Elvis Presley: Moody Blue - 1976

This was the last album released by Elvis in his lifetime. It is a mixture of studio cuts and live songs. 

It did not do much upon release, but, of course, after his death it sold millions. His live version of Unchained Melody is disappointingly underwhelming, as so many of Elvis's perfunctory covers often were. I can't help but feel things like this had him just going through the motions. If You Love Me (Let Me Know) is also live and is an appealing enough country rocker. 

Little Darlin' is a live cover of The Diamonds' rock 'n' roll number. Again, it is not a patch on the original. It is sad to think that these songs were recorded live in April 1977, only four months before Elvis's death. He sounds out of condition and uninspired on them, rendering them even more poignant. 

The best of the studio cuts were the posthumous number one in the vaguely funky Way Down and the catchy typical seventies Elvis of Moody Blue, a pleasing hit from the year before he died. The rest of the album is, unsurprisingly, standard country stuff such as He'll Have To Go, the maudlin She Thinks I Still Care or rock n' roll ballads like Pledging My Love.

Elvis albums were all ok-ish, but none of them were really up to much, especially in comparison with material released by other artists. Not many people ever say that, do they? Reviews often pay albums like this due respect but then award it two stars without ever confronting in the text the uncomfortable truth that it wasn't really very good. Patchy is an adjective that suits it perfectly. 

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