"Pure Gold" is a perfect choice if you're looking to buy just one Elvis CD. This collection has a great mix of some of his most well known hits ("Jailhouse Rock", "Don't Be Cruel", "All Shook Up", "Love Me Tender") combined with songs that hint at Elvis' other flavors, like "Kentucky Rain", which leans toward his Southern side, the mellow and jazzy "Fever", and the haunting ballad, "In The Ghetto".

If you're looking for the ultimate collection of all of Elvis' big hits, though, this album might be a good start for you but will probably fall short.

I gave the album a 4 because of the horrible album cover. Did Elvis just walk off the set of Planet Of The Apes when this photo was snapped? I didn't know he guest starred on the show! Roddy McDowell would be proud with the look Elvis has got going on this album cover! The album is classic Elvis and is great (As long as you can keep your lunch down by not looking at the cover!)

I am not sure why RCA released this album in the early 70's? They had already released 4 volumes of Elvis' Gold Records and had plenty of material for a volume 5 (which would not be released until the 1980's). If they had included some of his later hits instead of the 50's material that were already available on Gold Records Vol 1 or 2, this probably would have been a big hit and sold much better! Or if they had wanted to do a career spanning greatest hits package, why not produce a high quality double album set similar to the Beatles Red or Blue albums, instead of putting out this cheap package designed to make a quick buck with as little expense as possible? This is just another expample of how badly managed Elvis' career was. Think of how much better his career might have been with some decent management and direction!

The songs that are here are good, but this CD has become obsolete. Pass on this and buy Elv1s 30 Number 1 Hits instead. This is only for hardcore fans that want to own everything Elvis ever released.