Several years ago BMG released a two-CD set called _Command Performances: The Essential 60's Masters Volume Two_. That collection was a case of overkill. Over the course of the two discs, the listener was treated to the best of Elvis' movie year plus a ton of pure dreck.

I was therefore pleased at the prospect of a single disc compilation of Elvis' movie material. After listening to it, I will say that there's not a bad song on this CD. "Jailhouse Rock", "Bossa Nova Baby", "Viva Las Vegas", and "Clean Up Your Own Back Yard" are all timeless classics which I never tire of hearing.

Unfortunately, this collection also represents a botched opportunity. Where are "G.I. Blues", "A Little Less Conversation", "Little Egypt", or "Blue Hawaii"? Why is there not a single song from the years of 1965-1967? Finally, the burning question: Why, considering the glaring omissions listed above, is this CD ONLY 49 MINUTES LONG! There are at least ten soundtrack recordings which could have been included with room to spare!

Fans, Friends, and readers lean me your eyes on this column... For an extra you can have whats on that CD plus 30 more songs on a 2 CD set called ELVIS COMMAND PERFORMANCE essential vol 2. So why did RCA put this CD out when 2 years ago they had E.C.P out. You get a about 50 songs total from a good selection on his best songs from each movie from the 60's. Do your money a favor... get more for your money and look for that 2 CD's set and ignore this CD that came out... just looking out for my Elvis Fans and Friends.

Having recently seen again a number of Elvis Presley's best movies (especially those made prior to 1964), I was drawn to buying this compilation to add to my very modest collection of Elvis CDs. For those who enjoy a-bit-of-Elvis every now and then, this album is quite nice indeed. The mastering is excellent, and the selection of tunes is commendable. Clearly these are his best from the movies. For the more initiated, however, this album somewhat disappointing. RCA would have been well advised to use THE MOVIE SOUNDTRACK versions of these songs, thereby enticing buyers who had the common studio versions, but who didn't yet own the so-called "collectors' " or "limited edition" versions of the movie albums with the soundtrack versions added as bonus tracks. I would have enjoyed such a compilation immensely, and hope that someone at RCA might read this and consider releasing a "Volume 2" version with the movie soundtrack renditions.

I know Elvis's movie music has been ridiculed, and put down, but this CD is a gem. Songs like "King Creole", "I Can't Help Falling In Love With You", "Viva Las Vegas", "Teddy Bear", "Love Me Tender", and "Hard Headed Woman" are certifiable classics which are found here. But the reason to get this CD, is some of the hard to find songs such as "Follow That Dream", "Kissin Cousins", and "King Of The Whole Wide World", which are excellent songs, that are very much overlooked, when discussions of the music of Elvis's come up. What is great, about this CD, is you avoid some of the garbage material that Elvis sang in his movies ("Girls, Girls, Girls" comes to mind), and get nothing but quality.

Simply put this is a bargain CD, and a neglected masterpiece, that should be purchased by every Elvis fan.

Elvis: Can't Help Falling In Love chronicles what can be accurately callled the mostly wasted singing years of Elvis Presley's short life. Wasted means to serve little or no productive purpose. These were the years when Elvis' manager, Colonel Tom Parker, completely resricted public access to Elvis Presley. During most of these years Elvis gave no public concerts. Nor did he truly record what were called singles, songs created solely for distribution to the public as single recordings. All that Colonel Parker sanctioned Elvis to do during these years was to make movies and movie soundtracks. Songs that were first part of a particular movie soundtrack, that was first released to the public, were concurrently or a bit later remarketed and only then distributed to the public as "singles" by R.C.A. During these years there were no recording studio sessions devoted to just "making music", a more relaxed format in which Elvis thrived and gave direction and from which all of his truly fabulous earlier and later music arose. To understand why I call these Elvis' mostly wasted years, one must only remember that Elvis Presley was truly the KING of Rock N Roll, rhythm and blues music, and slower romantic ballads. The KING title means that no one else who lived either before or after Elvis could sing these three particular types of music as well as Elvis could. This title is mostly based on the many true singles that Elvis recorded mostly before and only sometimes after his mostly wasted movie making years. To be the KING of three particular types of music and only have the songs on Elvis: Can't Help Falling In Love to show for it during the movie years means that Elvis did not live up to and fulfill his true purpose during these movie making years. Elvis was so highly gifted that his life purpose was to be the greatest singer of Rock N Roll, rhythm and blues music, and slower romantic ballads that ever lived in each and every year of his life. Elvis was always capable of this purpose, but did not fulfill it during the mosty wasted years of his life. Of course each of us has some years that are more purposeful than others. In addition each of us, to one degree or another, wastes some of our time. The difference between our lives and Elvis' life is that most of us are not as greatly gifted in one particular area as Elvis was greatly gifted regarding singing Rock N Roll, rhythm and blues, and slower romantic ballads. Because Elvis' gift was so large and included devotion to public art, his responsibility was also so large and was to create outstanding public art. I am not claiming that the music found on Elvis: Can't Help Falling in Love is all bad music. Most of these songs were eagerly bought by the public when they were remarketed and distributed as "singles." Most, but not all, of the music on Elvis Can't Help Falling in Love is enjoyable to listen to, at least for awhile, until the listener comes to know Elvis' complete popular song catalog across his entire career very well and thus develops a highly informed, a bit detached, and a sometimes critical perspective. This cd contains, and is named after, one of Elvis' most beautiful slower romantic ballads, Can't Help Falling in Love. Love Me Tender, which is included on this cd, is also a beautiful slower romantic ballad. The cd also includes two of Elvis' great rhythm and blues songs, Return To Sender and One Broken Heart for Sale. Everyone will probably also find several other movie soundtrack songs on this cd that are personally pleasing. Mine happen to be Puppet On String and Roustabout. The music on Elvis Can't Help Falling in Love is not all bad music, but it's not all good music either, there are some duds, and it certainly is not all outstanding music, the quality of music that Elvis was always capable of creating. To realize that Elvis went along with Colonel Parker's plan for his career during the movie making years and that Elvis actually consented to sing so many poorly conceived movie-based songs during these same years is to also recognize that Elvis Presley had no strong commitment to making outstanding popular music during these movie making years. This latter recognition shows us that a strong commitment to making alot of money, which Elvis always had, without an equally strong commitment to creating outstanding art, which Elvis lacked during the movie making years, is likely to lead us away from our true life purpose. True life purpose is always about using one's most special gift(s) to in some way make the world a better place. I bought Elvis Can't Help Falling In Love because it is advertised on Amazon that all of its' music had been remastered. Remastering should mean that all of this music should sound a bit fuller and clearer with more song detail than earlier releases. After carfully listening to this cd, I believe that NONE OF THE 22 SONGS ON THIS CD SOUND EVEN A TINY BIT BETTER OR CLEARER THAN EARLIER RELEASES OF THESE SAME SONGS that I also own. Overall, I give Elvis Can't Help Falling In Love a satisfactory rating because there is absolutely nothing new and absolutely nothing better about this cd that distinguishes it from other Elvis' releases of these same songs. While the music on this cd is mostly at least satisfactory, with only a few duds, and includes at least four great songs, most of the music on this cd is not fantastic and is not going to blow you away.

John