Tracks
- Wearin' That Loved On Look
- Only the Strong Survive
- I'll Hold You in My Heart (Till I Can Hold You in My Arms)
- Long Black Limousine
- It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin'
- I'm Movin' On
- Power of My Love
- Gentle on My Mind
- After Loving You
- True Love Travels on a Gravel Road
- Any Day Now
- In the Ghetto
From Elvis in Memphis is an anachronistic album. Almost, that is. Much of the music has an early rock and roll/rockabilly sound. Or maybe it doesn't. Perhaps Elvis is the anachronism and will forever only exist in 1956. However, that doesn't explain Elvis is Back!.
Despite being a decade-and-a-half out of sync, this is a great-sounding album. I suppose that money was no object during most Elvis Presley recording sessions, so it should sound great. No matter, Elvis has never sounded better himself. His singing on this album and Elvis is Back! is very expressive and what was lacking on his debut album.
One blemish to this album is In the Ghetto. Apparently, it was the biggest hit on this album, but I just think it's so out of character for Elvis. He never included (overtly) social or political commentary in his music, as far as I know. He should have sung a gospel song instead.
I don't necessarily think this needs to be on the 1001 Albums list. I don't think Elvis was breaking new ground, instead he was digging up relics of the past. Of course, it could be argued that this album deserves to be on the list because this album resurrected his flagging career. Anyway, it's worth listening to.
The stand out songs on this album are: Wearin' That Loved on Look, Only the Strong Survive, I'm Movin' On, Power of Love, Gentle on My Mind, After Loving You, True Love Travels on a Gravel Road and Any Day Now.
★★★★★★★★☆☆
Tracks
- Make Me Know It
- Fever
- The Girl of My Best Friend
- I Will Be Home Again
- Dirty, Dirty Feeling
- Thrill of Your Love
- Soldier Boy
- Such A Night
- It Feels So Right
- Girl Next Door Went a'Walking
- Like A Baby
- Reconsider Baby
Elvis Is Back! is a solid album.The album starts off well, but trips up a bit. It gets its legs with the last half of songs. And the final song ends the album with a bang.
This album features a lot of different kinds of music, from rock and roll to country to blues to doo wop, but they all work well together. There's also an intensity on this album that was lacking on his debut album. Elvis put more effort and emotion into his singing, so the songs are more authentic and convincing.
Many of the songs are sappy love songs and would be easily dismissed if they didn't have the support of good song writing and Elvis' vocal efforts. The outstanding ones are: Make Me Know It, Fever (which may be one of the best songs ever), Dirty, Dirty Feeling, Such a Night, It Feels So Right, Like a Baby and Reconsider Baby.
★★★★★★★★★☆
Tracks
- Blue Suede Shoes
- I'm Counting on You
- I Got a Woman
- One-Sided Love Affair
- I Love You Because
- Just Because
- Tutti Frutti
- Trying to Get to You
- I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Cry (Over You)
- I'll Never Let You Go (Lil' Darlin')
- Blue Moon
- Money Honey
This is Elvis Presley's first studio album. It's a combination of recordings done for Sun Records and RCA Records. The Sun recordings are country songs and the RCA recordings are rhythm and blues. Because of this, the album is uneven.
Elvis generally does a better job with the rhythm and blues songs. Blue Suede Shoes, Tutti Frutti, Money Honey are the better tracks on the album. However, even these tracks lack energy and excitement. Little Richard's Tutti Frutti is far superior to Elvis'. Ironically, the song that demonstrates Elvis' true rhythm and blues potential is the country song, Trying to Get to You.
This album is enjoyable and worth listening to more than once, but it's uneven and some of the songs aren't performed to their full potential.
★★★★★★☆☆☆☆
