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Created Dec 01, 2012 12:26PM PST • Edited Aug 18, 2020 05:01PM PST

1. Quality

2. Summary

   Great 4.0

   There are classic albums. Then there’s the original classic album – Elvis Presley – the first Rock-and-Roll album to top the charts and the one that introduced its King to mainstream America. Thus this 49 minute documentary tells much more than the story of an album. It documents a seminal moment in pop history — when rock-and-roll exploded onto the world in the form of swiveling hipster Elvis Presley.

   I first encountered the Classic Albums video series on Netflix Instant through the Who’s Next episode, finding them perfect accompaniments for hour-long cross-trainer sessions. This one rises above such quotidian usage however. It is fascinating history as much as musical record.

   Plus it’s got a good beat and you can dance to it. More than that even…

   Keith Richards says that Elvis “hit like a bombshell. It was like going from black-and-white to technicolor.”

4. Acting

   Really Great 4.5

   Interviews with -

   • Elvis’s high school girlfriend, who recalls sneaking out of church on Sunday nights to the black church where they’d listen to the music, which was much more emotional than the white music.
   • Scotty Moore, who says Elvis only asked him and DJ to sing one time, on Shake, Rattle and Roll.
   • Ernst Jorgensen, an Elvis historian who lays out several insights, including the pronounced sexuality of “I’m like a one-eyed cat, peeking in the seafood store” from Shake, Rattle and Roll. But Elvis always denied being sexual, which is about as believable as the Beatles saying Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds isn’t about LSD.
   • Sam Phillips – never tries to take credit. Coolest thing ever.
   • BB King who says Elvis really could sing and was always a great looking guy who the girls would’ve loved even if he couldn’t.
   • Keith Richards is nearly unintelligible but deserves major props for showing up, as he always does for his heroes.
   • Elvis himself does a voice-over interview at the end. The effect is shocking when he says “This is Elvis Presley.”

5. Male Stars Really Great 4.5

6. Female Stars Really Great 4.5

7. Female Costars Really Great 4.5

8. Male Costars Really Great 4.5

10. Film

    Great 4.0

    Footage of Elvis performing down South right before he exploded onto the national scene are like the Dead Sea Scrolls of rock-and-roll.

    The documentary focuses on the Elvis Presley album, giving it license to cover his Sun Records phase also.

11. Direction Very Good 3.5

12. Play Great 4.0

13. Music Perfect 5.0

    Heartbreak Hotel was a totally rock-and-roll pick for his first big single because it’s hardly a classic rock-and-roll song. It took profound artistic integrity to go that way and withstand the heat.

    Then it sold 2 million copies and the King was crowned.

14. Visuals Perfect 5.0
15. Content

16. Edge

    Tame 1.2

    Elvis’s leg wiggling was unconscious at first, as much a side effect of baggy pants as anything. “But Elvis was a fast learner,” Scotty Moore informs us.

17. Sex Titillating 1.6

18. Violence Gentle 1.0

19. Rudeness Polite 1.0

21. Reality

    Natural 1.0

    The video leaves out some key players, such as Chet Atkins’ guitar on Heartbreak Hotel. But that’s all right Mama, there’s only so much you can fit into 49 minutes.

    It does provide precious insight into the tsunami of youth culture that Elvis and rock-and-roll launched on the world. It also shines a light on the tremendous range of musical interests that Elvis pursued. For instance, he most wanted to sing ballads and always found a way to include them.

    Most importantly, it points out that Elvis always chose his own music. Col. Parker took care of the business, especially merchandising, but never intruded on the music. The King controlled that. Long Live The King.

22. Circumstantial Natural 1.0

23. Biological Natural 1.0

24. Physical Natural 1.0