Personnel: Elvis Presley (vocals, guitar); Scotty Moore (guitar); Bill Black (double bass); D.J. Fontana (drums).

Audio Remasterer: Dennis Ferrante.

Audio Remixer: Dennis Ferrante.

Liner Note Author: Colin Escott.

If Elvis isn't quite as important historically as the Elvis Presley album that preceded it, that's only because it came second -- musically, it's a more confident and bolder work than his debut, and in any other artist's output it would have been considered a crowning achievement. At the sessions for his first album, the singer and all concerned were treading into unmapped territory and not sure what they were doing or if they were ready for it -- by September of 1956, when the three days of sessions behind the Elvis album took place, he was on top, a national phenomenon of a kind that hadn't been seen in music since Frank Sinatra a dozen years earlier, and he had some more experience recording. And with that confidence came better singing. The songs here were, for the most part, material that he knew well, with one new submission by Otis Blackwell. He slides through them seemingly effortlessly, transforming the 1940s country number "When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again" into a smooth rocker; roaring through the Little Richard numbers "Long Tall Sally," "Ready Teddy," and "Rip It Up"; returns to his blues roots with a killer rendition of Arthur Crudup's "I'm So Glad You're Mine" (a leftover, amazingly enough, from his first RCA session); and shows how refined his voice was becoming on the ballad "First in Line" and the sentimental favorite "Old Shep." The Elvis album was reissued in 1999 with vastly improved sound and eight bonus tracks from the same and chronologically adjoining recording sessions, including the singles "Hound Dog," "Don't Be Cruel," and "Anyway You Want Me," and that is the version to own on CD. ~ Bruce Eder

This was Elvis Presley's second album release--but only his first TRUE album, as his debut consisted of the Sun sessions. This album is a blueprint for Elvis's musical career--he would go, in varying degrees, on the paths he set upon here. Out-and-out rockers ("Rip It Up," "Long Tall Sally"), country ("How's the World Treating You"), pop ("Don't Be Cruel"), mushy ballads ("Old Shep"), earthy rhythm & blues ("Too Much," "Hound Dog"), along with southern gospel, made up the sort of material Elvis would do all his life. He sings with authority and insolent swagger on the rockers (listen to the angst-ridden, manic "Paralyzed") and heartfelt vulnerability and soulfulness on the ballads (the stark "Love Me Tender"). ELVIS stands as one of the best rock & roll albums of the '50s, and one of the King's best, as well.

Elvis Presley's second album was really his first to be conceived and cut as an album -- his debut long-player, Elvis Presley, although a brilliant record, was assembled from busted singles attempts and a quintet of Sun Records outtakes. "Anyway You Want Me (That's How I Will Be)," and the classic "Love Me,", display glimpses of sophistication and control as a singer on this album that would increasingly drive his singing in years to come. The rhythm numbers include three Little Richard songs that he performs extremely well, most notably "Long Tall Sally," indicating either a strong preference by Elvis or a dearth of acceptable material brought to the September 1956 sessions by Steve Sholes. The surprises on this album include "Paralyzed," one of the lesser known Otis Blackwell compositions, and Elvis' cover of Arthur Crudup's "So Glad You're Mine" (cut at Elvis' late January 1956 RCA sessions, but unused), which would have been among any artist's top output during this period. [The 1999 remastering, in addition to significantly improved sound on the existing tracks, extends the CD by eight songs including "Hound Dog" and "Don't Be Cruel," the two sides of the biggest selling single by anybody in 1956, which were cut at sessions overlapping the conception of this album, "Too Much" and "Playing for Keeps," which came from these sessions, and "Love Me Tender," which was cut at a session overlapping the making of this album.] ~ Bruce Eder

Q (4/00, p.112) - 5 stars out of 5 - "...the expected exemplary rock'n'roll, country and blues, with hits tagged on..."

Uncut (p.115) - 5 stars out of 5 - "[A] reverb-sodden paradise featuring guitarist Scotty Moore at his spidery-fingered best..."