god, this gorgeous. nearly brings me to tears every time i listen to it.



anyone else?

I am not an American but this song, with Elvis' incredibly expressive voice always moves me. I'm sure he sang it straight with no irony, but the original recording, by can't remember who, is much more ambivalant and is a bit of a comment on the state of America in the late '60s early '70s.

If you like 'An American Trilogy', you should love his live version of 'Unchained Melody' from the Moody Blue' album and even more his awesome live version of the gospel classic 'How Great Thou Art' from the rather mixed but good 'Elvis In Concert' album. Both these performances were recorded in 1977, the last year of Elvis' life, and yet, while a sick man, he delivers two of the greatest vocal performances of his career. I love his big, late career voice.

In fact, I find myself returning to his 1977 live performances more than many other periods of his career. He looked terrible, but if you listen to the CD, he at times sounds fabulous. As a dying man being worked to death, he still sounded like a god when truly inspired.

As a major Elvis fan, I believe that the '70s, while a mixed decade musically for Elvis, contain some of his very greatest music - often highly moving, but filled with power and a kind of dignity that he never lost. And he never lost that voice.

TheAstonishing said:

Yes, it's astounding. I'm a huge Elvis fan. Like Miles said - above - the 70s may not have brought us the greatest Elvis songs, but he was pretty much on top of his game right until the end.

This is just about my mom's favorite recording ever.

glad to see this song getting some love.

And Elvis was the only one who could pull off a song like that as well. You put that song in the hands of other big names and they would get laughed off the stage. He could sing just about anything and do it great. He was also the only big name rock and roll performer who would sing gospel songs in concert and just blow the audience away.

Spats said:

My mom just got an anthology of his gospel recordings.

I am not a religious believer but when I hear Elvis singing his best gospel performances, I nearly get goosebumps. His gospel music is certainly among his best music (and the least appreciated). He sings the stuff with such conviction, grace and power that he almost makes you believe.

A true evangeliser.

I'm not a big Elvis fan, but I do LOVE this track. Sheer power.

I would rate this and In The Ghetto as the best all time classics by Elvis.

By the way, American Trilogy is a great song to try drunk at Kareoke!

SquirrelMeat said:

So that was YOU!