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.

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.

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.

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”

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!

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".

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

Yeah this is what elvis sounded like

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!

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.

This Clash album kind of sucks.

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.

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.

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

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.

Yes, he didn't write his own songs and appropriated a lot of African-American music for his own commercial gain, but it's hard to deny the profound impact Elvis Presley had on popular music and culture. With his rich, tender voice and revolutionary stage presence, complete with shaking hips and sensual strutts that sent the youth of the 50s into a bold sexual awakening, and their parents racing to shield their eyes. For many, Elvis was the first true rockstar, and his debut album is a fantastic introduction to his admittedly alluring vocals and presence. This album would've blown people's minds in 1956, as Elvis could not only come off as a raucous rocker on songs like 'Blue Suede Shoes', 'I Got A Woman' and 'One-Sided Love Affair', but could also dial up the tenderness to the Nth degree with 'I Love You Because' or

Swinging and swinging- a right hoot and holler

Interesting to hear The King finding his voice.

This may be my favorite version of Elvis, just raw and pure talent before all of the hoopla and excess.

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.

While I agree this is a 'must hear'/essential listening, time and perspective has really dulled this (and most of Presley's work) in my eyes. I've spent a *lot* of time with his source material -- blues, R&B, some old early gospel, rockabilly, to name some -- and all of them did it better. Elvis broke the race barrier, and I understand why it had to be a southern white boy, but most of his oeuvre is better performed by other (usually the original!) artists. "Blue Suede Shoes", "I Got A Woman", & "Tutti Frutti" are the easiest examples on this album. If anything, Elvis was the 'King' of hype. Here's a good-looking white boy from the South that can sing and dance all this music that in any other context almost no one would be listening to because of racism -- they were literally called "race records" for a long time if a black artist was performing on it. The term was later replaced, but it didn't eliminate the racial barriers. You can hear the label executives, "Let's put him on stage, let the girls swoon, and the we'll make all the money." It didn't hurt that he used ('appropriated' may be the best word) some really good music, but his asthmatic/stacatto singing style gets real old, real fast. The abbreviated ballads are saccharine but mercifully short, and his backing band is talented enough and keep the music punctual and tight. (3/5) In recognition of its place in musical history, and it's historic significance. Better came before and after, but this was the first one 'through the door '.

Having never heard of this guy before, I sat down to... Kidding. Just kidding. Presley is obviously one of the most recognized names in the history of music (despite never having a solo songwriting credit to his name), and left an indelible mark on rock & roll music, namely by making it safe for young white people to enjoy the music of old black people. Volumes have been and will be written debating the "cultural appropriation" vs "creation of opportunities" involved in the endeavor, as well as his involvement and furthering of the civil rights moverment of the era. But if you've ever been to Graceland, you can't debate that it sold a LOT of records and made him an incredibly popular icon of the age. As to the album itself, I can say that it isn't a tough listen, though more than a little dated. Occasional vocal gymnastics aside, Presley and his band do an adequate representation of the music it credits, often infusing more energy into old blues standards by speeding the tempo and shaping it into the "rockabilly" he'd become known for. It's fun when it tries to be, sad when it wants to be, and approachably vanilla. All in all, it's a 3/5 in recognition of its "historical significance," but I'd rather listen to the original artists than revisit this...

Just some solid white washed Rock n Roll

This guy's pretty good, I wonder why he never made it big

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”

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.

I’ve never been the biggest Elvis fan so hopefully this gives me the chance to have a second thought. Immediately the album cover is iconic, obviously the inspiration for the Clash’s London Calling Blue Suede Shoes - one of the Elvis songs that I actually liked before listening to it. I mean who doesn’t like it I’m Counting On You - a very 50s ballad and honestly very beautiful I’ve never heard this before but I actually love it I Got A Woman - icl I only knew this song from The Beatles cover (sorry Elvis I’m biased I prefer the Bugs 😭) One-Sided Love Affair - idrk what to say about this one I just think it’s very stereotypical 50s rock n roll I Love You Because - I actually kinda love his voice in this. I think I prefer his slower songs idk if that’s a common thought but it’s mine Just Because - why can I actually imagine how he was moving when he was recording this 😭 this one’s kind of a vibe I’m not against it Tutti Frutti - immediately no lil rich for the win. Feels illegal to listen to a white boy cover this song lwk 😭 Trying To Get To You - again a slower one of his songs I like this one too. I might not be the biggest Elvis fan but I do have to admit he has a DAMN strong voice I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Cry (Over You) - hmm again it’s very stereotypically 50s Rock n Roll I get it was probably influential at the time but today I think it just gets overshadowed by other things I’ll Never Let You Go - I honestly think his voice is better suited for ballads this is beautiful I’ve never heard it before o Blue Moon - a classic but I also first heard it from the Beatles 😭 Elvis’ version is very different to theirs though it’s more simple not a very long song but it felt like it sorry Elvis Money Honey - I knew exactly how this was going to sound before I even listened to it 😭 not too bad though Sorry guys this hasn’t changed my mind much about Elvis I know he has a great voice but I can’t get over the amount of songs he’s stolen from black artists so for that reason it’s gonna be 2 stars. I just think there are other people more influential from that decade that actually wrote their own songs

Variety: 2 Adequacy: 3 Listenability: 3 Uniqueness: 2 Emotionality: 2 = 2.4 rounded down to a 2 "The way he moved, it was a sin, so sweet and true/ Always wanting more, he'd leave you longing for" I must have heard this one over a hundred times growing up. The King could do no wrong in my grandpa's house. Elvis "culture" was still alive and thriving back then in the mid 80s as there was an impersonator boom, references in cartoons, sitcoms, the Weekly World News. You could not escape it. I remember kids in my elementary school going as Elvis for Halloween, and we even had 50s night dances where kids were encouraged to dress up like greasers and teeny boppers and of course Elvis was played heavily. He was maybe not quite the joke he became just a few years later when I remember reading about the crazy sad, lifestyle he lived and I watched comedians I liked do chunks about his "hilarious" death. The Elvis of my early childhood though was frozen in amber circa 1956-57. THE TRACKS Side one "Blue Suede Shoes" - What can really be said about this other than it was a MASSIVE hit. I'm not sure about the timeline but I think "Heartbreak Hotel" was his big smash coming out party, as it were, but this was insanely big as well. It's also worth mentioning that I think a lot of the so-called "albums" from this era are at a giant disadvantage due to the single still being the primary driver. Not sure that would change much until the Beatles and Dylan were well into their imperial phases. It's crazy to me that this album does NOT have "Hound Dog", "Don't Be Cruel", "That's All Right Mama", "Blue Moon of Kentucky", or "Heartbreak Hotel" on it, as those were all singles. Remember this - it'll be important later. Anyway, back to "Blue Suede Shoes." Is it good? Sure. Was I bored with it after hearing it for the umpteenth time? Kind of. It's also no "Hound Dog", but few things are. It also loses some of it's verve after you become a rockabilly fan later in life and have heard songs by guys that sounded a million times cooler and more dangerous than Elvis, and also after you've heard a lot of the originals. "I'm Counting on You" - Never liked this one, even way back when. I know now that Elvis wanted desperately to be a famous gospel singer, and this feels thick with it. That was another type of music that I heard entirely too much of and never cared for. "I Got a Woman" - Now this is the stuff. A little sloppier, and rougher sounding. It doesn't hurt that he's working from a Ray Charles song as a blueprint. "One Sided Love Affair" - This one is just boring. Sorry Elvis fans. This is the sort of "aw shucks" safe kind of fare that would go on to populate all his awful movies. The boogie woogie piano is the star here in my opinion. "I Love You Because" - Elvis in ballad mode is my least favorite Elvis. And the material he's working with does him no favors. This is dreck of the worst sort - it's just uninteresting in any way. "Just Because" This was ok. Sort of Elvis on autopilot though and barely interesting enough to keep it out of the lowlights. Side two "Tutti Frutti" - Very solid stuff on it's own, but c'mon. When you've heard the original this can't help but pale in comparison. It almost seems like Elvis is in a hurry to finish here because he knows he's doing something wrong. "Tryin' to Get to You" - I like my rockabilly raw, with the slap back echo turned all the way upm but this just sounds sloppy. Am I crazy or is the time off big time? "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Cry (over You)" - This was fine. In offensive and safe. This is the sort of pap The Beatles would make their bread and butter for the first coupe of albums. "I'll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin')" - This is the only acceptable crooner-Elvis to me. Voice jumping hurdles, and the perfect amount of accompaniment. I'll take this over "Love Me Tender" any day of the week, even though I certainly see the appeal of that. "Blue Moon" - The weirdest track on here. Gets points for that. But doesn't hold a candle to either Sam Cooke or the Marcels. ( I kind of even prefer the Bobby Vinton version). Maybe I just really love An American Werewolf in London? "Money Honey" - Possibly the coolest Elvis has ever sounded? This is the sound all the best imitators were chasing. Brian Setzer probably wore several of these 45's out. This also sounds like the template for Freddie Mercury's "Crazy Little Thing Called Love". Peak Elvis. Also - look around for a remastered version of this. There are some muddy versions out there that make this sound a good 50% less awesome. HIGHLIGHTS - "Blue Suede Shoes" - "I Got a Woman" - "I'll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin')" - "Money Honey" MIDLIGHTS - "One Sided Love Affair" - "Just Because" - "Tutti Frutti" - "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Cry (over You)" - "Blue Moon" LOWLIGHTS - "I'm Counting on You" - "I Love You Because" - "Tryin' to Get to You" FINAL THOUGHTS I won't get too deep into that whole culture theft thing as I think these things are always more complicated than can be discussed in a dumb music review. That said, sure he capitalized on a lot of black artists' work, most of whom were not properly compensated. How much of that was Elvis and how much was it his record company? A lot of the artists themselves seemed o respect the man, and he even has a still decent reputation as a civil rights supporter, so who knows. Let's just stick to the music as much as we can. The trouble here I think is that he's such an outsized personality that ultimately it really doesn't matter if the music was that great. It was good enough, and as a gyrating hunk of burning love, it was the minimum needed to propel him into the public consciousness. Elvis was a good singer, he could dance. His music, groundbreaking as it was, feels too polished and safe to my modern ears. My biggest gripe with this album though is that it DOES NOT have his best material from the era. All those singles I mentioned before are 1000x more electric than anything on here. I didn't even mention "Love Me Tender". This feels to me like the start of the watering down of Elvis. On his first album! Even at his wildest, Elvis will never sound as crazy as Hazil Adkins, as provocative as Little Richard, or as energetic as Jerry Lee Lewis. While not knocking his talent, I'm not sure he would have been nearly as big as he was if it weren't for that look, and the way he carried himself. He belongs up there with most of the major religious figures in that respect. A 20 Charisma score, with a +2 pompadour of greasiness, and +2 shoes of blue suede. When I was a kid I just excepted him as "the best of the best" and wasn't until I developed my own tastes later and was recommended much cooler music that I realized that even the great ones eventually start to fade if the music can't keep up with the image. PLAYLIST ALTERATIONS - Let's reimagine the King's first album as a 5-star experience: Side One 1. "Hound Dog" 2. "Don't Be Cruel" 3. "Blue Suede Shoes" 4. "Mystery Train" 5. "I Got a Woman" Side Two 1. "Heartbreak Hotel" 2. "That's All Right Mama" 3. "Blue Moon of Kentucky" 4. "Money Honey" 5. 'Baby Let's Play House" FURTHER LISTENING - Here's Little Richard by Little Richard - Hound Dog: The Peacock Recordings by Big Mama Thornton - The Dance Album of Carl Perkins by Carl Perkins - Johnny Burnette And The Rock 'N Roll Trio by Johnny Burnette And The Rock 'N Roll Trio

I understand the importance of Elvis ... his contribution to Rock and Roll. But he didn't write songs; he just covered other artists, and most of the time the original version was better than the Elvis copy.

The Good: The King of Rock and Roll The Bad: The state of royalty these days… The Ugly: … I’ve got nothing… Album cover shows up and I have 2 instant reactions: Finally get the king, and there goes the ranking for the ‘50s. The first should be a no-brainer… but my second comment has to do with the annoying fact that the ‘50s seems to be my favorite decade of music as it holds the highest average score of all decades. This changes today. Blue Suede Shoes, what a great song to start a freshman album with. Arguably the best song. It is catchy, it has a great flow, and it just makes us want more! Then more kicks in… and I started scratching my head wondering what the hell I was listening to. At times you are expecting there to be a punchline, as you think you are attending a comedy show… because this is not serious, is it? I’d love to write something smart. I’d love to write something insightful. I’d’d loved to have loved this album… 2* is what I am giving the King…

Generous 2, to be fair he did well for himself given the lack of acting and musical talent.

how did this start rock and roll

no words i can use to describe this will top the review describing elvis as "mr beast of the 50s". the biggest guy in the world because he picked the right time and place to gentrify black music to sell to a white audience. i just don't care about this fucking guy. he doesn't even sound that good. i don't think any of these better than the originals that he's covering. ana already covered it but "tutti fruiti" is one of the most egregious ones on here because he's just mumbling his way through it at a slightly higher tempo. it's awful. a lot of this was new at the time or whatever but, genuinely, in 2026: who *gives* a shit about this anymore?

Not even the best album to use this album text style. Elvis was really good at taking great songs by mostly black singers and making them more palatable for a white audience and I just hate everything about that. I'd be almost able to overlook it if I felt like Elvis' prescence added to the songs, but I don't think it does. Listening to the neutered version of Little Richard's great Tutti Frutti actively annoyed me. Ray Charles' I got a Woman is watered down harder then a homeopathic medicine. Even the standards in here are done better elsewhere: this rendition of Blue Moon is so less interesting then either The Marcels or Sinatra. I think the only song that holds up to an original version (at least from the songs I know of) is Blue Suede Shoes, which is largely good because it sticks very closely to the Carl Perkins version. The sound quality here is god awful too, its a debut so I tend to give some leeway there afterall, maybe the budget just didn't afford much better? As an exercise in enjoyment though, its so noticeable and grating. It can be historically significant as it wants, but it cannot be more then straight ass.

Not my jam. I know this shit was supposed to be revolutionary, but I can’t get past how he essentially stole all these riffs from black folks in the South.

Elvis sucks. He stole from black people then raped a bunch of girls.

Want to make thirty minutes seem like an eternity? Put on this album! I’d rather listen to the original songs performed by the African American artists that put their heart and soul into every note.

was he influential? sure. does he owe his entire career to black musicians of the time? you betcha.

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

i can dig later Elvis when he started leaning more into gospel and soul; this is just a boring slog

stolen swagger

It is what it is, African-American music whitewashed in the loudest way possible.

Amazing stuff. Good, honest rock and roll. What a way to enter the world of celebrity.

He is the King of Rock n' Roll for a reason. No particular race invented Rock n' Roll. It was a constant cultural exchange in America the melting pot if you will, that resulted in the emergence of the form. Elvis Presley was not an appropriator of other people's culture. His two biggest hits off this album were written by white folk, and in the case of "Blue Moon", written 2 decades before rock was even a thing. Presely was respectful of the other contributors to the form and included covers of their songs (black folk mostly, but others as well) not as some rip off, but to honestly pay respect them as well, even when it wasn't yet the thing to do. He brought the people together, not divided them apart. Little Richard eventually credited Presely for covering "Tutti Fruitti" because it allowed Richard Penniman the opportunity to reach white audiences. It was Richard's signing of a bad deal with Speciality Records, not what Elvis Presley or what Pat Boone did with his songs, that screwed him over. Everything that evolved down the family tree of Rock n' Roll and all of its sub-genres in the modern day is possible because of this barrier breaking album that set everything into motion. Presely did not merely do a simulacrum of the form, to the Blues and R&B of the black community, he added his own way of performing those genres, as well as introducing his own influences from country, rockabilly, and gospel to the form before passing it on to the next generation. Also, this doesn't said often enough, Presely's band gave some fantastic performances, given the limitations of the studio at the time. Without his popularity, who knows if The Beatles would do what they did. For John Lennon said it himself, "Before Elvis, there was nothing..." Favorites: "Blue Suede Shoes", "I Got a Woman", "Blue Moon"

Love a bit of Elvis

Lots of known classics, it's genuinely a good album.

yaaasss, real classic worth of listening. loved it. 5-5

Muy bien disco. Sin dudas historia de la música.