Sunday Music: 2nd To None, Elvis Presley
Oct. 9th, 2011 05:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stoutfellow(I'll be going through my albums, in these posts, in alphabetical order - or, rather, the version of alphabetical order imposed by WMP.)
Album Title: 2nd To None, Elvis Presley
Why I Bought It: I only had one Elvis album, and I didn't have "Blue Suede Shoes" or "Kentucky Rain". This was an impulse buy.
What I Like (Boogie): "Promised Land". This was originally a Chuck Berry song, and I have Chuck's version too, but I prefer this one. It's a lively song about a rather difficult cross-country trip, involving several different modes of transportation. "The 'Hound broke down and left us all stranded in downtown Birmingham..." Honorable Mention: "King Creole".
What I Like (Uplifting): "If I Can Dream". In the mid-'60s, Elvis did a few political, or at least socially conscious, songs. This is, to my mind, the best of them, with a rough-voiced Elvis exhorting the audience to hope.
What I Like (Teary): "American Trilogy". This is a medley: a mournful version of "Dixie", a rousing "Battle Hymn of the Republic", and a melancholy folk song, "All My Trials". My family has Southern roots, and much as I despise the perpetrators of the Slavers' Rebellion, something in me still responds to "Dixie". Elvis' version of the Battle Hymn is remarkably good, and "All My Trials" somehow manages to bind the two together. Honorable Mention: "Don't Cry, Daddy".
What I Don't Like (Stupid): "Rock-a-hula Baby" and "Bossa Nova Baby". Two songs about dancing; the titles pretty much say it all. I suspect that they originated in Elvis' films; maybe they make sense in context, but not as standalones. ("Viva Las Vegas", which does have such an origin, is much better, I think.)
What I Don't Like (Icky): "Little Sister". Do we really need a song about a guy who, dumped by the older sister, moves on to sister #2?
Overall: A thoroughly mixed bag. When I get around to rating songs for WMP to draw on in creating playlists, some of the songs here will definitely get top rank, but most will not.
Album Title: 2nd To None, Elvis Presley
Why I Bought It: I only had one Elvis album, and I didn't have "Blue Suede Shoes" or "Kentucky Rain". This was an impulse buy.
What I Like (Boogie): "Promised Land". This was originally a Chuck Berry song, and I have Chuck's version too, but I prefer this one. It's a lively song about a rather difficult cross-country trip, involving several different modes of transportation. "The 'Hound broke down and left us all stranded in downtown Birmingham..." Honorable Mention: "King Creole".
What I Like (Uplifting): "If I Can Dream". In the mid-'60s, Elvis did a few political, or at least socially conscious, songs. This is, to my mind, the best of them, with a rough-voiced Elvis exhorting the audience to hope.
What I Like (Teary): "American Trilogy". This is a medley: a mournful version of "Dixie", a rousing "Battle Hymn of the Republic", and a melancholy folk song, "All My Trials". My family has Southern roots, and much as I despise the perpetrators of the Slavers' Rebellion, something in me still responds to "Dixie". Elvis' version of the Battle Hymn is remarkably good, and "All My Trials" somehow manages to bind the two together. Honorable Mention: "Don't Cry, Daddy".
What I Don't Like (Stupid): "Rock-a-hula Baby" and "Bossa Nova Baby". Two songs about dancing; the titles pretty much say it all. I suspect that they originated in Elvis' films; maybe they make sense in context, but not as standalones. ("Viva Las Vegas", which does have such an origin, is much better, I think.)
What I Don't Like (Icky): "Little Sister". Do we really need a song about a guy who, dumped by the older sister, moves on to sister #2?
Overall: A thoroughly mixed bag. When I get around to rating songs for WMP to draw on in creating playlists, some of the songs here will definitely get top rank, but most will not.
