Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley
1956

So it's a classic from tip of its iconic cover to the bottom of its blue suede shoes (track 1 here). But by today's standards it sounds very tame, although the best tracks - "Blue Suede Shoes", "Just Because" - are, of course, vastly influential. There's a lot more of the slow crooners than you might expect if you just knew of the album's reputation as one of the first rock 'n' roll discs. The inclusion of covers of then-current hits like "Tutti Frutti" and "I Got A Woman" might have been cutting edge at the time, but now they just sound inferior to the now very well known originals.

My favourite Elvis songs are not on this album - although the CD version includes "Heartbreak Hotel" - and, really, I think anyone who isn't obsessive about Presley would be better off with a greatest hits collection. I've got The Fifty Greatest Hits and there is hardly any filler - something you can't say about this album.