Thread by @cjscalia

I'm just realizing that Elvis released From Elvis in Memphis 50 years ago last summer, yet there wasn't a peep about the anniversary. That's crazy! It's a great record that develops the loose and soulful vibe of the '68 Special with material he hadn't recorded before. 1/

He had spent most of the ‘60s recording songs for his movies. And some of those songs were good. But In Memphis was a return to relevant and coooool music. I think it stands out for its soulful covers of country songs, like this Eddy Arnold one: 2/

And his cover of Hank Snow’s I’m Movin' On is unreal. The song is hypnotic, those layers of background singers, horns, and that wild bass-line! There’s still a country flavor to the song, but he’s transformed it: 3/

I also love his version of Gentle On My Mind, a hit for Glen Campbell the year before. There’s that crazy bass again, and Elvis’s voice is more vulnerable and interesting than Campbell’s. 4/

The album’s big hit was In the Ghetto, which is another development from the Comeback Special: If I Can Dream made him realize he could pull off socially conscious songs. (Also, it's hilarious that it was written by Mac "Hard to be Humble" Davis). 5/

This one’s another great original from the album—The Power of My Love is him at his lady-killin’-est. 6/

Elvis was never this good again, nor much better before. But where was the 50th anniversary reissue? The coverage from cultural outlets? We were all too busy commemorating Woodstock and Abbey Road to notice a stone-cold classic from the King. Sad!
This rant has left the building.

(Sorry for the re-posting. My first try of the Hank Snow cover was of a terrible '80s remaster that was unfit for human ears.)