Elvis at the Movies

Elvis' movie themes and '60s soundtracks are renowned as the repository for his worst material, fluffy novelties with inane lyrics and uninspired performances. What's more, their genesis usually had everything to do with Elvis' management securing the copyright and publishing, and nothing to do with the recording of strong material. They can't be ignored by anyone however, much less by Elvis fans, since they often resulted in big hits like "Can't Help Falling in Love," "G.I. Blues," and "Viva Las Vegas." Even when they didn't reach the charts, there were still the occasional pleasant throwaways like "Flaming Star," "Follow That Dream," "Rock-A-Hula Baby," "A Little Less Conversation," "Little Egypt," or "Bossa Nova Baby." Elvis at the Movies is a two-disc, 40-track set from RCA that concisely presents most of Elvis' signatory movie songs. This type of compilation has been offered before, most notably in 1995, when RCA assembled a fine movie collection (Command Performances: The Essential 60s Masters II) with more than 20 additional songs than this one, including this set's biggest omission: "Girls! Girls! Girls!" The only new feature that Elvis at the Movies offers is remastering with DSD technology, which does indeed make a noticeable difference compared to previous remastering. ~ John Bush