Elvis Presley: 2nd To None
Funnily enough, I find I have arguably more favourites on this, Elvis's compilation of songs that reached number two in the charts, than on the number ones collection!
What do we have here, then?
A bluesy, rockin killer in Elvis's cover of Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup's That's All Right to kick things off with, followed by some more highly credible rockers in Blue Suede Shoes, Mean Woman Blues, Trouble and A Mess Of Blues. If you, like me, like the essential, bluesy side of Elvis then these are for you.
One of my all-time Elvis favourites is the irrepressible King Creole and Wear My Ring Around Your Neck is a good one too, as is Little Sister. More rockin' and less Wooden Heart-style stuff is to my taste. Ironically, though, I still can't help but love the cheesy fun of Bossa Nova Baby and Viva Les Vegas!
As we move into the late sixties/early seventies, a period I have always liked of his, we get a superb ballad in If I Can Dream, a wonderful romantic tearjerker in a long-time favourite of mine, Always On My Mind and the hammed-up, glorious grandiosity of An American Trilogy, another one I have always loved.
Bringing up the rear are the stonking, little-mentioned cover of Chuck Berry's Promised Land and the underrated mid-seventies hit, Moody Blue.
Although the number ones collection clearly has some diamonds on it, this one just plays through as slightly more credible, if you know what I mean.
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