Wearin' That Loved on Look
Only the Strong Survive
I'll Hold You in My Heart (Till I Can Hold You in My Arms)
Long Black Limousine
It Keeps Right on A-Hurtin'
I'm Movin' On
Power of My Love
Gentle on My Mind
After Loving You
True Love Travels on a Gravel Road
Any Day Now
In the Ghetto

If you have never heard this album you are missing out on some of the greatest blue eyed soul ever recorded. This album solidified Elvis' comeback (which started with the '68 TV Special 'Elvis') when it was released in 1969. Recorded at American studios in Memphis and largely produced by Chips Moman, it is a real artistic triumph and one of the highlights of Presley's career.

In 1999 BMG released 'Suspicious Minds', a 2 disc anthology of all the songs recorded at the sessions. Included are single releases like Suspicious Minds and Kentucky Rain among others, that were never released on albums. You should really try to track down this set if you haven't already.

Gotta agree on this one. 'From Elvis in Memphis', or better still the 2 CD 'Suspicious Minds' is for my money Elvis' best individual album. He is in great soulful voice. He really was a great 'soul' singer in both meanings of the word. And one of the great white gospel singers too imo.

So many classics are on this album. One of my favourates is 'Long Black Limousine', a wonderfully ironic country song with a powerful, ominous gospel feel. Also, I love 'I'll Hold You in My Heart', Wearin' That Loved on Look' and 'Gentle on my Mind'.

To my mind, Elvis is an important influence on Prince, ie. some of P's lower register vocal stylings are at times Elvis-esque (especially in some '81-'84 songs like 'When Doves Cry' and 'Delerious'). Also, Prince seems to be wearing personalised variations on El's famous white jumpsuits with the high collars on recent tours. Prince digs Elvis, I know that!

You know your Elvis Miles. That's what I like to see

I agree that this may be his best work ever. Even eclipsing his great work in the 50's and early 60's. His voice had a new richness along with some of the rough edges carried over from the '68 Special. His vocals and the way he emotes on every single song from this session (other then the throwaway 'Hey Jude' which was only meant to be a demo) is truely a thing of beauty. The man had a way with a song unlike any other vocalist I have ever heard. He wasn't technically the greatest singer, but he could get inside a song and really make you feel what he was singing.

Some of the younger folks (lol, I'm 21) should really do themselves a favour and explore Elvis' music and legacy beyond 'Don't Be Cruel', 'Hound Dog' and 'Burning Love'. He has a lot more to offer then that to the serious music lover.

Thanks for responding, WildStyle. 'Suspicious Minds' just happens to be a real favourate of mine. The Memphis band on this album is killer. They played with Wilson Pickett, Dusty Springfield, Neil Diamond and Dionne Warwick. Elvis was clearly also in the mood to show the world he still had it, maybe even better than before. He sounds truly possessed on some of the tracks, like he doesn't want it to stop. I mean, 'Stranger In My Own Town' on there is one hell of a great blues performance. I could go on.

I love all Elvis eras (except for his weaker movie soundtrack stuff). His voice, when inspired, makes me feel more deeply than almost any other singer (I think because he felt the songs so deeply he moves you). To take a less than obvious example, on his final tours, from 1975-77, Elvis would often be stirred from his drug-induced decline to perform versions of the gospel hymn 'How Great Thou Art' that just make your spine tingle. Especially the version from 'Elvis in Concert', a live album taken from his final tour in '77 (where we get most of the pictures of him looking particularly bad). This album is a mixed bag indeed, but it's well worth it for the versions of 'How Great Thou Art', 'It's Now or Never' ,Hurt', 'Trying to Get to You' and 'Little Sister'. He sings magnificently on these and a few of the others too. Elvis, in his late years, gained an almost operatic quality and power in his voice that can be very moving.

It's amazing that even in his final concerts when he was basically dying, he could still pull off the odd career-highlight performance.

But for stuff a bit like 'Suspicious Minds' I'd recommend (if you don't have them already) the CDs 'Tomorrow is a Long Time', a compilation of his best non-movie pre-comeback material from 1966-68 - some great less well-known rock and roll/ r n' b on this one (you can almost hear him returning to greatness), plus the title track is a Bob Dylan song that Dylan is on record as saying it is his favourate cover of any of his own songs. Also, I'd recommend 'Elvis Country' from 1970, another near classic album - country with some rock n' roll and ballads. Fine stuff.

Elvis is a bit of a musical polymath of rock n'roll, classic pop, country, blues, gospel and ballads. He moved across all these genres with ease and contributed recordings of real value to them all.