Elvis Presley – The 50 Greatest Hits [3×LP 180g Audiophile Vinyl]

Elvis Presley – The 50 Greatest Hits [3×LP 180g Audiophile Vinyl]

Details

• Format: 3×LP, Compilation, Reissue, 180 Gram Audiophile Vinyl
• Catalogue Number: MOVLP296
• Barcode: 886976399016
• Genre: Rock & Roll, Pop, Country, Gospel, R&B
• Label: Music On Vinyl / RCA
• Originally Released: 18 November 2000
• Reissue Released: 23 February 2010
• Pressing: 180 Gram Audiophile Vinyl
• Condition: New & Sealed

Description

Elvis Aaron Presley began his recording career in Memphis, Tennessee in the summer of 1954, walking into Sun Records on Union Avenue and cutting 'That's All Right' with producer Sam Phillips and a two-piece backing band consisting of guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black. What followed over the next two decades was one of the most remarkable and far-reaching careers in the history of popular music. When his contract was sold to RCA Victor in late 1955, Presley became an international phenomenon virtually overnight — by 1956 he had his first US number one with 'Heartbreak Hotel' and had appeared on national television, triggering scenes of mass hysteria that would define the era. He starred in 33 films, made landmark television appearances including his 1968 NBC Comeback Special, and in his later years filled arenas across America with record-breaking concert residencies. In America alone, he amassed 18 number-one singles, more than 150 gold, platinum, or multi-platinum certified records, and had more US Top 40 singles than any other artist of the 1950s or 1960s.

The 50 Greatest Hits was originally released in November 2000 as a comprehensive career survey spanning from 'That's All Right' (1954) through to 'Way Down', his final number-one single released just weeks before his death in August 1977. The compilation traces the full arc of his career: the raw rockabilly energy of the Sun sessions; the explosion of the RCA years with 'Hound Dog', 'Jailhouse Rock', and 'All Shook Up'; the lush balladry of the early 1960s with 'It's Now or Never', 'Are You Lonesome Tonight?', and 'Can't Help Falling in Love'; and the triumphant later period that produced 'Suspicious Minds', 'In the Ghetto', and 'Burning Love'. The scope of the selection underscores the sheer breadth of Presley's musical range across rock & roll, pop, country, gospel, and soul.

Highlights across the six sides include some of the most recognisable recordings in popular music history. 'Hound Dog' and 'Don't Be Cruel', both released as a double A-side single in 1956, together spent eleven weeks at number one in the United States. 'Jailhouse Rock', written by Leiber and Stoller for the 1957 film of the same name, became the first single in UK chart history to enter at number one. 'Suspicious Minds', recorded at American Sound Studio in Memphis in January 1969, ended a seven-year run without a US chart-topper. 'An American Trilogy', Mickey Newbury's medley of 'Dixie', 'The Battle Hymn of the Republic', and 'All My Trials', became one of his most celebrated live showpieces. The collection also includes 'If I Can Dream', the impassioned finale to his 1968 television comeback, written in the immediate aftermath of the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy.

This Music On Vinyl reissue, pressed on 180 gram audiophile vinyl and released in February 2010, presents all 50 tracks across three records in a wide-spine single pocket picture sleeve, accompanied by a black and white printed info insert. The pressing has been consistently praised by collectors for its quiet surfaces and faithful reproduction of recordings that span the full range of mono and stereo source material from across Presley's RCA catalogue.

Tracklist

Record 1 – Side A

1. That's All Right
2. Mystery Train
3. Heartbreak Hotel
4. Blue Suede Shoes
5. Lawdy, Miss Clawdy
6. Hound Dog
7. Don't Be Cruel
8. Love Me Tender
9. Too Much

Record 1 – Side B

1. All Shook Up
2. (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear
3. (Let's Have A) Party
4. Loving You
5. Jailhouse Rock
6. Don't
7. Trouble
8. Wear My Ring Around Your Neck
9. King Creole

Record 2 – Side C

1. Hard Headed Woman
2. One Night
3. (Now and Then There's) A Fool Such as I
4. A Big Hunk O' Love
5. Stuck on You
6. The Girl of My Best Friend
7. It's Now or Never
8. Are You Lonesome Tonight?

Record 2 – Side D

1. Wooden Heart
2. Surrender
3. (Marie's the Name of) His Latest Flame
4. Can't Help Falling in Love
5. Good Luck Charm
6. She's Not You
7. Return to Sender
8. (You're the) Devil in Disguise

Record 3 – Side E

1. Viva Las Vegas
2. Crying in the Chapel
3. Love Letters
4. Guitar Man
5. If I Can Dream
6. In the Ghetto
7. Suspicious Minds
8. Don't Cry Daddy

Record 3 – Side F

1. The Wonder of You
2. I Just Can't Help Believin'
3. An American Trilogy
4. Burning Love
5. Always on My Mind
6. Suspicion
7. Moody Blue
8. Way Down

Credits

• Label – Music On Vinyl / RCA