Reviews (page 6 of 14)
Stephen Sholes, an unsung hero in the history of rock and roll. Signs the King for $35,000 and cops it between the eyes from his RCA betters for wasting their moment on a fad. The recordings start off so badly that Sholes even rings Sam Phillips, who rightly assured him that no, it's ok you've signed the right guy. The other unsung heroes on this seminal (yes we can use that descriptor here..) are Floyd Cramer and his piano work and DJ providing that crucial back beat. With the mix of Sun stuff and the Nashville tunes it's the making of an "album" when that was still emerging as an idea in this nascent thing called rock and roll, probably Frank and the jazz guys were the only ones properly doing "albums". To paraphrase Jerry Leiber, there is an element of it being too nervous too white, but that of course is coming from a perspective that is shaped by what came afterwards. But if we grab our time travel parachute and land back in late 54/55 this would have sounded unbelievable. I think Scotty once said even his name sounded like it was from outer space, and this would have sounded, especially to white ear, extra-terrestrial. Does it meet the frenzy of the best tracks here meet the first Sun singles, yes they do. Blue Moon is like a template for The Cramps, the Fabs did I'm Going to Sit Right Down in Hamburg (Lennon sang it) no greater compliment and there are some fine,fine rockabilly moments. I'm not sure Tutti Frutti really works, even back then, I mean why would you bother, not even the King can touch Richard. If you've not heard it, you need to have a a good listen to be a true rock and roll nerd.
It’s not The Sun Sessions, although 4 of the 12 tracks here were recorded at Sun Studios before Sam Phillips sold The King’s contract to RCA. And it’s worth it to hear Elvis’s version of Blue Moon - this is the most ethereal version of Rodgers & Hart’s most covered song. Always been a highlight for me. The cover of Carl Perkins Blue Suede Shoes is musically no better than the original, except for Elvis’s superior vocals. However the 3 covers of songs made famous by black artists - Ray Charles’ I Got A Woman, Little Richard’s Tutti Frutti & The Drifters’ Money Honey are all inferior to the originals. The highlight on the album is Trying To Get To You. The band & Elvis really rock on this. Not his greatest record & that’s understandable, because it was thrown together just to get product out. But what a voice.
Elvis' first album, and a mammoth landmark in rock and roll. The first rock and roll album to top the Billboard Pop Charts (where it sat for ten weeks), and the first rock and roll album to sell a million copies. This straddles the Sun sessions (five tracks) and RCA pre-army years (seven tracks), it has Elvis still rockin', before the Colonel and the movie studios and major label really buffed the edges off Elvis with lousy song choices and insipid backing (although some tracks sail close to the wind, like One-Sided Love Affair). The RnB covers (like I Got A Woman and Tutti Frutti) are serviceable, but not as good as the versions by Ray Charles and Little Richard. This shows, already, the types of music that Elvis liked to put out, with a mix of country, RnB, rock and roll, ballads and almost novelty pop songs. We can see how much Elvis likes a ballad, and his vocal styling is powerful and energizing and everything here oozes with confidence and charisma. The band swings (especially on the Sun recordings). I can see why this was massively influential at the time, but I generally prefer Elvis' later imperial phase. Trying To Get To You was a surprise discovery for me, I really dig it. But the towering monuments on this album are Blue Suede Shoes (which eclipses Carl Perkins' original version, through ubiquity if nothing else) and his haunting version of Blue Moon. I love this track, so evocatively used in Jim Jarmusch's Mystery Train movie,.
7/10 there’s some good stuff here but I honestly think he’s lucky for getting famous there’s nothing here that really seems iconic to many also these whiteys have barely any rhythm (I’m taking about his whole band)
Favorite Song(s): One-Sided Love Affair, Just Because This album slaps. There's a reason Elvis became famous!
Es Elvis...
A good record but with a lot of cheesy moments. But it has its value and some undeniable classics
King of Rock'n'Roll is here! And even though I'm not too interested in his music or his story, I must admit, he had so much charisma and energy, it's contagious. I didn't like his ballads or slower songs, but when he hit it into the higher gear, it was amazing. Also, it sounds surprisingly fresh, maybe because no one could really replicate this style since then? Whatever it is, Elvis Presley is here to stay.
Trailblazing.. plain and simple.
This album is a much better collection than the last Elvis album we covered. And even wilder, this one's older -- yet sounds so much more vibrant. Recorded at various dates between 1954 and 1956, this is his debut, and he's hot out the gates with "Blue Suede Shoes". I've never heard him singing quite the way he does on "One-Sided Love Affair". He sounds like he's having a blast. Upon hearing this, the studio execs must have creamed just as much as the girls watching him gyrate on stage. And the album art is iconic, thanks to the Clash. Not a perfect album, but a very good one.
because I have little reference for this era of music, and I know how influence this was on rock & roll, hard to give it a low rating, though it's not really my thing, I can picture previous generations being blown away by this.
BL: Elvis is a man who needs no introduction - possibly the most famous man of all time (besides Jesus). He was known to revolutionise the rock game - basically inventing it. While he has come under scrutiny as most of his influence is from black musicians and he was the first to get famous off of it I don’t think that’s reflectant of Elvis trying to speak over black voices (he named Sister Rosetta Tharpe as one of his biggest influences - and I highly recommend you check her out too) there are more damning things he did (namely involving marriage). At the end of the day he’s a man who’s incredibly famous - “suspicious minds” is one of my favourite songs of all time and his ballads are excellent - I’ll see if I enjoy an album of the Jukebox classics. AL: my point made in the before listening still rings true. I like his more laid back love songs then his traditional “rock” songs which were designed to get the 50s chicks crunked. While I can appreciate how crazy “tutti frutti” would’ve been at the time, nowadays it feels rather stale - especially as it holds the same power as that Take That CD your gran used to own and put on in her shitty ‘98 Civic. However songs like “I’m counting on you” and “I love you because” come across as quite heartfelt and genuinely quite beautiful. I suppose it’s ironic because Presley’s love life is where all my disdain for him stems from but he sure know how to express how he felt, I’ll give him that. Favourite Tracks: “I’m counting on you”, “I love you because”, and “blue moon” 4/5
Early Elvis = Decent Elvis
Not his best album, but his debut album is still a significant moment in rock and roll history. Gotta give respect where respect is due.
Imagine hearing this when it was first released, if all you’d heard was crooners and saccharine-sweet pop. It must’ve been incendiary. It’s easy listen to this record almost fifty years later, and question whether it’s all that good, and whether Elvis was all that good. But you’re hearing it through the prism of all the music that’s been recorded in the meantime. Some of this still sounds remarkable to me.
classic
short and sweet!
Putting my head back in 1956 (67 years ago!), I can imagine how cutting-edge this was at the time. It’s still fun, enjoyable music that is pretty timeless. Above average, for sure!
Snappy and catchy. 19-20 year old Elvis just belting out hip jiving good fun. Loses a point for Blue Moon. Fuck Man City
I prefer the slower crooning type songs however the faster paced popular hits also go down well Particular favourites: - Blue Suede Shoes - I'm Counting on You - I Love You Because - Just Because - I'll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin')
Disappointed in the lack of uh-huh-huhs :(
Never really listed to Elvis but this album was great. I especially liked "I got a women"
I don't think there is much to say about Elvis that hasn't already been said.
He’s the King for a reason.
A, if not THE, pioneering rock and roll record. As Lennon indicated, there would be no Beatles without Elvis Presley. Giving it one additional star due to the influence it had on rock and roll.
A vibrant album.
Two albums in a row from 1956! At least this one doesn't go for 2 hours. Kinda cool to actually see the "ancient" end of this project, really adds perspective that 3000 new wave albums don't. And this is the King, what's not to like? He definitely had a bit of charm to him, even like 70 years later or whatever it is in 2023. I'll reserve judgement for tomorrow, but I'm tempted to give this full marks. Not a dull moment. 4/5 at least.
One of my personal favorite rockabilly albums. This debut just does so much right with the simplest of songs and it’s so good.
My grandma loved Elvis. I have watched Blue Hawaii more than I should ever have had to. This is the start of Elvis. It’s wild how wide his influences are. Maybe not as jaw dropping as Little Richard but sort of awesome to hear now.
Classic debut album, iconic album cover. In contrast with the From Elvis In Memphis album that I had a couple weeks ago, this one is pure, innocent, untainted Elvis. Just raw talent, singing some great country and R&B songs. 4 stars.
Hey I like this one. It's easy to see why a lot of the tracks on here have less cultural staying power than his bigger hits, but it's a formidable debut to say the least. "Money Honey" and his cover of "I Got a Woman" struck me as particularly charismatic.
4.25
Got some classics can tell it’s from his early days of music.
Surprisingly enjoyable. Excellent vocal clarity
Raw talent on display. Some of the songs are very hokey by today's standards but Elvis' voice carries the day.
Well obviously this tore up the world in 1956, so it deserves respect, but in today's terms it doesn't do it for me any more. I was a huge Elvis fan in the 70s, but don't listen to him these days. Perhaps I'm just bored of it - there are certainly no surprises here, it's exactly how you would expect an early Elvis album to sound. Gets 4 stars for it's contemporaneous importance. Much like Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis versions of Little Richard songs should have been left to the man himself - no-one can sing gibberish like the Reverend Richard Penniman.
I know most of the songs on this album, but have never actually listened to it as an album. In fact, I don't know that I've ever listened to any proper album by Elvis. "Blue Suede Shoes" is a dynamite album opener - the count-in and the energy really draw the listener in. It's hard not to boogie to this, even when sitting down. Sequencing is a nice series of peaks and valleys in terms of quiet/loud and fast/slow - at least one side 1. I'm expecting side 2 to be more of the same. I think The Minimalist Jug Band and Petunia have a far deeper Elvis influence in their vocal cadences than I'd ever truly realized before this. I want to dislike Elvis's version of "Tutti Frutti" because it's not Little Richard, but I can't. "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Cry (Over You)" may be my favourite song on this album. I don't know that I've heard it before now. "Blue Moon" is definitely my least favourite song on the album.
You don't have to be an Elvis fanatic to appreciate this groundbreaking album. It has classic 50's uptempo songs and slow ballads. All of them were simple and clean sounding. Even if they were originally recorded by other artists, he made them his own. Scale: 5 - My absolute favorites. 4 - Albums I like. 3 - It was ok to listen to it but wouldn't seek it out. 2 - Didn't like. 1 - Absolute shit.
Enjoyed it.
All the various bullshit about Elvis aside, pretty great record. Not completely solid, but the damn wake of it is huge. Most surprising are Elvis’ rare and rough attempts at falsetto here, which I believe he promptly quit doing afterward.
Its always good to hear Elvis! I love that these songs seem simplistic/formulaic but actually they're genius. They're heartfelt but humourous too. Loved this!
Oh it's fantastic. However, on reading up I found out (which may be common knowledge to most people) that Elvis didn't write any of the songs on this album
Pretty darn iconic, both the music and cover, eh? Fave track - "Blue Suede Shoes" for the rock, "Blue Moon" for the roll. Honorable mention for "Heartbreak Hotel" which was a non-album single, but is a great tune....
4/5
In all honesty I've never really delved into Presley's music, only heard whatever most famous songs in passing. Surprisingly I liked quite a lot from this! Saved tracks: Blues Suede Shoes, One-Sided Love Affair, I'll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin'), Blue Moon - Take 9/M
Cool to hear how it all started... even if Elvis didn't write any of it.
Interesting listen, very powerful performance from a long time ago. It would be interesting to see it re recorded with today’s technology but he dead so fuck it we leave it like that.
The most enjoyable out of all the elvis albums
It’s Elvis, I’ve got to give it four stars. Elvis has a great voice, and I do really like his rock n roll stuff. Some of the slower songs I didn’t appreciate, and the lyrics were definitely very 1950s. But still, a decent album and one I’d be willing to listen to again!
An iconic and dedicated performer whose influence is vast. Easy to listen and bop around to.
Elvis hat echt gute Songs in seinem Katalog. Kein Wunder, dass er der King of Rock and Roll war.
Everything that can be said about Elvis has been said already. No doubt, this is one of the most important records to be released in the past century and the influence these songs had on a whole generation of fans and future musicians can't be denied. I like his earlier music, rockabilly and the early days of rock 'n' roll, as Elvis was still finding his groove. His biggest hits were still to come!
More coherent an album than I expected.
One hears plenty of the "old weird America" – consider the haunting sweetness of "I'm Counting on You" and the straight-up eerienees of "Blue Moon." The simplicity – even purity – of the playing is very attractive and one wonders if contemporary acts wouldn't benefit from adopting such a direct approach. Sure, it can seem corny, but it feels almost punk consideiring the schmaltzy, sequined endpoint to come. In other words, one gets why Elivs was Elvis. Points off for "Tutti Frutti."
Very fun, "knew" a lot of songs even though I never heard the original/Elvis version. All songs were great
Classic and catchy
It's really remarkable listening to the debut album knowing how Elvis's influence would shake the world, and how it continues to do so. My only knock here is that they really did a thing, and stuck to the thing so closely - but they did it so well that's hardly a complaint.
In terms of personal enjoyment it's a 3, but for legacy it's a 5, for the time this was huge for popular music, especially 1956. There is a range here of influences which is interesting. Also interesting is how short the songs are, it's like they were made for a quick intense dance with a small breather in between tracks. Between my enjoyment and legacy I'll average the two.
Really enjoyed how subdued a lot of these songs were, and at an easy 30 minutes this went down very easily. I know Elvis is like a Rorschach test for people, but just listening to this by itself with no outside bias I really loved this album for what it accomplishes
3.75. i like elvis
Elvis was good. I don't think this needs to be qualified in any way.
So groovy and makes me just want to boogie. Wasn't so interested in the slower songs I suppose, but there's definitely a reason why they call him the King of Rock and Roll! Favourite: Blue Suede Shoes
Nice tones, great voice, very solid album.
It’s not perfect, and the production quality is variable, but there’s a raw, carefree energy present, a sense of danger and excitement that gradually disappeared from Elvis’s music as his career progressed and he got older, and that what’s so striking and enjoyable about his debut. It’s the sound of a young man nailing it in 28 minutes.
First one
Not his strongest album. But he is the King.
A classic!
"Elvis Presley" is the debut album from Elvis Presley. The songs were revorded in 1956 at RCA Victor studios in Nashville and New York City and at Sun Studios in Memphis in 1954-1955. RCA Victor's Steve Sholes took a chance on Elvis Presley and rock and roll based on his No. 1 single "Heartbreak Hotel" buying out his Sun Studios contract for $40,000. Good move. At the time, hit songs were released as singles while lesser songs were put on albums. This album was unusual in that it contained all his singles. Well, it was successful becoming the first rock and roll album to top the Billboard album charts and sold over 1,000,000 copies in 1956. It also has the iconic album cover of the Elvis photo taken in Tampa circa 1955 (Thanks Dave) and the design was later obviously echoed/copied by the Clash for "London Calling." All the 12 songs roughly clock in at 2 minutes and were written by someone other than Elvis. The album starts with the classic Carl Perkins' song "Blue Suede Shoes" considered one of the first rockabilly songs combining R&B, country and rock and roll. Elvis definitely made it his own. Check out the great guitar by Chet Atkins. Elvis picks up the pace covering Eay Charles' "I Got a Women." He is getting that Elvis bravado going. Elvis flexes his crooning on the ballad " I Love You Because." Side one ends with the 1929 country cover "Just Because," a good example of taking a country song and making it rock and roll. Side two starts with Elvis doing "Tutti Frutti" I don't know if Elvis added anything beyond what Little Richard did but it is Elvis. The album ends with Elvis at his most Elvis and "Money Honey." His crackling voice. A cover of the Jesse Stone-written song. This song has hints of "Heartbreak Hotel" and "Hound Dog." I also hear a lot of similarities in the music to Bill Haley's "Rock Around the Clock." I believe Elvis may have some better albums in the near future but this one is historic for all the reasons mentioned in the first paragraph and showcases a lot of his incredible talents.
It’s early Elvis. So there’s a swagger about it. But a lot of these song are simply fine. Like a lot of “The Kings” discography. Blue Suede Shoes is fine. Tutti Frutti is better from Little Richard.
Still not the biggest Elvis guy, but this has some cool tracks on it. Mostly, anyway- his “Tutti Frutti” couldn’t possibly compare to Little Richard. But the rest of these tracks show off his pipes, and the backing band is solid. B
CD
Espectacular voz de todo un pionero en el mundo del rock. Con ritmo y voz cautivadora
Energetic and fun. Nice come and go from fun and dance to mellow and romantic.
A fun and generally very good album. Not as strong as Buddy Holly and the Chirping Crickets which has fewer ballads and country songs but Elvis' voice is quite remarkable even on the songs that I don't like...the country flavoured tunes. Not quite 5 but 4.5 stars.
Rock clásico, otra cosa. Para una hermenéutica musical. Está bueno. Y tiene el tema Blue Moon que está muy bien.
Great album, but did know all the songs already.
Not exactly my kinda thing. Bit cheesy, but bluesy moments, bluesy progressions. Stand out tracks: can't help falling in live, suspicious minds.
Classic Rock / country Very tame in consideration of modern standards.
Fire album. Good mix of fast and slow songs and the performance is great. Almost as close to original rock as you can get
A very good, but not great album. It shows Elvis Presley's range as a singer. I think the best thing about this record is it's album cover, which the Clash later updated to be one of the most iconic covers of all time.
An album on this list more for its importance than how it sounds today. While it was revolutionary at the time of its release, today it sounds quaint and like a relic of another time. We do get tastes of all of the genres that influenced Elvis and together create rock and roll (blues, country, rockabilly, gospel etc.) along with some covers of early rock and roll songs, so In that sense it is an excellent historical document. I found it interesting that there is only one of Elvis’ many hits on this album. Aside from Blue Suede Shoes there are no hits! At least none that are still hits in 2022.
We'll how fitting I get to review Elvis on the 45th anniversary of his death. I can still see my grandmother crying..... Memories of childhood, my mother, my grandmother, the Kenner's and the Johnson's, every time I hear Elvis. Back to the music, as soon as I saw the artist I knew I would enjoy. Definitely brought a smile to my face. I enjoyed them all. Favorites are Trying to get to you, Money Honey and Blue suede shoes. Imo, not his best album, but very good. Solid 4 music. Definite 5 for sentimental reasons
4 This couldn’t have come at a better time for me. After seeing the movie and listening to its soundtrack I’ve been all in on Elvis music lately. I honestly wasn’t expecting much from his debut, I figured it would be too old timey sounding. It turned out to be like Johnny Cash with an edge and I enjoyed that very much. The slower ballads left a little to be desired but not so much that they ruined the experience. All in all, solid debut. Favorites:
4 At this risk of being a bit biased, I can't understate how well-timed this album is. On a particularly rough day when I wanted nothing but comfort music to soak myself in, this album took me back to my childhood. Elvis Presley is among the first artists I can ever remember listening to in my lifetime, and his star-studded, clean-cut, poster boy image was everything I wanted to be. As an adult, while I can acknowledge a great deal of his success came from profiting off of the music of lesser-known black artists, it's hard not to see the charm in his music today I saw all those years ago. Despite it being his first, Elvis oozes rock star energy all over this record, and it's not hard to see why he would go on to become one of the most-recognized musicians of all-time. It's not the most rounded record, but it's a fun, quick listen, and I always have a good time when I return to it. Favorites songs: Blue Suede Shoes, I Got a Woman, Blue Moon, Money Honey
Lo! Rock and roll is born. Or at least done very well. Economy and attitude are the key ingredients, with Elvis requiring only half a rhythm (but mostly getting a whole one) to goof along to on the rockers. Requires next to nothing on the ballads. Face it, he'd have you peeling off your undies if he was doing this a capella.
elvisp
Honestly I can see why people loved his music. It holds up well today.
The beginning of rock and roll. The greatest to ever make rhythm and blues into rock and roll.
3.7/5 easy to listen to, just basic Elvis Presley songs
Spettacolo, era un po' di tempo che mi chiedevo quando sarebbe uscito un album del king. Lo preferirei se fosse più rock invece dopo 'Blue suede shoes' entra una vena fin troppo romantica
4/5 Fantastic debut album from Elvis. Decent production, good selection of songs covered. Favourite Cover was Blue Moon. It's quite different to other versions.
Great classic music
Impressive for its time
Favorite song: I'll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin')
5 stars for significance and impact 3 stars for enjoyment So 4 stars on balance
I'm not too much of a Elvis listener, but this album is SO EASY. There are a couple of tracks that i'd rather not have there, but the record is already short as it is, so they serve a function. Maybe 3.8 rather than a 4
Good album, not because it's Elvis, but because it's legitimately a good album. Blue Suede Shoes probably the best, most recognizable song on the album but all else strong. A couple covers I noticed. 8/10.
Begin-Elvis is de beste Elvis
Great album, good performances of classics by Elvis. Really enjoyed it. Nice to hear some tracks I hadn’t heard of before.
Listened to on 6/27/22 4/5 Favorite song: blue suede shoes Elvis is and forever will continue to be a bop - I might be biased cause I just saw the movie but damn was this man talented from the very beginning
The album is filled with solid 50’s rock and crooner-style music. Very easy to listen to. My favorite was Blue Suede Shoes.
This is a nice album that became classical for obvious reasons.
Harumph
Starts with a bang...Blue Suede Shoes. There is some let up afterwards but not much. Sometimes I do feel his vocals are like his acting; overdone! But in general the production is clean and the vocal performance spot on. Other hilights; I got a woman, I'm counting on you, Blue Moon and Money Honey. But, personally I'll take Buddy Holly everyday and twice on Sundays. 4 🌟
Another first for me in this list. Bloody great stuff
4/5
05/11/2022 He's known as The King for good reason.
Shame so many people stole the King's music and pre-dated it to the release of this album.
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.
Very cool classic Presley!
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.
Classic 50s rock, blues.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Unencumbered, unpretentious rock and roll - short and to the point and fun.
"I got the cleanest, meanest penis" will never not slap
Good stuff
Solid half hour of rockabilly classics
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.
bap bap loom ba bap bap loom TUTTI FRUTTI
Diggar starkt, enbart klassiker
Vibe
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.
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').
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
This is a 3.5 album that I choose to round up because it is Elvis!
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
Trust me 🤌🏻
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.
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.
7/10
I like this album alright
One of the best things Elvis ever did was bring good music to a wider audience. That being said, what a voice he had.
Muy buen disco
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.
A really good album. 4/5. Stand out: Blue Moon, Tryin' to Get to you, Blue Suede Shoes.
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!
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
Nice, easy, comforting, traditional, too characteristic - would not listen if not goin for a theme though
recognized a few songs and heard how he could be a big influence for decades
interesting covers of black artists - common for the time period, and great voice!
ну любил Пресли, но этот альбом клёвый. респект
Second Listen. Brilliant Album. Loved it (almost every song). Standouts: Blue Moon, I'm Counting on you, I Love You Because,
Sequencia de hits
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.
I like it when Elvis makes more fast paced songs, but I love you because is good
I have previously talked poorly of Elvis on this project but he pulls through on this OG record.
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
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. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
probably a 3.5 for me musically, but definitely deserves to be on this list and bumping up for cultural significance.
Don't love Elvis personally, but it's a classic
I like most of the songs on this album.
Classic
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.
The king
The king. Good rock n roll
Can't go wrong with Elvis!
I was shocked by how much I enjoyed this.
Fun listen, surprisingly short (30 min total)
Presley has a really good voice in this. I was surprised I enjoyed the deep-cuts so much. Good classic rock guitar work
Not all classics, but damn if it isn't iconic.
Liked the album. I saved a few in Liked Songs. I think it got a little slow around the middle. But great album !!
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.
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.
.
Itchy feet vibes.
Excellent album. Surprisingly good.
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
7.5, a classic
Elvis! Altijd geweldig
Pretty solid! I heard a lot of familiar tunes.
12 Songs 28 minutes. Opens up with a cracker in Blue Suede Shoes. I Got a Woman too great tune. Tooti Frutti. Great stuff
Found it really hard to rate due to the ubiquity of some of the songs in popular culture.
Amazing
This is good. Classic.
This rock and roll thing is just a fad.
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
Klasyk
Funny
da bloos
Un des bons album du king. Et son 1er je crois. Du bon rock and roll et blues. 4.25
Classic rockabilly
Independientemente del estilo, muy bueno.
It's Elvis. I enjoyed it, but you know... Elvis.
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.
Classic Elvis tunes
Wonderful Chet Atkins guitar throughout, especially on Just Because. Blue Moon is just eery.
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.
Still sounds great
Nice
Dit is natuurlijk gewoon steengoed, rock en roll zoals het bedoeld is.
It's good but maybe too upbeat for me
Sign of the brilliance to come!
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.
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.
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.
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.
Best artist to do black music so selfishly, and use it to get himself wealthy.
As you would expect from The King. He blew the doors wide open with a wink and a wiggle.
Very old album but aged like wine
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.
Excellent album. True rock classic!
King of Rock has to have a spot on this list. This album contained many of his greatest hits.
Clássico de Rei! Revolucionário.
Bom, gostava na época.
Spotify. This is good Elvis. Fave song “blue moon” 4.25
Where it all started. Nothing like some good, straightforward rock and roll!
good energy songs..
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
The start of a new era in music. Dated but essential.
Okay Album. Pretty short. I only really like Blue Seude shoes
Elvis has to be the ultimate rock and roll cautionary tale. At heart, he was a simple country boy who just wanted to play music and make a few records, but he quickly fell into the grasp of a greedy manager and an entourage of moochers living off his money. This album opens with a blast of Blue Suede Shoes which certainly got white American teens jiving, but for every rock and roll banger there’s a bunch of maudlin torch songs or plodding country numbers. A bigger problem is that the version of Tutti Frutti on this album doesn’t have any of the in-your-face energy and attitude of Little Richard’s original. Adding it all up, you are getting less than half an hour of cover songs that are not quite as good as the originals, but they just happened to catch the zeitgeist and open the door for rock and roll to reach the predominantly white mainstream audience. Blue-suede-shoes-tastic!
Banger a développé cependant grand avenir pour ce garçon
classic and even good, but the slower ballads are not that interesting
Total hound dog this guy
Something about it that i don’t love but I can’t pinpoint exactly what. However, still good. Would listen again but with a couple skips. Yaaaaaa
This is obviously an important record, but it sure hasn’t held up well. The vocals are often treacly (“I Love You Because”) or overwrought. And the covers just make you want to search out the originals. “Blue Moon” is a keeper, though. 2.5?
classic but not for me
enjoyed it more than i thought i would
yep. thats him.
Confesso que é sempre difícil pra mim gostar de artistas e discos que são altamente cultuados como clássicos. Eu consigo entender e concordar com a importância e relevância, mas eu realmente gostar como algo que vou ouvir mais vezes, é outra história. Esse debut do Elvis tem músicas muito boas, quase uma coletânea eu diria. É fácil de entender quem gosta pois é algo limpo e agradável de se ouvir. São músicas que foram muito bem produzidas em uma época em que não se tinha a mesma tecnologia que temos hoje, o mérito é quase que 100% do artista em si e esse é um fato inquestionável no quesito da relevância. Ainda acho que devem ter discos melhores do Elvis, mais rock n roll e que justificam mais o seu título de rei do rock, mas esse primeiro é bem legal mesmo.
Un poco repetitivo, pero estoy seguro que si hubiese estado vivo para cuando este álbum salió lo habría disfrutado.
The Elvis craze is justified
Young Elvis is best. Probably his best album, although I usually prefer some of the covers/standards by other artists (I Got A Woman, Tuttie Fruity, Blue Moon) by a wide margin. Blue Suede Shoes is probably the best song on the album, not a surprise it was a hit. I also like Money Honey a lot. Hooray for no gospel songs, which is what ruins old Elvis for me.
never noticed that all the songs are consistently so short, like each is 2.30 min, wonder if its within this genre or the time of music track 1 'blue suede shoes' - a classic, and an incredibly timeless song, groovy and fun, have always loved this one, 'you can burn my house, steal my car, drink my liquor from an old fruit jar' just soooo groovy, Elvis always reminds me of uncle Jesse on full house track 2 'im counting on you' - sweet song, beautiful, feels old, and gorgeous love song track 3 'I got a woman' - 'she knows a woman's place is right there, now, in her home'???????? interesting! track 4 'one sided love affair' - I like this one, its cool as hell, makes me wanna dance icl, 'if you wanna be kissed, you gotta kiss me tooo oh yeah' track 5 'I love you because' - wow this ones beautiful, feels like something id dance to at my wedding, in fact I may have to, its so beautiful 'I love you for the way you never doubt me, but most of all I love you bc your you' wow im really touched by this one track 6 'just because' - fun, groovy, feels like a nice succession to track5, im rly loving that I can feel the cohesion of these albums as I listen in order to(which I don't normally do) track 7 'tutti frutti' - this feels like VERY just classic Elvis, makes me wanna dance and spin, so fun track 8 'trying to get to you' - ooooo I like this, feels nice and smooth, 'when I read your loving letterrr, then my heart began to sing, there were many miles between us, but they didn't mean a thingggggg, I just had to reach you babbyyyyy in spite of all that ive been thruuuuu' I really like Elvis' love songs, feels so classic and timeless im a big fan track 9 'im gonna sit right down and cry' - love the classic Elvis twang, his voice really is quite distinct and I love it, 'im gonna tell me mama and my papa too, so they'll know exactly what IM gonna do, if you ever say goodbye if you ever even try, im gonna sit right down and cry over youuuuu' track 10 'ill never let you go (little Darlin') - 'the stars would tumble down beside me, the moon would hang its head and cry' I love some slowed down Elvis, he really can capture a sad, melancholy piece and turn around next track and have you up and dancing, sometimes even in the song, he just picked up the beat!!!! I rly respect his versatility track 11 'blue moon' - 'blue moon you saw me standing alone, without a dream in my heart, without a love of my own' omg I loveeeee this song my grandmother used to sing this to me as a child I never even realized this was Elvis wow. rly bringing me back to my childhood this is a beautiful song as well. 'you knew just what I was there for, you herd me saying a prayer for, someone I really could care forrrr' track 12 'money honey' - OHHHH DSAMNNNN this is a good one ' you know the landlord rang my front door bell, I let it ring for a long long spell, I went to the window, I peeped thru the blind, and asked him to tell me what was on his mind he said, moneyyy honey' perfect finish to the album in my opinion, closes out all the romantic songs and upbeat dance tracks with a groovy beat about money!!!!! pretty genius tbh OVERALL: not the most nuanced lyricism but feels fun and dance worthy and on the flip side rly captures a melancholic lover, this is an amazing album and I recognized a couple favs that had me getting nostalgic!!! also must've been something completely different in its time, wish I could've been around for that
it's fine isn't it. 3/5
It’s Elvis
It's Elvis
Just because made me lol. Blue moon was good. The rest sounds like kidz bop. I enjoy elvis but didn’t enjoy this album.
Never been much of an Elvis fan. Its ok.
Tbh I’m giving this a light three more for its historical importance than me actually liking it. Personally it’d probably be like a 2.5 or something. Elvis the performer is great, but here he’s still figuring it all out and he barely sounds like himself. Most of the time He’s still aping Buddy Holly, doing this weird nasal singing, and it’s so odd and not-Elvis like. He’s still got a long ways to find his own identity. Also, most of the songs are just covers, and it’s him taking R&B and soul and just white-ing the FUCK out of them.
Okay.... I'm liking it more than I thought ONE FOR THE MONEY, TWO FOR THE SHOWW anyway I think I'll give it a 3
Of course I am aware of Elvis. You'd have to be living under a rock to not know who he is. I've got 17 songs liked by him prior to listening to this. But I've never actually listened to this - or really any of his albums. I'm just familiar with his hits from existing for 60 years. So I am interested to hear what he sounded like out of the gates on his first album. Just looking at the song list, I was surprised that I was only familiar with a couple of songs on this - "Blue Suede Shoes" and "Tutti Frutti". But I am actually more familiar with the Little Richard version of "Tutti Frutti". Thoughts after listening to this 3 times ... Elvis doesn't write any of his own songs. These are all covers or songs written by other artists. So when I like any of them, I also go listen to the version by the other artists and like them too (on Spotify). Oh yeah, I know "I Got a Woman", I have the Ray Charles original already liked on Spotify. I didn't realize Elvis did a version of this. His voice seems a little more high pitched than later in his career - but it's clearly Elvis. Can definitely hear how he inspired Chris Isaak and the Stray Cats. Elvis get's criticized for popularizing (i.e. "appropriating") songs by black blues musicians - but he also is covering many songs by white artists and songwriters - such as the country song "I'll Never Let you Go (Little Darlin)" by Jimmy Wakely and American "standards" like "Blue Moon" (by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart). I think "Blue Moon" is actually the standout track on this one. So, it seems to me he's just not a songwriter and he "appropriates" anything he likes. Sinatra did the same thing actually. I don't like his version of "Tutti Frutti", it sounds way to sped up/hyper. It was cool to listen to this - since most of it was new to me, and it was also interesting to see the mix of influences that came together for the first #1 rock and roll record - blues, country, rockabilly. I don't hear the gospel influence that you hear on future Elvis songs. It's only 29 minutes long, so it all goes by very quickly. Songs I liked: "Blue Suede Shoes", "I Got a Woman", "I Love You Because", "Trying to Get to You", "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Cry (Over You)", "I'll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin)", "Blue Moon", and "Money Honey". Liked songs on Spotify: 8/12 Rating: 3/5
Umpeenth listen since this is always on lists like this. I’ve never been pro or anti Elvis, but I prefer old, fat, glitzy Elvis personally. The whole fifties thing (Tutti Frutti = barf) never did it for me, but I can see that without this phase, we never would have gotten to where we are today. My favorite tracks on this listen were the quieter ones toward the end, like I’ll never let you go and Blue Moon. Maybe I’ve become the old curmudgeon shaking my cane at all the youngsters and their noise.
Fun hearing early Elvis still finding his sound. A little schmaltzy on some of the ballads, and goofy on some of the rock’n’roll numbers, but a fun listen.
This man and his music (or his musical performances, anyway) changed the world. So this album sure is important. Does that make it great? With 70 years of popular music since, that's a much tougher call than it used to be, I'd say. Decent song selection, gun players, magnetic vocal performances. I just can't put myself in a place where this overwhelms me the way it would have overwhelmed people hearing it in 1956.
Having never listened to this I expected more. In no way is it bad, I can't deny that Elvis had talent and his importance can't be understated. However, at the same time there were many black artists at the time doing the same but better. Like the second best song on here is a cover from Little Richard.
61
Standouts Blue Suede Shoes I Got a Woman
Meh. Not as strong as his later material and I just found myself a bit bored. His voice hasn't really developed into it's full potential yet either. Important, but not great.
Man this Elvis guy ain't half bad, I think he might be going places!
I thought it was an interesting listen, but not something I would go back to. I recognise that it was important for it’s time, and it was enjoyable enough to have on in the background, but it feels too simple and repetitive for me. Was interesting reading about the album though. And the first song was good. His voice is obviously nice to listen to, but on a couple of the songs he’s doing so much with it he sounds like a bad impersonator of himself. Fav song: Blue Suede Shoes Least fav: Money Honey
He's clearly still figuring out his exact voice, feels like hearing Elvis before he was at full Elvis. Favourite song: Blue Suede Shoes Least: One-Sided Love Affair
It's Elvis, you probably know all these songs already.
Just was never a big Elvis fam
Elvis, for all his ground breaking reputation, has nothing on the likes of Little Richard or Fats Domino. This is lacking in edges and is mainly country playing on rock and roll songs. His voice is good, it it would be framed much better further into his career.
Fav song: Blue Suede Shoes
Pretty solid stuff! What do you want me to say! I prefer the other one in here though.
I've officially reached album number one hundred on this journey. I was expecting to get a big name artist today. So elvis does fit within that category. With all the context, we now have about how the music industry profited off the backs of Black American artists for people like Elvis to step into the limelight, it makes it hard not to critique. I think Elvis is talented. He has a nice voice and generally speaking, he does have a very strong presence. But so much of this album falls really flat. For me, the worst offender was 'Tutti Frutti'. It lacks any sense of character and Elvis attempts to do a vocal growl on some parts of the song. For me that just annoys me and made me question why I wasn't just listening to the little richard instead. Yes, this is an important album, but it's important in the context we have it now and less so to do the actual quality of the music. If we're talking about quality, this album is very mid. It does not particularly interest me and like I've mentioned previously, feels quite flat at several points. Fav Track: Blue Suade Shoes
Iconic album with iconic cover for sure. However considering the similar music around, there have been quite a few better rock n roll albums, but just how 50s America decided to ignore that fact, seems like the list creators also decided that they don't exist.. This is solid, for sure 3 stars but I feel like a lot of non-original track here were done wy better by black artists - Billie Holiday's version of Blue Moon for example is superior. Anyway, probably 3.5 on RYM.
Meh. Elvis' voice is fine, I don't think it's anything particularly special. The backing is quite good, not least because the period means that it's all real instruments and musicians. Definitely preferred the more upbeat tracks to the ballads, I don't think Elvis' voice is good enough to be the sole focus, and on those tracks, it tries to be. Credit because Elvis is undeniably iconic, and had a huge influence on music and culture, it just strikes me that a lot of his popularity stemmed from sex appeal rather than musical prowess.
Great length plus London Calling cover. Obviously doesn’t hit the same as it did 70 years ago.
I lowkey don't know any Elvis lore but he seems like he would've been a fun guy to know back in the day. Solid album but just a bit too 50s/60s for me. 3/5
Listening to Elvis’s version of “Tutti Frutti,” the swag gap between him and his non-white “peers” has never been more apparent. Given the short runtime, I was able to play this multiple times today, and while I certainly appreciate the historical significance of Elvis and this particular record, it’s difficult to extrapolate my feelings on his music from what I know about his career and the cultural conditions that made him the biggest star in rock history. Still, he has his moments. His energy can be infectious at times, and every so often, the charisma of his rock-a-doodle drawl is enough to make me feel like a teeny-bopper in the 50s. Fav Tracks: Blue Suede Shoes, I Got a Woman, Blue Moon Least Fav: Tutti Frutti Score: 4.5
It's good for what it is. Unfortunately, so much of what he recorded was stolen, not by him, but by the publishers that gave him permission to record. Those publishers withheld money from the black artists that wrote so many of his songs. That's not dig on Elvis the man, it just takes the shine off so many of those songs, which to be honest, I don't think he actually put much of a shine to.
I gotta say it again: this site has been going nuts with the landmark releases as of late. In the span of nine albums I have rolled Never Mind the Bollocks, Bad, Ziggy Stardust, The Low End Theory and now Elvis Presley's debut album. I kind of want to see how long this chain lasts. I don't have much to remark about this album going in, though Elvis has surprisingly been absent from my list until now (this is my first album of his and it's No. 588). I also didn't know until recently that the typesetting on the London Calling album cover was a reference to this album. That's all I've got for the opening commentary. Might as well jump into it. Yeah, it's Elvis. I'm grateful to be relishing in some pure, unadulterated music history right about now, though I don't think this album is all that special. His iconic drawl isn't apparent on this music, which makes it unlistenable, irredeemable garbage. What's left over is alright, however. Elvis doesn't have much sway over this music, though he is an adept performer, delivering his vocals with a commendable level of passion and swagger. The instrumentals are nothing to write home about, though they are adept. I liked the ragtime/rock pianos and the guitars were competent as well, though I do find the percussion to be a little flimsy. All in all, this was a fine listen. I appreciate the concise runtime and it wins big on the iconic factor. I get the impression that three list albums might be too many for Elvis when considering how dated his music is, though I'm confident that this one is in here on good authority. Big thumbs-uppy from me. I cosign this inclusion.
Chill. And sometimes fun. This is solid chill house party material.
Never cared much for Elvis but enjoyed this one. Just some short fun tunes
From a cultural aspect, legitimately indispensable and wholly essential. From a musical perspective...not as much, in my opinion. Elvis is best understood as a singles artist and this album is "fine" but it's not a mind-blower by any means.
Good shit with some classics and I like his early stuff but not phenomenal.
I’m all shook up
Love blue suede shoes the rest didn’t really grab me, felt classy listening to it
I never listened to a full album by Elvis, just the songs my mom made me listen to! I can see why the kids (like her) loved him when he came out!
I can hear his hips gyrating
Pretty decent actually I'm just not a fan of the old ass rock & roll stuff from this time period, some good stuff here though for sure
For some reason it wasn't exactly the sound I was expecting it. I guess I'm not as familiar with elvis as I thought. Alright album. I feel the artwork is more iconic than the album itself
I'm kinda drunk rn and I listened to this album like 12 hours ago. It is fine. It is more influential than it is good. Mid 3.
Good Elvis album. Fun to hear some of his more mainstream "normal" voice in a couple of these songs like "I Love You Because", "trying to get to you" and "I'll Never Let You Go" I'm not sure I'll ever rank a single Elvis album super high since he released so many - as stand alone albums they were never perfect, but they all have a couple bangers. Fave Songs: Blue Suede Shoes, I Love You Because
I haven't listened to a lot of his music but this made me want to dance!
é né
A little rough around the edges, but pretty fun. The vocal affect he's trying on One-Sided Love Affair are laughably bad.
Pretty iconic, even if not his songs.
Elvis isn't for me. It's fine, but morning to go crazy for. With that said, he was very influential in early rock.
I've never been an Elvis fan and this album didn't change that.
Elvis is essential. But also very silly
The album simply felt like classic rock and roll to me. It has probably influenced countless musicians, directly or indirectly. My favorite track was Blue Suede Shoes, whose lyrics celebrate taking pride in what makes you who you are.
Wasn't as good as I was expecting
A solid effort, was expecting a bit more
Another dozen songs in under half an hour. A bit samey, but there are some classics on here.
There were a few soundtrack worth songs. Tutti frutti and stuff like that just isn’t my taste.
i don’t like when he tries to be upbeat
Decent enough listen
Whilst not his best performance, and far in quality from his live work, it is still one of the most significant albums in history. For that alone, it does deserve some recognition. 8/10 [KEEP]
Heard Before? Yup. Notes: I had a hardcore kitsch phase with a picture of Elvis in every room of the house, including a print of this album cover. Verdict: It's the fulfillment of everything 50s rock n roll could be: silly, sexy, and stolen. Listen Again? You can't really unhear these songs. They are always there, lurking behind everything that was made after them.
Historically significant. Has one or two ok songs but the covers are truly awful. One sided love affair was the stand out worst song on here. 2.5/5. Raising to 3.
icon album, iconic cover, a couple of legendary songs which Elvis used to inspire the next generation
Don’t you fucking touch this man’s shoes!!!
I like blue moon, trying to get to you, and I’ll never let you go (little darling)
No puedo con este tipo 2.7
Ponderous in parts, some classics too. Obviously, the recordings have dated and aren't as clear as you'd get now days. I just find it hard to say that this was ever massive, or that Elvis caused a huge stir around the US, that energy doesn't come from these records.
Aunque el genero para mi se quedo bastante estancado en el tiempo, para una escucha esta bien y da a entender el papel de elvis en la epoca 7/10
I think it's fair to say that this album Had Its Time. A very important album and fun to listen to while it was on, will I ever go back and listen again probably not lol. But there is a star power and charisma boost that puts this just into 2.5 rather than 2 territory for me so rounding up that is a 3. "You caused me to lose all my women" excuse me?? 1950s you could just say whatever the hell you wanted to a romantic partner in a song. why are they always so materialistic and whining about money I wonder
I never tire of “Blue Suede Shows.” It sounds like Elvis is having a good time. The switch to “I’m Counting on You” is jarring after the fun. Picks up again with “I Got a Woman.” I prefer energetic Elvis to sad or crooning Elvis. Little Richard’s “Tutti Frutti” is much better than the Elvis version and the standard for a reason.
Elvis can cover – he's Elvis. I watched Grease at a veryyyy formative time, so. ✅✅✅ I've Got a Woman ✅✅✅ Blue Moon
A+ back from vacation album. 2 minute songs, easy listening, but heavy on the women should stay in the kitchen. When country and blues became rock and roll. More of a history lesson than an amazing album.
020222 18:55 3
Not really a fan, but containing the two hits "Blue Suede Shoes" and "Tutti Frutti" I have to give it the three stars.
Woah momma. Nice and short, gold voice and nice musics. There are better versions of these songs by other people sometimes, but as a a collective it's kinda good