RCA continues to release and rerelease Elvis albums like the plague. Selling you with new bonus, never before heard alternate takes, etc. It's not different at all really, from the single cd "The Complete Sun Sessions" recording done 13 years ago. The sound quality is touched up a bit, and the extras are interesting But.. not worth the investment if you have the previous recordings. Although.. These sessions capture rock & roll at its most basic [12-bar blues] and romantic. Much has been said about Elvis' greatness, but this is the ONE album that proves it. Never before has an artist been so exagerated as Elvis was in the 60's and 70's for mediocore at best material, but the songs on this album will have you falling head over heals in love with Elvis, and wondering just how great things might have been if he would have stayed at Sun and never met up with the, err, the colonel. This is the greatest rock & roll ever recorded.. Period.. I've heard them all. This is the mecca that so many artists go back to.. The Beatles, Van Morrison, The Clash, Otis Redding, etc. It's got soul.

I don't care if you love Elvis, you hate Elvis, youi dig rock, you loathe rock, you are 8 or you are 80, this music will go right to your heart. You are hearing a truly original artist create an art form on the spot with irresistable caring and appeal. There's little here that has much do with the Elvis RCA fashioned the minute they got his contract; he isn't sinigng "Wear My Ring Around Your Neck" here. What is here is pure, undiluted genius--a mixture of blues, soul, pop, country, folk and a lot else, all distilled into the most tender, gutsy, fascinating, honest music imaginable. And Elvis' taste in material is just fascinating--he has taken music from all sorts of sources here, nothing predictable, nothing linear, and fashioned it, bent it, molded it and delivered it with genius. And there is one noteworthy moment which has largely gone unnoticed. When he sings "I'll Never Stand In Your Way" he is all but imitating the original performer, Joni James, in the most affecting and complimentary way imaginable. He could even do THAT magnifiicently.

Forget the fat Elvis of the 70's, the hip shaking Elvis of the late 50's and the movie making Elvis of the 60's. Once you've done that then look at a young truck driver from Mississippi who wanted to hear his voice on record and this is what you get with Sunrise. the original Sun sessions do lay down the groundwork for what Elvis was to become but they also show rock and roll's close relationship with the blues. the rawness of their power is incredible. This is the stuff that the Elvis should be remembered for, not the other crap.

The essence of Elvis Presley in the pre-RCA era is captured on "Sunrise". All four sides of his pre-Sun acetates, the Sun releases, alternate takes and live performances provide the listener with the best sensation of what it was like to experience the raw talent of the King of Rock'n Roll before being commercialized. A must for anyone remotely interested in Elvis.

As these sessions near 50 years of age, they have passed into the legend as where rock and roll was invented. And like other forgotten classics (The Basement Tapes, Smile, the Get Back sessions) they were never extremely well-compiled... until now!

Sure there have been many compilations of the Sun Sessions, but they were either missing too much or far too repetetive. This one is better in that it separates the master takes from the alternatives. Disc One contains the masters, beautifully remastered bringing out all those remarkable Sam Moore licks that laid the foundations for rockabilly, with amazing clearness. While some selections come off dated now, when Elvis and his group (one of the best ever in terms of being tight and on the same page) are on, it is still as great now as it was then.

Disc Two is the true gem for collectors. Not only does it contain alternates and outtakes, the last quarter of this album contains an amazing previoulsy unreleased live set, with classics from the Sessions as well as great roots rock standards. (Money Honey, Tweedle Dee, Hearts of Stone) While the sound is downright terrible at some points, the performances are still magnificent, and a valuable addition to any fanatic's collection. (Though probably worth little to the casual fan.)

These recordings are some of the most important in the evolution of rock and roll. (Along with the singles of Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, and Chuck Berry) Therefore it should automactically be in everyone's music collection. The Sun Sessions created some of the most influential music in history, and its good to see at last a set that contains almost all of those great Suns Sessions performances. If you are a rock and roll fan you owe it to yourself to buy Sunrise... RIGHT NOW!