Limited edition Japanese reissue of 1969 album by The King, digitally remastered using 24 bit technology & in a miniaturized LP sleeve with the original artwork intact. 2000 release.

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The original 1970 release of _From Elvis in Memphis_ contained 12 tracks, with "In the Ghetto" as the torch-bearer. The new reissue pads the original 12 tracks with another 8 which were initially released as singles around the same time. The result is perhaps the best single Elvis CD ever released.

While the King is generally regarded as a "country boy", it is the R&B tracks which are most memorable. "Wearin' That Loved On Look" kicks off the proceedings with a fiery energy which sustains itself throughout the entire CD. "Long Black Limousine" and "Power of My Love" easily justify Elvis' title as the King of Rock n' Roll. These are the performances of a man reborn; a man eager to reclaim his place in the rock and roll hierarchy.

No Elvis record is complete without a country influence. This CD does more than satisfy. "It Keeps Right On a-Hurtin'" and "True Love Travels on a Gravel Road" both come across as heartfelt performances while Glen Campbell's "Gentle on My Mind" gives this reviewer goosebumps.

The true centerpieces of this incredible CD are the three smash hits culled from the '69 sessions: "In the Ghetto", "Suspicous Minds", and "Kentucky Rain". Need I say more?

While Elvis would go on in the 70's to reach new isolated musical heights (the _Elvis Country_ album, "Burning Love", "Promised Land", "Way Down") this would be the last time that he would be so consistent in the quality of his output.

If you're an Elvis completist, you'd probably be better served by _Suspicous Minds_ or _From Nashville to Memphis_. But if you want to get to the core of what Elvis was all about circa 1969, this is the one to get!

31 of 31 found the following review helpful:

Elvis' finest albumNov 16, 2001
By DJ McGovern "Derek McGovern"
Elvis was 34 years old when he recorded this brilliant collection of pop, country, blues and soul music. It's an eclectic mix, and probably not to all tastes, but one thing is abundantly clear - Elvis was at his peak when he set foot in the American studios in Memphis that winter of 1969.

Vocally, this is a very different Elvis from even two years earlier, when he was still producing the sweet almost-crooning sound associated with soundtracks such as Blue Hawaii. Here his voice is stronger and darker, and the raucous opening track (Wearin' that loved on look) shows he is not afraid to sacrifice beauty of sound for a more dramatic effect. That's not to say this album doesn't contain some mellow singing as well - In the Ghetto is proof of that.

But what makes this album great is the sheer individuality displayed in every track as Elvis gives each song his trademark commitment and energy. Stand-outs for me include Only the Strong Survive, in which Elvis transforms an otherwise standard song into a very personal statement; a definitive Gentle on My Mind; After Loving You (with its brilliant vocal gyrations); Any Day Now; and the haunting and moving True Love Travels On A Gravel Road.

The bonus tracks include two songs that should have been on the original album - Suspicious Minds and Kentucky Rain. It's great to have them reunited with their companion pieces from the same recording sessions.

Just one tiny criticism - why has BMG included a photo of the Hollywood Elvis on its cover? It's precisely THAT Elvis that this album seeks to escape from! Perhaps they were being ironic?

The liner notes are excellent, and complement a masterful artistic statement from pop's greatest icon.

17 of 17 found the following review helpful:

Elvis Returns to his RootsAug 16, 2000
By Thomas Magnum
When Elvis released From Elvis in Memphis in 1969, it marked a return to his country roots. The original album contained the first 12 songs on the cd and they were excellent. His version of Jerry Butler's "Only The Strong Survive" seems appropriate because Elvis backed up his 1968 comeback special with this album and showed not only could he survive, he could thrive. Leaving behind the awful soundtrack music he had been making for the prior 7 or 8 years, he was backed by a superb ensemble of Memphis studio musicians. Tracks like "Long Black Limousine", "Any Day Now", "Gentle On My Mind" and the haunting single "In The Ghetto" showed Elvis could make music that still mattered. What makes this re-release great is the inclusion of the singles from the sessions that weren't included on the original release. "Suspicious Minds" was the King's last number one single and one his best songs of all time. In "Kentucky Rain", he flexes his vocal muscles and he shows his tender side on "Don't Cry Daddy". "Mama Liked The Roses" is one of my favorite Presley songs and one of his best performances. Elvis released a couple more decent albums, before sliding into his Vegas persona, but this album stands as probably the final testiment to his greatness as a recording artist.

16 of 16 found the following review helpful:

From Elvis In MemphisDec 02, 1999
By Mike Kurosky
It is one of his greatest achivements but do not buy it

Purchase the new compilation:

The Memphis 1969 Anthology: Suspicous Minds

It has all 31 songs he recorded at American Sound Studios in Memphis in 1968 and they are all digitally remastered with inclusion of alternate takes.

8 of 8 found the following review helpful:

Return Of THE KINGMar 05, 2006
By Erik North
For many, during the 1960s, Elvis Presley, after having gotten out of the Army, was MIA (Missing In Action)--submerging himself in some of the most godawful musical comedy movies ever made, with only a few of the songs ("Can't Help Falling In Love"; "Viva Las Vegas"; "Kissin' Cousins") reaching the level of what he had done in his late 1950s prime. So much had changed in the world during the Sixties, while the Colonel put his client through a terrible routine that destroyed the man's considerable acting potential and nearly ran his music career into the ground. But the monstrous success of 1968 NBC-TV comeback special gave The King a whole new lease on life.

And with this album, FROM ELVIS IN MEMPHIS, the man that generations had grown up with and whose 60s decline they lamented was back in full force. Elvis found himself recording material that he could invest everything he had into, and the results were spectacular. FROM ELVIS IN MEMPHIS encapsulates everything the man and American popular music were all about--R&B, pop, country, blues, the whole nine yards. Whether it's covers of "Only The Strong Survive" and "Gentle On My Mind", or fresh new songs like "Wearin' That Loved On Look", every bit of Elvis is in these songs. And it doesn't hurt in the slightest to have no fewer than four Top 40 hits on here either--"In The Ghetto" (#3); "Don't Cry Daddy" (#6); "Kentucky Rain" (#16); and the ever-popular "Suspicious Minds" (sadly, the King's last #1 hit), all true classics in his repertoire. Finally, one song of particular note is "Long Black Limousine", which has an almost disturbing and chilling resonance to it.

The album's #13 posting on the Billboard Top 200 during the summer of 1969, coming off the #8 charting of the comeback special album, was a remarkable feat, given how turbulent pop music was back then, and it showed Elvis still had the goods when he trumped his manager's fast greasy buck approach. It is a tragedy, of course, that Elvis was never totally able to escape the Colonel's pull because that, along with the terrible abuse he did to his body, was what led to his early demise. But when the King was at his best, as he certainly was here and would be more than half the time in his final eight years of life, he was untouchable. He was, to put it delicately, extraordinary, and this great 1969 album, arguably the finest of his career, is solid proof.

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