Elvis Is Back

In the mold of recent 2-CD Legacy Editions of the classic albums From Elvis In Memphis and On Stage, Elvis Is Back (Legacy Edition) is the definitive version of one of Elvis most essential albums, expanded to include another historically significant album from the time period and the hit singles associated with both albums.
It is argued by many that Elvis Is Back is possibly the best album Elvis ever recorded. During his two years in the army, Elvis had spent what spare time he had expanding his vocal range and improving his technique. Combined with a challenging and diverse repertoire, a new band of Nashville session aces, and improved three-track recording technology, it was an almost completely new Elvis who emerged in April of 1960. Recorded over just two nights, the sessions produced not only the twelve album tracks, but also six tracks for single release, including three #1 singles: all-time classics It s Now Or Never, Are You Lonesome Tonight? and Stuck On You. While the follow-up album Something For Everybody has not historically received the same reverence, Elvis voice on that LP may have been even better than it was the year before possibly the best of his career. These recordings burst with an impact that is immediate no surprise, considering the album was recorded in only one night. The bonus singles, which include the #1 hits (Marie s The Name) His Latest Flame and Good Luck Charm as well as the classic Little Sister, were also cut in just two additional sessions.

The King's first album of all-new material following his release from the Army, Elvis Is Back! is arguably the most fully realized album of his career. It's a slightly different Elvis here than the one who was drafted, slightly tamer (though he looks like a Martian on the cover), jumping from style to style--from R&B (a definitive cover of Clyde McPhatter & the Drifters' "Such a Night") to pure pop (a cover of Ral Donner's "The Girl of My Best Friend" with a Hank Garland guitar sound that presaged Merseybeat) to doo-wop (the gorgeous "Soldier Boy") to some of the hardest blues of his career (several cuts here, including an incredible version of Lowell Fulsom's "Reconsider Baby"). He even makes Peggy Lee's "Fever" his own here. No hit singles; just a great LP--and no indication of the "movie years" dreck soon to follow. --Bill Holdship

The King's first album of all-new material following his release from the Army, Elvis Is Back! is arguably the most fully realized album of his career. It's a slightly different Elvis here than the one who was drafted, slightly tamer (though he looks like a Martian on the cover), and jumping from style to style--from R&B (a definitive cover of Clyde McPhatter & the Drifters' "Such a Night") to pure pop (a cover of Ral Donner's "The Girl of My Best Friend" with a Hank Garland guitar sound that presaged Merseybeat) to doo-wop (the gorgeous "Soldier Boy") to some of the hardest blues of his career (several cuts here, including an incredible version of Lowell Fulson's "Reconsider Baby"). He even makes Peggy Lee's "Fever" his own here. No hit singles, just a great LP--and no indication of the "movie years" dreck soon to follow. --Bill Holdship