Classic Elvis

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Released in late 1956, just seven months after the arrival of his self-titled debut, <i>Elvis</i> would become the singer’s second chart-topping album of the year. That’s a huge achievement, to be sure—but not necessarily a surprising one: Presley’s rise had been so rapid, it was all but a given that <i>Elvis</i> would claim the No. 1 spot. That’s probably why Presley and his producer, Steve Shole, weren’t too concerned about reinventing the wheel with <i>Elvis</i>, which finds Presley returning to the country, R&B, and rock sounds that had made his first release so massive. What sets Presley’s second album apart from the singer’s debut smash—which featured singles recorded at various points in the mid-1950s—is that the 12 tracks on <i>Elvis</i> were largely the result of just a few designated session. That makes <i>Elvis</i> more akin to what we’d now consider a studio album—a rarity at the time. As a result, there’s a consistency to <i>Elvis</i>, which feels impressively casual at times; if you close your eyes while listening, it almost feels like a lost document of some imagined, impossible roadhouse show (the <i>real</i> Elvis show, of course, were drowned out by screams). .

via Apple Music

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