Essential 60'S Masters II

Product Description:

COMMAND PERFORMANCES: THE ESSENTIAL 60'S MASTERS II documents the highlights of Elvis' movie recording career from 1960 through 1969. It contains a 24-page color booklet with liner notes, photographs and movie poster memorabilia.

Personnel includes: Elvis Presley (vocals); The Jordanaires, The Mello Men, The Amigos, The Jubilee Four, The Carole Lombard Quartet, The Carole Lombard Trio, The Blossoms.

Compilation producers: Ernst Mikael Jorgensen, Roger Semon.

Includes liner notes by Susan M. Doll, Ph.D., Ernst Mikael Jorgensen and Roger Semon.

Digitally remastered by Dick Baxter (January 1995, BMG Studios, New York, New York).

The five-disc first volume of ESSENTIAL 60'S MASTERS covers Elvis Presley's non-soundtrack recordings. This two-disc second volume offers highlights from the soundtracks of Presley's 27 '60s movies, from G.I. Blues to Change of Habit. Elvis' movies of this period do not enjoy a stellar reputation, and for good reason: once producer Hal Wallis found a successful formula for Presley movies, he simply rehashed it until long after he had wrung all life from it. A number of Presley's soundtracks are of similar quality, but the sheer quantity of songs recorded for these films provided RCA with enough good material to fill this 62-song set.

The first disc is particularly strong, reflecting the fact that more care was taken to find good material for Elvis' earlier movies. Later, to Presley's detriment, Wallis discovered that Presley's name and an exotic locale would sell a movie regardless of the quality of songs Presley sang, and thereafter the soundtracks grew progressively less interesting. ESSENTIAL 60'S MASTERS II includes plenty of hits and a number of pleasant surprises, and for the most part steers clear of the songs (such as "There's No Room To Rumba In a Sports Car") that nearly destroyed Presley's reputation.