Wednesday, August 3, 2022

2. Elvis Presley - Elvis Presley (1956)


B

The Man. The Myth. The Legend. At this point Elvis is less a human being than a sort of demi-god. Almost seventy years after this, his debut album, he's still the King of Rock & Roll. It's interesting, then, to look past all of that and back to a time when he wasn't any of those things, just a handsome young guy with a great voice singing scrappy covers of blues, soul and country songs. The irony of Elvis is that his music often gets lost in the mythos. So, saying that, how does the music stand up?

Well, many bands would be proud to have a debut album as consistent as Elvis Presley. That said, I think a lot of what makes this album interesting is context. There are flashes of brilliance here - the immortal "Blue Suede Shoes", for example; and songs like "I'll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin')"and "Blue Moon" point to Elvis' true strength, which was as a wonderful interpreter of mid-tempo ballads.  Mostly, though, the album gets by on attitude. At the time when it was released its raw, simple approach and the incredible rhythmic power of some of the songs must have been absolutely astonishing. I can't really imagine what it must have been like for young people - especially young, white women - when Elvis first came up. The whole advent of rock & roll is a fascinating thing. I mean, I don't think my generation (I am 36) has ever experienced anything comparable. And to have a guy as handsome and dynamic as Elvis Presley singing such (for the time) frankly romantic and even sexual songs (for example, his cover of Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti"), in such a primal style, must have been like setting off an atomic bomb in the American consciousness.

That said, aside from a few songs there's not really a lot to get excited about on this album. Elvis' voice is still pretty immature, and the production is very muddy. For some people, this lack of polish might be a selling point. Anyway, this is a good album, with some great songs, but it's more interesting as a cultural artefact than as a listening experience. I'm no expert on the subject, but I don't think it's a stretch to say that the man who sang "Jailhouse Rock", "I Can't Help Falling in Love" and "Suspicious Minds" still had his best years ahead of him.

Best Songs: "Blue Suede Shoes"; "Blue Moon"; "Money Honey"



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