Tag: Elvis Presley

Title: Elvis Presley – King Creole (1958) [Audio Fidelity 2013]
Genre: Rock
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

King Creole was the last movie that Elvis Presley made before he entered the army in the spring of 1958 — it was also his last film in black-and-white, as well as his final effort directed by a serious old-time filmmaker (Michael Curtiz); and, apart from a few isolated, quirky efforts like Flaming Star, Change of Habit, and Charro, this was the last of his serious movies, in which Presley was trying hard, pushing himself as an actor and, really, all through the score, as a musician. This is reflected in the soundtrack, which is one of the stronger film-related releases of his career. The original 11 songs included a hot title track by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller that was a dazzling showcase for Scotty Moore’s and Tiny Timbrell’s guitars as well as Elvis’ intense, exciting lead vocal. Leiber and Stoller’s “Trouble” and Claude Demetrius’ “Hard Headed Woman” have Moore’s and Timbrell’s electric guitars competing successfully with a five-man brass and reed section. Even “Dixieland Rock,” if not up to the level of those other two numbers, features good playing and a strong performance by Presley, and “Young Dreams” is a decent midtempo number. The slow ballads are where the soundtrack falls flat, “As Long As I Have You” coming up to standard but “Lover Doll” and “Don’t Ask Me Why” failing to excite or maintain interest; “Crawfish” can only have been included to bring the album up to the minimum acceptable length for an LP.

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Title: Elvis Presley – Essential Elvis Volume 2: Stereo ’57 (1988) [Analogue Productions Remaster 2013]
Genre: Rock
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

The second volume of Essential Elvis offers Elvis in binaural stereo from the January 1957 sessions that produced several hits. (RCA Victor generously filled the disc out with mono masters of the remaining songs to give the consumer a complete version of the sessions.) This is a lot of fun; the gaffes are numerous, obvious, and hilarious, and for ears raised on multi-track recording, it must be amazing to hear an entire record recorded live in the studio!

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Title: Elvis Presley – 24 Karat Hits! (1997) [Analogue Productions’ Remaster 2012]
Genre: Rock
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Had Elvis Presley done nothing else but record “That’s Alright, Mama,” his place in pop music history would be secure. With his first regional hit, Presley fused rhythm and blues with country, put a handsome white face out front for audiences to see, and in so doing legitimized beat music for white audiences. It is no understatement to call Presley the chief catalyst of the rock-and-roll era. During the 1950s, Presley’s records spent a collective 53 weeks in the number one chart position. Only the Beatles can boast similar sales success. spectacular television special and several great albums. During the last decade of his career, Presley’s live show was the hottest ticket in America. A great singer first and last, Presley was equally adept at raunchy blues, lilting boogie, operatic pop, and country tear-jerkers.

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Title: Elvis Presley – Elvis Is Back (1960) [Analogue Productions Remaster 2012]
Genre: Rock
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

“Elvis Is Back” was Presley’s first album to be released in true stereo. It peaked at number two on the Top Pop Albums chart and is listed, along with his debut and From Elvis in Memphis, in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. It was certified Gold on July 15, 1999, by the RIAA.

Although they have common recording origins, two of the three singles, “It’s Now or Never” and “Are You Lonesome Tonight,” were very quirky by the standards of Elvis songs at the time — the former inspired by Elvis’s admiration for Tony Martin’s 1949 hit “There’s No Tomorrow,” while the latter was recorded at the request of Col. Parker as a favor to his wife. They add to the diversity of sounds on this record, which shows a mature Elvis Presley. “Dirty, Dirty Feeling” and “It Feels So Right” showed he could still rock out and challenge authority and propriety, while “Reconsider Baby” and “Like a Baby” offer some of his best blues performances; but “The Thrill of Your Love” (a very gospel-tinged number), “Soldier Boy,” “Girl of My Best Friend,” and “Girl Next Door Went a’ Walking,” also displayed the rich, deep vocalizing that would challenge critics’ expectations of Elvis Presley playing rhythm guitar throughout. He also comes off better than on any of his other albums since arriving at RCA, as a musician as much as a “star” (he’d always had a lot more to say about running his sessions than the critics who loathed his RCA years indicated). [The 1999 remastering of this classic album features the complete contents of the March 20, 1960, RCA Hollywood session plus the dawn-to-dusk April 2 Nashville session that rounded out the album, for a total of 18 songs, including the three singles and their B-sides from those sessions. The sound is extraordinarily close yet natural, giving the listener full value for the presence of Scotty Moore, Hank Garland (who also plays bass on a few tracks), D.J. Fontana, Boots Randolph, and Floyd Cramer.]

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