Elvis Presley was not doing well commercially or artistically near the end of the 1960s. Then he made a comeback on a network TV special. And then he recorded this, which also helped rescue him from complete oblivion. It would be nice to believe this, but for a classic recording, From Elvis in Memphis still does not receive the attention from casual fans that it deserves. Its recording and release did coincide with his legendary comeback, so it ought to have gained such attention. But primarily, it has lived more in the raves of critics and die-hard fans than in most record collections.

This music and his early Sun Records sessions (collected on Sunrise) deserve the marketing that Elvis’s hits compilations get - he is an artist whose best-known hits often do not meet the standards of music like this. While the Sun recordings were made mainly in 1954 and ’55 and reflect a spare rockabilly style, From Elvis in Memphis was recorded in 1969 and had a more soulful, orchestrated sound. Besides that these two albums were both recorded in Memphis, they also each share a credible and original version of then-current sounds. Now they have in common not being timely, but timeless. Hits like Heartbreak Hotel and Don’t Be Cruel may possess some of these qualities, but not to this degree.

On From Elvis in Memphis, a different kind of sound is announced immediately with Wearin’ That Loved On Look. The style is that of '60s R&B, complete with organ, as well as with Elvis and backup vocalists singing “Shoop shoop.” This sound is continued with the soul classic Only the Strong Survive, the first of the album’s three perfect tracks. Elvis makes Jerry Butler’s great song even greater. Butler’s version is more personal (he co-wrote it), with the opening recitation sounding far more like a lesson learned and the vocal more world-weary. However, once Elvis gets into the song, there is no denying that he feels lines like “Oh, you gotta be a man/ You gotta take a stand!” at least as much as Butler did.

The second absolute masterpiece is Long Black Limousine, an ode to a dead former love. The whole album shows off Elvis’s voice, which is underrated for its skill, but the emotions run especially high here. The song builds from a controlled beginning until the chilling final verse, where he moans, “Well, I’ll never, I’ll never love another, OHHH, in my heart or my dreams/ Yeahhhh-eah, with you in that long black limousine.” The arrangement’s strings and horns help update a 1958 country song to late-'60s soul perfection.

The final perfect track is In the Ghetto, which was the sole hit on From Elvis in Memphis on its 1969 release*. Elvis underplays a lyric that could have been rendered disastrously corny -“Take a look at you and me/ Are we too blind to see/ Or do we simply turn our heads and look the other way?” - as the backing vocalists echo and the strings swell. The performance is a moving testament to the singer’s abilities, both in experimenting with new kind of song - in this case, a message song - and in interpreting its lyric beautifully.

Although the album contains some more classic moments - a raucous version of Hank Snow’s country classic I’m Movin’ On comes to mind - the second half is somewhat of a comedown from the near-flawless first. Nothing on this half - except perhaps Power of My Love - is merely fair, but a couple tracks are just good, including After Loving You and True Love Travels on a Gravel Road. Any Day Now is a marked improvement, and, of course, In the Ghetto is spectacular, but overall the album gets a half-star deduction because of the latter half slightly weighing it down as a whole.

Still, it is hard to stress enough how much I think From Elvis in Memphis is worth hearing. For anyone who has never understood the hype, finds Elvis hard to listen to because of his overexposure or just wants to know why the man is a great artist, From Elvis in Memphis is an answer.

*The 2000 reissue contains six bonus tracks, including Suspicious Minds and Kentucky Rain. However, while these two Elvis hits and masterpieces would have worked well on the original LP, the other tracks do not contain this type of magic.

Release date: 01/05/1969
Artist website: www.elvis.com
Label: RCA

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