2 soundtracks on 1 disc

This is a nicely packaged, technically excellent release of Elvis' songs from JAILHOUSE ROCK and LOVE ME TENDER. For the first, they have included both the original studio versions and the film versions of the songs. On the second we have the bonus of previously unavailable tracks (the solo version of "Let Me," and two other songs in stereo.) There is one goof in the liner notes in regards to the supporting cast of JAILHOUSE ROCK. It states that Dean Jones was well known for his role in the film TOM THUMB....that film actually starred Russ Tamblyn, not Jones.

4 1/2 Stars: Highly Recommended

'Jailhouse Rock' was not originally released as an LP although it contains some of Elvis's best, and hardest rocking, numbers (does Rock'n'Roll get any better than the great title track, as well as the wonderful "Treat Me Nice" and "You're So Square" - thank you Mr. Leiber and Mr. Stoller). 'Love Me Tender' likewise was not available on LP, but the songs are gentler, as predetermined by the non-electric, Civil War-era setting of the movie (although several of the songs are uptempo non-ballads, if technically not "rockers").

The attitude from Jailhouse Rock the movie (Elvis pretty much sneered his way through the film, and it's great) is carried over to the soundtrack. There are also some excellent, underrated ballads (to hear a great cover version of "Young and Beautiful," find Aaron Neville's live version, last seen on the hard-to-find import tribute 'The Last Temptation of Elvis').

The songs from 'Love Me Tender' (his first of many soundtrack recordings) do not fare as well, despite the well-known and heartfelt title track. They are certainly not bad, however, especially when compared to some of his later movie offerings.

The CD contains several previously unreleased tracks from both films, including alternate takes and stereo recordings. As with most of RCA's other Elvis soundtracks reissued in the 90's, usually as "2fers," the sound quality is excellent (unfortunately, many of these reissues are now out-of-print).

The 12-page booklet contains lots of information and great photos from the films and soundtrack recordings (the cover photo itself is one of the best of any Elvis album). In keeping with the deluxe packaging, the CD is a picture disc and there is a tray card photo of the cover.

If you can't find a partner, use a wooden chair

This CD features the complete original soundtrack of Jailhouse Rock, plus the Love Me Tender soundtrack. Since Jailhouse Rock featured six songs and Love Me Tender had four songs, at ten songs total that would make for a short CD. So, they included alternate versions of practically every song, and doubled the length of the CD. All of the Jailhouse Rock masters are great. The Jailhouse Rock movie versions are not quite as great, but they are still very good. See, the film shows Vince Everett's evolution as a singer, so in the songs from the beginning of the movie Elvis didn't sing with as much feeling as he usually did. That's why they recorded different verions of the songs for the movie and for records. As for the Love Me Tender soundtrack, the songs are a lot different from the ones Elvis usually recorded, since the movie took place during the Reconstruction period. As for the quality of the songs, "Love Me Tender" is great, of course. The rest of the songs are not that great, but are a lot of fun. Most of the songs are featured in both mono and stereo versions. The exception is the alternate version of "Let Me", which is Elvis' vocal track by itself. Interestingly, in this version you can really tell that Elvis has trouble sustaining the last long note in the song. I would recommend this CD, as well as anything else Elvis recorded in the 1950s.