7” format cover, original back and front cover, 3 panel Gatefold sleeve and 8 page booklet with photos and memorabilia.
ElvisNews review
The Follow That Dream “original cover art” edition of the Paradise Hawaiian Style soundtrack.
Design
As with the previous releases in this 7” format the artwork is stunning. Nice pictures, memorabilia, and information in the booklet and the original cover art makes a complete package, already worth buying, no matter what the content is music wise.
Content
Well, that’s about all positive we can say about this release. The movie was a cheap shot, trying to benefit of the success of “Blue Hawaii”. Where that movie had at least some decent songs in it like the title track, “Rock-A-Hula Baby” and the classic “Can’t Help Falling In Love”, this attempt had to do with the immortals like “Queenie Wahine’s Papaya”, “Scratch My Back” and “A Dog’s Life”.
Anyway, we managed to sit through the whole CD, but it’s no guess it will only be used as decoration in the future. Ten unreleased songs are probably interesting to the diehards that really want to have everything. The only positive we can say about the songs is that Elvis was laughing his heart out too because of the ridiculous material he was recording.
Conclusion
A real collector’s item, and that’s where the label is for.
This is certainly one of Elvis' weaker soundtracks. Perhaps the weakest. I know it's the one I enjoy the least. There isn't much to recomend it. I give the original album tracks 2 stars. My favorite is the original bonus song "Sand Castles" which didn't make the final film cut. The only reason I'm giving the FTD version of this album 3 stars is because of the new bonus tracks. They're fun too listen to. You can tell Elvis realizes the mediocrity of the material and is making the best of it. He's having a ball. It took real talent to make crap like this at least listenable.
put your money into something else, unless you need it for a collection. Bad movie, bad songs. Could you immagine if he had done the movie with barbra Streisand how different everything would have been.
Having just purchased the FTD version of this soundtrack, I can honestly say I actually like this CD, unlike most fans. The sound is awessome! My only complaint is Elvis sang his vocals only after the music was recorded. I think it would have been more interesting if the entire soundtrack - both music and vocals was recorded simultaneously. I always liked the initial title song "Paradise, Hawaiian Style", but "Queenie Wahine's Papaya" and "Datin'" just got under my skin and I opened up my wallet and let FTD take my money. It was worth it entirely for the music, period. I can't understand why one is charged such an exorbitant price considering this album on FTD was issued quite awhile ago. I couldn't locate a used copy on FTD or I would have gone that way. Overall, a great soundtrack.
