Elvis – Viva Las Vegas

Elvis – Viva Las Vegas / 2007 RCA / 16 Tracks / http://www.elvis.com / http://www.rca.com /

There are literally millions of fans that dedicate their lives to following the spectre of Elvis. Record labels have attempted to continually keep these fans awash in different media concerning Elvis, and this live CD is yet another important step forward. While the tracks here are from a myriad of different places, there are a number of songs that individuals, regardless of how familiar they are with Elvis, will be familiar with. Songs here include “Viva Las Vegas”, “Bridge Over Troubled Water”, and “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling”. There are tracks that individuals that are not Elvis fanatics will likely have to get used to, such as “You Gave Me A Mountain”, but this would only increase the appreciation of Elvis’ talent for anyone that is somewhat familiar with the artist.

These cuts have been present on other RCA releases, but “Viva Las Vegas” represents a strong purchase by anyone that is trying to bolster an Elvis collection beyond the actual studio albums. What is shocking to me about this album is the fact that the songs sound so fresh and vibrant after so many years. Obviously, these songs are at least thirty years old, and yet they (for the most part) could make a strong showing even today. The fact that an Elvis song, tweaked by a musician, has been able to chart a number of times in the U.K. is the perfect example of that. While Elvis completists might be disappointed that there is only one new version of a song to chew on, most normal, everyday fans of Elvis will be more than happy with the strong selections of songs that RCA has decided to place on “Viva Las Vegas”.

What I think should be the next step for RCA would be to re-master some unearthed live concerts of Elvis. Elvis was the biggest star of eir time period, so it would be absurd to assume that there aren’t literally rooms full of recordings that have not seen the day as of this time. If you consider yourself the slightest bit a fan of the music that Elvis put out, “Viva Las Vegas” should be the next album that you pick up. If you are a completist of Elvis stuff, “Viva Las Vegas” does not have much in the way of stuff present that will necessitate the purchase of the album. Pick it up if you need an Elvis fix.

Top Tracks: Viva Las Vegas, You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling

Rating: 6.3/10