Fly On the Wall

You'll either love this CD or think it's unnecessary (I love it). It would be great to hear the complete 'Elvis is Back!' sessions, alternate takes & all, just to see how the songs progressed (Note: That's Chet Atkins complimenting Elvis after the botched take of 'Stuck On You'). The reissued 18-track CD of 'Elvis is Back!' combined with this CD make a formidable case for those who claim that Elvis was at his peak vocally right after his discharge from the Army. His voice was still strong enough that he did not have to rely as heavily on his vibrato, which he tended to do -- sometimes annoyingly so -- during the late 60s & 70s. Also, song selection was generally good, sometimes great (it got a lot worse before it got better), and the studio band was awesome -- probably the best of that era, and not equaled until the Motown gang and L.A.'s Wrecking Crew hit their stride a few years later. Hats off to the original sound engineers/producers as well as those responsible for the remastering/reissue. You won't find many forty-year-old recordings that sound this good.

the king deserves the throne

The sixth in the series `Essential Elvis', Such a Night is an astonishing collection of overlooked masterpieces recorded by Elvis over 11 nights at Studio B in Nashville in the early `60s. Though the original sessions produced some 81 masters, the 20 songs and bits of studio babble fully encapsulate the spirit and mindset of the post-rockabilly, post-army Presley. Far from the lazy and blubberminded spoiler on the decline he's been painted as during this period, Prez simple dazzles with extraordinary spirit and passion on Such a Night, an album tied less to his roots in rockabilly (Soldier Boy, There's Always Me) as the successful contemporary adult sound of Patsy Cline and Jim Reeves (the title track, Fever, Little Sister, The Girl of My Best Friend, Surrender). Obviously hyper and excited with it all, Presley moves skillfully between a suave new motivation and the edgy rebelliousness of his former glory; a fascinating display in which his range crackles impressively through all the nuances - from deep mud bog bass to whistling wind falsetto. At the time, few of these tracks were really big hits (Stuck On You, Little Sister) but 40 years on, each and every one is a captivating discovery, a revelation of Presley's pure power as a brilliant vocal interpreter and as revealed here, an intuitive musician. Backed by the sharpest studio pros in the business (a lengthy list known appropriately as the `A' Team), hearing it all in light of what else was going on in music at the time, I'd take this over the Beatles' hand-holding or the Beach Boys' deuce coupes, whatever the size.

Top Notch Outtakes

"Elvis Is Back" has always been one of my favorite albums and naturally not long after this 6th essential Elvis volume was released, I went to the store and purchased it. I had pretty high expectations. They were surely met and exceeded. The first five out of six songs are alternates from the "Elvis Is Back" sessions and are just wonderful, very crisp and clear. The remaining 13 songs span 7 Nashville sessions and years 1961-1964. Highlights from the disc are the title track, "Give Me The Right", "I'm Coming Home", "Night Rider", "Memphis" and "It Hurts Me". Overall, RCA/BMG did a great job of selecting good quality outtakes and mixing the studio atmosphere of the sessions to create a great feel for how these tunes were cut 40 years ago.
Ranks with Essential Elvis 3 as my top two favorites from the Essential Elvis series. A definite must have.