152. Elvis Presley - From Elvis in Memphis (June 1969)

1. Wearin' That Loved On Look

2. Only the Strong Survive

3. I'll Hold You in My Heart (Till I Can Hold You in My Arms)

4. Long Black Limousine

5. It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin'

6. I'm Movin' On

7. Power of My Love*

8. Gentle on My Mind

9. After Loving You

10. True Love Travels on a Gravel Road

11. Any Day Now*

12. In the Ghetto*

***1/2

I've never been a member of the cult of Elvis. I like some of his songs fine, and I've more or less enjoyed the Elvis albums I've had to listen to for this book, but I pretty much never listen to his music (the only real exceptions being that I have "Heartbreak Hotel" in my liked songs on Spotify, and his Christmas album gets dusted off once a year). From Elvis in Memphis is a very good album, and I can certainly see why so many people hold it in such high regard. But the gushing reviews kind of baffle me. I guess Elvis and I just don't click. 

Possibly this is because this is big, bold Sixties soul music. It's an excellent example of the genre, but as I've said on numerous occasions that's not really a genre I much care for. All of which makes it sound like I'm ragging on this album, but I'm really not. It's a perfectly nice listen, and for Elvis fans it must have been a real treat after watching him spend the 60s releasing dreadful film after dreadful film and mostly recording pop schmaltz. I'd say this is, of the three Elvis albums in the Book, easily the best one; and if Elvis had recorded more material of this calibre he might actually deserve to be called "King of Rock & Roll".

Still, this is in many ways a standard pop album - a bunch of pretty good songs, mostly covers, with one or two truly brilliant songs thrown in. And really, "The Power of My Love" is pretty awesome - a funky, down and dirty behemoth of a song that gives Elvis a chance to be genuinely sexy for the first time in years. Then there's the pretty ballad "Any Day Now", and the touching "After Loving You" - I know a lot of people would disagree with me, but I'll always maintain Elvis' real strength lay in pretty ballads.

This is something I think is proved by the final song on the album. Really, "In the Ghetto" had to be a closer. It's very much the odd song out. For the rest of its running time this is a fun album of well-played R&B, soul and country. "In the Ghetto", on the other hand, is a very pretty and very bleak number chronicling the short, sad life of a child born into poverty, who grows up to be a car thief and winds-up getting shot by the police. Now, I love this song, and I always have. When I was a kid in the late 90s, I lived in a podunk town in the country. Our mum used to take us to the pub (kids were allowed in the general area, but not the main bar), and my little sister and I would drink fire engines, play darts and pool, and hassle mum into giving us money to play songs on the jukebox. I remember our three favourites were "Jeremiah Was a Bullfrog", "We've Gotta Get Outta This Place", and "In the Ghetto". I was captivated by the sadness of the song, and the way it managed to tell a story in such a moving and well-constructed way. I guess I've always been kind of morbid. 

Anyway, this was a fun listen, and a must for Elvis fans. Even an unbeliever like me really enjoyed it. I can't imagine how much someone who genuinely loves the King's mush-mouthed warbling would like it. I guess in many ways Elvis' story is a bit of a sad one - a story of wasted potential and unmet expectations. He had it in him to be truly brilliant, but ended up being forced to grind out a load of crap. From Elvis in Memphis offers a glimpse of what might have been, even if it wound up being too little too late.