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Elvis Presley

Morton | Colorado | 02/18/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Elvis Presley *****





This is Elvis' ground breaking first studio album which was originaly relreased way back in 1956 and remarcably still sounds fantastic. When this was first released it sold 300,000 copies in it's first year alone. Now that may not seem like much but back then that was like going triple platinum, so it was quit the feet. It helped establish Elvis as the new rock 'n roll star and ultamitly the 'King.'



Full of rolicking rock-a-billy songs such as the gosphel Ray Charles inspired cover 'I Got A Woman' and the demanding 'Money Honey.' But it also has tender love ballads which Presley was known for like 'I'm Counting On You' and the chilling 'Blue Moon.' But whats most amazing about the album is it's opener 'Blue Suede Shoes,' a Eddie Cochren cover which in my opinion Elvis did far better then the original. Another stand out is the danceable plea of 'One-Sided Love Affair.'



Most reissues of the album come complete with six more bonus tracks including the hit single 'I Want You, I Need You, I Love You' and the Elvis classic, which many concider to be his all time best 'Heartbreak Hotel.' But aside from those is the highly contraversial and personal favorite 'Shake, Rattle And Roll.' As if the album wasn't a five star already they managed to make it even better by including these bonus tracks making it a six star album.



This reissue of Elvis Presley, one of the corner stones in rock history sounds absolutley fantastic today as it must have sounded revolutionary back in 1956. This is a true must own.

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A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

Barry McCanna | Normandy, France | 11/18/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The fact that RCA Victor (who owned the copyright) has reissued the original LP plus six bonus tracks, is only one step in the right direction. They say comparisons are odious, but in England Avid has reissued the same first LP, plus thirteen bonus tracks, on AMSC 931. Which still weighs in at under an hour's playing time, so RCA have been somewhat less than generous with these sides, which must have recouped their investment many times over. Hence the four star rating."

An interesting debut by The King

Superbug Safety | Salt Lake City, UT | 07/24/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is an interesting debut. The original album contains no hit singles except for his version of Perkins' "Blue Suede Shoes," and some of these songs were left over Sun sessions. The whole thing feels like a collection of B-sides, not the atomic debut of a rock 'n' roll god. However, while it may not be the masterpiece that some would claim, it is still a good album, and every fan of rock 'n' roll should hear it. It's a great listen because it doesn't contain an abundance of hits, even though this reissue adds a few as bonus tracks. I love Elvis, so I love this album. As far as my ears are concerned, there are no bad songs on here, and the highlight is Elvis' depressing version of "Blue Moon," which is unlike any other version I've ever heard of this song."