General Article name: Elv1s: 30 #1 Hits
Genre: Rock englischsprachig Product type: LP (Vinyl) Label: RCA INT. Number of tracks: 31 Tracklist LP - 1 1. Elvis Presley - Heartbreak Hotel 2. Elvis Presley - Don't be Cruel 3. Elvis Presley - Hound Dog 4. Elvis Presley - Love Me Tender 5. Elvis Presley - Too Much 6. Elvis Presley - All Shook Up 7. Elvis Presley - (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear 8. Elvis Presley - Jailhouse Rock 9. Elvis Presley - Don't 10. Elvis Presley - Hard Headed Woman [From the Hal Wallis Production "King Creole", a Paramount Picture] 11. Elvis Presley - One Night 12. Elvis Presley - (Now and Then There's) A Fool Such as I 13. Elvis Presley - Big Hunk O' Love 14. Elvis Presley - Stuck on You 15. Elvis Presley - It's Now or Never   Tracklist LP - 2 16. Elvis Presley - Are You Lonesome Tonight? [Remastered] 17. Elvis Presley - Wooden Heart 18. Elvis Presley - Surrender 19. Elvis Presley - (Marie's the Name) His Latest Flame 20. Elvis Presley - Can't Help Falling in Love 21. Elvis Presley - Good Luck Charm 22. Elvis Presley - She's Not You [Remastered] 23. Elvis Presley - Return to Sender 24. Elvis Presley - (You're the) Devil in Disguise 25. Elvis Presley - Crying in the Chapel 26. Elvis Presley - In the Ghetto 27. Elvis Presley - Suspicious Minds 28. Elvis Presley - Wonder of You 29. Elvis Presley - Burning Love 30. Elvis Presley - Way Down 31. Elvis Presley - Little Less Conversation [JXL Radio Edit Remix]   Description Description

RCA and the Elvis estate made no bones about their intention on replicating the blockbuster success of the Beatles' The Beatles 1 with their own single-disc collection of number one hits -- hence, the 2002 release of Elvis: 30 #1 Hits. The idea of collecting all the number one hits is simple enough, but there are problems inherent with the concept, not the least of which is that RCA did this once before. Unlike the Beatles, who went through numerous changes in just seven years of recording, Elvis had nearly three times as many years' worth of material and hits to choose from. Also, he hit on a number of different charts -- not just pop, but also R&B, country, and adult contemporary. Furthermore, where almost all of the Beatles' number one hits sampled at least part of their music, there are significant chunks of Elvis' best material -- including the visionary sides for Sun -- that didn't hit the top of the charts. All of this makes assembling a similar comprehensive sampler of Elvis' biggest hits much more difficult, and it doesn't help that RCA has decided not to have a rigid aesthetic and sample from different charts all over the world, resulting in a collection that feels more of a patchwork than it should, even if the bulk of the material is from the early '60s; at least five songs feel like they should have been replaced with better, and better-known, sides. And, even if much of this material is exceedingly familiar, there also feels like there is a lot missing because, frankly, there is. No Sun singles and very little from his classic 1968 comeback or early-'70s hits like "Moody Blue," not to mention sides that would showcase Elvis "the rocker" better than what's here, which plays closer to Elvis the '60s pop crooner than anything else. And, let's face it, no matter what the packaging is, Elvis: 30 #1 Hits can't feel that new because of the veritable flood of Elvis collections RCA has issued since the King started having hits. This is a very good compilation, covering many of the basics, but it's hardly close to the only Elvis disc you'll ever need, and it's not even that great of a starting place, since it lacks so much of his best material. (Also, even though this is one of the most carefully considered compilations of Elvis hits, it can't help but feel a little shoddy since there are actually 31 number one hits here, with the addition of the JXL remix of "A Little Less Conversation" tacked onto the end, no matter how good the single is.) [Elvis: 30 #1 Hits was re-released on LP in 2015.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Contributors Artist: Elvis Presley Record Label: Sony Music