Artist: Elvis Presley
Album: Elvis Presley
Year: 1956
Damn, I guess The Clash really weren't that original, were they? After all, they totally ripped off the cover of this Elvis album for their 1979 punk landmark London Calling.
But I digress.
I really haven't heard much Elvis before. I know only the most famous and erstwhile-covered of his tunes. This almost certainly is the first full album of Elvis material I've heard and it won't be the last if I am to make it through all 1001...he's got a couple others on the list in addition to this one, his 1956 eponymous debut.
What Frank Sinatra lacked in enthusiasm, Elvis makes up for and then some in the album's first cut, "Blue Suede Shoes." There's an energy to this music that makes it likable and Elvis is certainly an engaging performer with a strong set of pipes. What surprised me most about this album is the variety of songs it contained. There are the rock-prototype songs like the aforementioned "Blue Suede Shoes" and "Tutti Frutti," but also some straight country tunes like "I'm Counting on You" and mid-tempo ballads like "Trying to Get to You." The best cut on the album is no doubt "Blue Moon," a pretty number with falsetto vocals which would've fit in nicely at the Enchantment Under the Sea dance.
By today's standards this album is rather vanilla. (It's hard to believe that Elvis was actually considered incendiary at one point. Our ancestors were a bunch of prudes.) These songs are straightforward and the lyrics are annoyingly rhyme-y. War & Peace this ain't. But there's a certain catchiness and danceability to the proceedings here, a good mix of tunes, and the birth of one of America's most significant and enduring pop icons. This isn't going to make my regular listening rotation or anything, but I thought this album was well worth listening to.
Rating: Worth a listen
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