Elvis’ 16th movie was certainly not his worst one (yes, a lot were worse) and also the album is not the worst soundtrack (as a matter of fact it went to #1 back in the day). Still, it is from the magical 1964, so there must be some good in it…

Design

The album got the usual “classic album”-treatment. Nothing wrong there in my view. A lot of goodies in the booklet, not many rare pictures, but all well presented.

Content

As said, it is certainly not the worst soundtrack. In reactions some even called it good, which goes a bit too far for me. Nevertheless I found myself humming a lot while spinning it and at the moment it is on for the 4th time in 3 days, which is exceptional for a soundtrack.

Having said that, I can only conclude it is a meager release with only one CD and hardly any new outtakes. Probably that is the reason it is one of the last original albums to be released in this series. I guess Ernst & Co. were hoping for a miracle in the form of a long lost tape. Unfortunately that didn’t happen anymore since I’m A Roustabout.

So the “new” stuff consists of a few movie versions, in instrumental of the immortal It’s A Wonderful World (without Elvis’ voice it is really a painful experience) and a couple of takes of the title track.

Soundwise there is nothing wrong with the release. The weird over the top stereo is there as it should be and it is crystal clear all the way.

Conclusion

Positive is the lack of repetition, since there are not too many outtakes available (except for the title track), the sound is fine and there are some above average movie songs. Still the mediocrity of the complete picture cannot be changed by the positive.