This collection of Elvis songs is perfect for someone who is interested in having the best of his single releases. For those of us who grew up hearing these songs being played as the background to the movie of our everyday lives, each brings back some dusty memories; hitching a ride in a friends reworked '51 Ford and hearing "Jailhouse Rock" for the first time, or driving to Pennsylvania for my older sister's wedding and listening to "Don't be Cruel " as we hurtled down the highway. Yet much of this music came relatively later in his career, which is to say after he returned from the Army after a two year absence doing his patriotic duty.

So we have quite a mixture of different kinds of Elvis music, for what came after he returned was far less edgy and different than it had been before. Now he seemed to stick much more closely to a formulaic kind of song, much more main stream in songs like "Stuck On You, "Good Luck Charm", and "Return To Sender". Which isn't to say they were not good or that we didn't like them. But a lot of what he recorded in the 1963-67 timeframe was a lot like what everyone else was doing, or had been doing, in pop music.

Yet there are some innovative and impressive songs here, such as "It's Now Or Never", which was almost operatic in its delivery. This was a side of Elvis we had never recognized in any of his previous work, and he showed exactly how good a voice he had to work with. So we have quite a range here, from the early work like "Good Rocking Tonight", "Baby, Let's Play House", "All Shook Up", and "Heartbreak Hotel", as well as some softer and more mainstream work like "She's Not You", "Devil In Disguise', and "Suspicious Minds". Anyone giving a good listen to the range on this CD can see just what kind of musical legs this guy had. Enjoy!

The only reason that , I think, this cd hasn't sold millions more is that RCA keeps pumping out these ridiculous Elvis "HITS" compilations every year! if the public wasn't over saturated with these type releases, then GREAT ones like this could have a better chance to appealing to ALL AGES of NEWER fans and selling ALOT more than the 3x platinum certification it holds now. If your looking for elvis' commercial heyday, it's all here! simply put, it's the best greatest hits cd i have ever owned!

"The Top 10 Hits" comes exactly as advertised. A modest picture of Elvis Presley is on the cover, a list of songs on each disc, when they charted, how high they reached. It contains no previously unseen photos, no essays addressing his historical significance or the ridiculously high pedestal the man (as opposed to his music) rests on in American culture.

These two discs contain the songs Presley fans, then and now, most closely identify him (and part of themselves) with. The fast, furious rush of #1 smashes that ignited his career are all here, in chronological order. So too, one Top 10 hit from his movie years (1963's "Bossa Nova Baby"), one gospel song (1965's beloved "Crying In The Chapel") and the final suite from his second creative period in Memphis (the #1s "Suspicious Minds" and Mac Davis' "In The Ghetto," and the wrenchingly sad "Don't Cry Daddy.") This CD puts the most popular songs front and center and shows (for the most part, the passable "Bossa Nova Baby" notwithstanding) that Elvis fans let the cream of his music rise to the top. New fans should start here, older fans know this is not the last Elvis musical stop.

I'll start this review by stating that for the casual fan who is ONLY interested in Elvis's hits, you clearly can't go wrong with this set.

However, it is important to realize that much of Elvis's greatest material is missing from this set, most notably his sessions for Sun Records, which was probably the best material he ever recorded. Additionally, none of his bluesy material or gospel is included; the set "overlooks" the brunt of his country work as well. Therefore, if you are single set that will give you a summary of Elvis's career, look elsewhere. If you want to hear songs you've likely already heard, this set is for you.

The version of Suspicious Minds heard here is a shortened version without the overdubbed horns. Also missing is the fade-out, back up, fade-out ending. In short, it's not the original 45 RPM version and for this reason I give the collection only 4 stars.