Elvis Presley

I fully expected to give this album a 1 star review. Maybe it's because I had to listen to Abba yesterday but, in comparison, this is ... not offensive. And really, that was Elvis's whole deal, right? Let's take music being made by black people and remake it so that it's just white enough that white people won't be offended by its blackness. And it worked. And it had a lasting impact on the world because it - this album - helped bring Rock and Roll into the mainstream. Every track is still a shadow of the original but they're not bad. Just ... whitewashed.

An absolute chore to listen to, and I say that as some who doesn’t mind a little bit of Elvis. I think we need to ask the hard question though. Was Elvis really that good? Or was 1950s America that racist that they wouldn’t give the time of day to arguably much better African-American recording artists of the time? I’m going with the later and think we should stop looking at this album through rose tints. Highlights 1. Money Honey (cause it marked the end of the album)

Elvis Presley? More like Pelvis Presley.

Today it all seems so easy -- RCA signs up the kid from Memphis, television gets interested at around the same time, and the rest is history. The circumstances surrounding this album were neither simple nor promising, however, nor was there anything in the history of popular music up to that time to hint that Elvis Presley was going to be anything other than "Steve Sholes' folly," which was what rival executives were already whispering. So a lot was unsettled and untried at the first of two groups of sessions that produced the Elvis Presley album -- it wasn't even certain that there was any reason for a rock & roll artist to cut an album, because teenagers bought 45s, not LPs. The first of Elvis' RCA sides yielded one song, "Heartbreak Hotel," that seemed a potential single, but which no one thought would sell, and a few tracks that would be good enough for an album, if there were one. But no one involved knew anything for sure about this music. Seventeen days later, "Heartbreak Hotel" was released, and for about a month it did nothing -- then it began to move, and then Elvis appeared on television, and had a number one pop single. The album Sholes wanted out of Elvis came from two groups of sessions in January and February, augmented by five previously unissued songs from the Sun library. This was as startling a debut record as any ever made, representing every side of Elvis' musical influences except gospel -- rockabilly, blues, R&B, country, and pop were all here in an explosive and seductive combination. Elvis Presley became the first rock & roll album to reach the number one spot on the national charts, and RCA's first million dollar-earning pop album.

I know this is an important record and I know it has to be on this list. But I am going to give it two stars for the same reason that if it were 1500 B.C. I would be amazed by staring at a fire, but in 2024 I'm not. The world has moved past this sound and I personally find it pretty basic and if I hear that generic rockabilly riff that has been used in 8 billion songs one more time I'm going to kill myself. That being said, if I was a teeny-bopper in 1956 I'd be losing my fucking shit over this album. Also, Elvis is one lucky motherfucker. Race is a social construct but culture is real. And while cultural appropriation - in the sense of just adopting signifiers of other cultures as a fashion accessory - is wrong; cultural exchange is admirable and is how you get basically every genre of music. Different cultures are constantly mixing and blending and stealing from one another's musical traditions and creating new types of music from the weird Frankenstein babies that they make, and its great. Cut to the 1950's and there is a giant blockage in the mixed streams that lead to new music being created and shared because colonizers and slave traders invented the concept of race in the 1660's to justify their rape and pillaging of other peoples in the name of profit. And almost 300 years later, there was still this artificial separation between musical traditions in America. That left millions of white teenagers with no idea that black Americans had invented a new sound called Rock & Roll. So who comes along but a talented boy singer from Memphis who had charisma and a unique vocal style and a pretty face and could dance. But more importantly, he could do pretty decent versions of all this great music that those millions of teenagers hadn't heard yet and that allowed him to become the best selling artist of all time based on a decent amount of talent, but no more than thousands of other artists who were nowhere near as successful. Congratulations Elvis, the Atlantic slave trade allowed you to become famous enough to spend twenty years popping pills, having pillow fights with 14-year old girls, making shitty low-budget movies, posing with Nixon and then dying on a toilet in your huge tacky mansion.

Some awesome vocal performance and playing. This is how country and R&B became Rock. Shades of Robert Plant, later Dylan, influence on the Beatles.... The cover of Tutti Frutti doesn't hold up as well as I Gotta Woman. Blue Suede Shoes must have been a revelation and revolution in its' time. Feels in the moment more than 60 years later.

There’s this trend of saying “pop music today is so formulaic; it’s all written by algorithm.” Listen to this and just realize how paint-by-numbers this all is. The cover of “Tutti-Frutti” is just as bad as Pat Boone’s. Elvis said he hated his “chicken squawk” voice pre-army, but I really prefer it. This is only on the list for its history of being one of the first “albums.” Favourite track: “Blue Suede Shoes”

Every song is 2 minutes. Pop perfection. Feels like walking into a smoky bar in the 1950's. Looked at the Wiki page and Elvis didn't write any of these songs. Meat puppet. Forgot how much I liked "Blue Moon".

I absolutely loved listening to Elvis, especially knowing that this was during his most hopeful times. There's a bittersweetness that will always be a part of the Elvis listening experience. And, that version of blue moon!

Elvis' first proper album, and talk about energy. Even the ballads have a raw but poppy feeling that mixes the past and the present (at the time). Knowing the history for this album helps as well. He covers black artists, unheard of at the time for a white artist.

The first album by the King. Actually, it accumulates some singles, outtakes and other things from the Sun sessions and brings them all together in a surprisingly cohesive album. It's Presley without the bells and whistles, the way he was meant to be heard. Lots of rockers and ballads, all compressed into less than a half an hour, yet still the best of the best.

It’s important to remember that all those rappers who shit on Elvis back in the day are all playing cops on TV right now...so fuck all of them. This shit is older than me and still slaps...and not the Will Smith kind either. If you can’t get with this, you’re so square, baby I don’t care.

Classic Elvis at his early best, I really am impressed with the quality here and justifiably on the list. Great record that, like the Beatles, changed the whole music scene. "Blue Suede Shoes" & "Tutti Frutti" stand out tracks and also Ray Charles's "I Got A Woman" but the sheer musicianship of the bands he worked with stand out. I would definitely have it in my collection. Although I prefer the Clash's 1979 Pastiche cover for London Calling (Which is in my collection)

Having listened to Elvis Presley my entire life, I wasn’t expecting any really new insights. Oops - turns out that a lifetime of listening to greatest hits collections denied me some of the excitement of early Elvis. Elvis recorded this between the ages of 19 - 21 and it is remarkable how polished his sound is. While there are a range of song styles Elvis transcends genre and brings it all together. He makes every song his own. A few interesting moments: “One-Sided Love Affair” I really enjoyed! I don’t recall hearing this song before, but his delivery is great. “Just Because” stood out to me. I don’t recall hearing this before. Love the guitar in this one. Elvis’ singing in “Trying to Get to You” is particularly good. “Blue Moon” is so pared back and haunting. A bit unusual and really showcases Elvis’ vocal skills. I did not expect to love this song but it is one of my favorites on the album. I initially thought it might be tough to drop in and rate the first album of an artist so ubiquitous as Elvis, but listening to this album felt surprisingly fresh. For a few moments I could feel the excitement of listening to Elvis for the first time. That cleared up any doubt that this deserves a 5.

A vibrant album.

I mean this is the start of something special. Definitely tight, punchy, and leaves you wanting more. Downsides are in shallow writing and a lack of fully developed sound

I am a fan of Elvis, but I was surprised that I enjoyed this album as much as I did. I guess I didn't expect it to have a good of sound quality and energy. It was great!

How odd to simply listen to an Elvis album. These songs and this sound has been so ubiquitous that it's hard to imagine a time before they existed. This was great. I'm so impressed with the musicianship and the marriage of blues and country. Very enjoyable.

I didn't expect to give this 5 but it's great. Can't believe I had never listened to it from start to finish before.

Hi: I Love You Because, Just Because, Blue Moon Lo: None It's amazing how Elvis hit the ground running with this debut album; Every vocal is buttery smooth, every plunk of the piano deliberate, every strum of the guitar purposeful. Yet parents at the time hated it, thinking that the inevitable hip-swinging would bring about an immoral apocalypse of promiscuity. 65 years later, Elvis just sounds quant and wholesome enough to play in nurseries and Sunday school. Does it hold up? If you peel away all the influences and echos in today's music, this is the framework that would be left, and who knows what rock n' roll would look like today if this album had never existed.

The King will always get 5 stars from me!

Well that was a god damned delight.

A banger from start to finish.

10/10

Theres seriously nothing like Elvis Presley out there. Such an all around enjoyable album. Maybe because he was a defining force of todays popular music, it's culturally easy to listen to, but it's still a 5 for me, also considering the impact of Elvis and his style in the popmusic industry.

Great

Great album, multiple perfect songs

His name definitely creates a confirmation bias, but to me this album is legendary and perfect.

It’s Elvis. I mean, c’mon. 5 stars.

Elvis. What more can you say?

Classic album, start to finish. Elvis raw as ever and about to start killing it in his career!

tutti fruti au ruri wtf ruru

A classic that set the world on fire. 5/5

First Elvis LP I ever listened to all the way through, I get what the fuss was about now. Sparkly poppy rocking stuff from when it was all new.

It only took 531 albums but it finally clicked for me. This list isn't about 1001 albums that are worth spending your time listening to (given that the vast majority of them are complete wastes of time and do not sound pleasant to the ears at all) but 1001 albums that you /should/ have listened to for the purpose of partaking in musical history and overall general knowledge of what has been. Even if this album does not hold a candle to anything that has been made since then, I can understand how this guy was literally the coolest thing since sliced bread when he was active and touring. To move on to my review of the album, I can't believe this guy was the Mr. Beast of the 50's, that's crazy

An afternoon/evening/workout (not a morning) album; after listening to a lot of jazz in 2020, this was a bit of shock to the system, but in a good way. Appreciate Metallica's musicianship quite a bit.

All his influences converge to this diverse album before he honed it all to a singular sound

It arguably all started here. What is not arguable is that this was the first rock and roll record to hit number one. In retrospect it is a bit uneven, but that is a minor quibble. Elvis is the King.

He's just good

Another great one by the King

Bops

The King! I just want to dance when I hear anything from Elvis

Fun to drive to. Interesting to hear all the “filler” tracks to get a sense of what people were listening to back in the day. Blue Suede Shoes is a classic but hearing everything else gives it more context. Cool piece of rock n roll/pop music history.

So this was his 1st album! That's what I call hitting the ground running. Lots of really good songs on here: Blue Suede Shoes, I Got A Woman, Tutti Frutti, but my favourite is the less know song Blue Moon. (The Blue Moon Boys was the nickname of the band on this album) He is the King and this is one of the precious few LPs before he went to the army and died.

Wonderful

"Blue Suede Shoes", the covers of "I Got A Woman" and "Tutti Frutti", that incredibly moody "Blue Moon" ballad... Here are a few of the highlights from Elvis' historical first LP. Everything here points to a landmark album, contrary to that "Elvis Is Back" record that's also part of this list for reasons that have more to do with marketing than genuine influence. This one is the soundtrack *par excellence* for every American diner out there, from Memphis to Tokyo. Of course, Elvis is not the originator of true rock n' roll, African Americans were. But it's hard to deny the appeal and cultural imprint this seminal record left on... well, almost *everything* that came right after it! And even far later than that (see the lettering on the cover of The Clash's *London Calling*, for instance...) So 5 stars, if only for that. Number of albums left to review or just listen to: 862 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory: 76 (including this one) Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 34 Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more important): 29

Muy bueno

Hard not to give elvis five stars really

Amazing songs (NOT written by Elvis) that are sung by an amazing performer. Looking at it strictly from an entertainment and enjoyment perspective, this is a solid 5/5 album. The vocals are just so solid, energetic, and magical. The songs as originally sung by their respective artists are great as well, but Elvis' voice is just something special.

Awesomely paced album. I’d never listened to it, but I can see why he had such musical influence.

Good album, Elvis has great range

It's the King's first album. Pretty much all of the music in this list wouldn't be there without this. It's five stars just for it's importance. The tunes are great as well. Let's face it, he was an alien wasn't he? Best Tracks: Blue Suede Shoes; Tutti Frutti; Blue Moon

Short but sweet. I can see why girls went crazy over Young Elvis.

Not just 5/5 because it's Elvis - it's so good. What must it have been like to hear this at the end of the 50s? It really rocks

Great album - Elvis really can sing, excellent band and timeless classics, you can see how he repackaged black american music for white ears but it's still a five star

LOVE ELVIS

LOVE

As a native Memphian this one hits close to home. Growing up the guy became a gimmick and eye-roll when suggested by someone outside of Memphis, but I had forgotten how successful an artist he was. Good album, would listen again. Even with the cover.

14th July 2021 Listened on the living room speaker while in bed on my first day at the FT! Feels very strange but the sun is out and I have coffee in bed. An album that signalled the birth of rock and roll.

Feels nice to listen to. It is music from a bygone era, a time which I will never truly understand what it is like to live in, since I was born more than half a century since its release, yet I enjoyed this album.

This Clash album kind of sucks.

Yeah this is what elvis sounded like

I can say my opinion of Elvis has changed since learning how much he stole or copied his style after Black Americans who never got their flowers. Ray Charles rendition of "I've Got a Woman" is far superior to Elvis' cover in my opinion. I will say that his guitar skills are very unique and always caught my attention. Overall, it was okay. Would I listen to it again? Probably not.

Pleasures extracted from this groomed karaoke: Elvis’s voice, its elasticity and the songs like “I’m Counting On You” where he’s still working it out, trying a constipated whine that’s charming in its awkwardness The fabulous guitar work, that shares Wilco Johnson’s knack of playing lead while carrying rhythm through very different one-note markers and runs Speculation around what an Elvis song written by Elvis would have sounded like, a sparser “Surfin’ Bird” is my hopeful, unfulfillable bet The almost-not-there nature of the rhythm section, relic of a time before guitars got thicker and louder Its brevity On the slow songs, especially “I Love You Because”, the chill from really feeling like you’re hearing a long-dead voice from the long-dead past “Blue Moon - Take 9/M”, which may be my favourite version of its song for being so ghostly, throwing shade on another cover of an otherwise famous song, his hasty “Tutti Frutti” Enjoying thinking about how contemporary audiences understood the plea for mutual masturbation underpinning “One-Sided Love Affair”

the kid's got a great voice, will go far with better material

Gear: Aür Audio Aurora Artwork: 🤍💚🩷 Mix: 😲🙂👌 Musik: 🎙️🎸🌶️ Wertung:🤍💚(🩷)/5

I realised while listening that I'd only ever heard one aspect of Elvis's voice before, the baritone that everyone seems to impersonate. I never expected his voice to be so versatile though, there's a few songs on the album that wouldn't have even guessed were him. His voice is very playful and at times almost cartoonish, very surprising. The emotional trajectory of the album was quite interesting too, starting out with cocky and upbeat songs about appealing to women, outlining his standards for a relationship, then deep in the midst of love, before the lyrics start showing cracks leading to a 2nd half about heartbreak and finally cynicism.

Only a few artists even approach being this difficult to "rate" based on their eternal cultural {appropriation} impact - is it fair in 2024 to rip on the fact that not only did he not write any of these songs at all but also helped (literally) whitewash African American music for the ignorant masses? "Elvis was a hero to most but he never meant shit to me...." - Chuck D Or do we just accept this as literally one of - if not THE - first "rock" albums ever released, and blasting out 12 rockabilly/country/rock and roll songs in under a half hour with some cool energy? In the time I typed that 4 songs went by. OK I guess it's kind of simple and fun to listen to - "Blue Suede Shoes" is the highlight (*mostly* fun... e.g. "Blue Moon" is terrible) - and also impossible to truly grade nearly 70 (!) years later. I'm not really a big fan of the vocal affectations and the I-IV-V gets stale but again, this was all new at the time. And even ignoring the racial implications (n.b. his version of "Tutti Frutti" here just flat out sucks and almost caused me to give the whole thing a 1), almost reluctantly I have to admit that without this/him we'd never have had The Beatles which means we'd never have had anything. 5/10 3 stars.

Comme je vous l'expliquais dans ma critique de Kraftwerk il y a de cela quelques mois, j'ai pour habitude de sortir avec les anciennes fréquentations de mon compère d'écoute et ennemi juré eltrapeze. J'effectuai récemment en ce sens quelques recherches dans le but de savoir quelles étaient les dernières en date et pris contact avec elles par courriel. Après leur avoir fait passer à chacune un entretien virtuel, j'annonçai à l'une d'elles qu'elle avait été choisie pour me rejoindre en Basse-Saxe et ainsi pouvoir sortir avec moi, Robvestiaire. eltrapeze étant interdit de séjour dans cette région, elle n'avait absolument rien à craindre. Celle-ci prit son billet et me rejoignit dans le nord de l'Allemagne. À son arrivée, nous nous rendîmes à l'hôtel. Une fois la porte de notre chambre franchie, elle me déshabilla, me jeta sur le lit et m'embrassa de la manière la plus sauvage qui soit tout en proférant des propos injurieux à l'égard d'eltrapeze. « Attends, je vais mettre de la musique. » l'interrompis-je soudain. Je me levai, connectai mon enceinte JBL à mon portable, cliquai sur l'album Elvis Presley, et la posai sur la table située au bord de la fenêtre. Croyez-le ou non, au moment où je regagnai le lit, l'album était déjà terminé. Je décidai de me rhabiller et de raccompagner cette demoiselle à la gare.

Ce matin, je lançais cet album au moment de me préparer un bon thé matinal. Alors que ma tasse était à moitié remplie d'eau bouillante, Elvis s'arrêta soudain de chanter. Je me demandais ce qu'il pouvait bien se passer. "Peut-être un problème de connexion" soupirais-je. Je dévérouillais alors mon téléphone pour vérifier la qualité du signal wi-fi, mais la connextion semblait impeccable. J'ouvrais donc l'application Spotify, et c'est là que je compris: l'album était déjà terminé.

how did this start rock and roll

fuck elvis hes a thief didnt listen i refuse worse than r kelly or chris brown or p diddy

What a debut! I had never heard his version of Blue Moon, reminded me a little of Chris Isaak!

This is the first time I have listened to an entire Elvis Presley album. I have heard some of the songs before such as "Blue Suede Shoes" "Blue Moon" and "Tutti Frutti" but not the record. I loved it. Superb album from 1956. Superb in 2025. 5

Yellvis Jestly

The blueprint for rock and roll. Raw and energetic, before Elvis got sanitised.

The King will live on FOREVER!!!

love it! If only the songs are longer - although, maybe the effect will not be the same

Que Álbum! O impacto sonoro e visual no ano do lançamento deve ter sido estupendo!

This sounds basic by today’s standards, but the impact and influence for the time cannot be understated. The delivery and style of his performance was so cutting edge and set a new tone and standard for what we now know as Rock and Roll.

As a major supporter of other African American artists, Elvis was known for citing the importance of black artists on the foundation of rock n roll while openly recording many of their songs to help promote a colorless world of music. And while majority of songs here were indeed written by other artists, I decided to go all in based on unique style all his own, not to mention legacy and influence.

What a debut. There are probably later albums with more “hits” but I really like this era of the King and how he approached his vocals. Rounding up for influence and the fact that this is what he brought to the world out of the gates.

The perfect pop rock album of the 50s.

“Before Elvis there was nothing” - John Lennon The King of Rock N Roll. His debut album. The start of it all. Second to none son.

Great early album from Elvis and his rockabilly band. Lays the foundation for so much that followed. A classic.

Not a fan. Sounds like a country white boy to me even when I studied him in school. I get it or whatever.

There's a reason he's called the king

Sin comentarios, pero su valía supera muy ampliamente a mucha de la "música" sugerida en esta lista

If you don’t give this album a 5 star you really shouldn’t be on this site.

increible la verdad, especialmente pensando que es del año 56

Это база

Lovely

Quintessential 50's sound, beautiful rockabilly and ballads

What a debut! Such a great album. Not everything Presley did was superb, but this one is excellent in all the right ways.

The king still reigns over Rock and roll.

Ik ben al EP fan vanaf 1972.. 10 sterren Er is maar 1 king. Met dit album is het begonnen bij RCA.

Loved this

This is iconic, and it really gives me the dancing itch. My feet are tapping along with the tunes.

Шик. Разве что несколько утомляет концентрация хитов.

I don’t think words could express the amount of joy and pride my grandparents would have knowing that this album holds up for a 19 year old male 69 years after its release in 1956 (TO THE DATE WILD COINCIDENCE). This album’s sound is emblematic of the hopelessly unattainable romantic American ideal. It’s hopeless romanticism (and blatant misogyny) is endlessly captivating and terribly idyllic. Nothing can seem to go wrong listening to this record. Call it ignorance, call it naivety, or call it that sense of childlike carelessness we long for from the day we lose it, either way the tunnel vision caused by this album is so narrow the listener is left nearly blind. But it is in blindness where beauty is found. Sorry I’m waxing poetic, I think the album is getting to me. Brilliant album and a true classic.