Oh no, not another load of songs that Presley loved, once saw in a shop, or could have once heard once when he turned on the radio. Well, here’s a neat idea: this actually has some basis in fact. Even more surprisingly, it’s actually interesting to listen to.
After a brief interview from 1955, you’re launched into Presley’ own version of Baby, Let’s Play House. You’ve heard it thousands of times, but it still sounds good. Better still is the fact that it’s followed by Arthur Gunter’s original. The one that Elvis was inspired by.
And that’s how this continues for a further 14 tracks. It quickly become clear that Presley’s is essentially a sped-up cover of a country, jazz, folk or doo wop song, but it’s still engrossing. While he can’t top Little Richard for Tutti Frutti’s energy, he can sophisticate Lonnie Johnson’s Tomorrow Night: Presley’s is a gentle, near-sobbing plea that could make girls cry, Johnson’s a scratchy, haggard cry to the moon.
Chances are you’ll return to your Presley discs more often, but as we hear so much about how he made others’ songs his own, it’s nice to have some direct evidence. Some decent liner notes on the various artists would have been even nicer.
