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Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
1956
Wikipedia
Reviews
Like a review? Give it a thumb up to help us display relevant reviews!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.
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.
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.
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!
His name definitely creates a confirmation bias, but to me this album is legendary and perfect.
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.
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.
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 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
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.
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”
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.
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.
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)
Album histórico e extremamente importante. Destaque para: Blue Suede Shoes, I'm Counting on You e Trying to get to You. Dá pra ouvir muito de Beatles nas duas últimas
Classic album, start to finish. Elvis raw as ever and about to start killing it in his career!
Disco referencial. La primera piedra del mito sustentada en rock&roll primigenio. Obra maestra por el impacto, por el momento y por las formas.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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!
The King's début! It's an artifact as much as entertainment. And it is entertaining. The intro to Blue Suede Shoes is maybe one of my favorite album openers, ever. Love this song. "One-Sided Love Affair" is a new favorite. "Tutti Fruitti" is an old favorite. It's true that part of my love for this album is as a historical document, but I do love this music!
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)
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
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
This is the king of rock'n'roll. I've got this album: nice album! Here he makes some covers, great covers. And all the songs are very good.
Swinging great tunes, massive historical impact, know they're all covers but what music isn't? 4.6
És difícil no donar les 5 estrelles al disc, malgrat el seu contingut ha quedat ja tan superat. Bressol de tot plegat, punt d'inflexió musical, cultural i sociològic al segle XX. Va ajudar a construir la cultura pop a la qual vivim i els seus temes són ja estàndards del rock i d'una època
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
Awesomely paced album. I’d never listened to it, but I can see why he had such musical influence.
I think my grandmother will disown me if i didn't like this haha but yea, this is good music and not my first time listening to this
King of Rock has to have a spot on this list. This album contained many of his greatest hits.
Songs are ok, recording pretty basic. There are a lot more exciting albums from that era. Though it's definitely easy to see why it started off rock and roll. Simple instrumentation but effective.
As you would expect from The King. He blew the doors wide open with a wink and a wiggle.
An amazing intro to young Elvis. Whether it was cultural appropriation or bringing a new type of music to an audience who wasn't as openminded as we are today, it's still a fun listen.
Short and sweet! Most of the songs are around 2 minutes in length, so it's a nice quick tour of some fun songs. It's nice to hear so many styles represented and blended--and to see the roots of what would become other genres.
I really liked this! I've never listened to much Elvis, but I thought this was a really good album, especially for the time it was made.
There are a lot of songs I didn't realize were on one album. I didn't think I was a big Elvis fan but it kept me moving during work.
Though I loved his sound, it was definitely in the back of my mind that a lot of these were covers of black artists. Preferred his high energy songs to the crooning.
Wonderful Chet Atkins guitar throughout, especially on Just Because. Blue Moon is just eery.
Short sweet and to the point as the King steps into the room. From the opening bars of "Blue Suede Shoes" you're hooked. You're in love. You're making eyes at the cute gal making milkshakes at the sockhop only to jump into your hotrod and race away into the night. This album is alive, full of youthful energy. It is regal, when the king steps into the room. They say he is only sleeping under Graceland, until the great and fateful day when he is needed. Only then will the king return.
THIS SHIT IS JAMMER!!! My favourite album I've listen to so far. It's not just the jammers like blue suede shoes and tutti frutti but other songs are such nice changes of pace. Fav songs: Blue suede shoes, tutti frutti, just because, I'll never let you go, Blue moon 9/M
Found it really hard to rate due to the ubiquity of some of the songs in popular culture.
12 Songs 28 minutes. Opens up with a cracker in Blue Suede Shoes. I Got a Woman too great tune. Tooti Frutti. Great stuff
The lyrics are cheesy, the sound dated, but oOoo baby there's magic in the pairing of this man's voice and the polished production. The King is dead, long live the King
I’m pretty blown away by this album. Especially after Fats, which I liked, but felt was one note. I’ve generally liked Elvis when I’ve heard his songs but written him off because of the flabby-pill-ridden-Graceland thing. But like all great American stories I’ve since learned that his weirdness was on account of the trauma of fame and caused by his handlers working him to the bone and there was once a pure young starry eyed Elvis who loved black music and this album is that Elvis. But shouldn’t I wag my finger at this album because it represents the musical appropriation of black culture which set in motion 50 yrs of great music and deepened the rock and roll lie perpetuated by white supremacy? Elvis is really the Christopher Columbus of American music. The Tuti Fruti cover seems egregious and a step too far. However, the rockabilly sound of country and rock is undeniable. The variety of ballads and swinging is fantastic. The vocal/pitch variations at the end of the album are great—I hear Mac Demarco in Blue Moon. In a vacuum this would be a five. But we don’t live in a vacuum, and as an apology to black culture and a finger wag to white supremacy I’m going to ding this album one star.
This is a weird album to me because I know a few of these songs but not this version of these songs. "blue moon" is a bop, not as good as The Marcel's version but still interesting to hear the original.
Liked the album. I saved a few in Liked Songs. I think it got a little slow around the middle. But great album !!
Presley has a really good voice in this. I was surprised I enjoyed the deep-cuts so much. Good classic rock guitar work
My thought going into this: hm, Elvis is usually an easy listen, I should be able to get through this without too much effort. My thoughts after listening: what a time machine. Made me feel like I was livin’ the 50s rockabilly life, whatever that was. Great fun and gave me a few smiles, especially the more upbeat numbers which were separated by slow, corny love ballads with flat lyrics. He does some cool things with his voice, which I really like. And it was so, so much fun to listen to. I couldn’t give it less than 4 stars.
probably a 3.5 for me musically, but definitely deserves to be on this list and bumping up for cultural significance.
Emoji Monday = 😀🕺🏽 “Blue Suede Shoes” was one of the first ‘adult’ songs I started listening to on my own as a preteen. This brought back pleasant memories of the families’ old portable record player and me rocking- out in the basement. Elvis’ voice is unparalleled even on this early, somewhat uneven material. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Each track is bouncy and full of energy. Great listen I Got a Woman was a surprise to pop up for sure and recognized other tracks from not Elvis
I have previously talked poorly of Elvis on this project but he pulls through on this OG record.
Easy 4. I thought there would be more of the classic hits on here since it's one of the classic album art examples, but still good.
Second Listen. Brilliant Album. Loved it (almost every song). Standouts: Blue Moon, I'm Counting on you, I Love You Because,
Nice, easy, comforting, traditional, too characteristic - would not listen if not goin for a theme though
I’m sure this was a hugely impactful album and had great influence on the era. It is still pretty good. 6.8 out of 10
I really enjoyed listening to this! I love ‘I got a Woman’- great track. It does get the hips moving- even on a Sunday morning! You can imagine that this must have been scandalous for fifties ‘dads’ whose teenage daughters were listening to it!
A really good album. 4/5. Stand out: Blue Moon, Tryin' to Get to you, Blue Suede Shoes.
La cosa es que hay tantísimo material de Elvis que cada disco tiene algo bueno que sacarle y este no es la excepción. Especialmente para ser el primero, de 1956, este disco tiene un par de joyas. Blue Suede Shoes es la rola que define al Elvis rockanrolero (separado del Elvis Contry y el Elvis romántico) con esa forma de cantar como con pequeños e intencionales gallos que se vuelven icónicos. Blue Moon es también una excelente rola que se vuelve la firma de lo que es cantarle a una enamorada. Por otro lado, aunque el disco es cortito, también tiene un par de cosas que no brillan igual, como I Love You Because y I'll Never Let You Go.
One of the best things Elvis ever did was bring good music to a wider audience. That being said, what a voice he had.
4.0 - It's hard to judge Elvis based on his own musical merits because he wrote none of these songs. Certainly, he's a soulful crooner and he does justice to most of these songs, with the exception of "Tutti Frutti" and "I Got a Woman" that sound weak compared to their originals. Still, I think it's a great record and a fun spin.
This is the Elvis I have always known and grown up with. I think I could listen to any song on this album and be happy.
This is incredible for the debut album that popularized rock n roll. There's only like two tracks ("I'm Counting on You" and "Just Because") that I really don't like. All the other tracks are solid. There's a fair mix of rock n roll and traditional pop songs. It's like a school dance, going back and forth between upbeat and slow dances, but I wish they didn't change every two or three songs. You can hear the country influences in songs like "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Cry," reminding me country used to actually be good in the 50s and 60s. Strange highlight for me is "Blue Moon," my favorite track but also a very usual ballad. There's intense energy in the covers "Blue Suede Shoes," "Tutti Frutti," and "Money Honey," and of course with his signature vocals, they really do give the most popular versions (Perkins, Little Richard) a run for their money. Probably my favorite Elvis album, and it's not just for the mass influence on rock music. Favorites: Blue Moon, I'll Never Let You Go, Blue Suede Shoes, I Got a Woman, I Love You Because
Classic album from Elvis in the early, early days of rock and roll. Tight, energetic and fun to listen to. His covers really don't touch the originals most of the time, but they don't need to. His charisma, his resonant, heartfelt vocal style, his raw talent. 66 years later, and the music still speaks for itself. Fave Songs: Blue Suede Shoes, Money Honey, Blue Moon, I Got a Woman, I'm Counting on You, One Sided Love Affair
Such a vibe, I loved listening to it. I can only imagine a young Elvis signing his first deal back in the 50s. Very classic and fun album. Favourite songs: I'm Gonna Sit Down and Cry (Over You), Blue Suede Shoes, I'll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin').
Elvis's debut in all of its glory. What a fantastic debut that has aged rather well for just how old it is. Probably one of my favorite renditions of Blue Moon ever (Take 9/M version). Absolutely beautiful. Can't believe he was only19 when he recorded that track.
All in all a pretty good album. Contains some essential Elvis songs but also contains quite a few filler songs that aren't at all memorable. But also a couple of underrated sleeper tracks. Just a good nice easy listen.
Pretty good! I'm sure that this was a lot more groundbreaking in 1956 as opposed to 2022, but I still like it. I really liked the lead guitar throughout the album. I'm not the biggest 50s rock fan, but this still holds up, even if it didn't knock my socks off.
Who doesn’t love Elvis? I had never listened to one of his albums in its entirety, which is probably true for many of these artists, but I enjoyed this. I didn’t know this was the first rock and roll album ever to make it to the top of the charts.
This review took me a while because I kept feeling like I was missing something. It could be generational, but I haven't been blown away by much of what I've heard. His version of Hound Dog is a sloppy non-sensical mess next to Big Mama Thornton's. I thought Elvis is Back! (our previous pick) was boring. At least I thought this debut album was better, but I still was having a hard time seeing what was GREAT. So, I did a real deep dive. I compared Elvis's versions of these songs to the previous versions (only 2 songs on the album are debuts, although Elvis didn't write anything - that wasn't a "thing" back then). I also watched some videos to compare. Here are my two main takeaways: 1) In almost all cases, Elvis's version is faster and wilder. In some cases that made the song more exciting, but it wasn't always a better thing. 2) You can't fully appreciate Elvis without the visual part. Elvis had moves and charisma and style. I watched various early performances, focusing on videos around the time this album came out. That's really what I think grabbed people. For example, Carl Perkins' original Blue Suede Shoes is a good track. Slower, but basically the same song. I watched a video of Carl Perkins and he was clearly the superior musician - great voice and really good guitar playing. But then I watched Elvis perform it and he was in a different league when it came to energy and charisma (and I guess sex appeal if that's your thing). So, I think to understand why Elvis was considered GREAT you can't just listen, you have to watch. I'm giving this album a 4 not a 5 because the album is just the music, not the entire package. It's really enjoyable but a lot of the individual tracks are done better by others (for example, Little Richard's original Tutti Frutti is so much better. Then again, Little Richard IS rock & roll). The only track on this debut album I didn't like was Blue Moon. I listened to the first recorded version of this Rodgers & Hart standard (recorded by Ted Fio Rito and His Orchestra) and that was much better than the Elvis version (incidentally, the definitive version of Blue Moon is the later doo wop version by the Marcels with the famous doo wop line that I won't even attempt to type - just go listen). Favorite Tracks: Blue Suede Shoes, I Got a Woman (but go listen to the Ray Charles version!), One-Sided Love Affair (Elvis's singing style on this song is very entertaining), I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Cry (Over You), I'll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin'), Money Honey.
I don't know. I struggle with this whole era, where everyone is doing the same songs in their own style. Where's the originality? And how do you rate an artist who basically just sings and plays an instrument? I would roast a pop star from today's era who did that. I guess I'm rating the album but I didn't find it that interesting on first listen. Part of the problem is, from what I understand, the best music was released as singles back then. So albums contained weaker tracks. I'd agree here. This was the birth of rock and roll and the energy or passion on the album comes and goes. Blue Suede Shoes was great and in fact the first half of the album was pretty solid. I'm Counting on You was not as good (sound quality also weak); I Love You Because is a better soft ballad. Elvis' version of Tutti Frutti is inferior to Little Richard's. But he brings it back with Trying to Get to You. The last 4 tracks were a bit meh (including this version of Blue Moon - terrible arrangement). The album got noticeably better on second listen though. So, redeemed but not amazing.
I can really only imagine how this must have sounded to white people when it first came out: this is a really solid album that lays the foundation for some of Elvis’ best work later on. The hits are great, and his version of “Blue Moon” is a surprising lo-fi knockout.
Hvad á madur ad segja, rann vel í gegn. Hljóðheimur sem er búinn ad vera alltaf í kringum mig. Hlusta ekki mikið á Elvis nú til dags en yngri lögin hafa þó yfirleitt höfðað meira til mín.
Shame so many people stole the King's music and pre-dated it to the release of this album.
Hmm, I don’t know. The cultural impact of this album is immense, but...I don’t know. I feel like the original versions of the big songs here are better, and some of the ballads are easily skippable. I do like the reinterpretation of Blue Moon, and One-Sided Love Affair is pretty good, but the album as a whole is...I don’t know. How about 3 stars?
Between the weirdly chaste songs (maybe excluding "Tutti Fruiti") and Elvis occasionally trying to sing like someone else, it's a weird one. Feels like the label didn't know what to make of rock n roll, or Elvis, yet. Still dorky and kind of fun in spots. Favorite tracks: "Blue Suede Shoes", " Trying to Get to You"
Tutti Fruiti really enjoyable. One sided love affair is powerful too. Overall didn’t enjoy as much as I thought.
Some good songs but Elvis a stealing black culture punk lmao. Also wtf were those lyrics bro lmao tutti frutti bro ??
Ein weiteres Beispiel, dass man Kontributionen und die damit verbundene globale Entwicklungen und Einflüsse wertschätzen kann, ohne sie gut zu finden. Aus heutiger Sicht nichts bemerkenswertes für mich zu hören. Lässt sich dennoch gut ertragen. Abwechslungsreiche Stimmung der einzelnen Tracks. Interessant zum einmaligen hören, aber dadurch nicht sinnvoll für mich zu kategorisieren, also ungeeignet zum erneuten hören. Fazit: Kurz und schmerzlos.
Interesting how much of the earliest stuff is unfamiliar, and the how exaggerated the vocal styling is on some of these tracks
Production: 14/20 Songwriting: 12/20 Innovation: 14/20 Bangers: 10/20 Emotional response: 12/20 =52 A piece of history
Elvis fans are weird. Grown men with sideburns and shit. Blue Suede Shoes is good. Not a lot of variety but hard not to nod along to a handful of upbeat two minute songs. Liked it more than I expected.
Not an album I would choose to listen to, but I love to think of how incredible this must’ve sounded to young people in the early 1950s, hearing this kind of music for the first time. They’re well crafted song that were so edgy for the time. Elvis had a passion for that kind of music and just went for it! I think that’s really exciting.
Honestly, didn't love it as much as I thought I would, some songs are catchy to dance to!
I definitely appreciate the album for what it did for the future of rock music, however I rate albums based on my personal enjoyment rather than “how good” or “how prolific” I think they are which is why I can’t go higher.
I understand why Elvis was a big deal in his time, and I’m very grateful for his contribution to later bands, just his music is not my favorite
A fun old school rock and roll album. Not particularly my style, but I can understand why it was huge back in the day. A fun listen through Favorite Track(s): “Blue Suede Shoes” and “One-Sided Love Affair”
Es swingt hart, bietet sich an und verlangt alle Aufmerksamkeit, die ich durch die zeitliche Distanz nicht immer aufzubringen vermag. Opa erzählt vom Rock’n’Roll und wie er ihn erfunden hat. Das ist nicht böse gemeint. Songs sind klasse, aber sie bleiben Unterhaltungsmusik. Auch hier benötigte ich die 10er Skala. Im Meilenstein eingeritzte 2.5
Classic early Elvis with mostly blues and rock and roll covers. Blue Moon is probably the best song of the album, it has a dreamy and mysterious vibe, being the others just catchy and basic rock and roll hits for the dancefloor. The originals, especially the ones from Little Richard and Carl Perkins, are better. I prefer their voices over Elvis's, which I appreciate more on ballads.
I hate that fat elvis is so popular. I enjoy this sound a lot more. +1* *going to use this shorthand for albums I add to my library in Spotify*
Net als het vorige album van Elvis vind ik het moeilijk te beoordelen als album. Het is Elvis en die heeft heerlijke Rock 'n Roll nummers. Lekker om te dansen, dat zeker
Interesting that we get Elvis as a followup to Fats. Fats was to Elvis what Chuck Berry was to John Lennon—his black predecessor and muse who could never expect to achieve the same amount of success as his white protégé. Seems like they had a real great friendship though. This album comes from a time when albums weren't albums, but collections of tracks. It's all over the fucking place. Short and sweet, pretty fun listen.
I like Elvis, but I love problematic, late-career Elvis - the Elvis that abused laxatives, went on incoherent quaalude rants, married a teenager, flew in his private jumbo jet at 3am to rural Kansas to get a PB and banana sandwich. The idea of Elvis as a King in head to toe sequins who began his concerts with the theme from A Space Odyssey. This is just Elvis. Which is fine. Clear standouts for me are "I'll Never Let you Go" and "Blue Moon", minimal, soaked in reverb, and deeply deeply haunting. Interesting that he pioneered (white) rock n roll but its his ballads that really stand the test of time. B-
This is a real mixed bag. The "Good songs" are I got a woman, Blue suede shoes, Just because, sit right down, and money honey. The "okay" songs are I'm counting on you, trying to get to you, and tutti fruiti. The awful songs are I love you because, one sided love affair, I'll never let you go (It's terrible except the last 30 secs), and blue moon (this song clearly isn't done). If some of these songs came on the radio, I wouldn't change it, but there are some stinkers dragging it down. 6/10.
The King of Rock's first album! This platinum album and its singles made Elvis - as well as Rock and Roll - famous. This is a classic, but for some reason I still can't get down to Elvis' music.
Not an Elvis fan, it’s good music but he is very over rated and to my ears plundered the material of true Mavericks of the era.
Fun and you can hear the pop influence but then Sam Cooke came on and likes that way better
Blue suede shoes is a bop. Tutti Fruity slaps. The rest of the tracks don't come very close to they quality of those two. Generally good though, Elvis has a great voice. Even though there really aren't any interesting themes, it's a solid record.
Elvis Presley always feels a little mysterious to me, as he was unfortunately dead before I was born, but had such an impact on bringing a fusion of genres to the masses, Undoubtedly one of the most significant albums in the history of contemporary music, setting the scene for rockabilly. Blue Moon sounds so good.
I wish I could listen to Elvis without all of the image of poor impersonators coming to mind. The album is good. "Tryin' to Get to You" and "Money Honey" are the two tracks that I might listen to again. "Tutti Fruitti" sounds better from Little Richard. There were a couple tracks that I'd want to skip. This album gets an official "it's okay".
Very good. Not a big Elvis fan. Overall 3/5 Standouts: I'll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin'), Blue Moon, and Blue Suede Shoes.
meh, I'm in between with Elvis, not a bad album but nothing crazy either. 3 seems fair.
I know this is a classic, but I couldn't really get into it as much as I had hoped for. That being said, it's a quick listen and not one song lasted too long. A very distinctive style here. 3.5 not quite a 4 yet for me, but I definitely understand why it's on the list.
Expected that this is gonna be good and it was. Surely is an remarkable album. Not an Elvis fan, so a strong 3/5.
solo porque su voz es malditamente icónica y las canciones son lo suficientemente cortas para no aburir, voy a darle a este álbum 3 estrellas.
This is culturally significant, but I can't see myself putting any of these in rotation. background instrumentation sounds like a high school jam band
Some good tunes I've never given a serious listen to, though also a fair few songs that aren't to my tastes. I never knew I've Got A Woman in the Kanye West song came from Elvis! Will try to listen to this again.
Great Elvis album. Not many super hits, but consistently good. And succinct. I love an reasonably lengthed album.
Classic 50's rock, very recognizable that it's Elvis even on songs I hadn't heard before. Can definitely see how this sparked such a movement in music
I knew a lot of these tracks going in, and I'd like to know more about the originals, just to breath a different sort of life into them. But Elvis does good here.
It's ok, I guess. You probably needed to be around when it was released to really appreciate it. Sure, he created the cliches, but they're still cliches.
2.8 - solid album. Can hear why it’s influential, but not something that really sticks out to me, especially for the time. Very vocal heavy. My favorite songs on the album were probably the ones I was most familiar with from other artists (e.g. I Got a Woman).
So funny that this music was completely scandalous when it came out. I find that I like the ballads more than the rock n roll numbers.
Let's first acknowledge the African American songwriters and performers who originally wrote many of the tracks on this album. Elvis - he's cool but he's also a bit of a dick in that rock n roll way. This album is full of swagger, a very self-assured debut. The track that surprised me the most was his version of "Blue Moon". It's weird and haunting. If that were to show up on the Spotify EP of a contemporary bedroom R&B artist, it would be cool. But Elvis was doing that 75 years ago. Young Elvis was also absolutely bringing it with the LP cover design, his name in pink.
Gran inicio de una de las voces más importantes en la historia de la música. Me cuesta un poco calificar este disco porque siento que no debo contar I Got a Woman ni Tutti Frutti, que tenían 1 y 2 años de haber salido. 3.5 estrellas que bajan a 3. Songs: Blue Suede Shoes, Trying To Get To You,
The King, does sound very dated now and he didn’t write any of the songs, but deserves to be in this list.
Pretty standard elvis album, shows the overlap with original black rock and roll but not really that special
I enjoy listening to Elvis for the historical angle but it is still enjoyable enough on its own.
A classic record to be sure, with plenty of fun to be had. Favorites: "Blue Syede Shoes", "I Got a Woman", "Trying to Get to You"
Elivs è piacevole e piuttosto moderno per la sua epoca, però alla fine è "pop" anni '50, dopo pochi ascolti stufa.
barely average 50s album. I like old fat Elvis, but can see why this was probably a big deal at the time.
Quite honestly, I know I *should* be using words like "groundbreaking" and "revelatory" etc etc etc. But on listening back to this, with about four exceptions, it really just isn't that great. In fact, in places, it is downright awkward. Elvis hadn't discovered his 'voice' yet and flits between some pretty bizarre vocal affectations that sound really quite bizarre in places. And, stone me, the songwriting isn't all that either.
I'll give this some credit as a groundbreaking LP at the time it came out and there are 3-4 songs that have held up pretty well. But not that great an album on its merits.
Can very much appreciate the impact of this as The King's first proper album. I've never listened to it in full but the songs are classics. Blue Suede Shoes was a pivotal moment in rock. The swagger and legacy of the King makes this an important album but Tutti Frutti and the like are overly sanitised and, for that reason, it's 3 stars.
It was fine. Kinda ended up not listening to the songs as they were pretty cliche most of them and short
A few great tracks on this but a number of songs too slow and the same. Was still a fun listen, I had never head the full album before and glad I gave it a go
I totally get why this album is on the 1001 albums list. The historical significance of it cannot be disputed. There are also some great session musicians on here including Chet Atkins and Floyd Cramer. The songs are catchy and pleasant enough. With all that being said this album doesn't really do much for me with the exception of the two blue songs: "Blue Suede Shoes" and "Blue Moon". I found the songwriting on Elvis is Back which came out a few years later to be a bit more interesting.
My mother in-law is a big Elvis fan. So my wife knows a good deal more about him than I would. I do listen to him from time to time, so I was familiar with a lot of these. While I know a number of rock songs were later sung by white artists, hearing "Tutti Frutti" sung by Elvis is just... weird. It's just such an iconic song, and having someone else do it and not change it up more... it doesn't sound right. I'm sure there's stuff of mine that my kid thinks "that's Dad-music." But he has been listening to Rush and Zeppelin, so I don't know. I really consider this "parent music," and it's just nothing I get into. Roll into that people calling him the King of Rock and Roll when they basically ignore a huge percentage of the population, it does take some of the enjoyment out. Still, what he does he does well. It's just not for me.
It's cute how controversial this was. Elvis had a great voice. I enjoyed most of the songs.
Historical but not great today. Enjoyable in places, but often samey and with poor production.
Not bad. I like the song Tutti Frutti, there were other songs here I hadn't heard before.
It seems really strange now that an artist could put out an album composed entirely of cover songs and use it as a platform to become one of the most famous people on the face of the earth. It's a testimony the Elvis's charisma that he is able to pull this off. This album doesn't feature many of what I would consider to be Elvis's best songs. Instead we're treated to a bunch of songs that had been released in the years before this album by other artists who did more definitive versions. There are some exceptions. I think Presley's versions of Blue Suede Shoes and Blue Moon may be better than the originals. However, he adds nothing to songs like I Got a Woman and Tutti Fruity. Presley gets a lot of credit for bringing the music of black artists to white audiences, but I'm not sure that that helped the black artists all that much. This album sounds okay. Elvis's style is very distinctive and is already well-developed here. The lack of originality in the compositions works against him here. It's fine that he didn't write his own music, but I can't get over the fact that Elvis got famous doing cover songs that were substantially similar to artists who were still trying to be discovered by the world at large. This album did a disservice to people like Carl Perkins and Little Richard. It makes the album feel a bit shallow, since Elvis's looks seem to have a lot to do with why he was so successful where original artists weren't. He is a talented musician, there's no denying it, and his voice is heavenly. It just feels like he's stealing other people's glory with this album 3/5
Well .. it has Blue Suede Shoes and is a Culturally Important Artifact. But also it has two of the weakest, most milquetoast covers ever, of I Got A Woman and Tutti Frutti. It made me want to make a theory that Elvis was the first Ed Sheeran. But I couldn't be bothered.
When an album opens with Blue Suede Shoes, you immediately land in familiar ground. Even if you don't love Elvis, he's ingrained in our psyche and this album is him at his rockabilly best with a brief interlude for I Love You Because.
Aaah Elvis, a beautiful man but this wasn’t from the era that I loved him from and it didn’t hold my interest enough to listen again. Is ** mean ?
The fact that Elvis got famous for doing bad Ray Charles and Little Richard covers (among others) is a bit embarrassing. Get your shit together, America. Best track: Blue Suede Shoes
Apparently it changed rock'n'roll forever, but it's all covers... Pleasant enough to listen to though. Fella's got a good voice. I give it a treasonous 2.5 stars.
I found it a bit generic but that's probably because he was the first and it's been done to death since!
Thought I would like this more than I did. Blue Suede Shoes was the only song I really liked. The rest was ok but not my favorite Presley stuff.
Really didn't care for it. Not much more to say than that. It is not awful but it is definitely not something that I would want to listen to again/regularly
I am sure it was a great album at the time and that a lot of artists covered each other at the time but I just couldn't get into the "I got a Woman" or especially the "Tutti Fruiti" covers. The rest of the songs were just okay for me but I do love "Blue Suede shoes" and "Blue Moon" as singles.
I remember enjoying Elvis Presley's songs during my explore-music-through-youtube phase. I liked almost every song from his compilation album, "Elv1s: 30 #1 Hits". My general thought about his music as a whole is that the songs usually lie somewhere between ballad and rock-'n'-roll. The closer it is to ballad, the better. I know he's the King of Rock-'n'-roll, but his voice sounds like a wood being sawed when he's singing rock songs. Sorry. When I received his self-titled debut, I expected to hear at least one of the tracks from "Elv1s: 30 #1 Hits", perhaps at least "Heartbreak Hotel", one of my favorite Elvis songs. But there is none, because to quote Wikipedia: "In the 1950s, general practice dictated tracks having greater commercial potential to be released as singles, with tracks of lesser appeal placed on albums." And that's probably why this album is such a letdown personally. It felt dull, especially when compared to his other songs. And weirdly, I enjoyed the rockabilly songs more than the ballad ones. Not even the fan beloved "Blue Moon" impressed me. But perhaps it's because the songs here have the minimal production that is observed in "Heartbreak Hotel". But I guess this album is still important for bringing rock-'n'-roll into the mainstream. He covered those rock-'n'-roll songs from people of color so kids who listen to it don't have to lie to their parents that they're listening to a white singer. Perhaps he's definitely the King of Rock-'n'-roll for bringing the genre into the forefront of the music scene. Whether these covers are great is probably a matter of debate. I'm particularly familiar with Little Richard's bluesy banger, "Tutti Frutti". And Presley's cover of it is surprisingly dull, lacking the energy of the original. Overall, influential but not that great.
Never been a huge fan of the old Elvis sound. In terms of formative rock I like Bill Haley and the Comets much better. I appreciate this for what it is though. Didn't realize until this play through that he didn't really write any of his original hits. 2/5
‘Elvis was a hero to most but he never meant shit to me. Sucker’s straight up racist, simple and plain. Motherfuck him and John Wayne.’ – Public Enemy’s Chuck D and Flavor Flav ‘I saw him in concert, Vegas, a few months before he died. He was obviously drugged, very overweight, sweaty and struggling for breath. But he still put on a great show!’ – my mom Ah, the many faces of Elvis: the Vegas incarnation, for sure, with full sequenced cape. Karate Elvis. Graceland Elvis, of course. There’s movie Elvis, gospel Elvis, Elvis in the military, DEA Elvis! But the 1001ers charge is to review just the one particular LP given- in this case, rockabilly Elvis, as yet unfouled by fame and fortune Elvis. The cover reveals it all- just stripped down, pure rockin’ Elvis and the boys. Well, at least on most of the tracks. I could personally do without the sappy numbers like ‘I Love You Because,’ or the dreadful ‘Blue Moon.’ Roy Orbison, sure. Elvis, hmm. But when the joint gets jumpin’ with ‘Blue Suede Shoes,’ and ‘I’m Gonna Sit Right Down And Cry,’ this Elvis and this combo could fit very easily into a daylong punk rock jamboree. Still… you know… people whom I adore- John Lennon, as a great example- seem to always adore Elvis just as much. And, at the expense of bordering on rock n’ roll blasphemy, even rockabilly Elvis sounds just ok in this listener’s ears. Just ok. Rock n’ roll can be served up as a fancy, multi-course affair, dinner candles and such. And that’s fine when you’re in the mood. But other times, when you just wanna piece of deep-fried chicken and a biscuit, then 'Elvis Presley' will fill you right up… at least temporarily.
Wow this is over-rated. Such an iconic debut album but the music just can not stand up to the legacy. Well, maybe the music does but the delivery is where it falls down. This guy is the definition of Style over Content and without the visual it just sounds second rate to me. I had to go listen to Little Richard and Ray Charles to set things right after this finished.
Perus-Elvistä. Tylsää rock 'n roll jurnuttelua ärsyttävän teennäisellä lauluäänellä. Kertakuuntelu riitti muodostamaan mielipiteen.
This album started with classic Elvis. Blue Suede Shoes is exactly what you want. Then immediately falls down, then never really recovers. There are still listenable songs on the record but nothing surpasses the outdated to become the classic beyond that intro. This might have been a firestorm in its day but it didn’t hold up for me. (Oh and Little Richard made the definitive version of Tutti Fruitti before this album even dropped.) The king is dead. Long live the shoes.
I wanted to like this. But every song on here has been done better by other people, since. So influential, yes. Good listen, naaah.
So I listened to an album called Elvis (1956) on YouTube, and after perusing the reviews I've found out that what I listened to was not at all this album as it did not have any of the songs mentioned by others here. Luckily I already know most of those so I'm not going to listen to another one, you hear one Elvis album you've heard them all. He has three styles, the uptempo rockabilly, the blues, and the love (or gospel) croon. Very formulaic, he has a nice voice but he's also the original "manufactured" pop star. He's given all of songs and a career, and in no control of his life or music. Just playing the three types of songs and they all sound the same, can't get into it. Also, my Elvis is Fat Elvis. 2 stars
pas retenu grand chose si ce nest que elvis fera vraiment tout pour pas que sa meuf s’en aille
Was originally pretty excited to have an Elvis album to listen too. However this album disappointed me a bit. It’s 12 songs and just under 30 mins. The songs are short and quick. Some are up tempo and feels like it plays at double speed. Some of these songs his voice is a bit higher pitch which felt odd for Elvis. Kind of underwhelming overall but it did show that he had potential. 5.3/10
I didn't realize that the first song on the first elvis album was blue suede shoes I'm not the hugest elvis fan, but he's the king so i guess i gotta listen Got into a huge fight with my father about a third of the way through this album! Pretty excited about that, and it definitely hasn't soured my listening experience at all. Ok tutti fruitti is annoying as shit I don't remember a single song off of this record, besides blue suede shoes, which i liked. I guess i can see why people like elvis, but I don't think i do.
Did not listen. I honestly can't stand Elvis's mush-mouthed singing, but don't tell Aunt Sue.
I just never got into Elvis. He's the Don Corleone of rock music: he's the original, but his biggest fans have ended up making it so that Elvis became a parody of himself.
Kolejny krazek od pana Presleya, tym razem debiutancki material studyjny z 56, zatytulowy oczywiscie eponimicznie, chociaz wydany w 56, to niektore z trakow byly juz sprzedawane singlowo w 54, bo przeciez jakos major musial sprzedac mlodego utalentowego muzyka, ktory dodatkowo tworzyl cos swiezego, bo tak mozna okreslic nagrywanie rockabillitowych coverow szlagierow bluesa czy country, ktorych spuscizne czuc na tym nagraniu, ale jednak sprzedana w nowej formie, bo pojawiaja sie elektryki, big banda zastepuje bardziej standardowy band czteroosobowy, w wiekszosci, jesli okladka i personelowa lista nie klamia sam Elvis gra na akustyku i pianine na tryin to get to you, jakos wersji spotifajowej pozostawia wiele do zyczenia, bo jest to jeden z dziwniejszych miksow mono na sterego jakie slyszalem, ale moze tez jest to sprawa samego rocznika wydania, ze brzmi tak akwaryjnie, dziwne echa, trzaski i praski, tak jak na innych materialach covery to milosne opowiesci w ktorych ciezko szukac czegos innego niz popowego spiewania do tanczonych mlodych i szczesliwych ludzi, jedynym utworem ktory znalem przed odsluchem byl openingowy blue suede shoes, ktory siedzial mi w glowie glownie przez kultowy opening, ktory wielokrotnie byl przerabiany na potrzeby kolejnych epok muzykowania, trzeci Presley na liscie, a ja nadal nie jestem przekonany do jego muzyki, a dyskografia spora, wiec cos pewnie jeszcze sie trafi do zmiany opinii, na plejke rokowanska wrzuce jedynie wspomniany butowy traczek
can only stand his voice for so long - makes most songs sound the same. no songs really stood out. 5/10
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.