For LP Fans Only in Bloomington, MN

For LP Fans Only
marks the first time
RCA
dipped into the
Sun
vaults to fill out an
Elvis Presley
LP. To a certain extent, their hand was forced. By January 1959, when
hit the stores,
Elvis
was eight months into his Army stint with no end in sight, so
was stuck for new product and the easiest solution was to dig up
sessions and pair them with early
cuts initially released on singles or EPs. Just under half of this is devoted to
sides, and not only are "That's All Right," "Mystery Train," "I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone" and "You're a Heartbreaker" some of the best music
Presley
ever made but they're paired with early
sessions that complement them perfectly: in fact, the hopping "My Baby Left Me" feels as if it could've been recorded by
Sam Phillips
. Apart from the cute, charming enough "Poor Boy" -- a rare
co-write taken from the
Love Me Tender
EP that could qualify as the record's only stumble -- this LP rocks hard with a serious bluesy bent: there's a carnality to his growl on "Lawdy, Miss Clawdy" rivaled by his smoldering "I Was the One," then he tears it up on "Shake, Rattle and Roll." Whether
truly intended
to be a tight, exciting record is questionable -- it was product, pure and simple; there was no way for the label to realize the blessing they were giving to
fans by getting the
sessions into circulation (this would be the only place they could be found on LP until 1976) -- but they stumbled upon one of the finest full-length rock & roll records of the '50s. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine