Review by  ElvisNews.com / Kees

 

The CD �Ekvis Sings ...� is the debut release of the �Inspiration� label. Should I be happy with this new kid on the import block?

Design

When I first saw the cover I liked it immediately. A picture of our golden boy from the golden era of Rock And Roll is always a good choice in my book. Inside the booklet some nice and original pictures with a few liner notes on the songs.

Content

A great design, but it�s inside that count. The idea behind this compilation is a combination of themes that on their own would not cover enough songs to fill a complete CD. So no �Rock�, Live�, �Love�, �Gospel�, �Country� but �Beethoven�, �Hawaii melodies�, �European melodies�, �Musical tunes� and a series of covers from the Beatles, Little Richard, Bill Monroe and Bob Dylan. Listening to the compilation we really get some great tracks � you can always hear quality -, some mediocre songs � Elvis recorded a lot of them and just because they fit a theme does not make listening to them fun -, and some bloody awful recordings by our man � no comment needed I think ☺. Just have a look at the track listing to see if your favourites are featured.

The Inspiration label decided to include studio, live, rehearsal and even home recordings. The result is a complete collection but listening to the compilation is not always a pleasure, especially with vague home recordings like �Moonlight Sonata�.

Conclusion

I have mixed feelings about this release. It is a well designed package with some great tracks and unfortunately some bad tracks too. But an addition for your collection � well perhaps for those who collect great covers or want all the �themed� songs nicely put together on two discs and not scattered all through your collection.

Track listing Elvis Sings ...

CD 1:

Arthur Crudup songs
[01] That�s All Right
[02] My Baby Left Me
[03] So Glad You�re Mine

Bill Monroe songs

[04] Blue Moon Of Kentucky
[05] Little Cabin On The Hill (Million Dollar Quartet)
[06] Summertime Is Past And Gone (Million Dollar Quartet)
[07] I Hear A Sweet Voice Calling (Million Dollar Quartet)
[08] Sweetheart You Done Me Wrong (Million Dollar Quartet)

Hank Williams songs

[09] Your Cheatin� Heart
[10] I�m So Lonesome I Could Cry (Home recording)
[11] I�m So Lonesome I Could Cry (Live)
[12] Men With Broken Hearts (Live)
[13] Jambalaya (Live)

Little Richard songs

[14] Rip It Up
[15] Ready Teddy
[16] Long Tall Sally
[17] Tutti Frutti

Chuck Berry songs

[18] Maybellene (Live)
[19] Brown Eyed Handsome Man (Million Dollar Quartet)
[20] Memphis Tennessee
[21] Too Much Monkey Business
[22] Johnny B. Goode (Live)
[23] Promised Land
[24] School Days (Live)

Ray Charles songs

[25] I Got A Woman
[26] What�d I Say

Bob Dylan songs

[27] Blowing In The Wind (Home recording)
[28] Tomorrow Is A Long Time
[29] Don�t Think Twice It�s All Right
[30] I Shall Be Released

Beatles songs

[31] Something (Live)
[32] Hey Jude
[33] Get Back
[34] Yesterday (Live)
[35] Lady Madonna

Kris Kristofferson songs

[36] Help Me Make It Through The Night
[37] For The Good Times
[38] Why Me Lord (Live)

CD 2:

Beethoven Composition

[01] Moonlight Sonata (For piano, C-sharp-minor, opus 27 no. 2) (Home recording)

Musical songs

[02] If I Loved You (From Carousel) (Home recording)
[03] Make Believe (From Showboat) (Home recording)
[04] You�ll Never Walk Alone (From Carousel)
[05] The Impossible Dream (From The Man Of La Mancha) (Live)

French songs

[06] Almost Always True (Alouette)
[07] Can�t Help Falling In Love (Plaisir d�Amour)
[08] Let It Be Me (Je T�Appartiens) (Live)
[09] My Way (Comme d� Habitude) (Live)
[10] My Boy (Parce Que Je T�Aime Mon Enfant)
[11] What Now My Love (Et Maintenent) (Live)

Italian songs

[12] Surrender (Torna A Sorrento)
[13] No More (La Poloma)
[14] Ask Me (Io)
[15] Santa Lucia
[16] O Solo Mio (Live)
[17] It�s Now Or Never (O Solo Mio)

Spanish songs

[18] Guadalajara
[19] Alla� en el Rancho Grande
[20] It�s Impossible (Somos Novios) (Live)

German songs

[21] Wooden Heart (Muss I denn)
[22] Tonight Is So Right For Love (Barcarolle)
[23] Tonight Is All Right For Love (Geschichten Aus den Weinerwald)
[24] Five Sleepy Heads (Wiegendlied)

Hawaiian songs

[25] Aloha Oe
[26] Drums Of The Island (Bula Lai)
[27] Hawaiian Wedding Song (Ke Kali Nei Au)

English songs

[28] Old McDonald
[29] Stay Away (Greensleeves)

Posted:  2nd. May 2008