Country Side of Elvis [2001] [2 CD]

Artist	Elvis Presley
Format	CD
Genre	Rock
Label Name	RCA
Release Date	2001 11 06
Song List	1: It Wouldn't Be the Same Without You (2:02) 2: Blue Moon of Kentucky (2:03) 3: I Love You Because (2:43) 4: Just Because (2:33) 5: I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone (2:37) 6: I Forgot to Remember to Forget (2:29) 7: I'm Counting on You (2:25) 8: How Do You Think I Feel (2:11) 9: How's the World Treating You (2:25) 10: Old Shep (4:11) 11: Your Cheatin' Heart (2:24) 12: (Now and Then There's) A Fool Such as I (2:38) 13: There's Always Me (2:16) 14: It's a Sin (2:41) 15: Guitar Man (2:15) 16: Just Call Me Lonesome (2:06) 17: You Don't Know Me (2:28) 18: After Loving You (3:06) 19: Long Black Limousine (3:39) 20: I'm Movin' On (2:52) 21: I'll Hold You in My Heart (Till I Can Hold You in My Arms) (4:32) 22: From a Jack to a King (2:25) 23: Kentucky Rain (3:14) 24: It Keeps Right on A-Hurtin' (2:36) 25: If I'm a Fool (For Loving You) (2:43) 26: Release Me (2:58) 27: Funny How Time Slips Away (4:19) 28: Little Cabin on the Hill (1:47) 29: There Goes My Everything (2:59) 30: I Really Don't Want to Know (2:45) 31: Tomorrow Never Comes (3:54) 32: Faded Love (4:07) 33: Make the World Go Away (3:35) 34: Help Me Make It Through the Night (2:47) 35: For the Good Times (3:12) 36: Always on My Mind (3:38) 37: You Gave Me a Mountain (3:15) 38: I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry (2:11) 39: Welcome to My World (1:54) 40: Take Good Care of Her (2:52) 41: It's Midnight (3:22) 42: You Asked Me To (2:52) 43: Loving Arms (2:52) 44: Talk About the Good Times (2:38) 45: There's a Honky Tonk Angel (Who Will Take Me Back In) (3:04) 46: Fairytale (2:45) 47: Green, Green Grass of Home (3:35) 48: Susan When She Tried (2:17) 49: T-R-O-U-B-L-E (3:03) 50: She Thinks I Still Care (3:50) 51: He'll Have to Go (4:30)
Style.Categories	Pop/Rock, Rockabilly, Country-Pop, Progressive Country, Traditional Country

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This classy, 51-track reissue featuring Elvis' country-styled tunes through his entire career starts promisingly enough with the early Sun sides from 1954, including his version of Bill Monroe's "Blue Moon of Kentucky." But like the artist himself, it dissipates disappointingly as the years progress. Elvis' almost universal appeal was grounded in how effectively he mixed blues, gospel, and classic vocal pop along with his country & western influences to produce, well, rock & roll, along with his own unique hybrid of styles. Hence his country recordings even as early as 1956's "Old Shep" and 1958's version of Hank Williams' "Your Cheatin' Heart" are often marred by sappy backing singers and a commercial slickness that was a harbinger of his Vegas years. Additionally, much of these selections are only vaguely country-sounding, at least in Elvis' hands. "There's Always Me" from 1961 is a pop ballad that is about as far from Hank Williams as Hank Williams, Jr.'s rowdy redneck rock. Far better is Presley's version of Hank Snow's "I'm Movin' On," which starts out with stark accompaniment but adds horns and backing singers as the tune progresses. The best songs here, like the powerful "Kentucky Rain," add drama and pomp to basic country themes of loss, loneliness, and heartache, all emotions that ran rampant in Elvis' own tumultuous life. Colin Escott's liner notes are excellent, but the track documentation -- which omits which album the songs originally appeared on, where the live performances are from, and any personnel -- is frustratingly sketchy. The graphics and book are adequate, but not up to the standard of other post-early-'90s Elvis collections on RCA. From his first primitive Sun tracks to the last song he commercially recorded, a version of Joe Allison's "He'll Have to Go," Elvis was always at least partially a country singer, and country radio was traditionally his most dedicated outlet. This generous compilation is an indication of how he slotted the Nashville sound into his own larger-than-life palette. Weighed down by its schlocky numbers -- and there are a lot of them -- The Country Side of Elvis is still a fascinating look at one of the many sides of this legendary American artist. Even at his most facile, Elvis sounded inspired when singing this traditionally Southern music, and it's that emotional grip that keeps this collection listenable even through its many rough spots. ~ Hal Horowitz, All Music Guide