Friday, March 27, 2015

Elvis At Sun: A Survey.

Elvis Presley was a recording artist at Sun Records for about a year & a half--from the summer of 1954 through the end of 1955. In that time, he released 10 sides over 5 singles, which have rightfully gone on to become ground zero for rock & roll music.

Over the years, various anthologies of Sun material have appeared--literally once every decade--each with its own merits. What follows is a survey of them, followed by a recommendation for a new one.

I did not bother ranking them on a 5-star scale because the material is excellent & they are all essentially different versions of the same story.


The Original: The Sun Sessions (RCA, 1976).


Tracklisting:

Side A

1. That's All Right
2. Blue Moon Of Kentucky
3. I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine
4. Good Rockin' Tonight
5. Milkcow Blues Boogie
6. You're A Heartbreaker
7. I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone
8. Baby, Let's Play House

Side B

1. Mystery Train
2. I Forgot To Remember To Forget
3. I'll Never Let You Go (Little Darling)
4. I Love You Because
5. Trying To Get To You
6. Blue Moon
7. Just Because
8. I Love You Because [Alternate Take]

What's New?

The concept of putting (almost) all of Elvis's Sun recordings in a single place; "I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine" makes its album debut.

Accolades

#11 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums Of All-Time (2004); #21 on VH1's 100 Greatest Albums Of Rock & Roll (2001).

Review

Despite the countless reissues RCA released while Elvis was alive, it appears that no one thought to put out a collection of his Sun material until 1976 (perhaps they were waiting for the Bicentennial?). As such, The Sun Sessions was the first time such a collection was assembled, & while it contained only one unreleased track--the alternate take of "I Love You Because" (although "I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine" had never appeared on LP before)--hearing all of the rest assembled in place was a revelation.

It may not have been perfect--I would like to know why "I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine" appears before its A-side "Good Rockin' Tonight" & "I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone" appears before its A-side "Baby, Let's Play House"--but it was first, & sometimes that's all it takes. Although there were more Sun recordings were in the ether ("Tomorrow Night," which had only appeared in a badly-overdubbed version on a compilation LP in 1965 & "Harbor Lights," which appeared on Elvis: A Legendary Performer, Volume 2 earlier in 1976), this was the basic canon, at least as it was known at this point in time.

& even with its flaws, its missing material, & its ugly cover, it was a crowning achievement.

When Rolling Stone issued their 500 Greatest Albums Of All-Time list in 2004 to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the birth of rock & roll (Elvis's recording of "That's All Right" in 1954), The Sun Sessions LP appeared at #11 on the list. It beat out the likes of Jimi Hendrix's Are You Experienced, The Velvet Underground & Nico, The Beatles' Abbey Road, Bruce Springsteen's Born To Run, Michael Jackson's Thriller, & Nirvana's Nevermind, even though it had been out of print for nearly 3 decades. Subsequent revisions of the list would substitute the excellent 2-disc expansion Sunrise (see below), but like with so much else in rock, it appeared that the original was still the greatest.


The Classic: The Sun Sessions CD (RCA, 1987).


Tracklisting:

1. That's All Right
2. Blue Moon Of Kentucky
3. Good Rockin' Tonight
4. I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine
5. Milkcow Blues Boogie
6. You're A Heartbreaker
7. Baby, Let's Play House
8. I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone
9. Mystery Train
10. I Forgot To Remember To Forget
11. I Love You Because
12. Blue Moon
13. Tomorrow Night
14. I'll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin')
15. Just Because
16. Trying To Get To You
17. Harbor Lights [Take 4]
18. I Love You Because [Take 2]
19. That's All Right [Outtake]
20. Blue Moon Of Kentucky [Take 1]
21. I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine [Outtake]
22. I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone (Slow Version) [Take 9]
23. I'll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin') [Outtake]
24. When It Rains It Really Pours [Outtake]
25. I Love You Because [Take 3]
26. I Love You Because [Take 4]*
27. I Love You Because [Take 5]
28. I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone (Slow Version) [Take 7]
29. I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone (Slow Version) [Take 8]*
30. I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone (Slow Version) [Take 10]*
31. I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone (Slow Version) [Take 11]*
32. I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone (Slow Version) [Take 12]
33. I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone (Slow Version) [Take 13]*

(* = Not on CD version)

What's New?

The Sun masters are completed, as "Harbor Lights," "Tomorrow Night," "When It Rains It Really Poors" & the slow version of "I'm Left You're Right, She's Gone" & TONS of alternate takes!

Accolades

Included in Rolling Stone's 200 Essential Rock Albums (1997).

Review

A great collection that fixes the issues of its LP forerunner. First, the single sides appear in the proper order. Secondly, & more importantly, for the first time, all the Sun masters are gathered in one place. It also included all of the existing outtakes (almost!--see below), which what it lacked in programming (have you ever listened to endless takes of "I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone (Slow Version)" back to back?), it made up for in historical importance.

With the CD still in its relative infancy, RCA decided to issue the complete set on double vinyl & a single long-playing cassette; hence the 5 songs above left off of the CD to keep it on a single disc. What this meant is that if you bought the LP or tape, you were getting the complete collection of Elvis's Sun recordings, which is to say every known take that existed up to that time. The CD nearly gave you the same thing, although only a completist would notice the difference.

Still, it was excellently executed & one of the first major CD collections to make ample use of a compact disc's 80-minute running time.


The Modern Classic: Sunrise (RCA, 1999).



Tracklisting:

Disc 1

1. That's All Right
2. Blue Moon Of Kentucky
3. Good Rockin' Tonight
4. I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine
5. Milkcow Blues Boogie
6. You're A Heartbraker
7. Baby, Let's Play House
8. I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone
9. I Forgot To Remember To Forget
10. Mystery Train
11. I Love You Because
12. Harbor Lights
13. Blue Moon
14. Tomorrow Night
15. I'll Never Let You Go (Lil' Darlin')
16. Just Because
17. I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone (Slow Version)
18. Trying To Get To You
19. When It Rains It Really Pours

Disc 2

1. My Happiness [Private Recording]
2. That's When Your Heartaches Begin [Private Recording]
3. I'll Never Stand In Your Way [Private Recording]
4. It Wouldn't Be The Same Without You [Private Recording]
5. I Love You Because [Alternate]
6. That's All Right [Alternate]
7. Blue Moon Of Kentucky [Alternate]
8. Blue Moon [Alternate]
9. I'll Never Let You Go (Lil' Darlin') [Alternate]
10. I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine [Alternate]
11. I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone (Slow Version) [Alternate]
12. Fool Fool Fool [Demo]
13. Shake, Rattle & Roll [Demo]
14. I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone [Live]
15. That's All Right [Live]
16. Money Honey [Live]
17. Tweedle Dee [Live]
18. I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine [Live]
19. Hearts Of Stone [Live]

What's New?

Lots of stuff--the previously-unknown private recordings that Elvis made on his own dime, 2 demos from the period recorded at a Texas radio station that were first included in his boxed set of complete '50s masters, & live recordings from the Louisiana Hayride; Sunrise also marks the first time that "I'm Left, You're Right She's Gone (Slow Version)" is included among the masters & not the alternate takes.

Accolades

Time's 100 Essential Albums (2006); subsequent revisions of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums Of All-Time (since The Sun Sessions LP is long out-of-print & Sunrise lives on in iTunes).

Review

A well-made & worthy reissue that nonetheless could have been even better. When Sunrise came out, it was marketed as the fuller, more complete version of The Sun Sessions CD, & everyone seemed to take it at its word. However, Sunrise had only one alternate take of each song, meaning that the initial meat of the set--the Sun Records recordings--was incomplete. Even more frustrating was the fact that all of the unused alternates could have easily fit on the second disc. These could have been included along with (or perhaps in place of) the Louisiana Hayride recordings, which are historically valuable but are so poor in audio quality that they likely were never going to be listened to more than once. I suspect the live recordings were included so that the CD could list more distinct song titles, even though they were not nearly as listenable as anything else on the disc. (Furthermore, if it was to show the range of Elvis's then-current setlist, it also fails, as it leaves off his Louisiana Hayride version of "Maybellene," which had previously been issued on his complete '50s boxed set).

All of which is to say that although this is the first official double-CD of Elvis's Sun material, it ends up being a bunt instead of a home run. I believe that the RCA powers-that-be should've either expanded it to include all of the alternate takes to make it as complete as the Sun Sessions double-LP & cassette incarnation or left off the live recordings & make one cherry-picked disc.

Another far subtle feature of Sunrise is that it is the first to place "I Forgot To Remember To Forget" as the A-side of his final single, as opposed to "Mystery Train." This was done because "I Forgot To Remember To Forget" was Elvis's first national #1 single (on the Country & Western charts), & thus was determined to be the lead single in hindsight. In reality, both sides were released against each other, both battled for more airplay, & in the end, both charted nationally ("Mystery Train" hit #10 on the Country & Western charts). However, given the blues-rocker-backed-by-country model of every other single, I believe that Sun Records producer Sam Phillips intended "Mystery Train" to be the hit side & that it should appear before "I Forgot To Remember To Forget," like it does on The Sun Sessions LP & CD. From this point on, however, the reverse would be accepted as the standard, which to me sounds out-of-sequence with the rest of the singles.

Still, all that said, it is nice to have Elvis's 4 priceless private recordings assembled in one place for the first time. Until Sunrise, they were released bit by bit: "My Happiness" on The Great Performances CD, "That's When Your Heartaches Begin" on The Complete '50s Masters boxed set," & "I'll Never Stand In Your Way" on the Platinum: A Life In Music boxed set; "It Wouldn't Be The Same Without You" was issued here for the first time. It is also nice to have the versions of "Fool, Fool, Fool" & "Shake, Rattle, & Roll" that were cut at a Texas radio station during the Sun years (which first appeared on The Complete '50s Masters boxed set). Finally, it is nice to have it all live on in iTunes, even as CD versions of the album have grown scarce.


The Post-Modern Classic: Elvis At Sun (RCA, 2004).



Tracklisting:

1. Harbor Lights
2. I Love You Because [Alternate]
3. That's All Right
4. Blue Moon Of Kentucky
5. Blue Moon
6. Tomorrow Night
7. I'll Never Let You Go (Lil' Darlin')
8. Just Because
9. Good Rockin' Tonight
10. I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine
11. Milkcow Blues Boogie
12. You're A Heartbreaker
13. I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone (Slow Version)
14. I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone
15. Baby, Let's Play House
16. I Forgot To Remember To Forget
17. Mystery Train
18. Trying To Get To You
19. When It Rains, It Really Pours

What's New?

The sound, which is mastered so that the records sound more direct than ever before. Some have been skeptical of this, the Elvis sessions website has staunchly defended it. "When It Rains, It Really Pours" appears in a 2-minute master without any of the studio dialogue from the earlier issues & for the first time, the songs are presented in the order in which they were recorded, as opposed to the previous versions that put Elvis's 10 single sides up front, followed by the songs not originally issued.

Accolades

Included in 1,000 Recordings To Hear Before You Die (2008).

Review

Issued for the 50th anniversary of Elvis recording "That's All Right," Elvis At Sun was presumably to put a one-disc closer-to-budget-priced Sun collection on the market to provide an alternative to the 2-disc Sunrise. As such, it leaves off all of the private recordings, radio station demos, & live recordings for the 19 "modern" masters, soup to nuts, with no frills.

Almost.

For some unbeknownst reason, the producers included the alternate version of "I Love You Because" instead of the master. This was probably because the master version issued from RCA was a splice between 2 different takes. Still, I believe that they should have included the spliced RCA master & tack on the alternate version of "I Love You Because" at the end, a la the original Sun Sessions LP. This one song notwithstanding, Elvis At Sun is the closet to the original Sun Sessions LP than anything that had appeared since. It simply collects all the master recordings in one place.

As for the sound, it definitely is more immediate, but I've always chalked that up to the way in which CDs have been remastered. To my ears, The Sun Sessions CD now sounds like a CD from 1987--good but muffled; it needs to be turned up to fully appreciated. I also always found the Sunrise CD set to mastered a bit too quietly as well, especially when compared to the brightness of a collection like ELV1S: 30 #1 Hits, which was released  only 3 years later.

Elvis At Sun sounds to me less like a tampering with the original recordings than it does a more modernly-mastered recorded that puts the music more front-&-center than its predecessors. But in all such aesthetic cases, you ultimately just have to decide for yourself.


The Deluxe Treatment: A Boy From Tupelo: The Complete 1953-55 Recordings (FTD, 2012)



Tracklisting:

Disc 1: The MRS Acetates, The Sun Masters & The RCA Masters

1. My Happiness [Private Recording]
2. That's When Your Heartaches Begin [Private Recording]
3. I'll Never Stand In Your Way [Private Recording]
4. It Wouldn't Be The Same Without You [Private Recording]
5. Harbor Lights
6. I Love You Because
7. That's All Right
8. Blue Moon Of Kentucky
9. Blue Moon
10. Tomorrow Night
11. I'll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin')
12. I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine
13. Just Because
14. Good Rockin' Tonight
15. Milkcow Blues Boogie
16. You're A Heartbreaker
17. I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone (Slow Version)
18. Baby, Let's Play House
19. I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone
20. I Forgot To Remember To Forget
21. Mystery Train
22. Tryin' To Get To You
23. When It Rains It Pours
24. That's All Right [RCA Single Version]
25. Blue Moon Of Kentucky [RCA Single Version]
26. I Love You Because [RCA LP Version]
27. Tomorrow Night [RCA LP Version]

Disc 2: The Sun Studio Sessions

1. Harbor Lights [Takes 1-2]
2. Harbor Lights [Take 3/M]
3. Harbor Lights [Take 4]
4. Harbor Lights [Take 5-6]
5. Harbor Lights [Take 7]
6. Harbor Lights [Take 8]
7. I Love You Because [Take 1]
8. I Love You Because [Take 2]
9. I Love You Because [Take 3]
10. I Love You Because [Take 4]
11. I Love You Because [Take 5]
12. That's All Right [Take 1-2]
13. That's All Right [Take 3]
14. Dialogue
15. Blue Moon Of Kentucky [Outtake]
16. Blue Moon [Take 1-3]
17. Blue Moon [Take 4]
18. Blue Moon [Take 5]
19. Blue Moon [Take 6-7]
20. Blue Moon [Take 8]
21. Blue Moon [Take 9/M]
22. Dialog Fragment [Before "Tomorrow Night"]
23. I'll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin') [Incomplete Take]
24. Good Rockin' Tonight [Fragment From Vocal Slapback Tape]
25. I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine [Takes 1-2]
26. I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine [Take 3/M]
27. I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone (Slow Version) [Take 1]
28. I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone (Slow Version) [Take 2]
29. I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone (Slow Version) [Take 3]
30. I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone (Slow Version) [Take 4]
31. I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone (Slow Version) [Take 5/M]
32. I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone (Slow Version) [Take 6]
33. I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone (Slow Version) [Take 7]
34. How Do You Think I Feel [Guitar Slapback Tape, Rehearsal & Take 1]
35. How Do You Think I Feel [Guitar Slapback Tape, Rehearsals]
36. When It Rains It Pours [Take 1]
37. When It Rains It Pours [Take 2]
38. When It Rains It Pours [Take 3-4]
39. When It Rains It Pours [Take 5/M]
40. When It Rains It Pours [Take 6-7]
41. When It Rains It Pours [Take 8]

Disc 3: Live & Radio Performances

1. That's All Right [Live]
2. Blue Moon Of Kentucky [Live]
3. Shake, Rattle & Roll [Demo]
4. Fool, Fool, Fool [Demo]
5. Hearts Of Stone [Live]
6. That's All Right [Live]
7. Tweedlee Dee [Live]
8. Shake, Rattle & Roll [Live]
9. KSIJ Radio Commercial With DJ Tom Perryman
10. Money Honey [Live]
11. Blue Moon Of Kentucky [Live]
12. I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine [Live]
13. That's All Right [Live]
14. Tweedlee Dee [Live]
15. Money Honey [Live]
16. Hearts Of Stone [Live]
17. Shake, Rattle & Roll [Live]
18. Little Mama [Live]
19. You're A Heartbreaker [Live]
20. Good Rockin' Tonight [Live]
21. Baby, Let's Play House [Live]
22. Blue Moon Of Kentucky [Live]
23. I Got A Woman [Live]
24. That's All Right [Live]
25. Tweedlee Dee [Live]
26. Interview With Mae Boren Axton [Live]
27. That's All Right [Live]
28. I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone [Live]
29. Baby, Let's Play House [Live]
30. Maybellene [Live]
31. That's All Right [Live]
32. Interview With Bob Neal

What's New?

Lots of stuff--including every extant master (regular & overdubbed), alternate take, & live recording. Completely new are some of the takes of "Harbor Lights," "Blue Moon," "When It Rains It Pours," & some of the dialogue fragments; the outtake versions of "How Do You Think I Feel" (on which you can only hear Scotty Moore's electric guitar, not Elvis); & some of the live recordings, including the recently-discovered live recording "Little Mama." Also, & of course, no collection had gathered all of this material so exhaustively.

Accolades

Tons of glowing reviews from the Elvis blogs, almost all of which lament the fact that it was a limited-time release that has since gone out of print.

Review

An anthology fit for a King. Elvis fans are such a rabid force that the Elvis powers-that-be created Follow That Dream (FTD) Records, which has been tasked with reissuing collector's editions of Elvis's recordings.

While most chronicle obscure movie soundtracks or periods of recording, the A Boy From Tupelo set is the rare FTD that deserves to be issued on the main RCA label. At the very least, the first 2 discs should be put out as a "Complete Sun Studio Sessions" set.

It fixes all the problems of the previous collections with its completeness. For example, on a song like "I Love You Because," the set includes the spliced version from Elvis's first RCA album, along with the 5 takes that survive from the original recording session. No piece is too small--such as the recently-discovered 10-second clip from the slapback fragment of "Good Rockin' Tonight." With entire masters missing long ago (such as for songs like "Milkcow Blues Boogie" & "You're A Heartbreaker," which were mastered from 78 records), this is a testament to everything we have--until something new is discovered.

Pretty much the only critique that can be made is that it was a limited-release set that is now woefully out-of-print. Besides that, there is nothing missing because this set literally has everything.


The Recommendation: Sunrise: Elvis Presley's Sun Sessions.



The Tracklisting:

That's All Right
2. Blue Moon Of Kentucky
3. Good Rockin' Tonight
4. I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine
5. Milkcow Blues Boogie
6. You're A Heartbraker
7. Baby, Let's Play House
8. I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone
9. Mystery Train
10. I Forgot To Remember To Forget
11. I Love You Because
12. Harbor Lights
13. Blue Moon
14. Tomorrow Night
15. I'll Never Let You Go (Lil' Darlin')
16. Just Because
17. I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone (Slow Version)
18. Trying To Get To You
19. When It Rains It Pours [Edit]
20. My Happiness [Private Recording]
21. That's When Your Heartaches Begin [Private Recording]
22. I'll Never Stand In Your Way [Private Recording]
23. It Wouldn't Be The Same Without You [Private Recording]
24. I Love You Because [Alternate]
25. That's All Right [Alternate]
26. Blue Moon Of Kentucky [Alternate]
27. Blue Moon [Alternate]
28. I'll Never Let You Go (Lil' Darlin') [Alternate]
29. I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine [Alternate]
30. I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone (Slow Version) [Alternate]
31. Fool Fool Fool [Demo]
32. Shake, Rattle & Roll [Demo]

Review

I recently discovered that if you take Sunrise, leave off the live recordings at the end, & use the edited "master" version of "When It Rains It Pours" that was issued on Elvis At Sun, it all fits onto a single disc. Therefore, I propose to do just that, fitting all of Elvis's masters--& a sampling of alternate takes--onto one CD.

I like the Sunrise model of putting the 10 single sides upfront first (with "Mystery Train" appearing before "I Forgot To Remember To Forget"), followed by all of his other masters in chronological order, which in turn are followed by the private recordings & alternate takes that provide a sort of alternative history of the music. I also like Sunrise's cover, which I would also keep.

One thing I would change is the sound quality. Even as an iTunes download, Sunrise sounds kind of low & muffled & would benefit from a remaster to make it more along the lines of Elvis At Sun.

So basically, if you take the essence of Sunrise, edit it around a little, & make it sound like Elvis At Sun, you have a definitive single-disc set.

Until they figure out a new way to release A Boy From Tupelo on a larger scale--or simply discover new hereto-unknown pieces of the puzzle.

Saturday, March 14, 2015

The Elvis Anthology Problem.

The Elvis Anthology Problem is simple: There are too many great songs to fit onto a single disc.

Not that that's stopped anyone from trying--roughly once every decade.

What follows is a survey of Elvis's classic single-disc compilations, followed by a recommendation for a new one that I believe solves The Elvis Anthology Problem.

I also ranked the anthologies on the classic Rolling Stone/allmusic.com 5-star scale:

***** = Classic
**** = Great
*** = Good
** = Fair
* = Poor


Elvis' Golden Records [RCA, 1958] *****


The Concept: The archetypal "Greatest Hits Collection," capturing Elvis's most famous material before entering the Army.

The Tracklist:

Side A

1. Hound Dog
2. Loving You
3. All Shook Up
4. Heartbreak Hotel
5. Jailhouse Rock
6. Love Me
7. Too Much

Side B

1. Don't Be Cruel
2. That's When Your Heartaches Begin
3. (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear
4. Love Me Tender
5. Treat Me Nice
6. Any Way You Want Me (That's How I Will Be)
7. I Want You, I Need You, I Love You

The Verdict: It largely succeeds in its goal. Prior to entering the Army, Elvis released 8 major singles for RCA, all of which were essential building blocks for rock & roll:

"Heartbreak Hotel"/"I Was The One"
"I Want You, I Need You, I Love You"/"My Baby Left Me"
"Hound Dog"/"Don't Be Cruel"
"Love Me Tender"/"Any Way You Want Me"
"Too Much"/"Playing For Keeps"
 "All Shook Up"/"That's When Your Heartaches Begin"
"(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear"/"Loving You"
"Jailhouse Rock"/"Treat Me Nice"

One side of each hit #1 on the US Pop charts with the exception of "Hound Dog"/"Don't Be Cruel," where both sides hit #1.

A ninth single that was released just before he went into the Army--"Don't"/"I Beg Of You" in early 1958--was left off, presumably because it had yet to go golden. Also left off are the sides RCA created by reissuing the 12 tracks of his first album as 6 singles in the post-"Hound Dog"/"Don't Be Cruel" mad rush for Presley product. Finally, RCA omitted are both sides of an additional single released at the same time as the 6 album singles, "Shake, Rattle, & Roll"/"Lawdy Miss Clawdy," which was his only non-holiday single to EVER miss the charts in America in his lifetime from that point going forward. (All put together, it was the poorest release of singles until 1967, when Columbia Records released 5 Moby Grape singles simultaneously, killing the chances for any of them to hit.)

Of the 16 eligible sides above, RCA chose 13 of them to make an album, adding a 14th song--"Love Me"--that had previously been issued on an LP after it hit the Top 10 as the lead song an EP. Of the 3 songs that were left off--"I Was The One," "My Baby Left Me," & "Playing For Keeps"--only the latter deserved to be left off, especially when you consider that "That's When Your Heartaches Begin" made the cut, which is easily weaker than any of those sides. From a modern perspective, the most glaring exception was "Blue Suede Shoes," which is now considered among Elvis's signature songs. However, Elvis held back releasing the song as single so that his old Sun label-mate Carl Perkins could have a bigger hit with it; by the end of the year, Perkins' version hit #2 while Elvis's stalled at #20. (Still, that's a bigger hit than some of the material that did make the album, including "That's When Your Heartaches Begin.")

All that said, Elvis' Golden Records holds together well because of its killer material spread out over an excellent running order. Even though Elvis would have other hits--"Can't Help Falling In Love," "Suspicious Minds," "Burning Love," & many more--these are the ones that crystallized his career--as well as rock & roll as mainstream music. For those who agree with John Lennon that Elvis died when he went into the Army, this is the definitive collection. But most want a fuller picture.



Elvis: A Legendary Performer, Volume 1 [RCA, 1974] ****


The Concept: The Elvis Presley Story, in hits, history, & rarities.

The Tracklist:

Side A

1. That's All Right
2. I Love You Because [Take 2]
3. Heartbreak Hotel
4. Interview
5. Don't Be Cruel
6. Love Me [Live]
7. Trying To Get To You [Live]

Side B

1. Love Me Tender
2. Peace In The Valley
3. Elvis's Farewell To Fans 
4. (Now & Then There's) A Fool Such As I
5. Tonight's All Right For Love
6. Are You Lonesome Tonight [Live]
7. Can't Help Falling In Love

The Verdict: Although there would be 3 more volumes of "Golden Hits" in Elvis's lifetime, each covered a new span of time, except for the embarrassing fourth volume, which reached back to material from the third volume to fill its sides. The second & third volumes have their merits, but without the core pre-Army period represented, none can be considered a definitive stand-alone disc.

The first disc to try & capture the whole of Elvis's scope was A Legendary Performer, which appeared in the mid-'70s. By that point, Elvis had gotten back from the Army, lost his way in Hollywood, reemerged in "The '68 Comeback Special," & scored what would be his final monster hit, "Burning Love." It was also the first collection to ever mix his Sun & RCA material.

The collection begins with his first Sun hit, followed by a previously-unissued from his first professional recording session. It then goes to his national breakout hit, "Heartbreak Hotel," an interview clip where he assigns his success to luck, & then "Don't Be Cruel," which would become the biggest-selling single of its time. There's the title cut from his first film ("Love Me Tender"), his first gospel recording ("Peace In The Valley"), & then a clip from his farewell to fans before entering the Army. "(Now & Then There's) A Fool Such As I" captures his post-Army caricatured style, "Tonight's All Right For Love" is a bum movie track from his first post-Army film that had never been issued in the U.S., & "Can't Help Falling In Love" was the hit version of the song with which he closed his concerts.

The 3 live songs throughout (all then-previously unreleased) were taken from the legendary "sit-down" shows of "The '68 Comeback Special," finding him full of swagger, good humor, & hard-rocking defiance when he wanted to be. The remake of the old Sun recording that was originally issued on his first album, "Trying To Get To You," packed the most punch, as he seemed to be not just singing to a girl, but to his audience.

Rock historian Greil Marcus has famously championed this now out-of-print set, explaining: "On this album, Elvis's career makes sense, it has shape. You can hear the artist grow, the god fail, the King return, the main endure & change." Based on my vinyl copy, I would have to agree, although I would want to add "Suspicious Minds" & "Burning Love" to the running order, just to see it through the post-comeback recordings & the 1970s.

Using the original Legendary Performer as a template, RCA could issue a killer expanded version on CD--& given all the stuff they have reissued over the years, it's kind of shocking that they haven't.


Pure Gold [RCA Camden, 1975] **



The Concept: One budget collection worth of pure gold from The King Of Rock & Roll.

The Tracklist:

Side A

1. Kentucky Rain
2. Fever
3. It's Impossible
4. Jailhouse Rock
5. Don't Be Cruel

Side B

1. I Got A Woman
2. All Shook Up
3. Loving You
4. In The Ghetto
5. Love Me Tender

The Verdict: Someone once claimed that all of Elvis's most important music could be summed up on a 45-minute album. If that's the case, Pure Gold could be an interesting test case. Unlike other budget collections that spanned a time period or theme, Pure Gold is seemingly an attempt at just that, a collection of Elvis's very best songs.

What makes it so fascinating is how close it is to succeeding in its apparent goal. It is one of very few collections of Elvis's lifetime to span every decade he recorded in, & seemingly begin to tell a complete story. Yet, for every spot-on choice ("Jailhouse Rock," "Don't Be Cruel," "All Shook Up," "Love Me Tender") there's another excellent but off-the-mark choice ("I Got A Woman," "Fever") & one that is simply off-the-mark altogether ("It's Impossible," perhaps included as a comment on trying to make a 10-song collection of Elvis's pure gold?). If half of these songs were replaced with more appropriate fare--say, "Can't Help Falling In Love," "Suspicious Minds," & "Burning Love"--we'd be onto something. But as it is now, it is like so many other Elvis budget collections: Half-baked & poorly executed, with a tacky cover.

Still, the compilers get points for bravely putting a real slice of pure gold up top that would've been on few people's shortlist in 1975: "Kentucky Rain." Despite this, Pure Gold is a testament to what might have been, as opposed to a success in & of itself.


The Number One Hits [RCA, 1987] ***


The Concept: Every #1 Hit by The King Of Rock & Roll!

The Tracklist:

1. Heartbreak Hotel
2. I Want You, I Need You, I Love You
3. Hound Dog
4. Don't Be Cruel
5. Love Me Tender
6. Too Much
7. All Shook Up
8. (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear
9. Jailhouse Rock
10. Don't
11. Hard Headed Woman
12. A Big Hunk O' Love
13. Stuck On You
14. It's Now Or Never
15. Are You Lonesome Tonight?
16. Surrender
17. Good Luck Charm
18. Suspicious Minds

The Verdict: To mark the 10th anniversary of Elvis's death, RCA Records did their first serious reissues of his material, which is to say that it marked the first time that they issued CD collections that could rival anything on vinyl. They updated the legendary Sun Sessions LP set as The Sun Sessions CD, marking the first time that every single Elvis Sun master appeared on a single disc, along with nearly all the existing outtakes. They issued his post-"Comeback" 1969 recordings as The Memphis Record, collecting the complete From Elvis In Memphis, along with major sides & highlights from the follow-up album that also came from the same sessions. & to cover the entire scope of the RCA years, they issued the stellar 2-disc Top Ten Hits, which simply contained all every U.S. song to make the Top 10. The set made itself. Elvis had 38 Top 10 U.S. hits, with 19 from the '50s & 19 from the '60s & '70s. Even with no Sun material, it remains the definitive place to collect his hits.

For those who didn't want to shell out the big bucks for the Top Ten Hits double CD, RCA issued The Number One Hits, which in theory should've assembled itself as successfully as the Top Ten Hits. Only it didn't.

The set begins admirably, near-flawlessly, losing its way where Elvis did: In the Hollywood years after his post-Army hits. Case in point: No "Can't Help Falling In Love"?! No "Return To Sender"?! No "Burning Love"?! No, sorry, they all peaked at #2. Then how did they get on the more familiar modern #1 hits CD?! Different criteria, as we shall soon see.

As for the original Number One Hits discussed here, it remains little more than a historical curiosity of the first CD age.


Elvis: The Great Performances [RCA, 1990] ****


The Concept: A soundtrack to the video of the same name, as well as the place to release the then-recently-discovered 1953 performance of "My Happiness," Elvis's earliest recording.

The Tracklist:

1. My Happiness
2. That's All Right
3. Shake, Rattle & Roll/Flip, Flop & Fly [Live]
4. Heartbreak Hotel
5. Blue Suede Shoes
6. Ready Teddy [Live]
7. Don't Be Cruel
8. (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear
9. Got A Lot Of Livin' To Do!
10. Jailhouse Rock
11. Treat Me Nice
12. King Creole
13. Trouble
14. Fame & Fortune
15. Return To Sender
16. Always On My Mind
17. An American Trilogy [Live]
18. If I Can Dream
19. Unchained Melody
20. Memories

The Verdict: A Legendary Performer for the CD age. For the first (& perhaps only) time, RCA released a single CD of hits & history that told the whole story of Elvis, from the debut of his earliest recording in 1953 (the fascinating "My Happiness") to the last great stage performance before his death in 1977 (an undubbed "Unchained Melody"). Along the way, we get Sun ("That's All Right"), early TV exposure ("Shake, Rattle & Roll" from his first TV appearance), the iconic '50s tracks ("Heartbreak Hotel," "Don't Be Cruel," "Jailhouse Rock"), a taste of The King live at his peak (a ferocious "Ready Teddy" that scorches the studio version), the Army-era releases ("Trouble"), the post-Army return to form (the criminally underrated & almost always forgotten B-side "Fame & Fortune," which is as fine as anything on Elvis Is Back!), Hollywood ("Return To Sender"), Comeback ("If I Can Dream"), his most celebrated '70s recording ("Always On My Mind"), & a choice cut from the Aloha In Hawaii concert (a version of "An American Trilogy" that for my money trumps the original). & then, just for sentimental value, they end the whole thing with the theme of "The '68 Comeback Special," "Memories."

All that is missing from A Legendary Performer are the sit-down performances from "The '68 Comeback Special," but with some choice '70s material included, The Great Performances is its own masterful overview.

Now long out-of-print, & like A Legendary Performer, a remastered & expanded version would be a welcome addition to Elvis's catalog.

& it even includes "Blue Suede Shoes."


The Essential Collection [RCA/BMG, 1994] ****


The Concept: The first single-disc collection to capture the potential (read: length) of the CD age.

The Tracklist:

1. Heartbreak Hotel
2. Blue Suede Shoes
3. Hound Dog
4. Don't Be Cruel
5. Love Me Tender
6. All Shook Up
7. (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear
8. Jailhouse Rock
9. King Creole
10. The Girl Of My Best Friend
11. It's Now Or Never
12. Are You Lonesome Tonight?
13. Wooden Heart
14. (Marie's The Name) His Latest Flame
15. Can't Help Falling In Love
16. Good Luck Charm
17. She's Not You
18. Return To Sender
19. (You're The) Devil In Disguise
20. Crying In The Chapel
21. In The Ghetto
22. Suspicious Minds
23. The Wonder Of You
24. I Just Can't Help Believin'
25. An American Trilogy
26. Burning Love
27. Always On My Mind
28. Moody Blue

The Verdict: A near-great miss, marred by the lack of any Sun material & a song list that contains a few songs that are classic, but not necessarily worthy of a single-disc anthology ("King Creole," "She's Not You"), plus some genuine head-scratchers ("The Girl Of My Best Friend" & "Wooden Heart"). The answer seems to lie in the fact that this was distributed by BMG, a British label. In England, all of these songs were big hits, with "King Creole" & "The Girl Of My Best Friend" both reaching #2 & "She's Not You" & "Wooden Heart" both reaching #1. (Even more mind-staggering is that the latter stayed at #1 for 6 weeks, marking a rare time that an American song was atop the UK charts that never charted on its native soil.)

Still, The Essential Collection gets a lot of things right: It is the first includes "Blue Suede Shoes" among the early hits, it contains "Burning Love," & rescues the soon-to-be-considered-essential "Always On My Mind" from bargain-bin obscurity (especially in the U.S., where it was only issued as a non-hit B-side). Such tracks would soon be the cornerstones of Elvis single-disc compilations.

For this one though, it has since gone long out-of-print; like The Number One Hits it has been eclipsed by a similarly-titled, better-selling collection (in this case, the double-disc The Essential Elvis Presley).



The Best Of The Artist Of The Century [RCA, 2000] ***


The Concept: A one-disc overview of The Greatest Artist Of The 20th Century, culled from a larger 3-disc boxed set.

The Tracklist:

1. That's All Right
2. Baby, Let's Play House
3. Heartbreak Hotel
4. Hound Dog
5. Don't Be Cruel
6. All Shook Up
7. One Night
8. Jailhouse Rock
9. Trouble
10. It's Now Or Never
11. Are You Lonesome Tonight?
12. Reconsider Baby
13. Can't Help Falling In Love
14. Little Sister
15. Return To Sender
16. (You're The) Devil In Disguise
17. It Hurts Me
18. Big Boss Man
19. In The Ghetto
20. Suspicious Minds
21. Only The Strong Survive
22. Polk Salad Annie
23. An American Trilogy
24. Burning Love
25. Always On My Mind

The Verdict: Overall, a very strong set that functions better than the fuller 3-disc version. Nearly all of the essentials are here--"Blue Suede Shoes" is the only glaring exception--& it brings in the Sun material for the first time in the CD era. I would've liked to see hits like "Stuck On You" & "Good Luck Charm" as well as Elvis classics like "Viva Las Vegas" & "If I Can Dream" for a little color, especially over the likes of "Trouble," "Little Sister," & "It Hurts Me," all of which are great but not single-disc great. I also would've chosen "Guitar Man" over Big Boss Man" to represent his pre-Comeback hits. Finally, I think it could've benefited from even more Sun material, but as it is, "That's All Right" & "Baby, Let's Play House" are hard to argue with. This set also marks the late-period resurgence of "Polk Salad Annie" as one of Elvis's essential songs, although I've never really heard it as such. Still, this is the kind of album that plays very well through, with the missing elements unrealized until after it's over.


ELV1S: 30 #1 Hits [RCA, 2002] ****1/2


The Concept: All of Elvis's #1 hits (for real this time)!

The Tracklist:

1. Heartbreak Hotel
2. Don't Be Cruel
3. Hound Dog
4. Love Me Tender
5. Too Much
6. All Shook Up
7. (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear
8. Jailhouse Rock
9. Don't
10. Hard Headed Woman
11. One Night
12. (Now & Then There's) A Fool Such As I
13. A Big Hunk O' Love
14. Stuck On You
15. It's Now Or Never
16. Are You Lonesome Tonight?
17. Wooden Heart
18. Surrender
19. (Marie's The Name) His Latest Flame
20. Can't Help Falling In Love
21. Good Luck Charm
22. She's Not You
23. Return To Sender
24. (You're The) Devil In Disguise
25. Crying In The Chapel
26. In The Ghetto
27. Suspicious Minds
28. The Wonder Of You
29. Burning Love
30. Way Down
31. A Little Less Conversation (JXL Radio Edit Remix)

The Verdict: A stone-cold classic for 99% of the people out there, but another near-miss for me.

Coming on the heels of The Beatles' epic (both in music & sales) 1, which collected 27 of The Beatles's #1 US & UK singles (well, technically "Something" only hit #4 in the US because of the ability for the opposite sides of a single to chart, or you'd have to include "Strawberry Fields Forever," the flip of the US #1 "Penny Lane" that was left off, but I digress), which led the Elvis camp to get defensive: "Well, Elvis had more #1 hits than The Beatles, if we're including US & UK charts!" The result is Elvis's biggest modern collection, & his first #1 US Album since Aloha From Hawaii back in 1973.

But from the moment this hit the stores, I had a major issue with it: Where is "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You," which is the only song from 1987's The Number One Hits to not be included here?

The answer, it seems, originates with the Billboard Charts. Until 1958, Billboard had 3 singles charts: Top Sellers In Stores, Most Played By Jockeys, & Top 100 Pop Singles. In August of that year, Billboard consolidated these lists into a single Popular Singles chart. Retroactively, the Top 100 Pop Singles became the default chart in the modern age. "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You," Elvis's second single of 1956, hit #1 on the Top Sellers In Store chart, but only #3 on the Top 100 Pop Singles chart. The original Number One Hits compilation seemed to treat the 3 pre-1958 Billboard charts equally--that is, a #1 on any of those charts is a #1, period. By the time 30 #1 Hits was released, only the Top 100 Pop Singles was considered a "real" #1. This, combined with the relatively low critical opinion of "I Want You, I Need You, I Want You," allowed the song to slip by unnoticed.

& yet, "Too Much" & "Hard Headed Woman" are included on the disc as American #1s, but the Top 100 Pop singles had them ranked at #2 each. However, both were #1 on the Top Sellers chart (like "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You"), as well as "Hard Headed Woman" hitting #1 for Airplay.

All of which to say that "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You" should've been included on the album. Maybe I'm just a sucker for the song--I think it's great & one of his truly essential performances--& the fact that it made to #1 on the Top Sellers should allow it to be on this collection. In fact, I'd include it long before "A Little Less Conversation" (which technically isn't a true Elvis song).

Furthermore, it wouldn't be the only corner cut to get a song onto the CD. "Burning Love" was never a #1 hit in the US or the UK--but it hit #1 on the now-defunct Billboard rival Cashbox, so the producers of this set decided close enough. It's a corner I don't mind cutting because "Burning Love" is a great song & should be included on a major anthology such as this. (Ironically, the song was kept from the top spot in the US by another '50s rocker's comeback hit, Chuck Berry's dreadful one-joke novelty "My Ding-A-Ling.")

Finally, while we're on the subject of perfecting this set, I'd also switch the order such that "Hound Dog" appears before "Don't Be Cruel." So there you go--take off the rexmixed "A Little Less Conversation," pop in "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You" as the second cut, & follow it with "Hound Dog" & "Don't Be Cruel." Leave the rest & you'd have a CD that I could wholeheartedly endorse like every seems to do the current imperfect version.



Elvis 75 [RCA/Legacy, 2010] ****


The Concept: A single-disc career overview, culled from the 4-disc Elvis 75: Good Rockin' Tonight boxed set, which features all sides of his career (i.e., rock, blues, country, gospel, live, etc.).

The Tracklist:

1. That's All Right
2. I Forgot To Remember To Forget
3. Heartbreak Hotel
4. Blue Suede Shoes
5. Hound Dog
6. Don't Be Cruel
7. Love Me Tender
8. Love Me
9. All Shook Up
10. Jailhouse Rock
11. Trouble
12. It's Now Or Never
13. Are You Lonesome Tonight?
14. Little Sister
15. Can't Help Falling In Love
16. Viva Las Vegas
17. How Great Thou Art
18. Guitar Man
19. If I Can Dream
20. In The Ghetto
21. Suspicious Minds
22. Polk Salad Annie
23. An American Trilogy
24. Burning Love
25. Always On My Mind

The Verdict: Much like The Best Of The Artist Of The Century, Elvis 75 serves its purpose well, especially in its efforts to portray the artist from all sides. Hence a song like "How Great Thou Art" is here, for while it was never a hit, it is generally considered Elvis's finest gospel performance. Songs like "Blue Suede Shoes," "Viva Las Vegas," & "If I Can Dream" are all welcome editions, even among the stubborn "Polk Salad Annie." (I know, this was probably justified by the want of a "live" track, but I'd go with "The Wonder Of You," which couldn't have made this set because it was astonishingly left off of the main boxed set; that said, "If I Can Dream" was also recorded in front of a live audience).



So those are the anthologies. This is my recommendation to solve The Elvis Anthology Problem:

Elvis 80: The Definitive Collection *****


Concept: The definitive single-disc anthology of Elvis Presley to celebrate his 80th year.

1. That's All Right
2. Good Rockin' Tonight
3. Baby, Let's Play House
4. Mystery Train
5. Heartbreak Hotel
6. Blue Suede Shoes
7. I Want You, I Need You, I Love You
8. Hound Dog
9. Don't Be Cruel
10. Love Me Tender
11. All Shook Up
12. (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear
13. Jailhouse Rock
14. One Night
15. Stuck On You
16. It's Now Or Never
17. Are You Lonesome Tonight?
18. Can't Help Falling In Love
19. Good Luck Charm
20. Return To Sender
21. Crying In The Chapel
22. Guitar Man
23. If I Can Dream
24. In The Ghetto
25. Suspicious Minds
26. Kentucky Rain
27. The Wonder Of You
28. Burning Love
29. Always On My Mind
30. Promised Land

Verdict: It's perfect (obviously).

Here's why:

1. It has more Sun recordings than any of the others. Elvis's Sun sides stand as nearly as influential as his early RCA sides, yet, few of the RCA collections (begrudgingly?) include them. Here, I went for his 4 essential Sun A-sides: "That's All Right," "Good Rockin' Tonight," "Baby, Let's Play House," & "Mystery Train."

2. It has more classic hits than the other "overview" collections. If you're making an anthology of someone like Bob Dylan or Bruce Springsteen, hits can become a relative term, as their biggest chart hits don't always line up with their definitive material. Elvis is a rare exception. Because he was first, virtually every major Elvis hit was a great & important record. Most collections leave off singles like "Stuck On You" & "Good Luck Charm," even though they are both not only major hits but some of the best Elvis songs of their time.

3. If you play your cards right, the hits do cover the range. Elvis 75 sought to show all sides of Elvis, but using the hits above, you can get that without including distracting fare like "Polk Salad Annie." This collection has rock ("Jailhouse Rock"), country ("Always On My Mind"), blues ("Hound Dog"), gospel ("Crying In The Chapel"), & live ("The Wonder Of You"), without any pandering.

4. The scope is kept intact. Like the old Legendary Performer LP, this album paints a complete picture of Elvis's career: The revolutionary Sun sides ("That's All Right"), the early RCA hits ("Heartbreak Hotel"), the post-Army resurgence ("It's Now Or Never"), the Hollywood decline ("Return To Sender"), the great comeback ("If I Can Dream"), the revelatory post-Comeback sessions ("Suspicious Minds"), the early Vegas era ("The Wonder Of You"), the final smash ("Burning Love"), & brings it all home with one last song ("Promised Land") that was his final truly essential recording.

So there you have it. The next time RCA (or whatever conglomerate they're now associated with) needs a perfect tracklist for a perfect Elvis album, look no further than here.

Just be sure to give me some credit--& an advance promo copy.

Thankyouverymuch.