The 50 Greatest Hits

Is this release from Great Britain just another Presley compilation? Yes and No.

Design

The cover art, although done very stylish, it is nothing special. The image used on the cover is used on quite a lot of covers. Probably they used a well known and clean image of Elvis to appeal to the mass market this release of obviously aiming at. 

Inside the booklet, a 3-page fold-out, we find some better (b/w) images of a young Elvis performing on stage. BMG also added some familiar quotes from Elvis, John Lennon and Bruce Springsteen. 


Content

If you just look at the tracks, 50 of the greatest hits from the King Of Rock and Roll most of us already know / have. They used only the big hits for this compilation, including Elvis' 17 no. 1 hits in the U.K. The two CD's cover a great part of Elvis' recording career. Starting with "That's All Right Mama", recorded by an unknown singer in the SUN Studio's in Memphis in 1954, and ending with "Way Down", recorded by a musical legend, also in Memphis (at home in Graceland).

It is a showcase of a musical talent that transcended all tastes and styles The early fifties Rock and Roll (That's All Right) and the tracks that made him famous (Heartbreak Hotel and Hound Dog), classic movie tracks (King Creole and Love Me Tender). But also classic performances from the Comeback Special (If I Can Dream) and late sixties (Suspicious minds and In The Ghetto), a live track from his Vegas period (The Wonder of You) Ending with some hits from the seventies (Burning Love and Moody Blue).

Conclusion

This CD-set is obviously aiming for the mass-market, and has succeeded since it made the Top 10 in both England and the Ireland. For someone who just wants to have Elvis' greatest hits this is a good collection. For the die hard fan there's nothing special on this 2 CD set. For them it's just another overview of Elvis' hits.