From Elvis In Memphis

Elvis Presley is just 1950s Rick Astley with tighter pants. There’s some cosplay at work here, and it’s dressing him up to play the part that belongs to soul singers of a darker hue. He mumbles, he shakes, he broods, but he doesn’t do much in the way of music. Hard pass on this and the racist indoctrination that made him popular.

Ms Donna Jean Godchaux! Have never lists to an Elvis album before.. better than I expected

Terrible then terrible now

Enjoyment: 6/10 Replayability: 7/10 Cohesion: 6/10 Flow/Pacing: 6/10 Artistic Merit: 6/10 Overall: 6.5/10 Review: Liked Song(s): Only the Strong Survive, Power of My Love, Suspicious Minds, Mama Liked the Roses. Disliked Song(s): Recommend?: Maybe Heard Before?: No

Hail to the King, baby.

Healthy mix of singles, ballads and classics.

This was pretty good. Several tracks lean more into the Nashville country style. The one big issue I have is that some tracks walk the line of being too corny, maudlin, or overwrought. Don't Cry Daddy has this problem. And even though ultimately I do enjoy In the Ghetto, it comes very close to this same issue. Favorite tracks were Suspicious Minds and True Love Travels on a Gravel Road.

Only significant in the Elvis chronology, it's actually pretty mediocre in terms of both songwriting and Elvis's warbling. If you're not a Presley fan, I can't see this making you a convert. Best songs are "I'm Movin' On" and "Power of My Love" but everything else is missable.

Idk this isnt a good album imo, just sorta okayish Top 3: Wearin that Loved On Look, I'm Movin On, Gentle on My Mind

Everyone else is right, the first few songs on this are trash but it gets going a bit better by the middle. At double album size, this is a lot of Elvis at once. Some would say too much. I’m some. ⭐️⭐️

Da ich von Elvis nur die Hits kenne, war das recht erfrischend. Hatte ne gute Bandbreite, der Bursche.

Fand ich viel besser als das selbstbetitelte Album, das wir hier schon mal hatten. Musikalisch sehr facettenreich, Details ohne Ende, viel abwechslungsreichere Songs. Neuentdeckung!

I think you have to love Elvis to enjoy an album like this. One or two songs were great, but again it seems to really drone on towards the end.

Objektivt set er der nogle så gigantiske slappers her på, at det er svært ikke at vippe foden lidt, svinge hoften en smule og byde konen op til dans. Når jeg ser, at Elvis er på programmet, starter jeg egentlig med at være en smule mismodig, men når jeg så lige kommer i gang, så kan jeg sgu godt forstå, at de dånede dengang. Sikke en fyr :) Highlights: Power of my love Gentle on my mind Suspicious minds 3.6

Never made the effort to listen to a full Elvis album until now. Started off a bit dull but started enjoying more in the second half. Particularly enjoyed a couple of songs I’d never heard - True Love Travels On A Gravel Road and Any Day Now (that little guitar sting after the first line was good!). Suspicious Minds is always fun. I don’t think Don’t Cry Daddy was supposed to make me laugh but it did.

Some of this was okay, and the band sounds great throughout, but listening to Elvis is like eating an entire block of cheese straight. I like cheese but that is not my idea of a good time. But for an Elvis album, this wasn’t that bad.

This is excellent. Never actually listened to an Elvis album somehow. Gentle on my mind, in the ghetto and suspicious minds are so good.

elvis does not possess a heart beating quiet and true enough for a song like gentle on my mind. like hearing the devil sing a hymn.

Elvis is fine , and From Elvis In Memphis is no exception. I'm appreciative of this change of sound, but it's still Elvis covering country classics. As usual his voice is powerful

szegény ember Zámbó Jimmyje

Hat nem szenvedtem tole annyira, mint aki egyest kapott, de egyaltalan nem mozgatott ez meg. Nagyon semmilyen. Harmashoz gyenge.

Őszintén sajnálom, de én nem tudok hallgatni Elvist. Huhogó vidéki, sosem értettem a hype-ot. Kifejezetten irritál ez a bazári csimbumcirkusz amire elgitározgat. Mindenki jobb nála aki utána jön, mai füllel meg ne mondja nekem senki hogy nem hallgathatatlan.

Langyi, de nem rossz. Vannak jó számok pl. Power of My Love

I'm movin on!! De amugy Elvistol ez tenyleg keves, langyi, hol a rocknroll? 4/10 Fav: Wearin' that loved on look? talán? de többre nem nagyon emlékszem sajnos feledy botond elvonta a figyelmemet

3.5+

probably the best it gets from him outside of his mainstream hits

3,5 stars

surprisingly good album.

Fantastic

It starts off strong but the second half is straight filler. Sorry grandpa, I know you love him. I can definitely understand why he’s *that* guy though.

I loved this. So much soul and power in this album. There's a lot of criticism on this generator about this era of Elvis, but personally, I love it. Found the music quite powerful in parts. Suspicious Minds was my favourite song of the album. In The Ghetto and I'll Hold You In My Heart (Till I Can Hold You In My Arms) - my fav first listen - were my other highlights

Outstanding

Its 1969.Elvis is completely off the pace with acts such as the Stones, Beatles and Hendrix amongst others ruling the roost. He knows he needs to get more contemporary. So we get this. It does try however the first few tracks are pretty awful. It's starts to get better near the end of side one and side two is a vast improvement. If Suspicious Minds was on the original album it would have got 4 stars but 3 it is.

Much like our first Elvis album, started off with a good song so I had my hopes up. Didn’t last too long. I thought this was slightly better than the first one, but still dated and not my thing.

I can see how Elvis was an icon of his days despite this album being extremely dated. He was quite the singer with a bold, powerful voice that includes his unique southern twang mixed in. A good listen but nothing earth shattering on this album.

King of rock and roll huh? This felt more Country than rock and roll. I'm sour because I don't like Elvis and his idolization really steams my clams. He was a white face slapped on music written by either black artists who were robbed of their ideas, or generic record company song writers. The king of rock and roll actually created absolutely nothing. This is the second Elvis album we've gotten, not a single writing credit on any song. His image was curated for him, hell the signature vibrato in his voice was copied from the very same black artist whose songs he stole. Elvis is a fraud. Okay, I'm done. Just needed to vent, feel much better now. Anyway.....I didn't like the album.

So instead of being a blatant ripoff of African-American r&b Elvis is now ripping off soul? I really don't get why anyone would want to listen to this over the source material. Skip this one and listen to Aretha Franklin, Al Green, or Tammy Terrell.

This has been my favorite group of Elvis songs, really fun to listen to his Blues-ier(?) songs. Favorite Track: Suspicious Minds (sue me!)

He's the king for a reason

Review - this album's a bit bland. Not great soul, not great rock n roll, not great country. Suspicious Minds is a banger, but this is another example of an album that's on this list cos it's got one very good song. Score - 3.5/10 Need to listen? NO

So in reading about this album, it sounds like Elvis had gotten tired of only releasing music related to the soundtracks from the movies he was in. He decided to record a real album and bring serious musicians onboard to make the album. It definitely has a different sound to it, as you can hear Elvis start to make the transition from straight "pop" cheesy movie soundtracks to more of the "Vegas sound" he'd be known for towards the end of his career. Other than the last two songs, I wasn't really familiar with any of the other songs, so it's an interesting choice to be on this list when there is so much great Elvis music out there. My guess is that this album is on the list more due to the significance it played in the transition of his career than it is for the quality of the album itself.

I wonder what people thought of this in 1969? Was it good? Or kind of a pathetic attempt to remain relevant? I like Elvis, actually. But this wasn't great

there's a reason he's so well regarded. his voice is beautiful!

I mean he's the king for a reason. I've wanted a reason to hate Elvis my whole life and aside from the cheesy commercialization of him, his music is really something special. Many songs on this album spoke volumes to me, and his performances were all so lively and iconic. Perhaps this is not his Opus but its a really good collection of songs. Pretty good thematic tracklist, and not as one other fan said "a coppled together collection of greatest hits". I liked that statement I had to borrow it.

Hell of a comeback album to shift from his campy pop songs to deep country & soul ballads that were deeper than you'd expect from Elvis.

I wouldn’t have known if Elvis has left the building cuz I’d bail before he was done. This has never & still doesn’t do a thing for me, I find Elvis to be a total lamewad. Also I was really high & I kept thinking that Elvis looked like the original red power ranger, could’ve played a teen with ‘tude.

The worst version of Elvis. Give me rock n roll Elvis

Very solid group of songs

Du classique d’Elvis sympa, ça fait un peu des musiques à écouter pour danser ou pour voyager en voiture. Mais en même temps j’ai entendu des musiques d’autres albums de lui que je préfère (Burning Love par exemple)

To some, the apex of one of the most polarizing figures in the history of recorded music. And I truly see exactly why it’s seen that way; it has some classics on it: “In The Ghetto” is one of the greatest songs to ever hit the mainstream (the way it’s written alone: “Buys a gun, steals a car / Tries to run, but he don’t get far, and his mama cries.” It’s visceral, it’s implicit, subtle, and heartbreaking), and there are a few other songs on here that mark high points in the album, and in a career riddled with way too many releases of poor quality. Elvis is a strange person, occupying a space that is attacked and adored by pretty much all walks of life. When you live where I do, in Chicago, as in a big big city, you could drive around and get 50 different opinions on Elvis Presley and they would probably be split completely down the middle. Some people love him because of his music! Some because of his influence! Some hate him because of his character! Some because of the fact that he profited off the art of Black artists who never got the amount of recognition that he ultimately did get! Opinions, opinions. But his music has undeniable moments of quality. His voice, not unlike Johnny Cash’s, just smoother and perhaps more youthful and energetic at times, lends itself to the good days of a certain kind of life, a certain time, decades ago. His songs, not to my taste, but they can err on the side of good, and even great. The songs themselves? More than passable. Standouts like “True Love Travels on a Gravel Road” (an undeniable predecessor to Cameron Winter’s 2024 number “Love Takes Miles”) and the soulful and instantly iconic “Power of My Love” sound awesome, and are well-performed. Songs like “It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin’” on the other hand lend a much sourer element to the album, one of definite staleness rather than undisputed nostalgia. The album, however, maintains a good standing in my mind. Good sequencing, ends on a beautiful high note, and absolutely important. 7.8/10 DOES IT BELONG ON THE LIST: YES REASON: Relevance, impact, place in discography

Good not great

I’ve always thought this was the most “album” feeling output from Elvis if that makes sense. I mean most of his records just look like an assortment of greatest hits. This one feels a bit more cohesive, and to me is what I think of when I think of Elvis. Elvis and anything Tennesee related will always be my favorite of his. Although, I can’t believe his 68 comeback special isn’t on here. Especially as live albums go, that shit is fire.

What a great set list. This was such an interesting time for live recordings it’s like an artistic studio recording essentially. The live aspect of an audience isn’t there like in most live albums. It’s also cool to hear different versions of songs and how Elvis has changed. The video is also iconic this was also 69 Woodstock and this interesting. I liked this and it’s emotional and powerful mama liked the roses 😭

Good, not great! But it's the King! Especially liked I'll Hold You In My Heart.

Thoroughly professional, well-put together.

You know what? Not bad. I still got bored by the end but I think I like the more mature Elvis style.

It says Elvis on the cover but it took a village of background musicians to make this sound this good. 13 keepers in 16 (81%). 1 banger (6%). 87

This is a great record from a more mature king of rock n roll. A timeless 4.5/5

Loved The Memphis Boys' addition to this album. Horns always make songs better!

A boring album that teeters on offensive 2/5

My third and final Elvis album on the list and definitely my favourite of the bunch. There were a couple of tracks in the middle I wasn’t massively keen on, which ultimately kept this out of five star territory, but there wasn’t anything I would call bad. Top Track - Suspicious Minds

I can't help but feel that by 1969 music had moved on without Elvis and here he is just being Elvis still. Maybe I'll appreciate his earlier albums more, but in a year that brought us Abbey Road and the Court of the Crimson King you think that he'd experiment a bit more.

Sort of one song bleeding into the next and a surprisingly low-energy performance by The King.

“Suspicious Minds” was able to keep this at 3-stars, otherwise pretty boring tracks from Elvis

Favorite songs: I’ll Hold You in My Heart (Till I Can Hold You in My Arms), It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin’, I’m Movin’ On, Gentle on My Mind, Any Day Now, In the Ghetto, Suspicious Minds, Kentucky Rain 5 for In the Ghetto, Suspicious Minds, Kentucky Rain

He's the king for a reason. So much better than I expected

Weinig boeiend

Only the strong survive 50 minuten Elvis luisteren. De vorige plaat was ten minste bijna de helft van de runtime. Stomme man en stomme muziek. Fun fact: nog geen jaar na deze plaat kwam het debuut van Black Sabbath uit. Grappig, het voelt alsof die platen een 20 jaar-gap zouden moeten hebben.

Nice & good rock & roll album!

Right down the middle for me. 5/10

Carried by suspicious minds

After leaving a whole generation of white American teens all shook up and a brief spell in the army in 1960, Elvis’ manager Colonel Tom Parker took the bizarre decision to focus his career into making cheesy B movies and soundtrack albums. Not surprisingly, Elvis grew increasingly unhappy with this arrangement and after his legendary 68 comeback special, wanted to record a new LP in Memphis with a change of musical direction. After some wrangling over publishing rights and contracts, he finally got into the studio and recorded a set of songs with styles ranging from Memphis Soul to country and blues, with a touch of gospel. This album is a great showcase for Elvis at his vocal crooning best, even if some of the songs are on the mawkish side. This re-release includes some non album singles including the great Suspicious Minds but offset by the atrocious Don’t Cry Daddy. Ghetto-tastic!

So good! I do have a soft spot though.

Amazing album. One of his best

I know it's his big comeback but in the end it's still Elvis. You could put any album in there Anand it would sound the same.

I like this soulful bluesy Elvis era. 3+

Better than his early stuff

The king! A strong 3, needs a banger. I stuck burning love on after in the ghetto and it made the album a 4

Yeah good this

Better than I expected Prefer later polished Elvis I think. Opening Song, 'Long Black Limousine' and 'Movin' On' my faves 'In The Ghetto' and 'Suspicious Minds' obvious highlights

Another case of pre-judging before I listened to it. I really enjoyed this - and no one is more surprised than me. Very melodic, Elvis as a frontman is more of a craftsman than I have him credit for.

Some big tunes but padded out by mediocre ones. 3/5

It's not very often I see an album where the last few songs are more listened to than the rest. Most albums I experience in the modern day are frontloaded and the back half aren't typically worth paying attention to. Coming from the metal scene the natural distortion that Elvis uses intrigues me. The bass line in the opening song is worth paying attention to. It has a nice groove. I will say that it is disappointing to me to know that Elvis is really just a voice. His songs lose substance knowing that he isn't the song writer. I think he really is an incredible singer with a very unique voice but as a musician Elvis wasn't special. This album isn't cohesive. I see it more as a collection of songs performed by a man with no real emotion or meaning behind the words to sell the big ones. From Elvis In Memphis is a good collection of songs if you're a fan of Elvis's voice. If you're a fan of music and human creativity then I would look elsewhere.

Suspicious minds one of the best Elvis songs, not in love with the first half so far. soft spot for in the ghettoooooo. Don't cry daddy is quite sweet

Hot take: Elvis can really sing? He's so beautifully emotive and interesting to listen to- I was also pretty amused by the emotional whiplash engendered by listening to the full tracklist in order. Buuuut... this album is a little too long, and gets a bit dull!

For every Elvis song there's a black artist that's done it better, and seeing as how most of his best songs are actually covers it pretty much cements him not as a great songwriter or musician, far from it actually. He's a great performer. But not here. this was way, way worse than I expected. I love bits and pieces of Elvis, he is The King, after all, but this is cloying, limp and underwhelming and, frankly, behind on the times. It feels dated by 10-20 years, beign relased in 1969. I regularly see the world's #1 Bangladeshi Elvis impersonator, Sal, and he is way better than this album. There's a plasticity and an insincerity to Elvis here that prevents a lot of the material from landing. He goes for a plastic soul sound that has neither the ferocity of early sexy Elvis or the bombast and the silliness of fat weird vegas Elvis. I would rather listen to black soul and r&b singers that have done it first and done it better. It's no wonder the music industry left him behind for Beatlemania, but it's weird that this acted as a catalyst for him to make a comeback.

Bon album, il se différencie de ses premiers albums par cette touche Motown. Bien moins répétitif et des structures plus intéressantes. Encouragement pour le petit Elvis (3.5)

Classic Elvis.

I like this album, some songs are emotional but the unique voice of this legends is what carry this album Fav songs - Power of My Love, Mama Liked the Roses 4/5

Started super strong. Soulful that I hadn’t heard before. Closed kinda weak

Elvis was a hero to most / But he never meant shit to me, you see / Straight out racist—that sucker was simple and plain / Motherfuck him and John Wayne!"

I've never actually listened to a full Elvis album before. Liked some of it, listened to the expanded version which has one of my favorite songs (Suspicious Minds). Some of it was really good, some of it (when he really leans into that warbly crooner voice) was borderline unlistenable. Right down the middle 3.

ummmm i didn’t finish this one so i feel bad rating it but i think i have to to log my notes. elvis has a gorgeous voice and the church choir in the back is great. i actually shockingly could see myself coming back to this album

Oh my god

I don’t dislike this, but by 1969 I feel like music had progressed past Elvis and his signature style. He’s still doing the typical Elvis routine and standard song structures, but there isn’t anything new that he hasn’t done before.

Insufferably Elvis!

halvmysig liveplatta

Great album, "Suspicious Minds" is always amazing.

Ohhh mama

Nice performance from the Konh