From Elvis In Memphis (Legacy Edition) [Digipak]

Performer: Elvis Presley
Engineer: Chips Moman
Producer: Ernst Mikael Jorgensen (Reissue)
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: Personnel: Elvis Presley (vocals, guitar, piano); Reggie Young (guitar); John Hughey (steel guitar); The Memphis Horns (horns); Bobby Wood (piano); Bobby Emmons (organ); Ed Hollis (harmonica); Mike Leech, Tom Cogbill (bass); Gene Chrisman (drums); Mary Greene, Donna Thatcher, Susan Pilkington, Sonja Montgomery, Mildred Kirkham, Dolores Edgin, Joe Babcock, Hurschel Wiginton (background vocals). Recorded at American Studios, Memphis, Tennessee in January & February 1969. Includes liner notes by Peter Guralnick, Colin Escott. The 2009 Legacy Edition of the critically acclaimed 1969 release FROM ELVIS IN MEMPHIS includes all tracks from the sessions recorded at American Studios in Memphis in January and February of 1969. Personnel: Elvis Presley (vocals, guitar); Reggie Young (guitar, sitar); John Hughey (steel guitar); Ed Kollis (harmonica); Bobby Wood (piano); Bobby Emmons (organ); Mike Leech, Tommy Cogbill (bass guitar); Gene Chrisman (drums). Additional personnel: Mary Holladay, Susan Pilkington, Dolores Edgin, June Page, Sonja Montgomery, Donna Thatcher, Ginger Holladay, Sandy Posey, Hurshel Wiginton, Millie Kirkham, Joe Babcock, Mary Green (vocals); Andrew Lowe, Jackie Thomas, J.P. Luper, Glen Spreen (saxophone); Dick Steff, R.F. Taylor, Wayne Jackson (trumpet); Tony Cason, Joe D'gerolamo (French horn); Jack Thomas, Gerald Richardson, Ed Logan, Jack Hale (trombone). Audio Remasterer: Vic Anesini. Liner Note Authors: Robert Gordon; Tara McAdams. After a 14-year absence from Memphis, Elvis Presley returned to cut what was certainly his greatest album (or, at least, a tie effort with his RCA debut LP from early 1956). The fact that From Elvis in Memphis came out as well as it did is something of a surprise, in retrospect -- Presley had a backlog of songs he genuinely liked that he wanted to record and had heard some newer soul material that also attracted him, and none of it resembled the material that he'd been cutting since his last non-soundtrack album, six years earlier. And he'd just come off of the NBC television special which, although a lot of work, had led him to the realization that he could be as exciting and vital a performer in 1969 as he'd been a dozen years before. And for what was practically the last time, the singer cut his manager, Tom Parker, out of the equation, turning himself over to producer Chips Moman. The result was one of the greatest white soul albums (and one of the greatest soul albums) ever cut, with brief but considerable forays into country, pop, and blues as well. Presley sounds rejuvenated artistically throughout the dozen cuts off the original album, and he's supported by the best playing and backup singing of his entire recording history. ~ Bruce Eder One month after Elvis' 1968 Comeback Special aired on national television, Presley made the most artistically successful recordings of his later career. In January and February of 1969, he held sessions at American Studios in Memphis. Presley was reportedly worried that his recording career was finished, that he had been displaced by newcomers such as the Beatles. Perhaps goaded on by this perception, Presley reached new heights during the American sessions. The material he chose was impassioned, gritty, and bluesy, the complete opposite of the movie songs he had sung for most of the previous decade. A slight case of laryngitis actually improved his performances, lending his voice an appropriate roughness. Many of the best recordings from these sessions appear on FROM ELVIS IN MEMPHIS, including the hit "In the Ghetto." FROM ELVIS IN MEMPHIS demonstrates how thoroughly Presley could remake a song to suit his talents, especially on the country standards "Long Black Limousine" and "I'll Hold You In My Heart," which he transforms into R&B screamers. This is intense, heartfelt, adult music, much like the blues Presley loved as a kid on Beale Street.

Rolling Stone (p.82) - 4.5 stars out of 5 -- "What makes these sessions remarkable: the newfound maturity and soulfulness in Elvis' vocals, and producer Chips Moman's warm, distinctly Southern musical backing." Rolling Stone (12/11/03, p.136) - Ranked #190 in Rolling Stone's "The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time" Rolling Stone (8/2/01, p.66) - 5 stars out of 5 - "...The studio sine qua non of his late-Sixties comeback period: new as polyester yet old as leather, religiously involved yet flashy as neon, refined like pop yet savage like rock & roll..." Q (Magazine) (p.125) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he results were the closest he came to realising his all-embracing vision of American music." Record Collector (magazine) (p.91) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[A] portrait of a mature, richer-voiced talent that had the relocated the ability to leave listeners awestruck."

"Before Elvis, there was nothing," John Lennon once said. An overstatement, of course, but Elvis Presley's ascendance to superstardom in the mid-1950s kicked off a musical and social revolution whose impact has yet to abate. After the charming young man from Tupelo, Mississippi was discovered by Sun Records honcho Sam Phillips, the wise studio owner took Presley under his wing, leading to the landmark recording of his first single, "That's All Right (Mama)." The rest, of course, is well-documented history, with Elvis going on to conquer the pop charts, the box office, and beyond. He truly was the King, and his blend of country, pop, and R&B became the cornerstone of rock & roll.

Click Here for Shipping Options and Policies

Shipping or Dimension weight in pounds: 0.5