Search - Elvis Presley :: I'm 10,000 Years Old: Elvis Country

Ain't nothin' in this world that I don't know

Johnny Heering | Bethel, CT United States | 08/18/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is Elvis' best album of the 1970s, in my opinion. Elvis gives one great vocal performance after another on these (mostly) country songs. A special mention has to also go out to Elvis' band, who really cook on these tracks. The most unusal thing about this album is that a few seconds of Elvis' recording of the old folk song "I Was Born About Ten Thousand Years Ago" play after every song. I don't know who came up with this idea, but I really get a kick out of it. Other people may disagree, however. The remastered CD version of this album adds six bonus tracks from the same recording sessions, including the full length version of "I Was Born About Ten Thousand Years Ago". Highly recommended."

EXCELLENT album!

Burning Love | US | 06/12/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"ELVIS COUNTRY is an album to play all the way through without skipping any tracks. Each one has something to offer.This remastered edition of the 1971 LP features 6 bonus tracks, 3 of which were lifted from the 1971 album LOVE LETTERS FROM ELVIS.1-SNOWBIRD Elvis sings this Anne Murray hit quite well. Pleasant way to start the album.2-TOMORROW NEVER COMES Haunting melody and outstanding vocals make this a memorable performance. Listen to Elvis final notes on this. Wow!3-LITTLE CABIN ON THE HILL Catchy little country tune with nice guitar work and fine harmonies.4-WHOLE LOTTA SHAKIN' GOIN' ON Although this song is associated with Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis puts his full rocking throttle on this performance. Even better is the complete, unedited performance, found on A HUNDRED YEARS FROM NOW: ESSENTIAL ELVIS VOLUME 4.5-FUNNY HOW TIME SLIPS AWAY Elvis sings this Willie Nelson tune with a lot of conviction. Another top-notch performance.6-I REALLY DON'T WANT TO KNOW It's amazing that Elvis didn't write his own material. The way he sings songs such as this, you believe that he did write.7-THERE GOES MY EVERYTHING Another country classic given a fine performance by The King.8-IT'S YOUR BABY, YOU ROCK IT One of the album's biggest highlights, this excellent rocker features outstanding vocals by Elvis and a very groovy backup band! Whew!9-THE FOOL Elvis puts his lower register to work on this one. A fine mid-tempo tune.10-FADED LOVE After hearing Elvis singing this, you'll totally forget the Patsy Cline version. This really blows you away!11-I WASHED MY HANDS IN MUDDY WATER Another example of Elvis rocking as only he could. A more complete performance is found on the WALK A MILE IN MY SHOES 70s box.12-MAKE THE WORLD GO AWAY This closed the original 1971 album, and what a way to end it! Again, a bombastic performance, with another big note ending (something that Elvis was doing a lot in this period). Quite a performance, indeed!13-IT AIN'T NO BIG THING Taken from the 1971 album LOVE LETTERS FROM ELVIS, this rather typical country tune is sung nicely, but it's not very memorable.14-A HUNDRED YEARS FROM NOW Basically a rehearsal in between song takes, but Elvis' inspired vocal ends up turning this into a recently discovered gem.15-IF I WERE YOU One of the lesser moments from LOVE LETTERS FROM ELVIS. A better choice would have been the song "I'll Never Know".16-WHERE DID THEY GO, LORD? Released as a single in 1971 (backed with "Rags to Riches"), this is another big-beat ballad that Elvis gets to bellow out on. Sung well, but (again) not very memorable.17-GOT MY MOJO WORKING Another rehearsal captured on tape. This was THE highlight on the LOVE LETTERS FROM ELVIS album. The complete performance is found on A HUNDRED YEARS FROM NOW: ESSENTIAL ELVIS VOLUME 4.18-I WAS BORN TEN THOUSAND YEARS AGO This was the track that was faded in and out in between every track on ELVIS COUNTRY (interesting at first, but then annoying). This is the complete track, as appeared on the 1972 album ELVIS NOW.For those who have the WALK A MILE IN MY SHOES box, this particular CD isn't really essential. All the tracks (except for "If I Were You") were released on that box in unedited format (and no "I Was Born About Ten Thousand Years Ago" faded in and out in between).Again, a wonderful album!"

1970 - Elvis' Greatest Year?

Richard B. Luhrs | Jackson Heights, NY United States | 01/19/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"ELVIS COUNTRY is, as the liner notes for the reissue suggest, a rather misleading title for this album, most of which was recorded at the exact same early June 1970 sessions which yielded the studio tracks for THAT'S THE WAY IT IS. Country songs had been a sizeable component of the King's output since the Sun era, of course, and Nashville accents had colored much of his repertoire in other genres as well. More to the point, ELVIS COUNTRY is anything but the collection of dung-kicking Dixie ditties such a moniker might suggest. The same huge arrangements, sensitive performances and of course the unfailing taste which served Elvis so well on TTWII are all here too, and while the song selection may lean a bit more overtly toward country material there's plenty of variety. Take "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On," which only Elvis could make his own in the wake of Jerry Lee Lewis' seminal rendition; or "Tomorrow Never Comes," here stripped of much of its countriness and transformed into an operatic tour de force with a jaw-dropping finale. The snippets of "I Was Born About 10,000 Years Ago" between all the other songs don't bother me, though it's nice to have the full performance here as well. Of the other bonus tracks, "Got My Mojo Workin'" is a stinging reminder of what a fine blues singer Elvis really was, while "Where Did They Go, Lord?" ranks as one of his stronger non-album singles of the period.

Comparisons between ELVIS COUNTRY and TTWII are inevitable - the albums were recorded simultaneously and released only weeks apart. In this context, ELVIS COUNTRY perhaps suffers a bit beside its better-known and essentially flawless counterpart; but the body of material from which both LPs are drawn is big and flexible enough - in these gifted hands, at least - to render any qualitative distinctions superficial. The King was on a volcanic roll in 1970, and anything he recorded at that time is well worth hearing."