Elvis Presley Album by Album Thread

Elvis Presley

Release date: March 23, 1956

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 (Little Darlin')
Blue Moon
Money Honey

Notable Singles from the same sessions

Heartbreak Hotel/I Was the One 1/23



This, Elvis Presley very first album, consists of seven songs recorded in January 1956 in RCA studios in Nashville and New York and five left-overs from the Sun days.

Steve Sholes was not very impressed with the first January sessions in Nashville and fears a huge disaster. He quickly puts together a 4-track EP of Sun Masters, thinking that he can recoup some of his investment if everything else fails. Elvis makes his television debut on the Dorsey Show on January 28, and a more confident Sholes arrange additional sessions in New two days later.
The album is released in March and spends 10 weeks at no. 1, and sales of more than 300,000 copies makes it RCA's best selling album to date. The album is also released as an double EP and all the tracks are released as six singles in August.

The Album is quiet varied, from Country, Blues, Rock n' Roll and Ballads. The Sun material fits suprisingly well even though nothing can be compared to the Sun singles. Among the highlights are a haunting version of Blue Moon which omits the happy ending.
Other highlights include a cover version of Carl Perkins' Blue Suede Shoes One-sided Love Affair which was Elvis personal favorite from the album.
4/5

 

A very strong contender for Best Rock album of all time. And a very strong contender for Best Elvis Album ever. The importance of this album is hard to measure, but if you want to find a picture of Rock's big bang, this would probably be it:



One of the best cover albums of all time. Totally captures the abandon with which Elvis performed at the time.

I think we all agree that the current remaster is definitive, great music with great sound. Original artwork too, IIRC. And cheap. Just like all great albums should be released these days on CD.

I assume the FTD also sounds very good.

 

Contender? Elvis recorded a lot of great music, I love all of his RCA material up until he entered the Army, and even his lame '60s movies had at least a few good tunes on each soundtrack, but I don't think he ever topped this one.
Unfortunately it's all down hill from here, in my opinion.

 

It is also by Kevan budd and with outtakes available. The Clash's 1977 London Calling is an homage to one of the greatest Rock 'n' Roll sleeves of all time. Brilliant Pink and Green lettering.

 

Well, I have a soft spot for some of those soundtracks. I think 'From Elvis in Memphis' is tops, but we'll get there eventually

 

This is a great album. I finally got it not too long ago when the remaster came out and I played it quite a bit. Certainly deserves its classic status and the remaster has very good sound.

 

So I take it that you're not in agreement with most of the Elvis
collector's on this forum (myself included) that "Elvis Is Back" from
1960 is one of his greatest achievements.

 

Yep one of R&R's greatest albums. The current remaster is definitive - it has the correct running order plus the 3 singles that were recorded at those sessions. The FTD is even better with all of the outtakes included. The five Sun songs give the album a little more mysterious sound than it would have had otherwise.

Despite these sessions being Elvis' first for RCA, it also marks an ending of sorts. Shortly thereafter, writers would be contracted to write songs "for Elvis" rather than have Elvis just do his favorite Country and R&B songs. Of course this was mainly driven by the Hill and Range publishing deal. While there's no denying the quality of some of the later material, I think Elvis was at his best when he was tackling his favorites from his record collection.

 

Definitely Rock n' Roll's big bang and thus essential to own. As an album, it's a little uneven, having been comprised from some Sun leftovers and new RCA-recordings that have a quite different sound. Still a great achievement.

It always strikes me as funny when Elvis is labelled as a Rock n' Roll singer. I think it's obvious even from this, his first LP, that from the very beginning he sang "all kinds", as he had told Marion Keisker upon entering Sun Records for the first time in 1953.

I agree that the 2005 remaster by Kevan Budd ist THE version to have.

 

One cannot forget the haunting classic BLUE MOON. A "leftover" from Sun. Sam Philips was a true Rock and Roller to the day he died not too long ago. He thought Elvis adding backup group Jordainaires was not good lol!!

 

Well, Blue Moon was certainly considered a leftover by Sam Phillips, otherwise he would have released it on SUN. But I agree with you, it's great!

 

There's not a weak cut on this LP, but I've listened to it so many times over the years I reach for things like Blue Hawaii first...that's the danger of an album this good is that you wear it out!

 

Thats why I put quotes around leftovers because Sam was mostly looking for RHYTM and he sure got it!!

 

Yep!

 

I didn't mean to imply that everything else he did sucked. Far from it. As I said, I enjoy a lot of Elvis' stuff. And I'd agree that "Elvis Is Back" is one of his greatest achievements. It's a great album. I was just saying that his first recordings set the bar pretty high, which he (heck, 90% of everyone who followed) never surpassed in my opinion.

 

I like the album a lot, but it's not his best LP, IMO. For one, it takes five Sun tracks which Steve Soles practically ruined when processing them for this LP. Trying To Get To You and Just Because fit in perfectly with the newer material. But, I'll Never Let You Go and I Love Because are clearly inferior outtakes, and sound very dated already. His cover of Blue Suede Shoes is good, but doesn't match the rockabilly energy of Perkin's original. His cover of Tutti Frutti is vastly inferior to Little Richard's version. The remaining tracks are all great. Money Honey, I Got A Woman and One-Sided Love Affair are three of my favorite Elvis songs from any era. Count me among those who think Elvis Is Back is THE definitive Elvis album. The front cover was, and is, absolutely striking. Ron

 

I don't have this album.
I have all the songs and can sing them in my sleep and I now realize I need this.
I will have to pick up the remaster.

What is the 70s or 80s U.S. RCA vinyl pressings like for quality?
Not great I would guess.

 

Excellent- not my favorite Elvis LP, but a tremendous start. The revolution started here.

 

A great album, but not his best. I prefer the second album (ELVIS) to this one. I agree with some of the posters that ELVIS IS BACK is better (although it took me years to really appreciate it).

 

I do not agree with Blue Suede Shoes. Thats one example that Imo made Elvis a great guy as well...he prevented (RCA was salivating) the release to compete with Perkins' original. It would have blasted Perkins' out of the water and Elvis would have had 19 instead of 18 #1s on Billboard.
And Carl would have still been h$ppy!

 

This is untrue. Carl recorded Blue Sude Shoes in November '55 and it was released 21 January 1956. Elvis recorded the song 10 days AFTER Carl's version was released. The Elvis Presley album wasn't released until late March and Elvis would have had NO say in delaying his debut RCA LP for any reason. Makes for a nice story, but it's simply not true. In fact, producer Steve Sholes wasn't thrilled with the two RCA recording dates and decided to use all 5 Sun tracks to augment the new recordings.

As for the song itself. Elvis' is a bit too fast and Scotty's solo is no match for Carl's own. In my heart, Carl Perkins version is definitive. Ron

 

You are right sorry about that. It was a race between That song and Heartbreak Hotel..and we know the outcome of that . Elvis did visit Carl at the hospital and told him (if there was anything he could do)the following night he substituted Blue Suede for Money Honey on Dorsey Show...(Jorgensen Elvis recording sessions book) . I respect your opinion of which was better and had Elvis put it out as a single instead of a compilation EP....RCA was relieved after Heartbreak Hotel shot past it..But if that had not happened who knows...

 

I think most (if not all) of the songs on the first RCA album were released on EP's shortly after the album came out. I have my mom's 45's. They are in horrendous shape but they served as my introduction to the first album. When I finally heard these songs on CD (thanks to the 50's box) I was blown away.

 

That's ok. I think Elvis first heard the song during the Million Dollar Quartet session. I do like Elvis' version, but there's just that certain something about Carl's version. Ron

 

Something in the way she moved...Beatles...Lennon did not write Something but loved Carl's version enough to perform it ala Perkins! Btw I am also a Beatle fan.