Promised Land
came from the last studio recordings that
Elvis Presley
ever made in Memphis, the city where his fame and his legend started. The December 1973
Stax Records
sessions showed him, as he had on
From Elvis in Memphis
, reaching out to publishers other than those he owned for songs, and the repertory embraces material by
Chuck Berry
,
Waylon Jennings
, and
Larry Gatlin
, among others. With the best players on hand and an upbeat mood when these songs were cut, and the singer himself lean and rested after a couple of years of concertizing, the vibes throughout this album were positive (and then some).
Elvis
sounds bold and confident in ways that make this album a diverting, if not profoundly exciting experience. It's not as distinctive or as involved a personal document as
Elvis Country
or the concentrated
soul
workout of
, but it does feature some fine, passionate singing throughout (most notably on
"It's Midnight,"
a wrenching performance). ~ Bruce Eder