Elvis At Sun

Performer: Elvis Presley
Engineer: Sam Phillips; Sam Phillips
Producer: Sam Phillips; Sam Phillips; Ernst Mikael Jorgensen (Compilation); Roger Semon (Compilation)
Distributor: BMG (distributor)

Notes: Personnel: Elvis Presley (vocals, guitar, piano); Elvis Presley; Doug Poindexter (guitar); Bill Black (double bass); Jimmy Lott, Johnny Bernero (drums); Scotty Moore (guitar). Liner Note Authors: Ernst Mikael Jorgensen; Knox Phillips. Recording information: Sun STudios, Memphis, TN (07/05/1954-11/??/1955). Elvis at Sun marks the third time that RCA has given Elvis Presley's seminal Sun Records recordings a refurbishing for release on compact disc (fourth if you count their appearance on the box set The King of Rock 'n' Roll: The Complete 50's Masters), but while 1987's The Complete Sun Sessions and 1999's Sunrise both added plenty of bonus materials along with the ten single sides and various outtakes Presley cut for Sam Phillips' pioneering label, Elvis at Sun seems to follow the notion that "less is more." While the supposedly definitive Sunrise spread 38 cuts over two discs, Elvis at Sun sticks to 19 cuts (all of which appeared on disc one of Sunrise), and reissue producers Ernst Mikael Jorgensen and Roger Semon have done extensive cleansing on these vintage recordings, in some cases buffing off layers of echo and reverb that have been part of these performances since they first appeared on LP (most notably on "You're a Heartbreaker" and "Good Rockin' Tonight"). With neither Elvis nor Sam Phillips around to offer their views, it's hard to say if this amounts to presenting the tapes as they were meant to be heard or playing around with history, but on most of the tracks the effect is startling -- these recordings have never sounded quite so clear and sharp, with a richer sense of detail in the nooks and crannies of Elvis' voice and Scotty Moore's guitar (the always spooky "Blue Moon" is now gloriously spectral -- has anyone ever sounded quite like that?). Too bad they couldn't fix the speed glitch on "I Don't Care if the Sun Don't Shine," though. The disc also abandons the sequencing of most previous releases of this material, which presented songs in the order they were released, in favor of assembling the songs in the order they were recorded, which is probably better history if less satisfying as pure listening. As for the music, well, this is arguably the most important music of Elvis' career and the growth of rock & roll into a mass art form; Presley's wildly idiosyncratic fusion of blues, country, pop, and anything else that crossed his path was still evolving as he recorded these songs, and there's a thrill of discovery here that's a wonder to behold. No, Elvis didn't invent rock & roll, but it would have been a very different creature without his guiding influence, and listening to him making it happen on Elvis at Sun is history at its most wildly entertaining; this isn't necessarily the best collection of these vitally important sides, but it inarguably presents this brilliant music in a new and fascinating light. ~ Mark Deming Cited by many historians as the definitive documents of rock & roll's earliest era, Elvis Presley's Sun recordings are cultural milestones arguably as influential as any American music ever created. ELVIS AT SUN supplants THE SUN SESSIONS as the most comprehensive and well-researched single-disc collection of these historic tracks (the two-disc SUNRISE being the ultimate Sun motherlode). Pairing every extant original master tape with modern mastering techniques, the disc provides excellent-sounding versions of these cherished tracks. Ernst Mikael Jorgensen's excellent liner notes detail a wealth of fascinating information, even going so far as to discuss contemporaneous lost recordings. Of course, the primary focus here is the music itself, which captures the raw energy and chemistry of Presley, bassist Bill Black, and guitarist Scotty Moore (along with visionary producer Sam Phillips) at its most exciting. From the revolutionary country/blues hybrid of "That's All Right" (Elvis's first rock recording) to the Dean Martin-meets-Hank Williams shuffle of "Trying to Get to You," ELVIS AT SUN not only reveals the incredible rate at which Presley's art developed, but gives the listener a close-up experience with one of music's most pivotal periods.

Q (p.130) - 4 stars out of 5 - "[These tracks] see Elvis and his accomplices finding their feet so quickly that they're soon poised admirably close to the cutting-edge." Mojo (Publisher) (p.112) - 5 stars out of 5 - "[A] mutant blend of R&B, bluegrass, Dean Martin-style crooning, country and blues sung by a hugely talented teenager which defined rockabilly and laid the ground for every subsequent rock musician on the planet - it's absolutely unbeatable."

"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.

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