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Rating: It's about to rain outside. I'm writing to the notes of a legend, everyone calls him The King, and I can easily understand why.
Elvis Presley was truly a shock at the time, going against the tide both in clothing (bright colors, rebellious quiff and sideburns) and in mindset; he didn't care much about race, religion, or anything else. Elvis already had a more open-minded view compared to his peers in Memphis, which made him more comfortable approaching music.
His debut, dated 1956, was a true bolt out of the blue; although it was mainly a reinterpretation of other great classics, the King entered every home in America, sold more than a million copies (the first album in history to do so), and established himself as a central figure of the new "rock" that was advancing like a runaway freight train.
His stage presence, combined with good looks, a magnetic gaze, and great poise, sent myriad girls into a frenzy, his automatic movements, borderline indecent (for the time), made people cry blasphemy and his music was immediately labeled by "purists" as a source of temptation and moral corruption.
This is Rock 'n Roll baby!
The roots are firmly planted in the old blues (and what doesn't start from there?), as seen right from the opener "Blue Suede Shoes", a cover of Carl Perkins, where tradition blends with the carefree execution of the new rock, making it hard to stay still. The typical shuffled syncopated rhythm is accompanied by Scotty Moore's guitar, already noticeable for his pioneering and innovative style which would become the forerunner of the pyrotechnic solos of the future.
Presley's voice stands out above all, filling the air with its full, captivating, dramatically melodic tone ("I'm Counting On You"), and seductive, with his rhythm guitar seasoning everything: at the time many wondered who that "black" person playing country or that "white" person singing blues was..
It was simply Elvis making damn Rock, gentlemen.. The music of the "devil," the one that leads minds astray and youths down the wrong path, yet is powerful enough to move mountains with its impact.
We find country and soul reminiscences in the fast "I Got A Woman" (Ray Charles) with its irresistible crescendo, that minimal solo seems to come out of a child's little amplifier, but it captures, God if it captures!
The piano accompanies the rhythmic and engaging "One-Sided Love Affair", Presley follows it all with disarming ease of execution and vocal harmony, while everything revolves around the most classic of blues progressions. The ballads ("I Love You Because", the poignant "I'll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin')") are accompanied by Moore in the background in a deliciously non-intrusive guitar style, also thanks to his shy and introverted character, offering true moments of inner peace, leaving you with closed eyes, while Elvis's deep and visceral voice climbs into the most remote recesses of your brain.
These relaxing moments alternate with true country-style sprints ("Just Because"), where Moore's guitar and especially Presley's interpretation capture attention, while Bill Black's double bass keeps grinding patterns continuously, without rest, creating, in symbiosis with the drummer (I assume D.J. Fontana), a really impenetrable rhythm wall.
Special mention goes to the ultimate hit "Tutti Frutti", a cover of Little Richard, with its frantic and tremendously danceable rhythm: here, it's really difficult to keep the movements in check, and you can imagine the King's killer moves electrifying the girls in the front row. The devilish guitar, mixed with Elvis's irreverent voice, which here seems to dare and let loose a bit more, sign one of the finest interpretations of one of the world's most popular songs.
The soft "Blue Moon" stands out for Elvis's vocal interpretation, the softness in emission, the passing through register, his voice seems like a melodic stream of air flowing from the speakers to cradle you in the sweetest of your dreams, while the closure is entrusted to the soft rock/blues "Money Honey".
Everything flows wonderfully and the immense potential of Elvis, who will soon conquer the world, already glimpsed through and will forever change the history of music.
It's still not raining outside, no matter, I'll play it again from the start...
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Blue Suede Shoes (02:01)
Well, it's one for the money,
Two for the show,
Three to get ready,
Now go, cat, go.
But don't you step on my blue suede shoes.
You can do anything but lay off of my Blue suede shoes.
Well, you can knock me down,
Step in my face,
Slander my name
All over the place.
Do anything that you want to do, but uh-uh,
Honey, lay off of my shoes
Don't you step on my Blue suede shoes.
You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoes.
You can burn my house,
Steal my car,
Drink my liquor
From an old fruitjar.
Do anything that you want to do, but uh-uh,
Honey, lay off of my shoes
Don't you step on my blue suede shoes.
You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoes.
02 I'm Counting on You (02:24)
All the words that I let her know
Still could not say
How much I need you so in every way
I do wrong and you guide me
As only you can do
Hold my hands down beside me
I’m counting on you
I’m counting on you dear
From the dawn of each day
To always come through dear
In your kind lovin’ way
If you knew just how deeply
I feel things you do
Then you know how completely
I’m counting on you
I’m counting on you dear
From the dawn of each day
To always come true, dear
In your kind lovin’ way
If you knew just how deeply
I feel things you do
Then you know how completely
I’m counting on you
07 Tutti Frutti (01:58)
A-bop-bop-a-loom-op a-lop-bam-boom !
Tutti Frutti au rutti.
Tutti Frutti au rutti.
Tutti Frutti au rutti.
Tutti Frutti au rutti.
Tutti Frutti au rutti.
A-bop-bop-a-loom-op a-lop-bam-boom !
I got a girl
her name's Sue -
she knows just what to do.
I got a girl
her name's Sue -
she knows just what to do.
She rocks to the east -
she rolls to the west.
She's the girl
that I love the best.
Tutti Frutti au rutti...
I got a girl
her name's Daisy -
she almost drives me crazy.
I got a girl
her name's Daisy -
she almost drives me crazy.
She knows how to love me
yes indeed.
Oh
boy you don't know
she's doin' to me.
Tutti Frutti au rutti...
Tutti Frutti au rutti...
I got a girl
her name's Daisy
...
Tutti Frutti au rutti...
08 Tryin' to Get to You (02:33)
I've been traveling over mountains
Even through the valleys, too
I've been traveling night and day
I've been running all the way
Baby, trying to get to you.
Ever since I read your letter
Where you said you loved me true
I've been traveling night and day
I've been running all the way
baby, trying to get to you
When I read your loving letter
Then my heart began to sing
There were many miles between us,
But they didn't mean a thing.
I just had to reach you, baby,
In spite of all that I've been through.
I kept traveling night and day,
I kept running all the way,
Baby, trying to get to you.
Well if I had to do it over
That's exactly what I'd do,
I would travel night and day,
And I'd still run all the way,
Baby, trying to get to you.
Well, there's nothing that could hold me
Or that could keep me away from you
When your loving letter told me
That you really loved me true
Lord above me knows I love you
It was He who brought me through,
When my way was dark as night,
He would shine His brightest light,
When I was trying to get to you.
12 Money Honey (02:33)
You know, the landlord rang my front door bell.
I let it ring for a long, long spell.
I went to the window,
I peeped through the blind,
And asked him to tell me what's on his mind.
He said,
Money, honey.
Money, honey.
Money, honey, if you want to get along with me.
Well, I screamed and I hollered,
I was so hard-pressed.
I called the woman that I loved the best.
I finally got my baby about half past three,
She said I'd like to know what you want with me.
I said,
Money, honey.
Money, honey.
Money, honey,
If you want to get along with me.
Well, I said tell me baby, what's wrong with you?
From this day on our romance is through
I said, tell me baby, face to face
How could another man take my place?
She said,
Money, honey.
Money, honey.
Money, honey,
If you want to get a long with me.
Well, I've learned my lesson and now I know
The sun may shine and the winds may blow.
The women may come and the women may go,
But before I say I love you so,
I want
Money, honey.
Money, honey.
Money, honey,
If you want to get along with me.
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