30 Elvis songs you must listen to before you die

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by jeanno, Jan 8, 2012.

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  1. jeanno

    jeanno New Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    spain
    “He was as big as the whole country itself, as big as the whole dream. Nothing will ever take the place of that guy.” (Bruce Springsteen)

    TRACKS:
    ---------

    1- That´s all right, mama (live)
    June, 27th 1968 – NBC Studios, Burbank (California)
    Available on “Elvis Memories” (1998)
    “Before Elvis, there was nothing.” (John Lennon)
    "If any individual of our time can be said to have changed the world, Elvis Presley is the one. In his wake more than music is different. Nothing and no one looks or sounds the same. His music was the most liberating event of our era because it taught us new possibilities of feeling and perception, new modes of action and appearance and because it reminded us not only of his greatness but of our own potential." (Greil Marcus, “Mystery Train” – 1975)
    “He taught white America to get down. I wasn´t just a fan. I was his brother. He said I was good and I said he was good. We never argued about that.” (James Brown)


    2- Good rockin´ tonight
    September 1954, Sun Studio – Memphis, Tennessee
    Available on “Elvis at Sun” (2004)
    “Unable to re-create Brown’s horn voicings or his plumy baritone, Elvis is forced to reach within himself for something new. His confidence is growing record by record.” (Colin Escott, “Platinum – A life in music” – 1997)

    3- Blue moon
    August, 18th 1954 – Sun Studio, Memphis (Tennessee)
    Available on “Elvis at Sun” (2004)
    “Tellingly, Elvis skips the bridge and the final verse that contains the happy ending, neatly transforming the 32-bars pop classic into an eerie 16-bar blues.” (Colin Escott, “Platinum – A life in music” – 1997)

    4- Baby let´s play house
    February 1955, Sun Studio – Memphis, Tennessee
    Available on “Elvis at Sun” (2004)
    “Taken from a fairly pallid original by Arthur Gunter that hit the R&B charts at the end of January, BABY LET’S PLAY HOUSE virtually exploded with energy and high spirits and the sheer bubling irrepressibility that Sam Phillips had first sensed in Elvis’ voice. “Whoa, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby” Elvis opened in an ascending, hic-coughing, uninhibited, and glorious playful ridiculouness, and when he changed Gunter’s original lyric from “You may have religion” to “You may drive a pink Cadillac”, he defined something of his own, not to mention his generation’s aspirations.” (Sam Phillips, “Last train to Memphis” – 1994)

    5- Mystery train
    July, 11th 1955 – Sun Studio, Memphis (Tennesee)
    Available on “Elvis at Sun” (2004)
    “[MYSTERY TRAIN] was the greatest thing I did on Elvis. It was a feeling song – I mean, it was a big thing, to put a loved one on a train: are they leaving you forever? Maybe they´ll never be back. It was pure rhythm. And at the end, he was laughing, because he thought he´d screwed it up!” (Sam Phillips, “The King of Rock´n´Roll – the Complete 50´s masters” – 1992)
    "Elvis escaped the guilt of the blues because he was able to replace the sense that men and women were trapped by fate and by their sins with a complex of emotions that was equally strong and distinctive. As he sang, Elvis changed the personae his songs originally offered his listeners. When the persona was one of anger, or delight, he outdistanced it. He didn´t have to tell us that the blues is about displacement, about not being at home, about a brooding fear the music was meant to ease, but not resist. And if at its deepest the blues is hellfire music, worth the trouble of the black preachers who have damned it, that Elvis escaped this truth and still made his music ring true was precisely his genius." (Greil Marcus, “Mystery Train” – 1975)

    “Suffice to say that, in previous essays, I have declared these records (the Sun sides) to be the Rosetta Stones of Rock’n’Roll and modern country’n’western music, a metaphor that remains apt.” (Neal Umphred, “Quintessentially Essential Elvis – For 45 Fans Only” from Goldmine Magazine, January 1997)


    6- I got a woman
    7- Heartbreak hotel

    January, 10th 1956 – RCA Studios, Nashville (Tennessee)
    Available on “Elvis Presley” (Legacy Edition, 2011)
    “In the studio with Elvis was his band – guitarist Scotty Moore, bassist Bill Black, and drummer DJ Fontana, plus pianist Floyd Cramer, and three background vocalists, Gordon Stocker plus Ben and Brock Speer. Under pressure, he reached for what he knew – Ray Charles’s I GOT A WOMAN – and doubt fled the room. Unflappable Chet Atkins phoned his wife, told her to get to the studio: “I told her she’d never see anything like this again, it was so damn exciting.” (Robert Gordon, “Mojo” – May 2006)

    “It was quite a threatening record. It had a kind of druggy, gangster feel. It was on an edge. You had the piano break and Scotty Moore´s guitar sections but it was still kind of odd. It wasn´t Rock´n´Roll as such – a bit bluesy, bit jazzy, and I couldn´t make my mind about it.” (Marty Wilde, THE TRACK OF THE YEAR, “Mojo” May 2006)
    “While we tend to take this record for granted now, after countless spins, there really is no other record like it in any other artist’s repertoire.” (Neal Umphred, “Quintessentially Essential Elvis – For 45 Fans Only” from Goldmine Magazine, January 1997)
    “This was punk rock. This was revolt. It´s all there in that elastic voice and body.” (Bono, “Mojo” – May 2006)

    “The power of the song is its ferocious intimacy, the closeness of Presley’s voice to the ear and heart of the listener. That voice is penetrating and enveloping, and the song’s arranger wasn’t afraid to lead with his or her strongest card: The first line of the record is sung without accompaniment, punctuated at the end by two beats, two chords on the piano. Exquisite. This pattern is repeated through the verse, a cappella singing, piano crash, more a cappella singing; and then Elvis sings the chorus backed only by the beautiful, lonesome sound of a walking electric bass. The risk—only a great voice can hang out there that naked—is impressive; the payoff is phenomenal. At the end of the second chorus a guitar comes in, faintly; later the bass notes begin to be reinforced (I think) by an almost inaudible drumbeat. In the chorus after the third verse the bass is joined by a bit of tasty piano tinkling, and still the verse sound is as spare as ever—and then the fourth verse-and-chorus is followed by a remarkably dramatic instrumental break: A hard rock guitar solo, unmistakable, perhaps the first specific instance of the genre, slashing through the night and just as quickly replaced by a few hot lines from the piano to complete the break and bring us back to the closing verse. Wow.
    None of which would matter, I suppose, if it weren’t that the voice that this perfect and daring bit of accompaniment supports is nothing short of awesome. Spirit is walking throughout this recording. Just put it on the phonograph, and the room fills with ozone. Darkness and gloom drip joyfully from every rafter. This “Heartbreak Hotel” voice is an instant old friend; it intimately and unforgettably announces the arrival of something big.”
    (Elvis Presley's Heartbreak Hotel by Paul Williams – “ Rock and Roll: The 100 Best Singles” • July 2008)


    8- My baby left me
    January, 30th 1956 – RCA Studios, New York
    Available on “Elvis Presley” (Legacy Edition, 2011)
    “And now they did a masterful version of his MY BABY LEFT ME, in which for the first time the band really started to sound like a unit. DJ’s drums and Bill’s descending bass introed the song. (...) This sounded deliberate, though out, a vibrant companion piece to the Sun recordings.” (Sam Phillips, “Last train to Memphis” – 1994)

    “The intended A-Side for Elvis’ second RCA single was the great (just ask John Fogerty) MY BABY LEFT ME. But, almost upon release, jocks and listeners preferred the ballad side and flipped it over, making it the hit side. (...) It’s a shame that such a truly fine recording as MY BABY LEFT had to suffer the loss of prestige that being the hit side would have brought it.” (Neal Umphred, “Quintessentially Essential Elvis – For 45 Fans Only” from Goldmine Magazine, January 1997)


    9- Lawdy miss clawdy
    February, 3rd 1956 – RCA Studios, New York
    Available on “Elvis Presley” (Legacy Edition, 2011)
    “Elvis a un pouvoir étrange sur le temps. On pense connaître par coeur, à la mesure près, HEARTBREAK HOTEL, LAWDY MISS CLAWDY ou RECONSIDER BABY et pourtant être toujours saisi, surpris, comme si ces chançons venaient à peine d´être gravées. J´ai la meme impression avec la Callas.”
    (Christophe, Elvis et moi – “Télérama: Elvis dans la Peau”, Juillet 2007)


    10- Don´t be cruel
    11- Hound dog

    July, 2nd 1956 – RCA Studios, New York
    Available on “Elvis Presley” (Legacy Edition, 2011)
    “He did over 30 takes of [HOUND DOG] with the Jordanaires singing their patented Ooh-wahs in the background for the first time. Steve Sholes was ready to quit after take 26, but Elvis insisted on continuing, and eventually take 31 was selected. Typical of their working methods, it was feel, not form, that dictated the final choice, as Scotty´s guitar solo took on all the trappings of what he would later describe as “ancient psychedelia. It was weird, but it fit.” (Peter Guralnick, “The King of Rock´n´roll – the complete 50´s masters” – 1992)

    “DON´T BE CRUEL a révolutionné ma vie. Ça m´a donné un choc, un sens de la révolte sans lequel j ene serais jamais sorti de mon enfance de merde. J´avais le disque, je me rappelle encore très bien la pochette, mais je n´avais pas le droit d´avoir de tourne disque. Alors je le cachais dans mon cahier et je l´écoutais en vacances avec ma copine d´enfance. On s´enfermait. (…) J´allais voir tous ces films, Jailhouse Rock, Viva Las Vegas, j´adorais sa façon de se déhencher… Le grand choc, ça a été Elvis, jamais les Beatles.” (Michel Polnareff, Elvis et moi – “Télérama: Elvis dans la Peau”, Juillet 2007)

    “I thought ´They have finally found this man´s ability. The rhythm was right and it was moving along just right, it had that absolute spontaneity, and yet Elvis still had command, which I always wanted him to have when he was with me.” (Sam Phillips, from “The King of Rock´n´roll – the complete 50´s masters” linner notes – 1992)

    “Everything about this record (HOUND DOG) shouts defiance and release and a certain awareness of its own impact (it had been Elvis’ closer for his live appearances for some time and he knew it brought the proverbial house down). It’s difficult to listen to this and not believe that Elvis had far more than an inkling that this was not what white folks were supposed to sound like. Nor were white listeners supposed to like it, let alone buy millions of copies.
    HOUND DOG entered the Charts a week before DON’T BE CRUEL and was well on its way to #1 before its flip had even entered the top 10. Then, something happened: the infectious restraint of the B-Side pulled listener’s attention away from the cacophony of the A-Side and one week HOUND DOG was #2 and DON’T BE CRUEL was #3, and then, the next week, the B-Side was ridding the top of the charts for 7 weeks. (...)
    DON’T BE CRUEL may be argued to be Elvis’ greatest moment on record. The assurance with which he eases his way through the rhythm and the lyrics is astounding now as it was then, the stylistic and artistic culmination of the oh-so easy sense of self that was a part of the Sun sides. When, mid-track, he slides into the next verse with a “Mmmmmm”, the confidence that would be the hallmark of the majority of his career was as much a part of the creation as the instruments.” (Neal Umphred, “Quintessentially Essential Elvis – For 45 Fans Only” from Goldmine Magazine, January 1997)


    12- Love me
    September 1-3 1956, Radio Recorders (Hollywood)
    Available on “Elvis Presley” (Legacy Edition, 2011)
    “For this session Sholes had expressly solicited two new songs, one by Leiber and Stoller to follow up on the success of HOUND DOG, the other by Otis Blackwell. Leiber and Stoller didn’t take their assignment all that seriously (...) but Elvis took it very seriously, and they would later describe LOVE ME as one of their favourite Elvis recordings.” (Peter Guralnick, “The King of Rock´n´roll – the complete 50´s masters” linner notes – 1992)

    “RCA did release LOVE ME as the lead track on the first EP from Presley’s second LP. Not only did LOVE ME reach #2 on the singles chart without being a single, but two of the other three EP tracks also charted. The appearance of these three sides on the top 100 on December 19th 1956 gave Elvis ten percent of the chart: LOVE ME TENDER was #2 after 4 weeks at the top while its B-Side, ANYWAY YOU WANT ME, was at #70. LOVE ME was #7 while WHEN MY BLUE MOON TURNS TO GOLD AGAIN and PARALYZED were at #38 and #78 respectively. Both sides of his third single, DON’T BE CRUEL and HOUND DOG were still hanging in there at #26 and #54, respectively. BLUE MOON was #93, OLD SHEP was #47 and POOR BOY was #55. This feat would be surpassed only once, in the early weeks of the Beatlemania in 1964.

    This EP went on to become the biggest selling Extended-Player in industry history, with worldwide sales well over 3,000,000 copies. No one doubts that, had LOVE ME been a single, instead of being one of the biggest hit EPs, it would have been one of Presley’s biggest hits!” (Neal Umphred, “Quintessentially Essential Elvis – For 45 Fans Only” from Goldmine Magazine, January 1997)


    13- Baby I don´t care
    14- Jailhouse rock
    15- Treat me nice

    April, 30th / May, 8th 1957 – Radio Recorders, Hollywood
    Available on “Jailhouse Rock – vol.2” (FTD, 2010)
    “We took a suite at the Gorham Hotel on 55th street and a rented upright piano put in the living room, where I spent next to no time at all. One day Jean Aberbach gave us an assignment to write the score for the forthcoming Presley movie. [...] One Saturday morning there was a knock at our door and Jean walked in. ´Well boys, where are my songs?´, he said. ´Don´t worry, you´re gonna get them´, we assured him. ´I know´, he said, ´because you´re not going to leave this room until I have them.´ Then he pushed a sofa in front of the door. ´I´m going to take a nap.´, he explained. He literally went to sleep and we couldn´t get out. So, out of necessity, we wrote four songs in about four or five hours.” (Mike Stoller in Ken Sharp´s “Writing for the King” – 2006)

    16- King creole
    January 15th 1958 – Radio Recorders, Hollywood
    Available on “King Creole” (FTD, 2011)
    “KING CREOLE was possibly the best movie that Elvis ever made. It had the best story, the best script, and a great cast. Michael Curtiz, the director, was at all the recording sessions. We wrote three songs for that film, including the title song.” (Mike Stoller in Ken Sharp´s “Writing for the King” – 2006)

    17- I need your love tonight
    June, 10th 1958 – RCA’s Studio B, Nashville (Tennessee)
    Available on “50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can´t Be Wrong” (Legacy Edition, 2007)
    “These Nashville recordings, made without Scotty and Bill, literally and stylistically bridged Elvis´50s and ´60s work. His voice had the dangerous whiplash we wouldn´t hear again until the television show some ten years later.” (Colin Escott, “Platinum – A life in music” – 1997)
    “No one, but no one, is equal, or ever will be. Elvis was and is supreme.” (Mick Jagger)



    18- A mess of blues
    19- Such a night

    March 20th / April, 3rd 1960 – RCA’s Studio B, Nashville (Tennessee)
    Available on “Elvis is Back!” (Legacy Edition, 2010)
    “Thanks to the aural imagery that was being conjured up, A MESS OF BLUES presented itself as the vinyl equivalent of film noir. The maestro´s raffish vocal had more swagger than a puffed-up peacock.” (Stuarty Colman, “Elvis is Back! Legacy Edition” linernotes – Summer 2010)
    “A MESS OF BLUES was the first song that Presley ever recorded of ours. We wrote the song in this terrible ghetto apartment in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, thinking about Presley but he was in the Army. The song wrote itself and it was probably my favourite Elvis Presley record. Then a year or so later [...] Lamar told us that he could get a song to Presley and we thought it was just some more jazz. But Mort went in the studio and made a piano-voice demo, I think it was the sparsest demo of all time and Presley liked it. I think maybe he really related to it because of the blues content.” (Doc Pomus in Ken Sharp´s “Writing for the King” – 2006)
    "The sound Elvis and his band got for this record was nothing like the country blues of the Sun singles, but full-blown Chicago menace, driven by Elvis´super-miked rhythm guitar, brutal playing by Scotty Moore, and demoniac sax work from Boots Randolph. Elvis´singing wasn´t sexy, it was obscene." (Greil Marcus, “Mystery Train” – 1975)


    20- Feel so bad
    March, 12th 1961 – RCA’s Studio B, Nashville (Tennessee)
    Available on “Elvis is Back!” (Legacy Edition, 2010)
    “Destined for a single rather than the world of 33 1/3 rpm, Chuck Willis´mighty I FEEL SO BAD was one of twelve sides cut on Sunday March 12th, 1961. It certainly was a productive day.” (Stuarty Colman, “Elvis is Back! Legacy Edition” linernotes – Summer 2010)
    “The poetry of the blues is often overestimated, but ´Feel so bad, feel like a ball game on a rainy day´ is poetry by anyone´s yardstick.” (Colin Escott, “Platinum – A life in music” – 1997)


    21- His latest flame
    22- Little sister

    June, 25th 1961 – RCA’s Studio B, Nashville (Tennessee)
    Available on “Elvis is Back!” (Legacy Edition, 2010)
    “The recording of “(Maries the Name of) His latest Flame” was like a party. “It’s a good song. I like it,” Elvis ventured, even if it takes us thirty-two hours.” Taping started with what was still a rehearsal, an almost acoustic rundown with Buddy on congas and Boots on shakers chugging out the Bo Diddley beat Mort Shuman had given the song. Take 3 added the sound of a shoebox, and Elvis’s voice melted every lyrical line into pure delight. Slowly the sound grew more forceful as they continued. On take 4 Hank Garland shifted to tic-tac bass, while Jordanaire Neal Matthews took over on Guitar and Buddy Harman left the congas to return to the drums. Every variation was tried. Floyd Cramer took a stab at the organ, Hank Garland toned down the tic-tic. In the middle of the night they stopped and put in a call to Mort Shuman to ask how he had gotten the piano sound on the demo? Each take brought the song from a charming campfire sing-a-long closer and closer to a fully realized pop record. When Mort Shuman heard the finished, he noticed not only the different piano sound but the curious intro - just three bars long, one shorted than any convention arrangement would have suggested. The same thing had happened on “Surrender”, whether it was intentional cleverness or just Elvis’s impatience, it gave the song a fresh, surprising kickoff. “ (Ernst Jorgensen, “Elvis Presley – A Life in Music“ – 1996)

    “When I wrote LITTLE SISTER, Mort Shuman recalled years later, “I played it in a totally different way. It had a different rhythm. Elvis cut the tempo in half and slowed it down.” The song had a tough edge to it and as he had with “His Latest Flame” Scotty strapped on the acoustic guitar, while Hank garland took the electrical lead. “I remembered when they cut LITTLE SISTER, guitarist Harold Bradley recalled, “Hank had to borrow my Fender (jazz Master) guitar. Hank was contracted to Gibson, but he felt he needed a different sound for that particular record. …He didn’t think the guitar he used were funky enough or had enough throttle.” Funky it was, and Floyd Cramer’s organ only underlined the feeling. Before the first take Bill Porter announced, “It’s a classic in there.” Elvis was on the same wavelength-“Burn!” he said simply when take 3 took off. Take 4 was a master - and with that they’d filled the Colonel’s demand for a new single – but Elvis and the group were all so excited they played the song over and over until 7:30 in the morning. “ (Ernst Jorgensen, “Elvis Presley – A Life in Music“ – 1996)


    23- Return to sender
    March, 26th 1962 – Radio Recorders, Hollywood
    Available on “Elvis 75 Good Rockin´ Tonight” (Sony, 2010)
    “[Colonel Parker] said that Elvis was going to do this movie, and he had some songs that he had to take back. He asked me if we had any. We told him, ´We got this one thing that we haven´t finished yet.´ He said ´Well you gotta play it for me anyway ´cause Elvis loves to hear your stuff.´ So I said ´We´ll play this for you. It´s not a title but I really believe you should hear it. And if there´s any way that it can go in the movie, that would be nice.´ And I played RETURN TO SENDER for him, and he said ´Don´t worry. That will go into the movie, I can tell you that ´cause it´s a great song.´ Not too long after that they played us the record.”
    (Otis Blackwell in Ken Sharp´s “Writing for the King” – 2006)
    “A lot of people have accused Elvis of stealing the black man´s music, when, in fact, almost every black solo entertainer copied stage mannerisms from Elvis – had always wanted to be like Elvis.” (Jackie Wilson)

    “The song peaked at number 1 on the United Kingdom music charts, and number 2 on the American Billboard singles chart, but reached number 1 on the rival Cash Box and Music Vendor singles charts. The single was certified "Platinum" by the RIAA for sales in excess of 1 million units in the US. The memorable opening bars and backing on baritone saxophone is often credited to Boots Randolph, but was in fact played by Bobby Keys.” (www.wikipedia.com, 2009)
    “I thought he was the most beautiful thing I´d ever seen. Not in a sexy way, just as an object of sheer beauty. And for some reason I always think of RETURN TO SENDER as the Elvis song I knew when I was a kid. My favourite is SUSPICIOUS MINDS.” (Alison Goldfrapp, “Mojo” April 2002)


    24- Trouble / Guitar man
    25- Tiger man (TV Live)
    26- If I can dream

    June 1968 – NBC TV Studios, Burbank (California)
    Available on “Elvis Memories” (BMG/RCA, 1998) and “Tiger Man” (BMG/RCA, 1998)
    “TIGER MAN was originally a Sun record by Rufus Thomas, and Sam Phillips probably pitched it to Elvis hoping that he would cut it. Phillips owned the music publishing, and had cowritten it under the name Sam Burns (...).” (Colin Escott, “A golden celebration” – 1985)
    “If ever there was music that bleeds, this was it.” (Greil Marcus, “Mystery Train” – 1975)

    “I think he was oblivious to everything else in the universe. When I looked out the window, he was almost in a fetal position, writhing on the cement floor, singing [IF I CAN DREAM]. And when he got done, he came in the control room, and we played it maybe fifteen times, he just loved it so much.” (Steve Binder, 1999)


    27- Stranger in my own home town
    February, 17th 1969 – American Sound Studios, Memphis (Tennessee)
    Available on “From Elvis in Memphis” (Legacy Edition, 2009)
    “Percy Mayfield’s startling "Stranger In My Own Hometown" follows. This is the most rocking track on the album and the most haunting. This is the sound of a man confronting a city that had witnessed the assignation of Martin Luther King less than a year earlier. Elvis’ sorrow at this event has been recounted by both Celeste Yarnall and Jerry Schilling, perhaps more than "If I Can Dream" this is his reaction to it. It’s an explosive, surging performance that stands with his greatest work. The song’s ferocious climax features one of the strangest horn arrangements ever put on vinyl and Elvis screaming off mike ‘Blow your brains out.’ He would revisit this song later in his career and re-invent the idea of a blues man in a frightening laid back chronicle of alienation and despair. Anyone who doesn’t understand the genius of Elvis Presley should listen to this song.”
    (Jeremy Richey, Dust Off Those Grooves - http://howthewebwaswoven.blogspot.com)


    28- Suspicious minds
    January, 22nd 1969 – American Sound Studios, Memphis (Tennessee)
    Available on “From Elvis in Memphis” (Legacy Edition, 2009)
    “When I first heard Elvis´recording of SUSPICIOUS MINDS I loved it. Tommy Cogbill and Reggie Young played it for me in the studio. Elvis loved it too. He even took a tape home of the finished version.” (Mark James in Ken Sharp´s “Writing for the King” – 2006)
    “The implicit challenge was accepted, and all sank in for hard work, real work.. The biggest hits of Elvis’ latter career came from these sessions: ‘Suspicious Minds,’ ‘In The Ghetto,’ ‘Don’t Cry Daddy,’ and ‘Kentucky Rain’… He went from selling a couple hundred thousand singles to having several hits that sold more than a million… Once again Elvis arose and again, Elvis triumphed.”
    (from the liner notes by Robert Gordon and Tara McAdams, “From Elvis in Memphis: Legacy edition” – july 2009)


    29- C.C. Rider (Live)
    February, 18th 1970 – International Hotel, Las Vegas (Nevada)
    Available on “On Stage, February 1970” (Legacy Edition, 2010)
    “SEE SEE RIDER was an old blues tune, an abandoned woman´s lament. Elvis takes it at a steady romp, losing sight of the song´s intent but creating a new song in the process.” (Colin Escott, “Platinum – A life in music” – 1997)
    “Elvis is my man.” (Janis Joplin)


    30- Got my mojo workin´/Keep your hands off (unedited jam)
    June, 5th 1970 – RCA’s Studio B, Nashville (Tennessee)
    Available on “Love Letters from Elvis” (FTD - CD2 - 2008)
    “What distinguishes each of these (June 1970) songs is their openness to interpretation (all would have equal validity in a rhythm and blues, country or, lyrics aside, gospel context) the enthusiasm with which Elvis attacks them (almost all are first takes), and, perhaps not coincidentally, the fact that nearly every one of them is sung just a little too fast.” (Peter Guralnick, “Careless Love” - 1999)
    “You want me to describe elvis: WOW!” (Shania Twain)



    “I can guarantee you one thing: we will never again agree on anything as we agreed on Elvis.” (Lester Bangs)
     
  2. gilbert green

    gilbert green Forum Resident

    Nice. I was thinking of getting some more Elvis. Right now, I have Sun sessions, a double #1s collection and 1969: a Year in Review.

    Is there a complete 1956 RCA sessions CD?

    Is there really nothing in between 1962 and 1968, or post-1970 worth hearing?
     
  3. Driver 8

    Driver 8 Senior Member

    Of course there's stuff between 1962 and 1968 worth hearing - "It Hurts Me," "Tomorrow Is a Long Time," and "Guitar Man" are three that spring to mind off the top of my head. And "Return to Sender" and "Devil in Disguise," too.

    From post-1970, "Always on My Mind," "Green Green Grass of Home," "Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues" and so many more are essential.
     
  4. PaulKTF

    PaulKTF Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    The great thing about Elvis is that there's stuff from any era to enjoy.
     
  5. Dinsdale

    Dinsdale Dixie Fried

    Location:
    South Carolina
    His gospel songs are essential but are often left out.

    I suggest "Stand By Me" and "Run On" as a start.
     
  6. jeanno

    jeanno New Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    spain
    That playlist was done to get Presley´s best rockers in a single CD. Of course, there are several highlights between ´62 and ´68 and after 1970... But, if you want to enjoy the true verve and panache of the King, then the ´54 -´62 era and the comeback one are the sources to get his best music.

    For the ´56 sessions, you have the CD "Elvis´56" (BMG/RCA, 1996) and the recent boxset "Young man with the Big Beat!" (Sony, 2011).
     
  7. JLGB

    JLGB Senior Member

    Location:
    D.R.
    Yes!
     
  8. gilbert green

    gilbert green Forum Resident

    I heard the LP "Elvis Country" recently and was very impressed. It sounded like a continuation of his '69 period, which I suppose it was. Might pick it up...
     
  9. PaulKTF

    PaulKTF Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    Yeah; I'd recommend it. Plenty of strong material- some of his best.
     
  10. bRETT

    bRETT Senior Member

    Location:
    Boston MA
    This list just isn't complete without "There's No Room to Rhumba in a Sports Car."

    Seriously, I wouldnt accept such a list without "Reconsider Baby," "I Beg of You," "Tomorrow Is a Long Time" or "Stranger In My Own Home Town."
     
  11. czeskleba

    czeskleba Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    Best recording not on this list: One Night. Reconsider Baby is another major omission. Only two tracks from 1969 is not enough either... Any Day Now, After Loving You, and I'll Hold You in My Heart belong on any absolute best list. Not a bad list, but overall there's too much 50's and not enough from the rest of his career.
     
  12. Driver 8

    Driver 8 Senior Member

    That's the eternal struggle with Elvis's legacy: getting the broader public to recognize that he didn't die when he went into the Army. That perception still bothers me a lot, but, as long as I can enjoy Elvis's 60s and 70s work, I guess I should let of caring whether or not other people do.
     
  13. neo123

    neo123 Senior Member

    Location:
    Northern Kentucky
    To me, there are 711 (plus 103 extras) Elvis master recordings you need to listen to before you die! :)
     
  14. jeanno

    jeanno New Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    spain
    Gilbert
    Yes, "Elvis Country" is a pretty good album with Elvis in very good voice. It is perhaps is last coherent studio release.

    bRETT
    STRANGER IN MY OWN HOME TOWN is in the list.

    czeskleba/Driver 8
    I´ve never believed that Elvis died while in the army but I also think that he best work was done before. I mean, he just changed the world in 1956. You can´t do that many times in a career (I guess).
    And, as I said earlier, that list was done to create a single CD of Elvis at his best. RECONSIDER BABY, TOMORROW IS A LONG TIME and ANY DAY NOW (only to name a few) are excellent recordings indeed. Now, which track from the list would you erase? Not that easy.

    Neo123
    Nice way to sum it up!
     
  15. czeskleba

    czeskleba Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    Certainly his period of greatest influence/impact on music and American culture in general came in the 50's. But "greatest impact" is a different thing than "best music." I strongly disagree with the notion that his best work was pre-Army.

    Blue Moon, Baby Let's Play House, I Got a Woman, Love Me, Baby I Don't Care, Treat Me Nice, King Creole. All fine performances, but IMO not as good as the omitted tracks I listed in my last post.
     
  16. Beech

    Beech Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dublin, Ireland
    Funny, I was just thinking yesterday how much I loved "Guitar Man" and how many people may not know it ... perhaps because it was from a movie soundtrack. Features the writer Jerry Reed on guitar too if I'm not mistaken. Classic!
     
  17. jeanno

    jeanno New Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    spain
    czeskleba
    RECONSIDER BABY and ANY DAY NOW were strong contender to be in the list but did not make it because of time space in the CD. As LOVE ME is one of many 56 tracks in the list, I wrote it off and put instead RECONSIDER BABY. Now I´m totally unable to decide which other tune has to go to leave space for ANY DAY NOW. I´ve tried very hard but I can´t do it.
    I guess that the only way to make it through... is to make a volume 2 ;)

    Beech
    Yeah, Reed plays guitar in Elvis´67 studio recording of GUITAR MAN. It was released as a single but Presley´s popularity was so low that it did not chart too high.
     
  18. BlueSpeedway

    BlueSpeedway Curated Iconic Half-Speed Picture Disc

    Location:
    England
    I love that Springsteen quote at the top :righton:
     
  19. Moonchild

    Moonchild Forum Resident

    Location:
    Coruña. Spain
    Wearing that loved on look!
     
  20. PaulKTF

    PaulKTF Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    One of my favorite tracks from the "Memphis" album!
     
  21. windfall

    windfall Senior Member

    Location:
    UK
    It's a shame to see another list that ignores Elvis's 70s recordings. Walk a Mile in my Shoes, It's Midnight, Pieces of My Life all deserve to be on that list IMHO.
     
  22. jeanno

    jeanno New Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    spain
    windfall
    It´s not about ignoring the 70s, it´s just that as a Rocker, Elvis was much better before that decade. If it was a list of Elvis´greatest ballads, or greatest gospel tunes, or greatest Country recordings, I´m pretty sure that the 60s and the 70´s would be more represented but, in this case, 99% of the tracks are Rock/R&B oriented numbers: IT´S MIDNIGHT and PIECES OF MY LIFE are somber Country songs that don´t fit here. Maybe in a "30 Elvis´tear-jerkers" list they would find the place they truely deserve...

    On the other hand, the soulful WEARIN´THAT LOVED ON LOOK would fit well but I still think that all the tracks on the list are (at least a tad) better than the opening number of "From Elvis in Memphis".
     
  23. BeatleJWOL

    BeatleJWOL Senior Member

    Yeah, but Elvis tracks that "rock" weren't really the point here (despite the final list); then again, does a list of only 30 songs really cut it? I think not. :D
     
  24. windfall

    windfall Senior Member

    Location:
    UK
    I like your choices, Jeanno. I guess a heading for the list would have been helpful. I do think any definitive of Elvis's greatest recordings is faulty if there are no 70s songs included. But I would definitely agree that Elvis's genius in the 70s was mostly to do with his interpretations and performances of ballads, even though there are some great (if hardly definitive) rockers in his final decade, too.
     
  25. jeanno

    jeanno New Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    spain
    Windfall
    Yes, you´re right about the heading. Sorry about the misleading title.

    Not too many "definitive" rockers in the last decade, you´re also right there: i would say SEE SEE RIDER (from "On Stage"), BURNING LOVE and PROMISED LAND. (And MERRY CHRISTMAS BABY if you want to include that impressive R&B performance.)

    Now, if you focus on pop and country ballads, there is a goldmine in the 70s. My favorite: I´VE LOST YOU (studio version), BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER, FUNNY HOW TIME SLIPS AWAY (from the "Elvis Country" album), I JUST CAN´T HELP BELIEVIN´, YOU DON´T HAVE TO SAY YOU LOVE ME, the folkish EARLY MORNIN´RAIN, the folk/blues out-take of AMAZING GRACE, I´M LEAVIN´, ALWAYS ON MY MIND, I´M SO LONESOME I COULD CRY (from the "Aloha"), FOR OL´TIMES SAKE, LOVING ARMS, GOOD TMES CHARLIE´S GOT THE BLUES, DANNY BOY, etc... There was also a very touching out-take of AND I LOVE YOU SO in the "Platinum" BoxSet that I could not stop listening to.
     
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