Welcome to the Elvis Information Network

The 50 Greatest Love Songs

"Let Elvis cast that late-night spell over you"

For true Elvis fans this is hardly the most important CD released last year.

However it is the double CD that put Elvis back into Australia's Top 30 for the first time in this millennium and is definitely worth another spin!

Of course it is "just another compile of previously released material" but here Ernst J & Roger S have assembled some of Elvis' most beautiful ballads into a compilation that not only makes a gorgeous late-night listen but is also amazing value for money. Starting perfectly with the classic 'Always on My Mind', Ernst follows this with the rare Take 1 of "And I Love You So" where Elvis starts by saying to (his then girlfriend) Sheila Ryan, "Step here Sheila and let me sing to you baby".

This is a delightful version (same mix as '6363 Sunset') that your average CD buyer will not have heard before and is a hidden classic that truly deserves a mainstream release after 27 years of being secreted away.

All the classics are of course here but just when you feel that you've heard this compile all before Ernst slips in something interesting.

On the first CD 'You've Lost That Loving Feeling' is followed very nicely by 'It's Impossible' and then lesser well-known tracks such as 'Spanish Eyes', 'Let it be Me', 'For the Good Times' (The studio version from the 70's box set), 'Make the World Go Away' and 'It's Only Love' which all make welcome appearances.

For the general public (who don't own the Box-Sets) these Elvis songs will be something new for them and will make a nice departure from the regular 'Greatest Hits' formula. The second CD features more from Elvis' earlier period - 10 Gold singles no less - but even then it has nice surprises like 'The Thrill of Your Love' and 'Pocketful of Rainbows' (from "GI. Blues").

In fact the 9 songs segued from 'Suspicion' & 'Girl of My Best Friend', through to 'You Don't Know Me' (from 1967 the oldest song on this side) are all beautifully selected and are a real delight. This segment also features the outstanding 'It Hurts Me' which is definitely worth another close listen since it is Elvis' best vocal performance from 1964 that just hints at the power & depth that his voice would reach by the time he hit Vegas in 1969. Incredibly this song was, of course, wasted at the time by being released as the flip side of the 'Kissin' Cousins' single!!

The gorgeous 'There's Always Me' is here as well as the unsurpassable 'Love Letters' and Ernst has thankfully also used the full-length version of 'I'll Remember You'. This was one of Elvis' personal favourites from his early 60's Hawaiian holidays and again the original was cruelly thrown away with a short edit and then stuck on the 'Spinout' soundtrack as a "Bonus Song"! Soak up the beauty of the full length 1966 performance here, recorded 7 years before it became a 'classic' of the "Aloha" special.

With 27 tracks packed onto the second CD there is a plethora of superb ballads but it is still great to have a new excuse to listen to the often ignored, 1958 number 1 single, 'Don't' as well as 'As Long As I Have You' from the "King Creole" soundtrack.

Just listen to the beautifully sincere 'Don't' and the way Elvis' young voice trembles slightly at the time, which gives it a delicious vulnerability. I personally think that it is a real bonus to have these songs re-introduced to the general public again rather than yet another compile of 'Greatest Hits'.

My only minor complaint is that I find it hard to believe that a couple of essential tracks such as 'Just Pretend' and 'That's Someone You'll Never Forget' are missing and I guess that Ernst has a dog as I'm not sure what 'Old Shep' is doing here. Maybe we're lucky that he doesn't own an aquarium or we might have got 'Song of the Shrimp' instead!!! Joking aside, this is a gorgeous compile which has just re entered the Australian Top 40. BMG are about to delete it, so grab it while you can and let's keep it in the charts.

There are some good, informative, liner notes by Colin Escort that places each song nicely into perspective. He says of 'Love Me Tender' .. "It was a spare, back-porch performance, and the first time Elvis dared be intimate on disc. If he hadn't meant every word, he would have broken the spell".

Let Elvis cast a magic late-night spell over you too! - If you live in Australia, rush to your local Target or K Mart who are discounting it at an incredibly cheap $20. Buy several copies for your friends and I bet you end up keeping one for yourself.

Click to comment on this review