Songs For Elvis...And Then I Wrote

Songs For Elvis...And Then I Wrote Artist: Don Robertson
Label: Bear Family
Category: Music


Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Format: Import
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1
EAN: 4000127166548
ASIN: B0000AN0UK


Release Date: 2003-09-11

Songs For Elvis...And Then I Wrote


Related Categories:

General General
Categories | Pop | Styles | Music
Pop Rock Pop Rock
Categories | Pop | Styles | Music
General General
Categories | Rock | Styles | Music

Tracks:

  1. Stand In
  2. They Remind Me Too Much of You
  3. Anything That's Part of You
  4. Hummingbird
  5. You Don't Need Me Anymore
  6. Image of Your Face
  7. Here Comes Heartache Again
  8. Starting Today
  9. There's Always Me
  10. Your Happiness Means Everything to Me
  11. Love Me Tonight
  12. Love Finds a Way
  13. My Side of the Story
  14. Faithful Forever
  15. Hi Lee Hi Lo
  16. I Met Her Today
  17. What Now, What Next, Where To
  18. Not One Minute More
  19. Road to Heartbreak
  20. I Hurt
  21. Darling, Let's Go Home
  22. I'm Counting on You
  23. Does He Mean That Much to You
  24. I've Come to Say Goodbye
  25. Feather in the Wind
  26. Road to Heartbreak [Short Version]

Album Details

Here's a Rare Treat for Elvis Collectors. No More Endless Out-takes, These Are the Original Demos that Elvis Heard of Some of his Greatest Songs, all Performed by the Songwriter, Don Robertson. Among the Elvis Classics Heard in their Absolutely Original Version Are They Remind Too Much of You; Anything That's Part of You; Starting Today; There's Always Me; Love Me Tonight; I Met her Today; What Now, What Next, Where To; And I'm Counting on You. In Addition to Writing for Elvis, Don Robertson also Invented the Famous 'slip-note' Piano Style Popularized by Floyd Cramer, and We Hear Several Great Examples of his Work on this Collection.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars A surprise from Bear Family: the Elvis CD I've always wanted!.......2006-09-12

I found a copy of this yesterday. I didn't know it existed. I also didn't know that it was the Elvis-related CD I've always wanted to have.

Short of a collection of Otis Blackwell's vintage Elvis demos, this is THE dream disc for students of Elvis' style and influences. It is instantly evident that Elvis was heavily influenced by Don Robertson's vocal stylings. If you compare any of the demos here with the released Elvis version, it's eerie to note how proficiently Presley mimics every quaver and swoop of the songwriter's voice.

Elvis was certainly more than a stylistic parrot. He had a great ear, and Robertson possessed an uncanny knack for writing sympathetic songs. They complemented Elvis' singing style, his sense of drama and rhythm, and his charisma.

There are several songs here that Elvis didn't record. All are from acetate demos, save the first track, "Stand-In," from a 1962 RCA single in full "Nashville Sound" mode. These are some of my favorites, as they allow me to appreciate Robertson's abilities most clearly. "Hummingbird," "Feather In The Wind," "What Now, What Next, Where To" and the moody, minor-keyed "Road To Heartbreak" are all major killers.

The sound quality might shock some listeners. The acetate discs from which 25 tracks derive are gritty, sometimes distorted, and often pebbled with clicks and scratches. Jurgen Crasser did a great job of cleaning these up without compromising their essential sound. Thus, you are in for a compelling but imperfect listening experience.

My biggest complaint with Bear Family releases, of late, is that the liner notes are generally weak. Not so with this disc. Robertson provides in-depth anecdotes on each of the songs, and is extensively interviewed in Rudiger Bloemeke's long essay. Lots of great pictures, including several of Robertson with some fellow Nashville songwriting legends.

Anyone with a passion for country music and pop of the '50s and '60s needs this CD. You don't even have to like Elvis to appreciate its portrait of a sincere, talented songwriter at his best.

Disc comes in a slickly designed digipak foldout. Bear Family's sense of graphic design is rudimentary, to say the least, but it's usually functional. This is one of their better-looking packages in quite some time.

5 out of 5 stars

Music Album:

  1. Benefit ~ Jethro Tull
  2. The Best of the Motels ~ The Motels
  3. From the Pond ~ Froggie Beaver
  4. Coming Home ~ Andy Hopping
  5. 25th Anniversary: Live in Amsterdam ~ Toto
  6. In Concert ~ Jerry Lee Lewis
  7. All One ~ Entrain
  8. Life on 2 Legs ~ Phil Bair
  9. Coming Attractions ~ Adrian Belew
  10. The Collection ~ Tom Jones

Music Album

Music Album

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Perpetual Stroll ~ Rufus Reid

Dedication ~ Mel Lewis & Thad Jones

Cinema Jazz ~ Miyuki Koga

In the Mood With: Best of Bebop Era 1945 ~ Various Artists

Them That Swingeth

Songs of the Pashtu ~ Zarsanga

Mevlana Beyati Ayini ~ Nezih Uzel, Ist.Sema Grubu Mutrip Heyeti

1926-1940 ~ Orquesta Tipica Victor

I Got a Feeling ~ Juon

Synthesizer Greatest ~ Various Artists