Our Memories Of Elvis Volume 1 & 2

Compilation

Content

OUR MEMORIES OF ELVIS

1. Are You Sincere (2:06)
2. It's Midnight (3:26)
3. My Boy (3:00)
4. Girl Of Mine (3:45)
5. Take Good Care Of Her (2:58)
6. I'll Never Fall In Love Again (3:47)
7. Your Love's Been A Long Time Coming (2:55)
8. Spanish Eyes (2:29)
9. Never Again (2:56)
10. She Thinks I Still Care (3.56)
11. Solitaire (4:45)

OUR MEMORIES OF ELVIS - VOL 2

12. I Got A Feelin' In My Body (3:41)
13. Green Green Grass Of Home (3:41)
14. For The Heart (3:35)
15. She Wears My Ring (3:29)
16. I Can Help (4:08)
17. Way Down (2:41)
18. There's A Honky Tonk Angel (3:11)
19. Find Out What's Happening (2:46)
20. Thinking About You (3:32)
21. Don't Think Twice It's All Right (8:41)
22. It’s Easy For You (3:30)

Reviews

Last week Victrola released 2 RCA albums on CD. A Dutch fanclub already released it on CD in the 1980s. Is this a worthy re-re-release?

Design
I can’t deny the front is way better than the original LP with those two old guys standing before Graceland. I prefer Elvis anytime.. The fold out cover shows the original sleeves and a promo sampler for volume 2. Next to that there’s a short piece on Joan Deary, the producer of the originals. All together there’s well taken care of the design.

Content
Some people say this is way better and more pure than the originally released versions, some people say this is altered too. I guess both are right. I used to like the 2nd volume much better than the first because of the up-tempo songs. Some of them sound indeed better in my ears because of the lack of overdubs.

That counted for the original albums already. In the 1980s I bought the Dutch fanclub edition and of course that was a treat since I didn’t have to stand up every 15 minutes or so. Still I continued to do so every now and then, since I am one of those people that prefer the sound of vinyl above that of CDs. Anyway after a while the choice wasn’t mine anymore since the CD suffered from CD-rot and was hardly playable.

This CD sounds very warm and after comparing it to the original vinyl I have to conclude that there is hardly any difference between them. Some of the songs sound as if Elvis is singing it on my couch, sitting right next to me.

I understand why Victrola choose to keep the original order of songs, but I would have enjoyed the CD more when it was reshuffled a bit. The balance between the first half (only ballads) and second half (mostly up-tempo) could have been better.

Conclusion
For those missing the original albums and CD, this might be a great addition to the collection. It is good to hear Elvis’ music as pure as on this album. Of course the outtakes and undubbed masters on the FTD classic album series come close, so an alternative may be to create your own compilation. Still I am glad I have this one, it will certainly get more than one spin in the future.