Best of ELVIS-RARE HMV 10"LP SUPERB

	£		132
	$		175

THE BEST OF ELVIS

Very rare 1957 HMV 10" LP DLP 1159 

It was on 10 January 1956, a mere two days after his 21st birthday, that Elvis Presley entered RCA's studios in Nashville to record his first tracks for a major label. His debut session produced the epochal "Heartbreak Hotel", one of the most striking pop records ever released. Co-composed by Hoyt Axton's mother Mae, the song evoked nothing less than a vision of absolute funereal despair. There was nothing in the pop charts of the period that even hinted at the degree of desolation described in the song. Presley's reading was extraordinarily mature and moving, with a determined avoidance of any histrionics in favour of a pained and resigned acceptance of loneliness and death. The economical yet acutely emphatic piano work of Floyd Cramer enhanced the stark mood of the piece, which was frozen in a suitably minimalist production. The startling originality and intensity of "Heartbreak Hotel" entranced the American public and pushed the single to number 1 for an astonishing eight weeks. Whatever else he achieved, Presley was already assured a place in pop history for one of the greatest major label debut records ever released.

This and many more landmark tracks were compiled in the UK on "The Best of ELVIS", on the HMV label, before RCA began pressing their own records, and collecting Elvis on HMV (including his other 2 LPs, his 2 EPs, 78s and 45s on this label) is quite a task. There's a genuine excitement to holding and listening to these records partly due to their rarity, and partly due to the monumental change that these recordings meant to the development of modern music.

Some of the recordings on "The Best of ELVIS" predate his recording career with RCA, songs he had recorded with Sam Phillips at SUN, including Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti", "I Don't Care if the Sun Don't Shine" and an eerie, wailing version of Richard Rodgers/Lorenz Hart's "Blue Moon", which emphasized his remarkable vocal range.
Since hitting number 2 in the UK lists with "Heartbreak Hotel", Presley had been virtually guaranteed European success and his profile was increased via a regular series of releases as RCA took full advantage of their bulging back catalogue. 

Presley released what was to become the most commercially successful double-sided single in pop history, "Hound Dog"/"Don't Be Cruel". The former was composed by the immortal rock 'n' roll songwriting team of Leiber And Stoller, and presented Presley at his upbeat best with a novel lyric, complete with a striking guitar solo and spirited hand clapping from his backing group the Jordanaires. Otis Blackwell's "Don't Be Cruel" was equally effective with a striking melody line and some clever and amusing vocal gymnastics from the hiccuping King of Western Bop. The single remained at number 1 in the USA for a staggering 11 weeks and both sides of the record were massive hits in the UK.

The spate of Presley singles continued in earnest through 1957 and one of the biggest was another Otis Blackwell composition, "All Shook Up", which the singer used as a cheekily oblique comment on his by now legendary dance movements. 

Every track on this 10" is charged with this importance. Although a huge success by the time this record was released, Elvis was still a long way from mass adulation from all sections of society, and his music was controversial to say the least, perhaps another reason why owning these records is kind of special.

Vinyl: EXCELLENT+ Condition

Sleeve:  EXCELLENT- Condition

the record is SUPERB, displaying minimal wear-VERY RARE in this condition, with only the feintest of surface marks and the lightest of hairlines. Absolutely no skips/jumps, beautiful shine and superb sound quality. The labels are EXCELLENT++. It's very hard to find copies of this record in this kind of condition, and you will wait quite some time to find this kind of quality. The sleeve is very solid and does not display the tears/splits/sections missing commonly found on these flimsy 50s covers. The only major point to note is a very tidy glue-repaired split to the lower edge which has been restored to its original strength. The laminate is complete and very glossy, the flipback complete and with no major creasing. A VERY SOLID SLEEVE, extremely clean & tidy. The original inner sleeve is in EX+ condition.

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