This is a collection of blues songs by Elvis Presley. It was released back in 1985 with the intention to prove that Elvis was a great blues singer. Mission accomplished. Elvis tears it up on these blues songs. One thing that made this album special was the previously unreleased versions of some of the songs here. This was the first time the Sun master of "Tommorow Night" was released without the horrible overdubbing that was added in 1965. This marked the first release of the version of "One Night" with the original "dirtier" lyrics. "Ain't That Loving You Baby" is a previously unreleased alternate take played at a faster tempo. "Stranger in My Own Home Town" features an alternate mix that sounds noticeably different to my ears. And "Merry Christmas Baby" is a much longer edit than ever before, lasting over seven minutes. This is a revelatory CD which is well worth finding a copy of.

I first read about this compilation in a book called: THE ALL MUSIC GUIDE TO THE BLUES. Although, I never thought of ELVIS as a BLUES performer,It made sense to me that a white cat from Tupelo, Mississippi could be influenced by it. The late great John Lee Hooker, once dedicated a song called "Tupelo" from:" THE CREAM" album to him when he passed away, and also considered him to be a very close personal friend. So did James Brown and Little Richard. The Funky Blues Godfather: Howlin' Wolf, said that he was a good Blues singer as well. That all being said, I thought that if I were ever going to check out an ELVIS album ,it would be this one. I really dig this compilation! It has some great ELVIS Blues tracks from 1954 to 1971. It shows that not only was ELVIS a great Blues singer, but that he was also inspired by the music,style and the culture as well. That slick, greased up, pompadour hairdo with thick sideburns that he used to wear in his early days, known as a "CONK", in urban African-American culture during that time(See:Muddy Waters and Chuck Berry.),his dancing and swagger, as well as those jazzy suits that he wore, were the standard for ALL of the African-American Blues cats that came before him. The vocals, on these songs are full of style,soul,passion and rhythm. The Bands that performed on all of these recordings also give it up and are tight and on time. The sound of the music is that of a Electric Memphis Blues and Rockabilly style. My favorite tracks are: "Reconsider Baby" ,"When It Rains,It Really Pours","Ain't That Loving You Baby", "I Feel So Bad" and the best track in my opinion: "Hi-Heel Sneakers". ELVIS really gets low-down,greasy and funky on that track! I could see him eating a greasy plate of fried chicken and waffles,with a little hot sauce on the side after listening to that jam. I would consider ELVIS to be the best white BLUES singer ever, and I've heard a lot of great ones in my time. ELVIS is still relevant today, whenever you see performers like; Robin Thicke or Justin Timberlake. This is a good compilation that all BLUES fans should check out!

Elvis was born a few years ahead of me, but like me he was a southern white boy listening to the blues on all-night stations like WLAC and XERF. The album shows where the king got his crown. I love it. We always felt that Elvis was sending us a message that despite all his fame and hits, he was still our guy. For example, Lowell Fulsom's 'Reconsider Baby', title song of this album, was the first single he cut after coming back from the army.

The main Elvis blues performances missing are the gut-bucket 'Santa Claus is Back in Town' and the soulful 'Merry Christmas, Baby', both available widely on EP Christmas albums. Oh, and 'Jailhouse Rock'.