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Elvis On Record

Interviews and Essays

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 Elvis On Record

       CDs and DVDs

The media vultures like to pick over his bones and focus on his prescription drug excesses, his quirky lifestyle, and his gaudy lounge lizard outfits.  

But rather than dwell on the seamy side of Elvis, I'd rather focus on his enormous talents as a singer.

I believe Elvis is best remembered through his recordings.  

There are simply too many recordings by Elvis to list here...and they keep being re-mastered and re-issued.  

I'll only my list of recommended CDs and DVDs for you to consider.

Also I have included my list of Top 20 Favorite Elvis Recordings between 1954 and 1964.

--Roger Hall

Do you have any comments or questions?

Send them to:

EOR

     Best CD Series

I believe the best overall collection of Elvis recordings from the 1950s to 1970s is the one with 15 double CDs from RCA/Time-Life titled:

The Elvis Presley Collection

This excellent well produced series has very good notes by Charles Wolfe and covers every aspect of Elvis: love ballads, Christmas songs, country, gospel, movie songs, rockabilly and rock.  Each CD also includes an unissued bonus track.  Many of the recordings are available on single CDs but this 15 disc set puts them all together.  An essential Elvis collection.  

     Best CDs

THE SUN Records Years:

Here's a few recommended Elvis recordings from 1954-1955:

Elvis at Sun (CD album)

That's All Right & Blue Moon Moon of Kentucky (CD single)

Sunrise (2 CDs) - this is the best collection available, even the alternate tracks on CD 2 are worth a listen. 

The Sun Sessions  - may be hard to find but worth it for the outtakes & alternate takes not on "Elvis at Sun."

The Box Sets:

I believe the best box set for his early recordings is:  

Elvis - The King of Rock n' Roll: The Complete 50's Masters (5-CD set, RCA/BMG, 1992)

With 140 tracks, this set covers his early recordings and interviews.  It 's essential for any Elvis collector.

Also, there are two excellent 4-CD sets issued within the past few years, both with colorful photo packed booklets & very informative liner notes by Colin Escott:

Elvis - Close Up (RCA/BMG Heritage, 2003)

89 previously unreleased recordings from the 1950s to 1972.  This is one of the box sets that has released in recent years--with a more intimate Elvis portrayed--as the title implies.  A superb CD set!  

CD 1: Unreleased Stereo Masters From The 50s (20 tracks/ Time = 49:19)

CD 2:  Unreleased Movie Gems (25 tracks/Time = 66:19)

CD 3:  The Magic of Nashville (21 tracks/ Time = 54:48)

CD 4:  Live in Texas 1972 (23 tracks/ Time = 55:21)

Elvis - Today, Tomorrow and Forever (RCA/BMG Heritage, 2002)

100 previously unreleased tracks from July 1954 to February 1976.  This was released for the 25th anniversary of the death of Elvis.  One of the best samplings of the entire Elvis recording years.

   CD 1:  26 tracks, 1954-59 (Time = 61:54)

   CD 2:  27 tracks, 1960-66 (Time =73:06)

   CD 3:  24 tracks, 1966-69 (Time = 61:49)

   CD 4: 23 tracks, 1970-1976 (Time = 73:16)

Another worthy set is:  

Elvis - A Golden Celebration (RCA, 1984/ reissued as a 4-CD set in 1998)

The set covers the years 1954 to 1968.  Some of the tracks were recorded live and are of poor quality.  This set is especially valuable for the early TV appearances.

Here's another CD set, released for the 25th anniversary of the RCA LP release in 1996:

Elvis - The Other Sides (Worldwide Gold Award Hits, Volume 2)

This remastered and re-sequenced 2-CD set was compiled from a 4-LP set in 1971 and includes 50 gold award songs (8 of them different from the original LP release), a 12 page booklet, and an original First Day of Issue Elvis US Stamp.

     Best Gospel Recordings  

With all the attention paid to the rockin' Elvis, it may come as a surprise to some (other than longtime fans) that Elvis loved to sing gospel music more than any other kind of music.

There are three Gospel CDs I'd recommend:

(1)  The single CD from BMG Heritage (2004) titled:

Ultimate Gospel

(2)  Then there is this excellent 2 CD set:

Amazing Grace: His Greatest Sacred Performances (RCA/BMG, 1994)

It was compiled and produced by Elvis authority, Ernst Mikael Jorgensen. The excellent detailed booklet essay is by Charles Wolfe.  This is a superb collection of gospel tunes.  The powerful recording of "How Great Thou Art" is the best version by any pop singer.  This 2 CD set is highly recommended if you want to hear the music that Elvis enjoyed singing the most.  

(3) The larger 3-CD set is:

Peace in the Valley: The Complete Gospel Recordings

As popular as Elvis was for his rock recordings, he received his only Grammy Awards for his gospel music.  

Here are the Grammy Award nominees:

Best Sacred Performance (1968): You'll Never Walk Alone

Best Inspirational Performance (1972): He Touched Me (album)

And the two Grammy Award winners:

Best Sacred Performance (1967):  How Great Thou Art (album)

Best Inspirational Performance (1974):  How Great Thou Art (live performance)

     Recommended DVD Sets

Elvis by the Presleys

Here is the rundown of this set:

Disc One -

Elvis: Meets Priscilla

Elvis: Introducing Mrs. Presley

Elvis: The Inner Child

Elvis: The Generous

Elvis:  The Seeker

Elvis: The King

Elvis: After Dark

Disc Two -

Elvis: On Stage

Elvis: Style

Elvis: Taking Care of Business

Elvis: Forever

Special Features

Elvis: Nixon (fascinating!)

Photo Gallery

45 RPM

Elvis: Karate

If you want to see Elvis as a performer in his prime, then you should get the 3-DVD set -

Elvis: The Great Performances

This set is filled with clips of his singing. It was produced and directed by Andrew Solt.  The individual DVD titles are:  

"Center Stage"

"The Man And His Music"

"From The Waist Up"

The first two DVDs are from previously released videos and have commentary written by Andrew Solt.  The third DVD has commentary written by Elvis biographer, Peter Guralnick.  

I think the DVD set itself is somewhat padded since the material could easily fit on one or two DVDs. There's also some duplication on the third DVD. But the packaging itself is nicely done, with blue suede cover and handy foldout design for easy access to each DVD.  

The 3-DVD set is worth getting, but be aware that some of the Elvis TV appearances are not complete and there's some narration spoken over the music.  Why not let fans enjoy the Elvis performances without so much commentary?

Another highly recommended collection is the 2-DVD set:

He Touched Me - The Gospel Music of Elvis Presley (Coming Home Music, 2000)

This was the favorite music of Elvis.  In this fascinating DVD set you'll hear many positive comments about Elvis and his love of gospel music by those who sang it with him.

With over 3 hours of interviews and music, this is an inspiring look at Elvis' deeply felt spiritual music.  

It's one of the best productions of a neglected side of Elvis, even without complete versions of some of the Elvis gospel songs which are all available on CD [listed above.]  

 Top 20 Favorite Elvis Recordings

               By Roger Hall

My first 45 EP Album was Peace in the Valley - which I still have in my library.  Since I couldn't play LPs until the early '60s, the first LP I got was G.I. BLUES -- one of my favorite Elvis films.  In the mid 1960s he began making a series of  formula musical films so I lost interest in getting any of those soundtracks.

Then he made his famous comeback in the late 1960s, especially with the '68 TV Special.  Even though his health went downhill in the last years, his recordings remained on a reasonably high level.  But I think none of them measure up to his early recordings.  

So these are my choices for...

Top 20 Elvis Recordings (1954 - 1964)

(listed by recording year)

= Gold Record Single

1954	"Blue Moon of Kentucky" (Bill Monroe) - wonderful early Sun session
1954	"Blue Moon" (Richard Rodgers-Lorenz Hart) - an eerie, gutsy recording, totally unique for Elvis
1955	"Mystery Train" (Sam C. Phillips-Herman Parker Jr.) - probably the most memorable Sun record
1956	"Shake, Rattle and Roll (Charles Calhoun)/ "Flip, Flop and Fly" (Lou Willie Turner) [performed in his first national TV appearance]
1956	"Don't Be Cruel" (Otis Blackwell-Elvis Presley) [Note: Elvis didn't co-write this song] [his most popular single/ the other side has "Hound Dog" - the best selling record of the 1950s]
1956	"Love Me Tender" ( written by Ken Darby, not Elvis or Vera Matson) [based on "Aura Lee" - a popular  Civil War era song)
1957	"Loving You" (Jerry Leiber-Mike Stoller) - No. 1 LP album for 10 weeks - a great love ballad
1957	"Lonesome Cowboy" (Sid Tepper-Roy C. Bennett) - from LOVING YOU - a powerful performance
1957	"Take My Hand, Precious Lord" (Thomas A. Dorsey) - from PEACE IN THE VALLEY EP - sensitive singing by Elvis
1957	(There'll Be) Peace in the Valley" (Thomas A. Dorsey) - from PEACE IN THE VALLEY EP [Elvis mother's favorite gospel song and the only one he sang on the Ed Sullivan TV Show]
1958	"Don't" (Leiber-Stoller) - one of the most beautiful Elvis ballad recordings
1958	"As Long As I Have You" (Fred Wise-Ben Weisman) - from KING CREOLE - a lovely song [KING CREOLE - No. 2 on US Chart for LP for 2 weeks]
1960	"It's Now or Never" (Aaron Schroeder-Wally Gold) [Elvis said this was his favorite recording and I would agree-- it's his best single]
1960	"Are You Lonesome Tonight?" (Roy Turk-Lou Handman) - another beautiful ballad
1960	"Wooden Heart" (Wise-Weisman-Twomey) - from G.I. BLUES [From LP on U.S. charts for 111 weeks - No. 1 for 10 weeks - the top selling Elvis album of its era]
1960	"Flaming Star" (Sid Wayne-Sherman Edwards) - one of his best arranged and sung movie songs
1961	"Can't Help Falling in Love" (Peretti-Creatore-Weiss) - from BLUE HAWAII - his best loved ballad and deservedly so. [LP on the charts for 79 weeks - No. 1 for 20 weeks]
1962	"King of the Whole Wide World" (Ruth Batchelor-Bob Roberts) - from KID GALAHAD - the song title gives the best description of Elvis!
1962	"Return to Sender" (Otis Blackwell-Winfield Scott) - from GIRLS, GIRLS, GIRLS - a great uptempo song. [No. 3 U.S. LP for 2 weeks]
1964	"Viva Las Vegas" (Doc Pomus-Mort Shuman) - one of his most rhythmically driven recordings.

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