From Elvis In Memphis

I've come to the conclusion that I really hate Elvis.

Late era Elvis...by this time, he sounds less like a guttural, saucy rockstar and more like a Vegas pop performer. That doesn't mean the music is bad, but it sounds like the kind of music that an audience at a bar would half-listen to while ordering drinks not realizing that it's really good. The talent is still there and the lyrics are more mature than older Elvis music, but he's missing a lot of the grit and energy. Maybe Hollywood or the war took it out of him. Maybe this is just over-produced. Regardless, I did like a lot of tracks on the back end, enough for me to adjust to the style and realize this is still a great album, even if it's not what I was expecting. "In the Ghetto" and "Suspicious Minds" are more than worth the price of admission. Favorite tracks: Suspicious Minds, In the Ghetto, True Love Travels on a Gravel Road, After Loving You. Album art: I like the picture, especially with what I hope is thousands of Elvis impersonators in the background. But you can tell from his outfit that this is the dawn of a new age of Elvis. He's got that ascot/scarf on, maybe a streak of grey in his hair--this is the beginning of Elvis the aging Vegas performer. 4/5

Look how fit he is on that cover JESUS CHRIST. Production so crisp, like what? Is that Cello on 'In the Ghetto'? Chelloooo we got a bass. I can't tell you how long I've been looking for a good Elvis collection. Insane.

I get that Elvis was highly influential and popular back in his day, but not in 1969. Take a look at the list of albums released in 69, 68, 67.. Surely there are other, earlier works from him that are more essential. These songs are fine, but 1001 albums you must listen to should set the bar a bit higher than 'fine'. In 1969 Moondog released his highly acclaimed self-titled album of experimental jazz/classical and minimalist fusion. It's avant-garde, spacey, yet strangely accessible. More importantly it's significantly different from anything else on this list. Moondog is not on this list. Go listen to Moondog instead. There are 2 other better Elvis albums on here anyway.

Please give me early Elvis! The hungry, innovative, inspired, edgy, bluesy Elvis. The Sun Records Elvis. I can listen to THAT all day long! Not this! Uninspired, bloated, saccharine, sappy...those God-awful, elevator-music strings...mind-numbing horns....Hollywood orchestra chorus. I'm sorry, but this is just vapid and insipid....the beginnings of Elvis's eventual movement towards the sad parody of himself that he would ultimately become at the end. Don't despair, though....go listen to the good stuff. There's plenty of it! This is NOT it. 1/5

Elvis has been one of the most surprising things I've learned from the list so far. Once you get past the hype and the stagecraft, his albums are truly dreadful. He slurs and lurches through this one, sounding just like the tuneless, aging barflies I've heard.imitate him a thousand times. No amount of hammy howling can give these songs any soul and his lyrics die the moment they leave his ludicrously curled lips. Music for annoying drunks.

6 AM Shower Thought: “Elvis In Chains” - Alice In Chains songs performed in the style of Elvis Presley or maybe vice versa. I was thinking ‘68 comeback special-era Elvis, but it’s open to interpretation. Feel free to use this idea as your own….You’re welcome. In fact, here’s a freebie to get you started: 🎶We can’t go on together, in this Jar of Flies🎶

This is my favourite Elvis album

2 lots of Elvis in a week eh. Weirdly (maybe), much preferred this to the debut that I listened to previously. Yes, by this stage he's very much the veteran crooner but Suspicious Minds people, SUSPICIOUS MINDS.

Other than Suspicious minds and In the ghetto, this is just standard Elvis country music filler. He's going through the motions, but there's nothing there of any interest.

For me it's interesting to read the reviews on this site because – in my opinion – in the UK we get a very culturally different musical exposure compared with our US cousins. Some reviews of this album talk about how generic it sounds: it's described as "standard Elvis country music filler", "the kind of music that an audience at a bar would half-listen to". But in the UK we don't hear this music a lot, I don't think. Right now I'm in central London, surrounded by thousands of pubs and bars, but I don't know a single one I could walk into right now to be sure to hear music in this genre. So to me this music isn't cliched. It's exciting and other-worldly. It talks of a different place, of 70s America, of red vinyl seats and long bars and moustaches, Levis and Cadillacs. This is a dream album of a dream land I will never truly understand but can see a window into via beautiful songs like "Gentle on my Mind", "Only the Strong Survive", "Any Day Now", "Wearin' that Loved on Look" and of course "Suspicious Minds". So yes: Elvis is still king. Maybe his earlier stuff was fresher and more exciting. But my goodness this is incredible.

omg actual good music i am having such a pleasant time ☺️☺️ ok i literally love this also wearin that loved on look is code for fucked-out face, right? RIGHT?!?!? THIS WAS SO GOOD elvis slaps idgaf

I love this project because of how much it shows off certain artists and how they are up my alley. Elvis is a perfect example of this. His voice is incredible and there is a reason he is called the King. Album starts strong even with lesser known longs. Middle gets a bit tiring, but Suspicious Minds is incredible. Side note: One of my first CDs was the Lilo and Stitch soundtrack which is half Elvis!

Elvis is on fire here. I had heard some songs off this album before but holy smokes I liked this record. His voice is fried but it suits the songs that he is singing very well. The playing on this album is insane for an Elvis record. The focus is supposed to be on him but I couldn’t help but wander to the bass and guitar parts holding it together. This is an incredible Elvis record and I liked it a lot. Favorite song: Suspicious Minds Least favorite song: Daddy Don’t Cry

I know it's cliche, but I really do love Elvis. What a voice. Great songwriting. One of my favorites is 'Suspicious Minds.' Underrated musician and guitarist. And I'm a sucker for the Hagstrom guitar he's holding in the album cover photo. So freaking cool!

love how he aligns the drummer against "I said Ill hold you in my heart..." at the start cool album - love Elvis!

It's the king! Elvis has always been a part of my life, so much so I was almost named Elvis. My dad is a huge fan and I became one very quickly at a young age. This was a fantastic album with a few classics like In the Ghetto and Suspicious Minds but I found a few other gems like Wearin' That Loved On Look and True Love Travels On a Gravel Road. I thought this would be a live album but it didn't seem so despite what the title and cover show. I hope we get more Elvis because I can always listen to him.

Not a fan of some of the crooning which hasn't aged well but the more upbeat stuff is 🔥

elvis? more like “shelve this” album. I got bored.

An Elvis relic rather than a rock 'n' roll one. And one that's only good enough. No more, no less.

I think I need to reappraise Elvis. I’ve written him off for a few years for being derivative. This album really reopened my eyes to what Elvis can be. Beautiful, emotive music gospel/soul really fits Elvis. And when you’re the world’s most famous musician of the time, you can afford to hire unbelievable musicians and engineers. Good stuff.

excelente album, nunca habia escuchado en profundidad su música pero a raíz de este disco creo que voy a comenzar a interiorizarme un poco más..

Great performance, lots of emotion with epic buildups.

Very good listen

Great album.... Elvis was so young...

i get why elvis was so big now. great old 50s style funky organ classic old rock. enjoyed alot

Fantastic

Surprisingly great album and think it's strong all around. In the Ghetto and Suspicious Minds are most popular song but others are great too. 9/10.

Awesome.

Classic

I ain't never heard a song from this album before, and boy was I a fool for that. I thought that much of Elvis' discography was like "Hound Dog" - early rock n roll. But clearly Elvis was much more diverse, branching into blues and Western like I never imagined. This album has songs that I feel are the natural evolution of the narrators from Robbins' "Gunfighter Ballads", and I love it for that. I think it will be my next on my record hunt...

Fantastic album. Was trying to choose favourite songs, but they were all brilliant. Southern soul sound. FSs: (All), Suspicious Minds, In The Ghetto, Long Black Limousine, Only The Strong Survive, True Love Travels On a Gravel Road

Like most of Elvis' oeuvre, this has peaks and troughs, but because it's Elvis, on this album the troughs are still higher than many artists peaks.

Never been an Elvis fan. This was not something I’d choose to listen to again.

It’s been a hot minute since I reviewed an Elvis album, but here in the closing days of my 1001 albums journey is his last album from the list. I’ll mention once again that while I appreciate Elvis as the cultural behemoth that he was, his music is fine. Looking at the track listing for this album, I’m only familiar with “In the Ghetto,” so the majority of this album will be completely new to me. I’m interested at what I’m going to hear from the later portion of Elvis’s career. I’m really surprised to say this, but I thought this album was excellent. I really loved the way the songs on this album were arranged, and I thought Elvis’s vocals were outstanding. Elvis didn’t have the wailing power on this album that he did earlier in his career, but I thought there was a sadness and exhaustion in his voice that just pushed the emotion of this album up to some really incredible heights. I don’t know if that was intentional on his part, or if that was just a byproduct of how Elvis’s life shook out, but either way, I loved it. Musically, I thought this album was excellent as well. There was great guitar playing, outstanding bass grooves, seductive backing vocals, and excellent Hammon organ playing. The horn and string arrangements were great too, adding a melodramatic flair to these songs in the best way possible. Not every song on here was a winner, but the best songs on this album really soared (and they far outnumbered the ho-hum songs). Some notes on the individual songs: As soon as “Wearin’ That Loved On Look” started, I realized that I’ve never heard Elvis singing like this before. I loved the bass and the organ, and the backing vocals too. I loved the weariness to Elvis’s voice; he still had that southern way of singing, but he sounded exhausted and weary, and I think it worked really well. “Only the Strong Survive” was great. I loved how Elvis channeled his weariness into this song, despite the upbeat message and sound. Those strings and backing vocals were excellent. “Long Black Limousine” was really fantastic, and possibly my favorite song on the album. I loved the bass groove, and the horns were good too. The horns were subtle, along with the organ, but I liked what they added to the song. These lyrics would certainly turn out to be eerily prophetic for Elvis. There was a ton of emotion in this song, and it worked really well. I liked the gentle pedal steel on “I’m Movin On.” The gentle piano and horns were excellent too. The guitar and bass groove were great as well, and I loved it when this song kicked up in intensity towards the end. The horns on “Power of My Love” were excellent, and I loved how Elvis sang this song. The way he sang those ‘crush it, kick it’ lyrics at the beginning of each verse was so powerful, and there was just so much emotion in the vocals. The backing vocals really punched things up too. The Hammond organ on “Gentle On My Mind” was awesome, and the strings were great too. “Any Day Now” was excellent. I loved the sweeping strings, the bass playing, and the vocals. “In the Ghetto” was outstanding. Elvis’s voice is perfect for the storytelling of this song, and I thought the music did a great job of complimenting this song’s sad message. From Elvis in Memphis is easily my favorite Elvis album on this list, and I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed it. This album was great from start to finish, and I’d easily listen to it again.

Breaking free, that's what this sounds like. There is a pain and joy in his voice as he belts out these tunes. Big fan, the GOAT

The return of The King!! Fabulous follow up album to the comeback tour. Top notch backing band and singers and some real blue eyed soul belters. Great Muscle Shoals production - Suspicious Minds and In The Ghetto never get old. 5*

halfway through the album with most of the songs already saved to favorites. i appreciate the many different themes such as life and death, love and loss, poverty, distrust. huge fan of the musical aspects too. impeccable record.

Elvis is so goated this album is great

His performance is so strong across the album I feel i have to give a perfect score. There might not be a standout song on the original tracklist, (with the exception of In the Ghetto), but the vibes are so immaculate throughout. Plus I listened to the extended edition with Suspicious Minds on, which is his best song. This has to be his most essential album in terms of quality. 5 Stars.

If Elvis Presley’s 1956 debut announced a revolution, this is its apotheosis and his magnum opus. After a decade lost to Hollywood gloss and commercial drift, Elvis returned to the booth in Memphis not as an icon, but as a pilgrim seeking the soul he’d traded away. What emerged was alchemy: the grit of the Mississippi fused with gospel’s ache and country’s naked storytelling. Here, he confronts the full weight of living and channels it into the most mature work of his career. “Only the Strong Survive” and “Mama Liked the Roses” are hymns for the woman who never got to see what her boy became. “Suspicious Minds” is a desperate anthem of love’s last stand, perhaps a plea to his partner of ten years, Priscilla. “In the Ghetto” resurrects the poor Tupelo boy he once was. "Don't Cry Daddy" is sung with the gravitas only a father could muster. “Power of My Love” burns with the urgency of flesh that still remembers its divinity. And “Kentucky Rain” turns a simple story into scripture. Even the cover, that crimson field with Elvis framed in silhouette, reads like iconography. The King poised between eras: the young revolutionary and the weary monarch, framed in a color that evokes passion, danger, and rebirth. Nothing that followed would match this. The Vegas years would gild and distort him, the machinery of fame and addiction grinding down what once was sacred. But here, in this record, Elvis stands at the summit. Rooted. Radiant. Mortal. And finally, home.

I opened the review section before writing mine a little while ago, and boy, that was a big mistake! It's full of Elvis widows from Sun Records in that section. Others, however, consider From Elvis In Memphis to be a rebirth of Elvis, who after spending most of the 60s without presenting very creative things in his albums, releasing albums without originality, and films that were as repetitive and silly as their soundtracks, reemerged bringing the good old Elvis of always, but this time much more mature, and with much more country and even Motown influences. His voice is much more mature, and the production is impeccable. I read some idiots say that the album was overproduced. But in truth, that's how every Elvis album should sound! There are some excellent and very talented musicians playing on this album. Can you imagine what Elvis' work in the 50s would have sounded like if those songs had this quality of production? All this, added to the presence of the anthological song Suspicious Mind, one of the high points of Elvis' career! Anyway, I can't think of any other rating other than 5 stars!

I like early Elvis and I like late Elvis and what I love about this album is that it's the beginning of late Elvis when he sort of reinvents himself after his contracts with film companies are over. He goes to Memphis and records this album and I really enjoy the mix of vintage country, blues, honky tonk, and old skool rock n roll all done in a way that gives me some sort of 1970's trucker vibe. I love this album for it's excesses and pure Elvisness. So many people impersonate Elvis. This is Elvis impersonating himself. Giving it all he's got and going in a more passionate direction with his music. Note that Suspicious Minds, Kentucky Rain, and Mama Liked the Roses were NOT on the original album or else I would've given this a 5. Still plenty of other good ones to make it a 4 for me. Also with regard to Elvis not writing any of the songs that he sings... there's a lot to discuss about all that, but I found the following to be especially interesting regarding the "art of an album": "the rock genre itself has an authenticity fetish that developed after major acts of the 60s came along like The Beatles, The Beach Boys and Bob Dylan, who all did a mix of both covers & original material. Rock fans who consider themselves gatekeepers of the genre especially got it in their head that if a rock act didn't write their own songs then they were somehow inferior, less noteworthy or insincere. Elvis' own record company showed a clear lack of interest or respect for his recording material and Elvis's passion for performance in the recording studio clashed with his innate passivity when it came to business dealings like putting together an album. While other artists recognized albums as art forms unto themselves, Elvis came into the industry in an era when singles & EPs were more important and LPs were more of a collection of songs. Record albums used to literally be like photo albums of 4-5 78rpm records with one song apiece on each side.'

From Elvis in Memphis That opening track is great, I love the older, more worn tone to his voice and the excellent reverbed backing vocals, twangy guitar, organ, piano, and the fantastic bass. I don’t think I’d heard of Tommy Cogbill, which seems a bit crazy when I read about the songs he’s played on and how people regarded him. And that makes sense as the bass on the whole album is absolutely superb, sitting brilliantly in the space between soul, country and gospel, sometimes busy like on I’m Movin On and Power of My Love, sometimes back in the pocket as on True Love Travels on a Gravel Road, but always with a great tone and melodicism. Despite the bass, and the superb playing in general, in terms of songs and overall tone it is a little inconsistent. Wearin’ That Loved On Look, Only the Strong Survive, Long Black Limousine, I’m Movin’ On and In the Ghetto all work brilliantly, and the version of Gentle on My Mind improves with every listen, and it gives a glimpse of what a fully excellent Elvis country soul album could be. But I’ll Hold You in My Heart, It Keeps Right On A Hurtin’, Power of My Love, After Loving You, Any Day Now seem a bit rote by comparison, never quite taking off or not being the right song choices. The early Elvis albums we had, although also a bit inconsistent, felt consequential. Looking back from 70 odd years their influence and importance is innate, whereas this doesn’t have that same sense. It’s a very good country soul pop album, with great playing and lovely tone to his distinctively great voice, but some of it has the slight feel of being knocked out as part of a recording contract. Even though reading about the album that doesn’t seem to be the case, but I do get the feeling that on a few of the songs, he came in, sang and left and never fully engaged. But maybe that’s unfair, especially in comparison to the approximate 347 soundtrack albums he knocked out in the years previously. But it is still very enjoyable and very listenable. It’s on the cusp of 3 and 4, but I will tip over to 4 for the superb bass and for the timbre of his voice. 👑👑👑👑 Playlist submission: Wearin’ That Loved on Look

Love the second half of this album

The mores, beliefs and underpinning cultural iconography of the United States are particularly mysterious and prominent right now for unfortunate reasons, and because I’ve been given a rainy weekend to listen to “From Elvis in Memphis”, a record I’ve owned but never spent much time with in the 21 years since I visited Presley’s grave by his swimming pool, I’m gnawing at what exactly is this thing. Bear with me here, Simon. Consensus deems “Suspicious Minds” part of this set, so we’re doing the bonus, deluxe, long black limousine version. This is intentionally a juggernaut product, the star manoeuvred by competing parties into slamming out a set of bangers to a crack band for maximum audience. Where the man himself sits in this is unknowable, as by this point he was the nexus of a teeming mass of hucksters, producers, hangers-on, quacks, chefs, cutthroats, pilots, god botherers, writers and musicians, warring to bring out the King’s essence, his ideal form, and sales allege that they were successful. How deliberate is the Gospel in his voice? He leans heavily into his church voice throughout, which gets weird when he gets sexy, and maybe that’s a hook. Apart from the Christianity, pop folklore is pumped through the subjects of the songs. The writers knew their stories, knew who they were writing for. “Wearin’ the loved on look” warns against signs of happiness in a beloved. “Only the strong will survive” tells you to listen to your mum and be ready to crush your lovers. In “I’ll hold you in my heart” the physical intimacy turns his voice rubbery, his words to nonsense, his assertions becoming mockery. Here comes God again on “True love travels on a gravel road” to declare that love, similar to happiness, is only valid through constant suffering. The Chicago of “I’m the Ghetto” is a Southerner’s nightmare of the multiracial metropolises of the North, yet this is the liberal song. “Suspicious Minds” is his best song and might be about paranoia, but he sings it as if he is singing about anything or nothing. The bass tattoos itself on memory, the whole band is a blast. Crucifix in one hand, willy in the other, shotguns aimed high in salute, an enormous sandwich stuffed in face: this is America.

I'm torn a bit on this - later period Elvis has the better songs when they're good (come at me, rockers), but also a ton of half-arsed cheese. This album is a good example, with some of the best and the worst of the Tennessee country/soul sound. "Suspicious Minds", "Kentucky Rain" and "In The Ghetto" drag it across the finish line

Elvis wasn't just the 50's Rock n' Roll artist that brought the genre to the masses, he also changed genres as he matured. This album sees him adapt into a Soul stlye featuring much less prominent guitar and much more soulful vocals combined with his usual Rock n' Roll, Country and R&B blend. It stands as a new chapter in his musical career as well as one of his best recieved and best known. The single only 'Suspicious Mind' became a classic single and helped the album (that didn't feature the song) to rise to even more sales. The album opens with 'Wearin' That Loved on Look' which perfectly showcases the way Elvis mixed the Soul Vocals with Country Pop music especially present with the guitar. The background singers add a theatrical feel and the bass really sticks out at times. It's a really good opening track with a lot of energy that still has a lot of the feeling that made Elvis' so loved in the first place. 'Only the Strong Survive' is a much more relaxed song that seems to convey raw and hurtful emotions in a true Country fashion but with even more Soul influence. It's a lovely track but it does take a little long to get to the point that I like the song which makes the first moments pretty boring even with the spoken word intro. The tenderness of the vocals is played even more with on 'I'll Hold You in My Heart (Till I Can Hold You in My Arms)', a song with a couple of really intricate vocal highlights but I overall don't really care for what is done both lyrically and musically. The songwriting is alright as some moments are really great but a lot of the "in between" feels a little left alone which really lowers the overall enjoyment of the song. It's okay but nothing special and songs in that style can be very effective but also easily f-ed up and turn out boring and uninspired. With its slow start 'Long Black Limousine' might feel like the last song all over again but as it builds up and adds more organ and backing vocals it gets better. It's not really a great song but it's good. A pretty passable song with a nice horn bridge and a delightful chorus and great ending. The legendary Country classic of 'It Keeps Right on A-Hurtin'' is presented in a pretty good way by Elvis. He definitely does the song justice. His performance and the songwriting are both really great. It's a definite highlight on the album. Just a very well made song. I think there are still many people that doubt that this is Country but if they still think that after hearing 'I'm Movin' On' I don't know how to help them. This is as Country Pop as Country Pop goes at least in a sound perspective because the song itself is pretty boring and slightly annoying after a while. The lead guitar is great but the rest feels kinda soulless at the start. It does pick up a little towards the end and that makes the song much better but that's mainly the outro, so overall it's still an average track. The albums second side starts with 'Power of My Love' in a very bluesy fashion. The guitar isn't the only highlight because everything this song does is very well made: the arrangements, the songwriting, the flow of it. It's a pretty great song. The Country returns with 'Gentle on My Mind' another sweet song that has a really longing and outcast feeling to it which I find very fitting with Country in general. The song feels very honest and pure in Elvis' hands and the strings here add so much. It's a geniuine song that really embodies the greatness of where Elvis was at that time. 'After Loving You' is sadly the opposite of that. It feels forced and not genuine and pure. I think it's jsut a pretty boring song with not much to it. It isn't bad and doesn't drag the album but it's nothing that I enjoy at any moment. I really like the guitar intro on 'True Love Travels on a Gravel Road' but once Elvis gets to the microphone the magic feels destroyed. And the whole song feels kind of ruined to me for some reason. It feels dull and unfinished. The performance and the songwriting both feel forced and emotionless. I don't like this song at all but it's not awful or anything. Luckily the album does pick up again with 'Any Day Now'. It's a beautiful song with some great strings and a really good performance on some really good songwriting. The bridge works great and if the song would've been a little rougher and rawer with its emotions it would have the potential to a perfect song. Like this, it's great. And to close the album, 'In the Ghetto', the albums best known song, closes it with a nocturnal and deeply emotional performance. It's lovely and easily a great song but it's the simplicity that really sets the song apart from the rest. It's different but it needed to be like that to work. It's a really good song but I just don't enjoy every moment of it, sadly. favourites: Gentle on My Mind, It Keeps Right on A-Hurtin', In the Ghetto, Wearin' That Loved on Look least favourites: True Love Travels on a Gravel Road, After Loving You, I'll Hold You in My Heart, I'm Movin' On Rating: light 7 https://rateyourmusic.com/~Emil_ph for more ratings, reviews and takes

Let’s fucking go Give me 45 minutes of Elvis any day of the week for this challenge and I’ll be a happy man. This started off hot and stayed there until near the end. The energy and enthusiasm Elvis still had for performing this late in his career is honestly really amazing. He carries each song as a true performer. Even in just audio, his energy carries over. Not a whole lot else to say. It’s Elvis. It’s the king. He’s the best. Only reason it doesn’t get five stars is because of the few clunkers present. Four stars. Standout Tracks: Westin’ That Loved On Look, I’ll Hold You in My Heart, Long Black Limousine, Power of My Love, Suspicious Minds

Groovy. Lower energy and more mature lyrics than some of Elvis's earlier work, but there's a soft-spoken introspection here that I really enjoy. The instrumentation isn't spectacular but it does its job, weaving tastefully between the vocal lines and creating a kind of jazz-blues feel. 4/5 Key tracks: In the Ghetto, Suspicious Minds, Wearin' That Loved On Look, True Love Travels On a Gravel Road

Honest.

Elvis has a special charisma to his voice few other ever obtained. He himself can transcend any song into greatness. However incredible the gospel sound Elvis has on here, the album sort of teeters off near the end until "In the Ghetto". The bonus tracks from the 1998 CD release (it adds the best song from the sessions, "Suspicious Minds" and 3 other great ones) would have brought this album to a 5 star, but judging off just the original release, I can't give it higher than a 4

6.7

Not one of Elvis's best efforts. Too bad he was not able to work with other artists and producers.

Elvis’ voice sounds great — the king stays the king. And “In the Ghetto” and “Suspicious Minds” are certified BANGERS. But the rest of it is forgettable.

Forgettable

Eric Cartman did "In The Ghetto" better. Favorite songs: Suspicious Minds, I'm Movin' On, Wearin' That Loved On Look, In the Ghetto Least favorite songs: I'll Hold You In My Heart (Till I Can Hold You In My Arms), It Keeps Right On-A Hurtin', Don't Cry Daddy, Mama Liked the Roses 3/5

Haven't listened to much Elvis before so I feel like this would require a few listens to really absorb and figure out what I like and how much I like it. Favourite: Don't Cry Daddy

It was nice.

A couple of great songs. A couple of good songs. The rest was just fine, I guess.

It was okay but nothing special. The chord progression on mos of the songs was very similar

Dated but good quality

typical Elvis Presley, was fine

Not my favorite of Elvis's Styles.

L'Eddy Mitchell américain nous prouve avec cet album qu'il peut assumer la comparaison et proposer un projet au moins tout aussi bon que ceux de son homologue.

Avant de démarrer la critique de cet album, il faut que je vous remette un peu de contexte. Il faut savoir qu'en plus du générateur des 1001 albums, j'ai crée 3 générateurs pirates, me proposant respectivement des albums de rap français, hard/punk rock, rnb/pop/chanson française. Dans le dernier cité, j'ai récemment découvert Elvis Presley, au cours d'un excellent album intitulé Today. C'est donc avec joie que je lançais cet album de Elvis Presley, m'attendant à aussi bien voir mieux, étant donné que Today n'avait pas été selectioné par Robert dans sa liste des 1001. Mais c'était mal connaître ce diable de Robert... Souvenez vous, Robert prend toujours soin de selectionner les albums les moins intéressants de chaque artiste. Face à cette nouvelle désillusion, j'ai décidé de partager mes générateurs pirates aux plus intéressés, plus d'informations à venir dans ma prochaine review d'Elvis Presley.

Elvis's return to music after his acting career feels a bit like an album out of time. It sticks closely to 50s soul and rock and roll and doesn't attempt any of the sounds of pop or rock that were big in 1969. This makes a lot of the material sounds a bit limp, with quite a few of these songs being slow and sleepy. But there's also some interesting stuff here. "Power of My Love" rocks pretty hard and "Gentle on My Mind" is almost funky. Both are relatively short though and don't feel like they reach their full potential. "In the Ghetto" has great lyrics and is probably the best vocal performance on the album. Outside of those songs there are some good hooks and moments, but no songs that are all that compelling. This feels like a bit of a step forward as an artist, but a fairly small one.

cartman did it better

Not a fan

Of course

Suspicious Minds might be the best song of all time, and everything else is ... I mean it's Elvis.

What can you say .. its Elvis! great album. I did a little research on this one and didnt realize this was another one of the turning points for him... for such a 50's rocker it sure showed he could bring his talent to a new era.

Still slaps. Crazy vocal range

[The following review was written October 2024, after I finished reading the 33⅓ book on this album. Some turns of phrase may have been taken from it. Otherwise, it's all my own thoughts. Only minor modifications have been made to this review, the day it was published.] 'From Elvis In Memphis' is freedom and potential. What I mean is, you hafta imagine Elvis recording this. He'd spent nearly a decade trapped in purgatory, having his dream of becoming a movie star cruelly perverted. He'd dreamed of becoming a serious, respected actor like James Dean — and, sure, early on, he **did** get to flex his chops. However, by the time '68 rolled around, it was a seemingly never-ending nightmare of making basically the same shitty, cash grab musical romcom over and over again. Sure, every now and then there was a 'Viva Las Vegas', but that was more the exception to something like, I'unno, 'Spinout' being the rule. Over and over again, the same tired, campy formula, like an Escher staircase down to Hell — and for what? Just so his label could sell shitty, cash grab soundtrack albums. It's so simple: the films promote the albums, the albums promote the films. You couldn't get a better deal than that. Too bad Elvis had to suffer through the ordeal of actually making them.  All the while, the 60's were happening. The British Invasion. The folk movement. Psychedelia. Vietnam. Woodstock. JFK's assassination. Any other 60's touchpoint you can think of. To quote the movie 'Walk Hard': "The 60's are an important and exciting time!" So much was going on in America, let alone the world — and what was Elvis doing? Sitting in the back of a truck and singing "Old MacDonald" for the camera. Having to star in all of these terrible movies was bad enough, but combined with missing a time like this, and you probably couldn't drive him any further off the edge. Besides the occasional bonus track, the only creative reprieve he managed to get during this period was a single gospel album — the music he loved that comforted him so much, which actually won him a Grammy — and then it was right back to singing to a bull to convince him to be fertile. Something had to change. Elvis couldn't be shackled here forever. In 1967, The Colonel proposed a Christmas special to NBC. Originally, it was planned to be a very formal affair where Elvis would sing shit like "Here Comes Santa Claus". However, very quickly, thanks to Bob Finkel and Steve Binder, it grew into something more — much more. After nearly a decade of stagnation, this would be a chance to remind everyone why Elvis was called The King in the first place. He'd get to play all his old hits, jam with his old band, dress in leather, sing gospel, do kung-fu... The whole works. One great, big show to pull Elvis out of the rut he'd been in. But there **was** a tinge of doubt. He **had** been away for a pretty long time. He hadn't performed live at **all* during his Hollywood days, and in the meantime he'd been stuck with material like "No Room To Rhumba In A Sports Car". Would he be able to recapture magic? Was it even still there anymore? It was Oh, lordy, it most certainly was. There's a reason, after all, why everyone remembers this as the '68 Comeback Special and not 'Singer Presents... Elvis'. It's coming off of that where we find Elvis, recording in American Sound in Memphis (despite The Colonel having booked him for RCA). This was actually the first time since his Sun days in the '50's that he'd recorded in his hometown — and on top of that, it was the first time in forever that Elvis had gotten to choose his own material. Backing him was The Memphis Boys, who'd played on all sorts of hits, such as Dusty Springfield's "Son Of A Preacher Man". And with a producer like Chip Morman willing to push them all, Elvis especially, to do the best they could do... Simply put: Elvis recorded the single greatest album of his career. Elvis had never been an album artist. That's not his fault, really; it was more a result of how rock n' roll albums were generally built in the 50's. You'd have a hit single or two, and then you'd have a buncha shit thrown around it. This wasn't serious music for adults like classical and jazz, and teen-agers were more interested in the 45s anyway, so who cares? Like, as good and as important to music as his debut is, I find it hard to recommend to people as a complete album experience. Even the albums released in his name after this in the 70's were thrown together in much the same way as his 50's discs. There's maybe only one exception to this, 'Elvis Country', where I wouldn't be surprised if whoever built the album stumbled on the cohesion by accident. On both ends, I really feel like you'd be better off with compilations of his work, especially for the 50's. And I'm not saying that 'From Elvis In Memphis' wasn't somewhat thrown together, either; between what was put on here, on the singles, and on 'Back In Memphis', **anything** could have ended up in this track listing. That's just how Elvis rolled. But I'm so grateful these songs in particular did, 'coz, ahh, seriously, again, Elvis never made better music than he did at American Sound, I swear. "Wearin' That Loved On Look" is such a great opener. Even if it wasn't written specifically for him (like nearly everything else he sang), I can't help but read it as an "I'm back, bitch" kind of song, announcing his return — as if the Special hadn't already done that. "Long Black Limousine" is a powerful bit of tragic soul, and I've always loved how it builds. "I'll Hold You In My Heart" was an impromptu, live-in-the-studio performance, and it demonstrates so well how good this band and how good Elvis gelled with them. "Power Of My Love" promises to shake you, among other things, and by goodness it **does**. As the only blues rocker on the album, it lives up to the "power" in its title, even decades before Jack White went and did his own distortion-filled take on it. "Gentle On My Mind" is an incredibly lovely slice of country goings-on. "Any Day Now" absolutely **soars**, even before Elvis begs his beautiful bird not to not fly away. And "In The Ghetto", so unique in his catalog for being a specific, pointed protest song, unlike "If I Can Dream" (and that's one of my top 5 Elvis songs, so don't get it twisted)... Gosh. I don't even know where to begin with that one. Like, it's not my favorite-favorite on this album, but it's up there, believe you me. Just an incredible song to end an incredible album. Elvis's voice never sounded better than it did right here. Sure, there's never a period where I don't love Elvis's voice, from his youthful Sun days, to even his schmaltzy, bloated Vegas days right before he croaked. It's just that good. But here, on these songs, with the **power** he can throw behind some of these lines... Oh, wow. **Wow**. Just check out that "YOU KNOW THEY SHINE" on "I'll Hold You In My heart". Or the "DON'T FLY AWAY" on "Any Day Now". Or the... Shoot, everything about "Long Black Limousine". Seriously, that's the best song here by a longshot, and it's not even close, my goodness. The only way it could have been beaten is if "Suspicious" gawddamn "Minds" had been included, and even then... And it's just amazing that Elvis had chosen to return to the 60's on his own terms. Like, he didn't try to chase any trends he'd missed out on; he simply just recorded the music he wanted to do. And like I said about "Wearin' That Loved On Look", even if a majority of these songs are covers, done long after The Beatles caused people to expect musicians to perform their own self-written music, he still manages to imbue them with so much unique meaning simply by him being himself. Like, it's absolutely never been a problem to me that Elvis has the Sinatra approach to things. Elvis being Elvis is enough. (Also, 'coz I didn't find the place to mention this before, I love how Elvis sings "BOY" on "Only The Strong Survive". That's another blue-eyed album highlight, and I really love its chorus, but it always stands out in my mind just for that "BOY". Seriously, the way he says it, I should be spelling it "BWOY," goodness.) After this album, of course, Elvis began his stay in Vegas and, ultimately, the long, slow road to his death. The International Hotel would be his Rock Of Eternity: forever trapped inside with no hope of escape. You can only wonder what could've happened if The Colonel had allowed Elvis to tour the world — or, heck, what could've happened if Elvis had just kept recording at American Sound, with this band and this producer. He'd even tried to take the band with him to Vegas, but it wasn't meant to be. So, when I say this album is potential, it's more like... Missed potential. The first step towards a future that, ultimately, wouldn't come to pass. But I'm not sad about it. For one, I actually like a lot of the stuff Elvis recorded in his Vegas days — just listen to "Hurt", my goodness. And even if this album isn't entirely potential, it's still freedom. As best as I can tell, this album was the last time he'd managed to get out from under The Colonel and be free. It was the last time he was able to escape one of his many cages, spread his wings, and simply soar. A bird, streaking across the sky to the air it knew best. It'd never known how long any of this would last — and of course, it didn't: not just this flight, but its time on this Earth in general. But for one moment, this final moment... It was absolutely beautiful. And I'll always treasure that moment.

A friend of mine said that this album is peak Elvis, and I gotta say, they certainly weren't lying. 4.5 bumped up to 5.

Would you believe I’m at a 10? It’s been 555 days since we last got Elvis Presley, which is crazy to say. I remember his debut decently well, & given the 13-year gap here between albums, I was hoping his musicianship would’ve jumped leaps & bounds. For as much media as there is out there about Elvis, trying to create the definitive narrative around his life, I’ve just never really engaged with it. To my mind, he did some pelvic thrusts that made teenagers swoon & made parents furious, he parlayed it into a big movie career, and then he lost control of himself before dying in 1977. Roughly, I think that’s how most people know Elvis. I didn’t know this album though, and my goodness, it’s a real delight to hear Elvis with what could sincerely be called “modern” production for the time. Sure, it’s no “Abbey Road” or anything, but the Memphis soundscape & the percussive grooves that underline this album & guide Elvis’s vocals along the way certainly feel far better to listen to than the stuff from 1956. Elvis himself just delivers these tracks like he wrote them all along, & while there’s not a single thing he penned here, he’s taken ownership over all of them. It also helps that, for the most part, he’s covering white artists on this album. My earliest nitpicks here were simply that tracks were fading out, but I got more used to it as the album went along. There are some tracks that I think might service themselves better with a definitive ending (especially so on “After Loving You”), but it’s a nitpick. My other one is that “I’ll Hold You in My Heart” is a little long, but it’s whatever. Once this album hits “I’m Movin’ On”, and the extent of the Memphis soundscape starts to REALLY integrate itself into the album, it never once looks back. It was already pretty good before that point, but afterwards, it just absolutely soars to the finish. Elvis’s charisma & charm just elevates as high as the instrumentation takes him, & with every track being really well-written, the overall musicianship just feels like listening to a guy at his peak, & “In The Ghetto” feels like a perfect closer to the whole package. Even though this album doesn’t technically include “Suspicious Minds”, I’d be remiss to not talk about it – it only takes one listen to hear the acclaim on that track, and while I’d never paid closer attention to it until now, something about Elvis’s delivery throughout just oozes confidence, even on a track centered around the pain of doubt. It’s a great track, and the fact that it’s not even part of the main track list here just kinda proves how good the album is overall. Hence, a 10. I’m surprised I’m at a 10, but there’s really not a single miss here & I enjoyed the hell out of the whole thing. Sure, others might dismiss it as cheap country fare that occasionally gets a cool drum beat behind it, but for my tastes, it just feels like Elvis modernizing his sound in a way that feels natural. At the very least, it’s probably an attempt to prove he can still hang in there even while four dudes in England were revolutionizing the world, and I think he hung in there pretty damn well. Sure, it’s no “Abbey Road”, but it’s not trying to be. It’s just Elvis in Memphis, and he sounds great. It’s a 10.

Not sure what to say about this one except that it's basically all bangers. I feel like I know Elvis's hits but haven't done a lot of deep listening to get a real feel for his work. His singing comes across as really soulful in this album and there's energy throughout that's just infectious. It's also wild to me that this was a live album when there's basically no audience audio, which is a start contrast to the dubbed-in audience noise from the Janis Joplin album.

The King at his best!

Surprise discovery. Reading the wikipedia on the history add a new layer to the Elvis mystique. "Long Black Limousine" is haunting. Would love to see footage of Elvis recording this album at the studio in Memphis.

5 * just for his voice but maybe that’s because I grew up listening to him

What a voice , could make any song sound great , and does

Just when I thought I was more of a Sinatra guy, this Elvis guy keeps bringing me back. Everyone on this record was TCB.

muy bueeeeeeeno

I love listening to Elvis, there is something so soothing to listening to a classic like this. From the fuzzy record feel to the lovely voice, I can't help but tap my toe along to this album.

I think I might get Elvis now...

Elvis at his best.

A lot of songs I haven't heard. What a treat!

The King of Rock n' Roll had a classic here.

Fantastic

cried

I think I like Elvis

Love it

This is probably where Elvis was at his peak from a vocal perspective. From the get-go, he is front and centre stage belting it out. I didn't actually know any songs from this record apart from In the Ghetto, but every one just runs so smoothly with hints of soul, country, gospel and blues.

A great version of Elvis live and intimate. Great quality recording

Supergut

What happens when you get a "briefly" rejuvinated Elvis with a world class band. Probably the best Elvis album. If for now other reason then Elvis was really a singles guy. But there are other reasons.

Elvis! Loved it!

Bear skin rugs. Twirling a rotary phone. Yearning. Aching. Green velvet. Floating in a motel pool. Ashtray

Wearing that loved on look is a new fav

This guy's got a great voice, he's gonna go places