The back cover of
Elvis R&B
-- one of six thematic
Elvis
comps released during 2006 -- states that this compilation could very well be called
Presley
's personal playlist, since he loved
R&B
most out of all music. This is true, since
did indeed love
, but that doesn't mean that the 20 tracks on
are all
, even when they're
covers. As any fan, either of
or
rock & roll
, knows, part of the King's genius was that he mixed up genres, drawing from
country
,
blues
, and
pop
to create
-- and even if the songs hailed from a particular genre, they didn't necessarily sound like they belonged to that genre once
was through with them; you could hear the roots of
Roy Brown
's
"Good Rockin' Tonight"
on
's version, but it doesn't sound like
, it sounds like
. And that's what makes
a bit of an odd listen: it veers from
rockabilly
and
covers of
songs from
'
Sun
sessions to late-'50s and '60s hard-driving and soulful
, which really does sound more like
. It's hard to say that
"Baby, Let's Play House"
"Mystery Train"
shouldn't be here, but when put next to
"Lawdy Miss Clawdy"
"Big Boss Man"
"Reconsider Baby,"
they don't sound like
; they sound like
(this is also true of
"When It Rains, It Really Pours"
"Trying to Get to You,"
which may have
gospel
and vocal harmony roots, but don't fit the
theme). Even if this makes for a slightly disconcerting listening experience, it doesn't make for a bad one, since every one of these songs is excellent, and hearing them together does result in a good time. It's just in terms of following the theme,
is one of the more scattered selections in the 2006 series of thematic comps. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine