blues("That's Alright Mama", "Lawdy Miss Clawdy"),Country ("I'm left,you're right,she's gone")& Ballads("I was the one")From the yearnings of "I was the one"with the brilliant Jordanaires to the raucous "My baby left me"(which Brian Setzer of The Stray Cats once admitted as being his favourite song of all time) there is so much energy in these recordings as Presley sings every song as if it's his first time.Sometimes he is...flirtatious other times he shows naivety & vulnerability,as he pours out his heart in some of the ballads as if he means every word & you almost expect him to burst in to tears.What ever the case his voice is magnificent.I think a fan came close to describing the chemistry Elvis had during one of his concerts at this phase. 'This cat came on with a sneer on his face & all the girls were running up to the stage,some fainting as he stood there & he hadn't even started to sing..He hits his guitar & a string snaps,he starts to sing and move his hips like he's got a thing for his guitar.It made shivers go up my spine man!"The only fault I have with this c.d is that it omits "Blue suede shoes" & "Tryin' to get to you" which appeared on the original release."The sleeve is an attractive one showing Elvis' good looks and his trademark sideburns & quiff without being pretentious.THE HILLBILLY CAT IS GONE BUT HE'S NOT FORGOTTON

4 1/2 Stars

OK, to be fair, For LP Fans Only is no more a real Elvis Presley album than, say, Yesterday and Today was a real Beatles album - Elvis was nine months through his two-year hitch in the army and RCA needed to get something "new" in the way of an LP out on him, so they threw together a quartet of sides from his Sun Records singles that had never been on album, five of his early RCA sides (which don't sound too different from the Sun stuff stylistically) that had similarly missed being put onto long-player, and one odd song off of the Love Me Tender soundtrack EP, and voila! - a new Elvis LP. It doesn't sound like much from that description, but in its time For LP Fans Only was (along with its follow-up, A Date With Elvis) one of the choicest of all Elvis Presley albums. From 1959 until 1976, unless you wanted to try hunting down the original singles, this was the only way that any listeners got to hear the King's Sun Records singles "That's All Right," "Mystery Train," and "My Baby Left Me," and the only album to offer such early RCA sides as "Shake, Rattle & Roll" as well. Maybe it could all have been done better and more coherently, and it would've been nice if the producers had avoided the electronically rechanneled stereo through which the original mono sides were processed, but all RCA was trying to do was get some Elvis Presley material out there - they didn't get interested in the history or the particulars of the music until about 20 years later, and considering their obliviousness, they did astonishingly well. At least the songs were out there - a lot of listeners wore out copies of this album just lending them around to the uninitiated - and taken on its own terms, there weren't five more exciting rock & roll albums than this that you could buy in 1959 (or a lot of years after). It still holds up as one of the best rock & roll albums ever released, and for anyone who wants to remember (or find out) how most listeners discovered Elvis' early stuff during the 1960s and 1970s, this is one place to start. - Bruce Eder, AMG

For LP Fans Only

This CD Version of the original vinyl release is one of Elvis' best offerings. "I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone" has been one of my favorites since the record album was first released. And if you were living in the rural USA in the 1950's who could not identify with "Poor Boy"? This Recording remains a classical example of raw Elvis when he was 'fresh' and 'vibrant' and wasn't yet the commercial 'Teddy Bear' he would too soon become. In a way it was a promotional record to keep Elvis in the public eye while he was serving in the Army. Still, it is an excellent collection of some of his earliest efforts and represents some of his greatest songs. And...if you are a true Elvis fan...it is certainly one of the essential Elvis releases that will always be a 'must have' part of your collection.

IT IS A GOOD EFFORT

THIS ALBUM IS FROM THE LATE 1950'S IT WAS THE START OF THE MANY BOGUS,DUMB COMMERCIAL ELVIS ALBUMS THAT RCA/BMG HAS PUT OUT.IT HAS GOOD SONGS BUT IT STILL NEED MORE SONGS THAN TEN(1950'S LP ONLY HAD FEW SONGS).