Elvis on 78

[Steve]

Oh dear, was that really me who made that last past over three years ago?

Well, opinions can gladly change over time if you become immersed in the music others choose to share with you (including public television) and I am now pleased to call myself a huge fan of Elvis, owning all of his records! I wish I hadn't been so late to come to the party but I never knew what I'd been missing. The problem for me has always been that Elvis, the true original entertainer, has always been confused with the image of Elvis as conveyed by the media, the wannabes and the dreadful impersonators with their glued on sideburns and grossly over-bearing jumpsuits. There were many phases to Elvis' career and the 'Vegas showroom Elvis' lasted but 7 years of it. It's often presented as a near-caricature of the true Elvis and generally doesn't reflect the fact that during his later years he made some of his best records as well as the fact that the early Vegas shows of 1969/70 in particular were some of his very best live appearances. It's a shame that his image is often reduced to the bloated late-period and barely reflects what a young, funny, charismatic and hugely popular icon he was (and still is indeed).

Holly and Presley were both great in their own respective ways. They were from the same generation and both sang rock 'n' roll as well as a mixture of traditional styles. Elvis had hoped to become a serious actor, but his management conspired to keep him in popular lightweight generic musical comedies. He was nevertheless a great comedic actor anyway. If you're not convinced then go and watch "Follow That Dream", one of my personal favourites of his many enjoyable films.

[gramophoneshane]

Good to see you finally came to your senses Steve
Now that you've got all Elvis's records, you can start on the Everly Bros

[Steve]

LOL!

Okay, but which brother do I start collecting first?