I was playing with my “Family Feud” app the other day, and the question was, “What is the first thing you think of when you hear the name Elvis Presley?” Within moments I entered “King” for the number one answer. Like his music or not, Elvis will always be “The King.” Everyone will always know some Elvis songs, even if it is because there are battery operated hamsters singing his songs to you in the mall.
When I was asked to review I Am An Elvis Fan, I was asked if I really liked Elvis. This always seems like a bit of a trick question to me. There are so many ways to “like” Elvis because of the mark he left. For example, I like Elvis’ songs. Some are great, others are just okay… but I love Elvis. I love what he did for music and I love what he meant to pop culture (even if his movies were pretty terrible).
This all being said, The King hasn’t been with us for nearly 35 years now. Yet there still have been countless albums released that re-package his music. This latest re-packaging is entitled I Am An Elvis Fan and it consists of 21 tracks as voted on by Elvis fans and cover art comprised of fan submitted photos. Of course there are also limited edition t-shirts, “fanatic edition” albums, posters, and websites galore that go along with this release.
I am not sure whether I should be surprised or not with the 21 songs that ended up on I Am An Elvis Fan though. There really aren’t that many surprises, which tell you that either most fans like the same songs on average or that maybe they weren’t really getting the best Elvis fans to make this choice. I have a feeling if I had to make a favorites album of Elvis, or another one of my most favorite artists, you’d probably see far more deep cuts on my list than you see here so I am going to lean towards the latter being the case here.
While this is a nice collection of Elvis tunes, I don’t really get what makes this a collection for “the fans.” I Am An Elvis Fan really is just another re-packaged greatest hits collection. You get some live tracks and few of the slightly less popular tracks, but there isn’t really anything here that a fan wouldn’t already have. If you really wanted to make an album for the fans, make one that has rarities, demos, and things of that nature; give the fans something they don’t already have. I Am An Elvis Fan is really just another one of many greatest hits collections, only this time it has a bigger marketing gimmick behind it.
Key Tracks: Don’t Be Cruel, Jailhouse Rock, Suspicious Minds, Burning Love
Kevin Kozel - Sr. MuzikReviews.com Staff
August 3, 2012
