We've long established that I'm a diehard music snob. As such, I generally don't buy greatest hits packages. I prefer to hear "albums" as whole works as the artist intended. However, let me rave for just a minute about this new Elvis Presley 30 #1 Hits. This review from CDNOW says pretty much what I thought both before and after picking it up...
With this new single-disc collection of Elvis Presley's monumental hits arriving as both a capper to the mementos marking the 25th anniversary of his death and as a sort of answer to the Beatles' 1 CD designed for the convenience of a new younger audience, it could seem like just one more repackaging unlikely to hold many surprises.
But this disc turns out to be a remarkable new addition to the Presley legacy -- an ear-opening must-have for longtime fans who own every Elvis box set as well as for newcomers who want an introduction to what the King of Rock and Roll could really sound like.
Going back, for the first time, to the original tapes on which Elvis' music was recorded, engineers have performed remarkable feats of upgrading on everything from the 1950s mono classics to the multi-track rave-ups of the '70s -- not distorting the recordings, but bringing out more of the brilliance that was there.
The remastered "Love Me Tender" captures Presley's every breath and guitar string touch; the sense of presence is extraordinary. Latter-day Memphis rock era like "Burning Love" and the complex "Suspicious Minds" now sound like screamers recorded this morning -- crisper, clearer, more rhythmic, more "here."
The choices of which "#1 hits" to include here may be controversial -- they always are. By choosing No. 1 pop hits from the U.K. as well as the U.S. and other "related charts," the producers of Elvis: 30 #1 Hits have included on the single disc not just the indisputable worldwide smashes but such refreshing surprises as "She's Not You," "Hard-Headed Woman," and "Crying in the Chapel" as well. JXL's recent, popular remix of "A Little Less Conversation" is tossed in as a bonus.
This collection is not only a more than worthy successor to previous Elvis hits CDs, it should have fans old and new clamoring to have similar painstaking magic applied to more of the Presley records.
Hear! Hear! If they can do this to these tracks why haven't they yet done the same to his first album, "From Elvis In Memphis" (this remastering is much better than the recent re-release of that great album) and "Elvis is Back!" So pick this up. I pretty much guarantee you that it'll be the only time I recommend a greatest hits package.
Posted by mikewolf at October 15, 2002 09:45 PM