Asymmetric Music

I remember doing Elvis impersonations for my grandmother so it was after my father brought her from Ft. Smith, Arkansas (Mariel boat lift) in 1980 that I purchased my first album, Elvis' Golden Records. I loved that vinyl disc. It had pictures of his other albums on the back and I'd look at them for hours. It's appropriate, then, to start what I hope will be a regular feature with Elvis.

Elvis' Golden Records

Elvis sang R and B, but it's not true that he simply imitated black people (Do they ever accuse blacks of copying other black singers?). He had a legitimately great voice with an especially lovely tone, a unique style, and tons of vocal charisma. What he didn't have was the ability to discern good songs from bad or, perhaps, the courage to reject the awful material that he eventually recorded. It's no accident that all but one of these songs come from the first three years of his twenty-year career.

1. Don't be Cruel. Don't be Cruel purrs like a Lexus cruising a just-paved highway. Smooth as silk with the most effective guitar tap in music, the whole song is about control: Elvis' voice, the music, everything. Those sensitive-guy voice-breaks must have driven the girls wild.

2. Whew! The same as above. The lyrics in Mystery Train are more rocker-mysterious than teenage crush. The sparsest guitar solo in rock history. His shout at the end is pure genius.

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Follow up:

3. U.S. Male. Red state bluster. Elvis country comes out on this one.

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4. That's All Right

The tune that started it all is also one of Elvis' best songs. Of course there's other great Rock music, but it can't get better than this.

5. All Shook Up. Very similar to Don't be Cruel which means that it deserves to be one of the finest. "Scares me to death" gives me the chills.

6. Suspicious Minds. The best of Elvis' later songs has his voice sounding a little "chunky," but this is one of the few 60s+ songs where the music matches his vocal talent.

7. Blue Christmas. I have high standards for Christmas music. Unless a singer makes a Christmas song his own, I don't include it on lists. Elvis did fine a job with Silent Night, for example, but it's just "Elvis singing Silent Night"- it's not indispensable. Elvis makes Blue Christmas an "Elvis song."

8. Any Way You Want Me. I Can't Help Falling in Love is a little over-the-top. Love Me Tender is better, but Any Way You Want Me edges it out for Elvis' best slow song. "Pleading Elvis."

9. Good Rockin' Tonight. I don't like most of Elvis' cover songs. His Ray Charles isn't very useful, in my opinion, and his Little Richard songs like Tutti Frutti are far below the originals. I even prefer Carl Perkins for Blue Suede Shoes. Elvis cuts both Roy Brown and Wynonie Harris on Good Rockin' Tonight, however- no mean feat.

10. Jailhouse Rock. Elvis' ode to prison love. One of the best of the post-Sun, pre-Army songs.