Search - Elvis Presley :: Art of Century

Incredible Music, Idiotic Packaging

John A. Kuczma | Marietta, GA USA | 04/30/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This three-CD set is a study in contrast.First, and most important, this is The King. Elvis Presley is presented at his versatile best, with foot-tapping, hip-swinging rockers, heart-tugging ballads, socially-conscious cerebral cuts from late in his career, and even a token appearance by a Christmas melody. The tracks are originals and the remastering is excellent. It's not an anthology, and his marvelous movie-music is conspicuously absent, but seems to have been replaced by very hard to find early offerings and excellent covers of other artist's hits, again from late in his career.The down-side to the set is the absurd packaging. The CDs are set in "base-only" jewel cases which are glued to a cardboard cover. The individual booklets (one for each of the three CDs) are also glued into place, facing their respective CD. The result is that the booklets cannot be removed for ease of reading, the jewel cases are basically useless, and the unwieldy cardboard package (10 inches wide by 5 1/2 inches high) has the portability of a brick.That problem notwithstanding, the heart of this collection is the music, and that heart beats loud and strong. Considering the price, this set is a superior value.Just remember to pick up a few loose jewel cases when you order "Elvis Presley - The Artist of the Century." You'll need them."

Awesome Elvis Collection

Lee S. Marshall | Melbourne, Australia | 09/08/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I read about this collection in a music magazine that was doing an entire issue on Elvis. It highly reccomended the collection and as all of my Elvis records are vinyl, I was very excited at the prospect of a collection of CD's featuring the cream of his life's work. I was not disapointed...



This really is an excellent value for money package. 3 cd's (75 songs) featuring the king at his best. The collection really is an anthology covering the young Elvis on disc 1, (starting with the Sun years) and moving through to the "middle-aged" Elvis on disc 2 and finishing with the elder Elvis on disc 3.



All the major hits are here, but what really sets the collection apart, are a number of lesser known blues and gospel inspired tracks. This really is the cream of Elvis and I was delighted to discover recordings I'd never heard before.



With each cd comes a booklet providing notes on each song (very interesting reading) and quotes from various artists such as John Lennon and Bob Dylan.



Elvis fans won't be disapointed and those who want to discover what an amazing and versatile performer Elvis was will love this too.



"

The Best Elvis Collection To Date

Anthony Nasti | Staten Island, New York United States | 07/06/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you only want one Elvis Presley cd in your collection, the three cd "Artist Of The Century" is the one to get. Three discs filled with 75 classics from The King, from the bigs to the rare cuts.



The collection spans Elvis's entire career from 1954 to 1976. You get all the standard hits, including "That's All Right", "Heartbreak Hotel", "Hound Dog", "Love Me Tender", "Jailhose Rock", "It's Now Or Never", "Suspicious Minds", "Burning Love" and everything else. You also get a plethora of rare tunes known only to the massive fans who own every album. These songs are a great way to get a casual fan to get into Presley.



There are a few flaws. One is that none of the discs filled the proper time limit. The first two disc don't even break 70 minutes and the third barley crosses over 70. Stuff like "Edge Of Reality", "Too Much", "Viva Las Vegas", "A Little Less Conversation", "Crying In The Chapel", "How Great Thou Art", "Let It Be Me", "Suspicion", "Ask Me", "(Such An) Easy Question", "Stranger In The Crowd", "T-R-O-U-B-L-E", "Way Down" and "Moody Blue" could've all been added to make the collection even stronger.



Also, as someone pointed out, the packaging is awful. The booklets are difficult to read and the jewel cases leave something to be desired.



The sound quality is very good and the set is surprisingly cheap. This is the perfect place for a beginning Elvis fan to start."