Blog #Elvis

A detailed history and review of Elvis Presley's June 1970 session in Nashville which resulted in the recording of 34 masters, three full albums, and several hit singles.

A review of Elvis Presley's two sessions at Stax Studios, Memphis, 1973. The first session was in July 1973, the second in December. The sessions resulted in three albums. Here I assess the recordings as a mature update of Elvis' original Sun sound, being a genre-bending blending of country, R&B, gospel, rock, and pop. I also select the cream of the material to argue that the Elvis Stax recordings deserve to be considered among the best of his career.

A brief review of the Elvis "Hits of the Seventies" album, more by way of reminiscence of a favourite album from 1977.

A short review of the Elvis Camden albums from 1968 to 1975, with a brief reference to those that came after.

A look at the season of Elvis Presley films that BBC 2 ran over the Christmas of 1977 to the New Year of 1978

This is my review of Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis, the Elvis movie that has met with both popular and critical acclaim. The review is a deep dive divided into four parts.

A selection of the best Elvis Presley tracks on a year-by-year basis. In making my selections, I have blended studio, movie, and live material together, along with genres, to give a measure of Elvis’ genuine multiplicity in music.

A review of ‘Elvis,’ the biographical film directed by Baz Luhrmann (2022). Many Elvis fans (and others besides) love it; I don't. Here I set out my reasons why.

A breakdown by headings and sub-headings of my prospective book on the music and career of Elvis Presley.

A selection of the essential Elvis Presley tracks, in the manner of Desert Island Discs. I drew up an initial ‘shortlist’ of seventy tracks, reducing it in time to thirty. Eventually, after much thought and deliberation, I produced a list of ten essential tracks. That still put me two over the Desert Island limit of eight, but having lost ‘Wooden Heart’ and ‘Tomorrow is a Long Time,’ I refused to cut any further.

A brief exploration of Freddie Mercury's lifelong admiration of Elvis Presley. Freddie Mercury had many influences, but Elvis was the first and most enduring.