Elvis Presley

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

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

Elvis Presley? More like Pelvis Presley.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

A vibrant album.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The King will always get 5 stars from me!

Well that was a god damned delight.

A banger from start to finish.

10/10

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

Great

Great album, multiple perfect songs

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

It’s Elvis. I mean, c’mon. 5 stars.

Elvis. What more can you say?

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

tutti fruti au ruri wtf ruru

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

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

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

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

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

He's just good

Another great one by the King

Bops

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

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

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

Wonderful

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

Muy bueno

Hard not to give elvis five stars really

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

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

Good album, Elvis has great range

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

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

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

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

LOVE ELVIS

LOVE

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

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

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

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.

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

Classic

Finally I listened to a whole Elvis

It all begins and ends with Elvis!

Classic

Vielleicht ist das auch nur Confirmation Bias, aber Elvis Presley ist einfach nice

He is the King. Tracks are familiar and as expected. A fun listen and deserving placement on the 1001 list.

Fantastic album, great variety, almost every song an absolute banger.

Great album!

hell yeah

This list wouldn't exist without this album. It would've been wild to be a kid around this time. One day there's music as you know it and the next day there's Rock and Roll. Set the world on fire. Elvis was the king.

The basis of rnr

The only bad thing about Elvis is that he is so iconic he completely overshadows the amazing band backing him up. Scotty Moore deserves more praise!

The king is alive

Blue suede shoes: 10/10 I’m counting on you: 10/10 I got a women: 10/10 One-sided love affair: 10/10 I love you because: 8/10 Just because: 7/10 Tutti frutti: 10/10 Trying to get to you: 7/10 I’m gonna sit right down and cry: 7/10 I’ll never let you go: 6/10 Blue moon: 6/10 Money honey: 7/10

Can’t mess with Elvis

whatever man it’s elvis

Awesome early Elvis

Elvis is such a bloody legend! There are some great tracks on this album. Some don't even sound like him.

Elvis is my mom's favorite. I get it! 5/5

Elvis was special. He oozes so much character on this record, it almost sounds like a comeplete charicature. This is my 3rd listen and I've finally started really loving the middle of this album. I find Elvis is still strongest on this album during the slower songs, that take of "Blue Moon" is insane. I listened to it while on the verge of sleeping and it was mind blowing. Also the guitar work on this album is fantastic

Absolute classic!

Elvis was influential. He had major sex appeal/rizz. I mean we all know the words to his many hits. Never listened to this album through all that but I enjoyed it

First of all, brilliant album cover. Reading about the history of Elvis is rather interesting. One can't say simply that Elvis simply "stole" African-American music and made it white in a time where racial segregation was still unfortunately prevalent. Of course, he was strongly influenced by this music, but he had the vision to bring it to a new (white) audience. And it appears he was well aware of the debt he had to the black performers that came before him. There's an argument that his music helped to reduce the boundaries between white and black culture at the time and that seems fair. Then to the rather immense cultural impact Elvis had. He was one of the first sex symbols, potentially. Some quotes from wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_impact_of_Elvis_Presley#Danger_to_American_culture): Frank Sinatra opined: "His kind of music is deplorable, a rancid smelling aphrodisiac. It fosters almost totally negative and destructive reactions in young people" His actions and motions were called "a strip-tease with clothes on" or "sexual self-gratification on stage". In August 1956 in Jacksonville, Florida, a local juvenile court judge called Presley a "savage" and threatened to arrest him if he shook his body while performing at Jacksonville's Florida Theatre... Sounds crazy now, but Elvis shook up the music game quite significantly. The music, from 1956(!), is still a pleasant listen today - albeit somewhat cheesy at times. Can't give anything but a 5*, all things considered. Great stuff.

I knew as soon as I saw Blue Suede Shoes as the opening track it was going to be good I love the 50's style music and the quality of the recording - something about that muffled/crackling sound A few songs I knew already, and the others were just as good! 5 ⭐️

A favorite of mine!

++: Blues Suede Shoes, I Got A Woman, One Sided Love Affair, Just Because, Tutti Frutti, Tryin' to Get to You, I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Cry (Over You), Blue Moon +: I'm Counting on You, I Love You Because, I'll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin'), Money Honey 8,5/10

How can I give The Kings debut any less than a 5?

I’m at a 4.5 that will just barely get the bump up to a 5. I’ve never heard a full Elvis album until this point – obviously, I’d be a moron to not know the hits, which is why I’m very glad this is an album with maybe 4 of them at most, and only 2 if you count the fact that Ray Charles and Little Richard did “I Got A Woman” and “Tutti Frutti” way better than Elvis did here. I didn’t know a lot of the tracks on here, and I enjoyed most of them. I’d be remiss to not acknowledge that yes, this entire album is basically a cover album of black music made more palatable to white people at a point where everything was too racist to give those black composers and musicians an inch of credit (unless you were an undeniable superstar, and even then…). With that said, huge credit to the backing band; a lot of these are really well adapted for a faster pace and a more rock-driven soundscape, and when they get a chance to shine on here, they knock it out of the park. I’d also be remiss if I didn’t say Elvis sang these songs pretty damn well. Look, it’s 2024; people know Elvis’s voice by now, whether they’ve heard Elvis himself or someone imitate it. It makes this album a little tougher to digest in that sense, because sometimes, it really does feel like he’s overdoing the whole twangy shtick sometimes to the point of parody on a few tracks. However, when he’s on, he is on like a motherfucker – there’s some serious standout vocal performances here, and in those little moments where everything comes together, I can feel the charisma oozing out of his voice and I can see the appeal of the time take hold. There is something to it all that’s just undeniable unless you’re actively looking to hate it. I just really enjoyed it – it’s cheesy as hell, and it’s extremely prototypical rock & roll by modern standards, but there’s just something appealing about it even with how much of a culture vulture Elvis was. It’s a great album, and even past its place in history as “the first Elvis album,” I think it holds up on a lot of its own merits. Just barely gets the bump to a 5. Certainly no lower than a 4, I think.

Miércoles de volver a las bases del rock. Sí. Todos sabemos que Elvis era la versión blanca de ritmos que se venían gestando desde los sectores marginales y negros, y que su figura vendía más. Pero, poniendo una pausa en la problematización, ¿Cómo ser tan necio de negar su trascendencia en la historia del rock? ¿Cómo reprimir que los pies bailen solos con sus ritmos y su voz tan particular? Muy bien 10

Iconic!

Foundational rock n roll.

Siendo uno de los LPs más importantes de la historia es imposible darle una baja nota a este disco. De la misma forma que es imposible negar todas las acusaciones y polémicas en contra del "Rey del Rock&Roll". Sí, es cierto que Presley fue catapultado a la fama por interpretar canciones al estilo de los más grandes de la escena afroamericana en medio de un contexto de segregación. A la vez, no se puede justificar su comportamiento para con las mujeres (y en el caso de su esposa, una niña) solo con que "eran tiempos diferentes". Sin embargo y a pesar de todo esto, Elvis sigue y seguirá siendo una sombra gigante en la historia de la música pop global, inspirando a cientos de miles quienes posteriormente inspiraron a cientos de miles más a hacer música con un "appeal" masivo. El fue el primer en ser así de grande, llenando de sueños la cabeza de todos quienes quisieron llegar a ser estrellas del escenario. Y eso es algo que siempre tenemos que tener presente, con sus luces y sombras. Ahora, en tanto al LP en sí, estaba hecho para ser exitoso. Todas las canciones transpiran personalidad y carisma, con una voz encantadora que estaba destinada a los panteones más altos del pop y el rock&roll. Este realmente es un álbum que no puedes morir sin escuchar.

I think there are some albums we’ll just never be able to comprehend the impact of its release. And this is one of them. It sounds like wallflower wallpaper for the unknowing listener or like safe white imitation of Black music. But this album is nonetheless a huge mark for pop music without which we would have a very different music world.

I'm giving this a 5 more for Scotty Moore's guitar than for anything else. I saw him live with DJ Fontana in the 80s as part of a "sun sessions" tour and I love his style.

I mean, it's a classic. To diminish it by being edgy or refusing to listen is asinine. It's one of the first real albums and really it's closer to country than r&b. This is the album that launched a thousand bands. It's dated and he's more of a singles guy anyway but it's still great.