General Article name: If I Can Dream
Genre: Rock englischsprachig Product type: LP (Vinyl) Label: RCA INT. Number of tracks: 14 Duration: 49:31 Tracklist LP - 1 1. Elvis Presley - Burning Love 3:29 2. Elvis Presley - It's Now or Never (II Volo Mix) 3:15 3. Elvis Presley - Love Me Tender 3:25 4. Elvis Presley - Fever 4:23 5. Elvis Presley - Bridge Over Troubled Water 4:36 6. Elvis Presley - And the Grass Won't Pay No Mind 3:40 7. Elvis Presley - You've Lost That Loving Feeling 3:57   Tracklist LP - 2 8. Elvis Presley - There's Always Me 2:20 9. Elvis Presley - Can't Help Falling in Love 3:18 10. Elvis Presley - In the Ghetto 3:11 11. Elvis Presley - How Great Thou Art 3:06 12. Elvis Presley - Steamroller Blues 3:08 13. Elvis Presley - American Trilogy 4:32 14. Elvis Presley - If I Can Dream 3:11   Description Description

Elvis Presley always had a keen taste for schlock so perhaps he would've wanted to record an entire album with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra -- and it's also possible that he'd want to duet with Michael Bublé -- but setting aside artistic intention and focus on what If I Can Dream actually is. It's a record assembled from original Elvis vocal tracks and 21st century orchestral accompaniment, which means the creative kick that fueled Presley's music -- he loved to play with his bands, he didn't want them to be mere support -- is absent, but this is a well-constructed production. It's impossible to find the seams between the present and the past and, if the light hits just right, If I Can Dream gives the illusion of a performance. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Description

Elvis Presley always had a keen taste for schlock so perhaps he would've wanted to record an entire album with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra -- and it's also possible that he'd want to duet with Michael Bublé, but duets aren't common within his catalog -- but If I Can Dream, a record assembled from original Elvis vocal tracks and newly recorded orchestral accompaniment, is most assuredly not an album Presley would've made if he was alive. To begin with, a constant in Presley's career was how he played with his bands -- drawing energy from their distinctive chemistry; whether it was Scotty Moore and Bill Black crammed into the confines of Sun Studio or James Burton leading the TCB Band on a wide stage -- he never treated the bands as support, he collaborated with them. Because he's a long-time gone, he's unable to play with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, so If I Can Dream contains no kinetic kick, no matter how well constructed it is. And make no mistake, it's a nicely produced record: it's impossible to find the seams between the present and the past and, if the light hits just right, If I Can Dream gives the illusion of a performance…not a live concert so much as a laser show spectacle culminating with a hologram of our departed beloved. Aside from the technical feat, there are some questionable areas of taste -- "Burning Love" can withstand a lot, but it's not meant to be a pumping Sunday afternoon at the Pops -- but such quibbles aren't even worth airing because the fact is, this entire project will either strike you as a delight or an exercise in bad judgment. It's too tasteful to be tacky, too refined to be memorable and ultimately, it isn't anything but a bore. [If I Can Dream was also released on LP.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Contributors Artist: Elvis Presley Artist: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Record Label: RCA