My apologies for my lengthy absence, dear
readers. I’ve had quite a couple of weeks filled with illness, renovations and
other demands on my time that left very little time for music reviews.
It also left me a lot of time to listen to
this next album (actually, double album) which has been a lot of fun.
Disc 1287 is… The Top Ten Hits
Artist:
Elvis Presley
Year of Release: 1988,
but featuring music from 1956-1972
What’s up with the
Cover?
Giant Head Elvis, giving that sexy sneer of a smile that made him irresistible
in the day.
How I Came to Know
It: I’ve known Elvis since I
was a baby. My Mom is a huge Elvis fan. She has all his records, she loves all
his movies, and her house is festooned with Elvis memorabilia, much of which I
bought her knowing it was a can’t-fail birthday or Christmas gift. My mother
cries when she hears “Love Me Tender” every time she hears it. My
Mom loves Elvis Presley.
As a result, I grew up
hearing Elvis in the house all the time. I was interested in music from an
early age. I used to marvel at the blue vinyl the “Moody Blue” record was
issued on and I would stare at the “How Great Thou Art” album cover and wonder
what ‘art’ Elvis liked so much – I figured it out later.
I have a hundred childhood
Elvis stories, but we’re getting dangerously post-modern here, so let’s return
to the music.
How It Stacks Up: This is a compilation album, so it can’t stack
up.
Ratings: Compilation albums
aren’t really albums, so I review them, but I don’t rate them.
38 Top ten hits across three decades. It
boggles the mind, and yet even that statistic doesn’t do justice to the lasting
impact of Elvis Presley – and I don’t just mean on my mom, either. Generations
of musicians in country, rock and pop have their roots in his music. And while Elvis
has his roots even deeper in black spirituals and blues, that discounts neither
his own impact on music, nor his brilliance.
This compilation celebrates that brilliance in
true 1988 CD issue style – a focus on the music with no frills or lengthy liner
notes. In 1988 compact disc technology was the frill. This sort of
compilation of old classics aimed at older folks with the money needed to buy a
CD player were all the rage in the late eighties.
Fortunately, Elvis needs no frills. He is a
musical phenomenon. His musicality and sense of timing is flawless, and he
squeezes every ounce of emotion out of every word he sings. It helps that Elvis
is gifted with one of the great voices in musical history. He growls on the
rock songs, he hits low crooning notes on the love songs, and he soars like an opera
singer on the emotional anthems. He even rocks a little sexy spoken word on “Are
You Lonesome Tonight?”
At the end of “It’s Now or Never” Elvis
does a gentle soft tagline of “my love won’t wait” that you think is
perfect, but then follows it up with a second soaring repeat of the same lyric.
No song should get away with two endings, but when you’ve got the vocal prowess
of Elvis Presley it just makes the song more beautiful.
It is hard to pick all my favourites when
every song I hear has the familiarity of a grade-school bestie. I can say that
some of the kitschy songs I liked as a kid (“Hound Dog”, “Teddy Bear”,
“All Shook Up”) don’t stand up as well now that I’m an adult.
By contrast, some of those crooning love ballads
that I used to find icky (“Love Me”, “Are You Lonesome Tonight?”,
“Can’t Help Falling in Love”) are now some of my favourites. No one
tells you he loves you like Elvis.
Unfortunately, no one can get his stalker on
quite as bad as Elvis either. Songs that were originally intended to be expressions
of love and desire have aged very poorly. On “Little Sister” the
narrator is essentially pleading with a younger sister to let him take sexual
liberties with her that her bigger, older sister refused. “Don’t” implores
of the singer’s girlfriend “don’t say don’t”. The worst of the bunch is “Stuck
on You” with this little gem of aggressive douchebaggery:
“Hide out in
the kitchen, hide out in the hall
Ain't going to do you no
good at all
Because once I catch you and
the kissing starts
A team of wild horses
couldn't tear us apart”
Here’s another creepy fact: when I Googled the
lyrics (because I was too lazy to type them out) Google gave me a set that didn’t
include any of this stuff (credited to writers A. Schroeder and S. Leslie McFarland
and everything). Hey, Google – Elvis sang it and pretending otherwise doesn’t
change that.
“Stuck on You” is a creepy song, but
that swinging bass line is as good as it gets. When you’re Elvis Presley you
can pretty much afford the absolute best studio musicians in the world, and
that is also evident throughout the collection. The playing on these records is
exquisite, as is the incredible barbershop quartet backing vocals that appear
on some songs. Elvis was no slouch on the guitar himself, and while I don’t
know if he played on these songs, the guitar throughout is killer – as is the
bass, the piano and every other damned note you’ll hear. The 1988 CD transfer
does none of this justice, but the greatness shines through regardless.
I’ve known these songs since I was a boy, and
I just spend an entire week marinating in them all over again. I never got
tired of any of it. The late fifties Elvis tracks like “Jailhouse Rock” through
to his final big hit (1972’s “Burning Love”) all still shone like diamonds,
undimmed by the years. I haven’t had a particularly joyous week, but I was very
lucky to have Elvis Presley as my soundtrack to all those chores.
Best tracks: I Want You I Need You I Love You, Don’t Be Cruel,
Love Me, Jailhouse Rock, I Need Your Love Tonight, It’s Now or Never, Are You
Lonesome Tonight?, Little Sister, (Marie’s the Name) His Latest Flame, Can’t
Help Falling In Love, Return to Sender, (You’re the) Devil in Disguise, Bossa
Nova Baby, In the Ghetto, Suspicious Minds, Don’t Cry Daddy, Burning Love (that’s
17 of the 38 songs but damn it, they are all worth your time).
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