Search - Elvis Presley :: Heart & Soul

Great collection

S. Kuzminski | Chicago | 12/04/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Makes one realize just how great an interpreter of songs Elvis
was. He never recorded one self-penned song, but with his interpretive capabilities he didn't have to. He put his own personal stamp on everything he did, from the sublime to
the ridiculous. This collection has much of the great ballads
he recorded, many rarely heard from early in his career with
a pure innocence and heartfelt simplicity that he lost shortly
thereafter. As he matured, he created a more mature, langerous
style, not unlike Patsy Cline, that was part pop, part country,
part blues. Finally, you get ballads near the end of his career,
as some thought he was entering a new, creative phase. In
the last stage of his career, he was still using outstanding
songwriters like Willie Nelson. Funny, when you think of it,
as much as Elvis is identified with Rock and Roll, he may have
been just as groundbreaking and capable as a ballader. Don't
forget, according to Elvis himself, his greatest influence wasDean Martin. Therefore, the absolute core of Elvis was and always
will be his ballads. Listen to any of these, from "love me tender', to "Are you lonesome tonight", to "It's now or never",
to "Suspicious Minds", and you will hear someone born to be
a balladeer."

Elvis Presley - A lot of Heart and a lot of Soul

T. DuMoulin | Poway, CA United States | 10/11/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a tremendous album which shows clearly why Elvis was with little argument the greatest ballader of all time. One of my favorites is "Young and Beautiful", a lesser known track. When you listen to it you think you are sitting in a 50's night club. The more I listen to Elvis the more impressed I become at his vocal range and technique. The song "Always on My Mind" sounds simple enough but when you listen carefully you will hear Elvis hitting 7 notes in rapid succesion with words such as "time and blind". The speed of his vibrato is amazing. My wife hates Simon and Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" but she loves Elvis' version. In fact when you hear an Elvis remake i.e. Just Can't Stop Believing, Bridge Over Troubled Water etc. you can hardly recall who sang the original, so good is the King's version. I higly recommend this CD."