| | |  | Music | Home » » Elvis Is Back! (Legacy Edition) | | | | | | | Product Promotions: | | | | | Description: | | 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. | | | Product Details: | | | Audio CD Release Date:
| March 08, 2011 | | Studio:
| Sony Legacy | | Number Of Discs:
| 2 | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 75 reviews |
| | | Track Listing: | | | Disc: 1 | | | 1. | Make Me Know It | | 2. | Fever | | 3. | The Girl Of My Best Friend | | 4. | I Will Be Home Again | | 5. | Dirty, Dirty Feeling | | 6. | Thrill Of Your Love | | 7. | Soldier Boy | | 8. | Such A Night | | 9. | It Feels So Right | | 10. | Girl Next Door Went A Walking | | 11. | Like A Baby | | 12. | Reconsider Baby | | 13. | Stuck On You | | 14. | Fame And Fortune | | 15. | It's Now Or Never | | 16. | A Mess Of Blues | | 17. | Are You Lonesome Tonight? | | 18. | I Gotta Know | | 19. | Surrender | | | Disc: 2 | | | 1. | There's Always Me | | 2. | Give Me The Right | | 3. | It's A Sin | | 4. | Sentimental Me | | 5. | Starting Today | | 6. | Gently | | 7. | I'm Comin' Home | | 8. | In Your Arms | | 9. | Put The Blame On Me | | 10. | Judy | | 11. | I Want You With Me | | 12. | I Slipped, I Stumbled, I Fell | | 13. | I Feel So Bad | | 14. | (Marie s The Name) His Latest Flame | | 15. | Little Sister | | 16. | Good Luck Charm | | 17. | Anything That's Part Of You | |
| | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 75 customer reviews )
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39 of 42 found the following review helpful:
 Run, Don't Walk, To Your Keyboard and Order This CD!Jun 20, 2007
By T. Hayes
Having just paid almost $50 for an FTD (Follow That Dream) label 2-CD set of "Elvis Is Back", you can imagine that I was expecting some excellent entertainment value. FTD has delivered again! This INCREDIBLY fine sounding re-master of the 1960 Elvis Is Back LP---plus singles and outtakes from its associated March and April 1960 RCA Nashville sessions---is worth every nickel.
It is fun to hear the excitement build as Elvis and the band work through early versions of classic tracks like "Such A Night", "A Mess Of Blues", "Soldier Boy", "The Girl Of My Best Friend", "Fame And Fortune", "Fever", "Dirty, Dirty Feeling", "It's Now Or Never" and MORE. Elvis experiments with an assortment of interesting vocal phrasings, and the guys fool around with tempo and instrumentation as the session progresses. His operatic range on "It's Now Or Never" is legendary, and the emotion Elvis puts into "Soldier Boy" is stunning-- it is powerfully elegant...especially so on takes 1, 2 and 3. Eventually, take 15 of "Soldier Boy" (with a smoother vocal and what seems like a slightly faster tempo) became the "master"--the track chosen for the album.
Listening to this beautifully re-mastered CD, one feels as if they are there in real-time; not "were there", but ARE THERE-- in the control booth-- as the sessions come to life; the mix, and the instruments, particularly the bass guitar, have never sounded this good on a consumer release. FTD has done a terrific job; this true stereo mix has been opened up spatially (but not overdone), and the light touch of EQ, reverb and general lack of compression (revealing greater dynamic range) are much appreciated.
These were Elvis' first post-army studio sessions. He was in fine voice-- and you can HEAR the maturing of his vocal talent (range, interpretation and emotive achievement) revealing a refined, yet fresh new style. The choice of material also speaks volumes...country, blues, gospel, doo-wop, rock and wonderfully navigated pop. If you've ever wondered what Elvis is all about...this is a good place to learn. I can't imagine any singer alive today who could even come close to the capabilities of this guy.
This also represents (I believe) the first Elvis 3-track recordings...which means that the (then) new technology has joyously preserved what is truly an amazing collection of music production. Remember, Elvis recorded 'live to tape' with the band backing him in real-time as he made these hits...no going back later (like producers today can do with 8, 16, 24, 48 and 64-track machines). In this environment, Elvis feeds off the band, and the band feeds off Elvis' performances. To use the 's' word (synergy) here is appropriate---and not a surrender to the lure of the cliché.
This is a most compelling package of Elvis' early 60s pop, rock and blues tracks. When you hear the original album and single hit MASTERS-- alongside the outtakes and alternate versions-- you gain a great appreciation for the recoding process and the undeniable talent of Presley, his musicians and the Jordanaires (his long-time background singers).
With 53 tracks-- this trip back in time lasts about 2 hours. You will want to listen to this on a quality stereo system...not mini-headphones. (Don't wait too long. FTD only presses a limited number of discs. They may not re-issue because of the high production costs for what could be a potentially small market of second run sales.)
At first, the $50 price tag may seem too high, unless you consider this more of a time trip; in that light, $50 for the price of a ticket to take you back to two special nights, March 20, 1960 and April 3, 1960...and put you on a front-row chair INSIDE RCA's Nashville studios as you listen to Elvis work out on the other side of the glass...well, $50 seems like the deal of a lifetime.
Can you imagine how Elvis fans would feel TODAY--if someone had made arrangements back THEN--to film all, or even part, of his return to music making? In the absence of such a visual recording, close your eyes and open your other senses as you experience what all of America learned in the spring of 1960: "Elvis Is Back".
21 of 22 found the following review helpful:
Essential ElvisApr 23, 2005
By Marc Haegeman
"Marc Haegeman"
In the last few years there have been loads of Elvis Presley releases. Very few prove as exciting and essential as this double CD-set covering Elvis' first two post-army studio sessions in March and April 1960. These sessions not only produced a series of sterling cuts which made the original exemplary "Elvis Is Back" album, they also gave us true classics like "It's Now Or Never", "Are You Lonesome Tonight" and "Stuck On You".
This new "Elvis Is Back" set masterminded by the Follow That Dream team gives us the original album, the singles and all the substantial outtakes. Several of these outtakes have been released earlier (7 are released here for the first time, just as 19 false starts and workparts), but to have them all assembled often in augmented sound quality, makes the investment really worthwile.
This set, presented in the now characteristic tri-fold digipack the size of a 45rpm, has no less than 53 tracks, with both discs running well over 78 minutes each. Digitally transferred and mixed at the Sony Studios in New York, the sound quality is outstanding.
15 of 16 found the following review helpful:
Simply the Best Album The King Ever Recorded...Sep 24, 2002
By Johnny Sideburns
"21st Century Renaissance Man"
...and one of the best CD re-issues, as well. If the original LP pressing of this album had included "Are You Lonseome Tonight?", "A Mess of Blues", and "It's Now Or Never" at the time of its original release, this easily would have qualified as the best rock & roll album ever recorded. In this re-issue format, the argument for it is incredibly strong.
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This is a remarkably well-rounded collection of material, with a stellar collection of pop tunes, romantic croonings, raving rockers ("Such A Night" got a bit of a shot-in-the-arm with "3000 Miles to Graceland", and as out-of-place as it may have sounded on that film's soundtrack CD, it absolutely grooves here), and some of the best blues tunes The King ever belted out this side of "Santa Claus is Back in Town". "It Feels So Right" may be the tamest of the NAS-TEE blues on this album, and that says a lot. "A Mess of Blues" is top-notch, but "Reconsider Baby" sets the standard even higher, and "Like a Baby" is just flat-out RAUNCHY. I don't know if a singer has ever come across as being as inspired as Elvis was on this album (except perhaps for Elvis during the '68 Comeback Special, but it speaks volumes about The King when the only one with whom he can compare is himself).
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The main problem is that this CD is AWFULLY bloody difficult to find; its availability is sketchy at best and pricy at worst. I was able to get ahold of an Argentinian copy (viva albiceleste!) via an online auction, and I don't notice any issues with its quality. I will be happy to provide a contact source for anyone who isn't successful finding a domestic copy or a different imported version; I assure you that you will feel 10 times rewarded when you listen to it, regardless of its pressing origin. TCB, baby!
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7 of 7 found the following review helpful:
Another Amazon Mistake!!Jul 26, 2003
By Calsam
Strangely Amazon staff reviews of Elvis albums are littered with mistakes, and this is no exception.'Girl Of My Best Friend; is not a cover - it's a Presley original, written for Elvis by Beverly Frank, a pseudonym of the writer of 'I Beg Of You, Rose Marie McCoy. Donner recorded his vesion only because RCA refused to issue the Presley original as a single. Aside from 'Girl Of My Best Friend', which is perfect 60's pop, the album demonstrates the Presley genius on 'Reconsider Baby', 'Like A Baby', 'Fever' and Such A Night - all covers and all superior to the originals. 'I Will Be Home Again' is a little known masterpiece. 'Make Me Know It and 'The Girl Next Door' don't reach the heights of the other cuts, but this is is one of Elvis' top three albums. Want to hear the greatest blues/R'n'B singer of his generation at his vocal peak - buy this album. Between 1960 and 66 especially, Elvis Presley had the greatest voice in the history of popular music - this is the proof.
7 of 7 found the following review helpful:
Sprawling, Flawed and EssentialAug 13, 2000
By IA
Too many people refuse to admit that Elvis Presley continued to grow as an artist after the '50's. This album is proof that he matured beyond the level most people are lazy enough to remember him for. Many have cited Elvis' willingness to sing questionable material and his sometimes tacky taste in singers like Dean Martin.But it's precisely Elvis' inclusiveness as a singer that makes him great--the fact that he managed to integrate more strands of American popular music into himself than almost anyone else. It was the wideness of taste that managed to include Dean Martin which also included Lowell Fulsom. Elvis had excellent taste--the problem was that it was too wide. "Elvis Is Back!" is perhaps the greatest example of Elvis' taste and integrative power--it features nearly every pop form Elvis enjoyed. The wideness of his taste meant that he was susceptible to the most sugary pop, like "The Girl of My Best Friend" or the still-sweet "Soldier Boy." There's also the pop rock that made his name in 1956, although here sometimes in diluted form("Stuck On You"), along with the usual ballads--here sung more powerfully than before but still with the usual senitivity of tone that tells you a lot about the beauty of his voice and the genuine grace at the bottom of his personality. There's also something new--the operatic pop numbers he'd always been attracted to but now decided to dabble in. At their most questionable they sound weird and turgid("Are You Lonesome tonight?") and at best sound dramatic and thrilling.("It's Now Or Never.") But the best part of the album is the blues. Every song in the genre is sung here perfectly--you can feel the hair rise on your neck stand up when he assays "Reconsider Baby" with such deadly cool, or when he matches the saxophone on "Like A Baby" with sinful intent. The most revealing part of the album--perhaps any of Elvis' albums--comes midway. Elvis croons "Soldier Boy" with genuine care and grace and ust when you think he is about to fully dive into pure pop he suddenly lunges into the Drifter's "Such A Night"--which concludes with one of the most pleasurably dirty bits of music I've ever heard. Only someone as great as Elvis Presley can get away with following the most treacly love song with a full-fledged orgasm.
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