Elvis' Strongest Album [Archive]

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Unchained Melody

10-04-2008, 12:52 AM

Have to give it to From Elvis In Memphis.

That album made the statement "The boy Is back". imo!

And to follow that up I'm going with Elvis Is Back, then would say That's The Way It Is, and The Jungle Room Sessions, and Elvis Today....knew I wouldn't be able to choose just one:blush::blush:

jeanno

10-04-2008, 01:42 AM

Can´t make up my mind between ELVIS IS BACK!, FROM ELVIS IN MEMPHIS and ELVIS COUNTRY. Well, maybe BACK FROM MEMPHIS COUNTRY...:lol:

Suspicious Minds

10-04-2008, 02:48 AM

I vote for Back In Memphis. This album you can play every track. I think it's better than From Elvis In Memphis.
I do think Elvis Is Back and Elvis Country are his strongest albums as well.

dicke.katze

10-04-2008, 04:03 AM

From Elvis in Memphis, Sunrise and Elvis Country are my favorites.

A special one to me is As Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis because it was the very first concert I got and the very first time I heard the 2001 Intro and that was extremely thrilling and exciting. I heard the album with headphones to concentrate on everything - I moment I surely won't forget.

Thomas

rams

10-04-2008, 05:13 AM

:hmm: I'm going to also go with :

1. From Elvis in Memphis
2. Back in Memphis
3. Elvis is Back
4. Elvis Country
5. Elvis(fool)
6. TTWII
..........:hmm:just like the Col mentioned;couldnt list just one but here is my #1-6.

(y)rams

hounddog

10-04-2008, 05:58 AM

From Elvis in Memphis, From Memphis To Vegas From Vegas to Memphis, Country, Moody Blue, and i really like Something for Everybody

my boy

10-04-2008, 06:29 AM

ELVIS COUNTRY - Elvis moving into high gear.
ON STAGE - Elvis at his best!
AS RECORDED LIVE ON STAGE IN MEMPHIS - listen to HGTA, a towering performance.
ELVIS TODAY - just awesome for 1975.

Four crackers but could have picked many more–ELVIS IS BACK.(y)(y)

rocknroll

10-04-2008, 07:07 AM

Easily "Elvis Country"

"From Elvis In Memphis" is great, but could have been better.

"He Touched Me" has some of his best singing, so another great album.

my boy

10-04-2008, 07:12 AM

Yes, HE TOUCHED ME another great album–great powerful gospel songs.(y)

ehollier

10-04-2008, 07:20 AM

Have to give it to From Elvis In Memphis.

That album made the statement "The boy Is back". imo!

I cannot believe this Brad, but I think we are finally agreeing on something. By far, this is Elvis at his finest!!!!!!!!

http://www.tcb-world.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=26929&stc=1&d=1223103123

(y)(y)(y)(y)(y):notworthy:notworthy:notworthy(y)(y )(y)(y)(y)

SeeSeeRider777

10-04-2008, 07:22 AM

From Elvis in Memphis. Elvis was saying to the world yeah baby I'm back. Listen to all the range of songs. From fast moving to nice easy listening country. My most favorite song from that Album "Any Day Now". Dang Elvis did a great job with that, It should have been a bigger hit for him.

1100ccRider

10-04-2008, 07:40 AM

Elvis Sings For Children And Grownups Too.

Oops...I thought the thread title read strangest album.

Actually, if that was the case there'd probably be far more odd candidates than that LP, starting with Harum Scarum.

The fact is that, just as I can't possibly pick out a favorite song, I can't name an album that I think was his strongest (I presume during his lifetime, otherwise the three '90s box sets that covered the three decades would be a good start). For much of his career Elvis was not really an 'album artist' -- that wasn't how it was when he started out, anyway -- and many of his classic singles never appeared on an LP until quite some time after their release and chart success. And then there're the Sun singles, shuffled around on various LPs and EPs before being released as a coherent body of work in 1975 and 1976 -- many name those singles as his strongest work, so would that make the British and US Sun LPs of 1975 and 1976 (and the various repackages and expansions that have followed) his strongest album even though he never set out to record such an album and the records are after-the-fact compilations?

Of the purpose-recorded LPs released during his lifetime, I'd have to echo many here in naming Elvis Is Back, From Elvis In Memphis, and Elvis Country as perhaps his three strongest but I have other particular favorites I've long enjoyed at least as much (On Stage, to name just one perfect entry, and I think it's hard not to admit that some of his most flawless singing ever was included in the 1960 and 1966 gospel tracks) and I would hate to have to choose among them all whether we're talking 'strongest' or 'favorite.' And, again, what of stuff like the Sun material and that classic '50s RCA work that was originally released in a very incoherent way (the LPs remain true classic but, really, they're pretty random) and has since been reissued in far more flattering and logical form, starting with projects like the British Elvis '56 records from the early '80s.

My favorite Elvis songs were, hands down, the ones recorded between "My Happiness" and "Can't Help Falling In Love" (the June 26, 1977 version, that would be). There...I've finally narrowed the list down.

poormansgold

10-04-2008, 07:51 AM

To me: I think It's Tie between " Elvis-TV Special" And "From Elvis In Memphis", they are my First two, I buy On Lp, " On Stage " my 2nd pick, TTWII is 3th and for 4th "elvis country" for 5th it's between " Love Letters From Elvis" and "Elvis Now" LP.
The releases From 1968 To 1972, It's His Best work I think . The "Aloha From Hawaii"
M y next pick At 6th..
I think That RCA miss another No, one LP , If they Release The 1972 stuff On One Lp , I'm thinking Doing Special Cover For thoses Great Songs, It be only Studio stuff, From march 72 . and I will put My Way From 1971 Studio Version .
Soon coming In Alternate cover Tread ..
Tom .

Cryogenic

10-04-2008, 08:36 AM

"From Elvis In Memphis" might be the ultimate blue-eyed soul album, but "Elvis Is Back!" is the one Elvis Presley album that thrills me again and again. Elvis has a magical sheen to his voice and the fantastic engineering is without equal. A song like the following feels as good and as rich as the day it was recorded:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-3fXBT_SBI

kathy parkinson

10-04-2008, 10:27 AM

Elvis Is Back.

SatninLove

10-04-2008, 11:20 AM

Unchained Melody

10-04-2008, 11:30 AM

I would say the reason I go for From Elvis In Memphis because it was the album which said you know hey I'm back after all the years of making those movies and poor soundtracks, he was using his voice for good, and making music in which he believed in.

It's kind of the same deal with Elvis Is Back, that was to see if Elvis still had it if he would still be popular among fans and it proved he most definitley was. That's why these two are so famous and great imo among Elvis fans.

smithversusneo

10-04-2008, 05:37 PM

Definitely 'Back In Memphis' or 'From Elvis In Memphis'. I've only recently discovered the awesome of these two albums, and they are definitely a point in time where his music was definitely a force to be reckoned with.

svn

Unchained Melody

10-04-2008, 05:56 PM

smithversusneo

10-04-2008, 06:06 PM

Excellent Choices my friend !!:notworthy

I think what really shines from the recording sessions at American Sound that lead to the creation of these two albums is the seriousness of the material and the control Elvis had over his vocals.

When you think it was only a couple years earlier that Elvis was cutting tracks for 'Clambake', and his voice during those sessions was very much the same it'd been through the movie soundtracks over the bulk of his career.

But after the 'Comeback Special', it's as though there was a rebirth, not just in Elvis revisiting his 50's roots, but in his approach. Fast forward to the 1969 Memphis sessions and Elvis sounds like a new singer. I mean, it's Elvis, but it's a more mature and serious Elvis. And every song, EVERY song from 'From Elvis In Memphis' and 'Back In Memphis' is top notch. No filler, no really sad songs like those that would become the mainstay after 1972.

I've really come to respect those Memphis sessions in 1969.

svn:notworthy

Unchained Melody

10-04-2008, 06:18 PM

I think what really shines from the recording sessions at American Sound that lead to the creation of these two albums is the seriousness of the material and the control Elvis had over his vocals.

When you think it was only a couple years earlier that Elvis was cutting tracks for 'Clambake', and his voice during those sessions was very much the same it'd been through the movie soundtracks over the bulk of his career.

But after the 'Comeback Special', it's as though there was a rebirth, not just in Elvis revisiting his 50's roots, but in his approach. Fast forward to the 1969 Memphis sessions and Elvis sounds like a new singer. I mean, it's Elvis, but it's a more mature and serious Elvis. And every song, EVERY song from 'From Elvis In Memphis' and 'Back In Memphis' is top notch. No filler, no really sad songs like those that would become the mainstay after 1972.

I've really come to respect those Memphis sessions in 1969.

svn:notworthy

Again I agree with you. Although I would say Long Black Limiousine is a bit depressing of a song if you listen to the lyrics.

Now if Elvis would've kept that motivation or whatever it was that made him want to create magic like that in the studio say 4 years later when he was back at Stax, just think of the great stuff he could've cut. But its like after 1970 Elvis just hated going to the studio to record for whatever reason that might have been.

ehollier

10-04-2008, 06:53 PM

I think what really shines from the recording sessions at American Sound that lead to the creation of these two albums is the seriousness of the material and the control Elvis had over his vocals.

When you think it was only a couple years earlier that Elvis was cutting tracks for 'Clambake', and his voice during those sessions was very much the same it'd been through the movie soundtracks over the bulk of his career.

But after the 'Comeback Special', it's as though there was a rebirth, not just in Elvis revisiting his 50's roots, but in his approach. Fast forward to the 1969 Memphis sessions and Elvis sounds like a new singer. I mean, it's Elvis, but it's a more mature and serious Elvis. And every song, EVERY song from 'From Elvis In Memphis' and 'Back In Memphis' is top notch. No filler, no really sad songs like those that would become the mainstay after 1972.

I've really come to respect those Memphis sessions in 1969.

svn:notworthy

ABSOLUTELY!!! Its like its another person in the studio this time around. But I also think that there were other factors that played into as well. In Peter Guralnick's Careless Love, his description of Elvis is so different than the previous times Elvis enters the studio to record. He says that Elvis appeared shy and without much of the swagger that he usually brought into the studio. Also, Elvis was not 'in charge' of these sessions as he was for every other session that he ever had when recording. Chips Moman was in charge and was able to guide and direct Elvis during these sessions. In every other session, Elvis was the one calling the shots, so the work was sporatic at best, and b/c of the poor quality of the demos, it affected the overall atmostphere of the studio, which in turn, affected Elvis' ability to create the same quality of music as compared to what he did at American.

ehollier

10-04-2008, 06:57 PM

Again I agree with you. Although I would say Long Black Limiousine is a bit depressing of a song if you listen to the lyrics.

Now if Elvis would've kept that motivation or whatever it was that made him want to create magic like that in the studio say 4 years later when he was back at Stax, just think of the great stuff he could've cut. But its like after 1970 Elvis just hated going to the studio to record for whatever reason that might have been.

Brad, I think that the reason this song is associated with being so sad, is because when Elvis died, it almost the words to the song. I think the song is a serious song, but its foretelling of what was to come in Elvis' following years is almost erie.

Unchained Melody

10-04-2008, 06:57 PM

ABSOLUTELY!!! Its like its another person in the studio this time around. But I also think that there were other factors that played into as well. In Peter Guralnick's Careless Love, his description of Elvis is so different than the previous times Elvis enters the studio to record. He says that Elvis appeared shy and without much of the swagger that he usually brought into the studio. Also, Elvis was not 'in charge' of these sessions as he was for every other session that he ever had when recording. Chips Moman was in charge and was able to guide and direct Elvis during these sessions. In every other session, Elvis was the one calling the shots, so the work was sporatic at best, and b/c of the poor quality of the demos, it affected the overall atmostphere of the studio, which in turn, affected Elvis' ability to create the same quality of music as compared to what he did at American.

Me thinks it would've been good had Elvis approached all his studio sessions like this one after the ones from '69..

ehollier

10-04-2008, 07:07 PM

Me thinks it would've been good had Elvis approached all his studio sessions like this one after the ones from '69..

Me too, as I bet most of his fans would agree. According to Peter, the reason that he didn't return to American the following year was b/c of the politics b/t Chips and American and Col. Parker and RCA. Its ashame that this had to happen b/c I often wonder what we would have had in '70 had Elvis returned, and then again in '71 and so on. One of the reasons that made the American recording session so successful is b/c of the material that was available to Elvis through American and Chips, but his a & r people and their lack of good recording material is fodder for another thread for debate.

Unchained Melody

10-04-2008, 07:09 PM

Brad, I think that the reason this song is associated with being so sad, is because when Elvis died, it almost the words to the song. I think the song is a serious song, but its foretelling of what was to come in Elvis' following years is almost erie.

Never thought about it like that, as for the foretelling of what was to come for Elvis...but when you think about it, it makes sense...eerie:supriced:!

smithversusneo

10-04-2008, 07:51 PM

Unchained Melody

10-04-2008, 08:28 PM

Hey Brad, that was my thoughts too. Had Elvis given the same care and seriousness in his later studio work, the whole situation, as far as the future of his recorded work would've changed.

But as is with hindsight, think of all the awesome songs we might've lost in the process. No 'Always On My Mind', 'Pieces Of My Life' or 'Love Coming Down'. It's definitely a ****ed if you do, ****ed if you don't situation.

svn

Your right, many of those ballads are my favorites with more like It's Midnight, Fool, I'm Leavin', Loving Arms and the best of the best imo It's Easy For You. So me, I just enjoy the work Elvis left us with because theres no changing the past.

smithversusneo

10-04-2008, 09:12 PM

Your right, many of those ballads are my favorites with more like It's Midnight, Fool, I'm Leavin', Loving Arms and the best of the best imo It's Easy For You. So me, I just enjoy the work Elvis left us with because theres no changing the past.

'nuff said!

svn