More Korean hip-hop. And these dudes are pretty cool.
Highlights: Ophilia Please Show Me Your Smile, Pink Polaroid
7/10
Elvis at Stax - Elvis Presley
I enjoy the outtakes on here, because they are like having the masters without the overdubs - an idea the Elvis team actually have been using on a few releases - so you get a focus on the song and Elvis' performance. I also would have liked if Elvis had used the Stax musicians and made something more funky, but there are still some great songs in here. And, as per usual Elvis, they are a mix of styles. The lyrics don't really work for Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues; Elvis was older than 33 and he had already lost his wife. Or maybe he was just confirming the warnings he was given? Midway through disc 2 we move on to the masters and, to be honest, they started with the most average of the bunch. For a song called Raised on Rock, it sure does very little 'rocking'. But then we move to disc 3 and things kick off with a seriously rocking version of Promised Land, and after that things pick up nicely. Elvis' old granddaddy is someone I can relate with... It closes off with If That Isn't Love, which might be my favourite gospel number from Elvis.
Highlights: Promised Land, I Got a Feelin' in My Body, If That Isn't Love, Talk About the Good Times, Thinking About You, It's Midnight, If You Talk in Your Sleep
7/10
Elvis Back at Nashville - Elvis Presley
Pretty sure that title needs changing. This set is apparently ordered "thematically"; Disc one is country/folk/piano and pop songs, disc two is gospel and Xmas songs, disc three is outtakes and whatnot, and disc four is gospel and Xmas outtakes. So kind of the opposite approach of the Stax set. Also, the songs on this have all been remixed to remove all overdubs - so it is just Elvis and the band. It serves to make things quite chill. And shows up a bunch of mistakes in It's Still Here. But it means Elvis' voice isn't hiding behind an orchestra and backing vocals - which makes things very interesting. I definitely prefer this version of I'm Leavin'. And bah gawd his vocals on We Can Make the Morning are massive. Why does Elvis say to hold hands with Geddy Lee? Was he a massive Rush fan? The gospel numbers are all awesome. I actually don't mind these Xmas songs - they are the less cheesy predictable songs, because he had already recorded those. On to the outtakes and whatnot. Elvis must have really loved singing Don't Think Twice, It's All Right, because not only is there a 9-minute version on the first disc, but here in the middle there is a full 11-minute version as well. The gospel outtakes are very good. The Xmas outtakes are more humorous than anything - Elvis is clearly trying to make the sessions a bit more fun for himself. And I have never heard him swear so much. This is a surprisingly great set and the chill-ness to the whole thing is really what I needed after a night out watching the greatest punk rock band put on a great live show. My head and neck are quite sore today!
Highlights: Amazing Grace, It's Only Love, We Can Make the Morning, Bosom of Abraham, I John, Seeing is Believing, I'm Leavin'
7/10
"Albums" listened to so far: 497
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