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At The Movies

October 18, 2005 | Music
Released a few months ago by the UK chain Marks And Spencer was the movie compilation “At The Movies”. This CD isn’t available outside the UK, so it took a while to get a copy for a review. Is a movie compilation worth getting?

Design

This UK release comes in jewel case with a cardboard slipcase. A great colorized picture of Elvis, taken at a recording studio, not a movie set if our memory serves us correctly. Nevertheless, a nice one. Inside a shot from “Viva Las Vegas” (he does look a bit girly with the eyeliner) and interesting liner notes, putting Elvis movie soundtrack recordings in historical perspective.

Content

Usually we think twice before grabbing a movie soundtrack release, but this cover appealed to us and flipping it we found an interesting track list. The 20 tracks on this compilation are not presented chronologically; we skip through some of Elvis more interesting movie tracks and some real well known classics.
Some of them even topped the UK chart in 2005 like “Jailhouse Rock” or hit the Top 5 like "Can't Help Falling In Love" and “Return To Sender”. It shows these tracks are still very much alive. The same goes for the original versions of “Rubberneckin’” and “A Little Less Conversation” which ranked high on the charts in new remixes.

Overall this CD showcases a big part of Elvis catalogue with classic rockers like the before mentioned “Jailhouse Rock”, the balladeer with “Love me Tender” and “Loving You”, the gospel singer in “Swing Down Sweet Chariot”, the simple and happy tunes like “I Got Lucky” and “I Slipped, I Stumbled, I Fell”. But also the more serious music he recorded at the end of his movie career in Memphis, marking the start of his comeback with “Clean Up Your Own Back Yard”.

Conclusion

A nice compilation, proving Elvis’ movie recordings are not all bad.

Track listing:

Return To Sender - G.I. Blues - Girls! Girls! Girls! - Bossa Nova Baby - Roustabout - Jailhouse Rock - Got A Lot O' Livin' To Do - Love Me Tender - Treat Me Nice - Loving You - King Creole - Crawfish - Can't Help Falling In Love - Viva Las Vegas - I Got Lucky - A Little Less Conversation (original version) - I Slipped, I Stubled, I Fell - Swing Down Sweet Chariot - Rubberneckin' (original version) - Clean Up Your Own Backyard