From Nashville to Memphis: the Essential 1960's Masters Vol.1 [Box set]

It's fascinating to hear the evolution of Elvis's voice across these 5 CDs, spanning the decade 1960-1969, from the chocolatey-brown smoothness of 'It's Now Or Never' to the mature power of 'Suspicious Minds'.

The 130 tracks also illustrate Presley's unique ability to 'inhabit' a song. He can be slyly sensual ('Fever'), defiantly wounded ('It Hurts Me'), rugged and manly ('Inherit The Wind'), cheeky and playful ('Stuck On You')......any number of moods, in fact.

Everyone knows the million-sellers on the first disc, 'It's Now Or Never' and 'Are You Lonesome Tonight' but there are plenty of minor classics here too - 'A Mess Of Blues', 'The Girl Of My Best Friend', 'Like A Baby', 'I Feel So Bad' and so on.

They are all overshadowed, though, by 'Reconsider Baby.' Robert Matthew-Walker, in his excellent book, 'Elvis Presley: A Study In Music', says of this song - "It is a classic blues performance; timeless and awe-inspiring in its power and emotion. This track is a refutation of those who do not recognise what a phenomenal artist Elvis Presley was."

Disc 2 is not nearly as satisfying. The spirit of adventure, of trying out different musical styles, that characterises his first batch of post-Army recordings, is conspicuously absent by now. In their place we find formulaic pop songs and an over-reliance on sentimental ballads. There ARE some gems here - 'His Latest Flame', 'Little Sister' and 'Devil In Disguise' are all stylish cuts - but there's also feeble guff like 'Easy Question' and 'Echoes Of Love.'

Even Elvis's singing, though technically superb throughout, lacks passion and commitment on occasion; he doesn't believe in some of the material. Two exquisite ballads are notable exceptions though - 'Anything That's Part Of You' and 'That's Someone You Never Forget.'

Disc 3 is marginally better, if only due to the inclusion of the brilliant 'Guitar Man' and 'Big Boss Man.' 'It Hurts Me', 'Indescribably Blue' and 'Love Letters' are also love songs of considerable power and beauty.

But the real revelation here is Elvis's version of Bob Dylan's 'Tomorrow Is A Long Time.' Apparently, Elvis was haunted by the lyrics, especially the verse "I can't see my reflection in the water/I can't speak the sounds that show no pain/I can't hear the echo of my footsteps/I can't remember the sound of my own name", which seemed to sum up how he'd lost his way artistically in the mid-60s. Elvis delivers a mesmerising performance, one that sheds a whole new light on him as an artist.

Discs 4 and 5 comprise the legendary Memphis '69 sessions. 'Suspicious Minds' and 'In The Ghetto' both receive towering performances but there are several other songs of similar stature - 'Stranger In My Own Home Town', 'Wearin' That Loved On Look', 'Long Black Limousine', 'Any Day Now', 'Power Of My Love' etc. Elvis also revels in the tougher, more adult dilemmas of 'You'll Think Of Me', 'Kentucky Rain' and 'This Is The Story'. Even lesser tracks like 'After Loving You' and 'True Love Travels On A Gravel Road' are elevated above the ordinary by Elvis's fiery vocal.

You can hear Elvis rediscovering his love of singing on the Memphis recordings. In its gravelly authority, his voice really is a thing of wonder on these songs. He would never sound so impassioned or soulful again.

I have not had this box set long, a matter of days in fact, but already it has assumed a pivitol place in my collection. While i would concure with the general concensis that Elvis's 60's recordngs are not as essential as his 50's work (the spawning ground of rock and roll) that in no way devalues the overall excelence of this outstanding set. The songs are vital throughout and the good vastly outways the bad, you will be rocking along to this from the word go. For the collector the rarities and alternative takes are essential, and this set delivers on both counts. If you've got a bit of Elvis already and are considering this box set (or the 50s or 70s masters) stop considering and start buying, i did (or rather my girlfriend did for me) and i don't regret it one bit, now how to get that Roy Orbison box set...

Most of you have your favorite era of his music. I like them all in different ways, but I like the sixties best, and this box shows why. There were many aspects to his music, but this set focuses on those secular recordings that were made in the studio and which were not connected to a movie. The best of the movie music is available on Command performance - Essential sixties masters volume 2, which I've already reviewed, while the gospel and live recordings are also available separately.

With those exceptions, every song Elvis recorded during the sixties is here. These include most of his big hits from the period, among them It's now or never, Are you lonesome tonight, Surrender, His latest flame, Good luck charm, Suspicion, She's not you, Don't cry Daddy, In the ghetto and Suspicious minds. Of course, there are a few missing, because they were from the excluded categories, but anybody who wants a Greatest hits collection will find plenty to choose from.

Apart from the hits, you get all the album tracks, many of them long forgotten except by fans of Elvis. These include covers of Fever (Peggy Lee), Memphis Tennessee (Chuck Berry), And the grass won't pay no mind (Neil Diamond), Just call me lonesome (Eddy Arnold), Gentle on my mind (Glen Campbell), I'm movin' on (Hank Snow) and I'll hold you in my heart (Eddy Arnold) among them.

Among the songs written for Elvis but which remain obscure to all but his fans, there are many good songs, any of which might one day be rediscovered and used in a movie or TV advertisement. The song Gently, from one of his early sixties albums, was translated into French and recorded by Petula Clark. I can't ever remember another cover of this song in any language, though there probably is one somewhere - just one of many great songs in this set that you're not likely to hear on the radio.
The last half of the final CD is made up of selected alternate takes of some of the songs, although the most famous alternate take, his laughing version of Are you lonesome tonight, is not among them. Nevertheless, this is a fine collection which will appeal to a far wider public than just his dedicated fans.