The ELVIS PRESLEY Movie Collection - 7

Original released on LP RCA Victor LPM 2621

(US 1962, November 2)

"Blue Hawaii" was such a big hit that it only made sense to bring Elvis back to the islands for 1962's "Girls! Girls! Girls!" Thankfully, everybody involved with the production of the film decided that its soundtrack didn't need to be loaded up with Hawaiian-themed exotica - they couldn't, however, resist the nautical-themed "Thanks to the Rolling Sea" and "Song of the Shrimp" - but that is also an indication of how Col. Tom Parker and RCA chose to channel all their recording energy into soundtracks and singles. "Blue Hawaii" sold considerably more than "Pot Luck", the Presley album from the summer of 1962, so everybody chose to pour all their efforts into the soundtracks, a move that made "Girls! Girls! Girls!" slightly more musically diverse than either "G.I. Blues" or "Blue Hawaii", but the album still found plenty of space for trifle - not just the aforementioned songs of the sea but the Eastern-tinged "Earth Boy" and flamenco-flavored "Walls Have Ears." That said, there was also room for two Otis Blackwell numbers - the standard "Return to Sender" overshadowing the quite excellent "We're Coming In Loaded" - and there are other inspired bits of pizzazz, ranging from Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller's rampaging title track to the swinging defiance of "I Don't Wanna Be Tied," numbers that lack the rawness of rock & roll but play off Presley's swagger. He also gets plenty of space to indulge in his softer side: "Where Do You Come From" attempts to rewrite "Can't Help Falling in Love" to no avail, but "I Don't Want To" isn't a bad slow dance number and "Because of Love" floats on an appealing shuffle. It all adds up to a pretty enjoyable record, one that perhaps doesn't capture Presley at his best but nevertheless finds an effective way to package and polish his charm for the silver screen. (Stephen Erlewine in AllMusic)

The ELVIS PRESLEY Movie Collection - 6

Original releaes on LP RCA Victor LPM 2426

(US 1961, October 1)

Elvis movies never came bigger than "Blue Hawaii", the 1961 romantic musical comedy whose success helped push Presley into near full-time filmmaking for the bulk of the '60s. Not only was the flick a hit but so was the soundtrack, going Gold by the end of 1961, a success partially fueled by the ballad "Can't Help Falling in Love," a song so good it suggests the rest of the record might contain other gems. That's not the case. The record has its moments, including the dreamy title track, but as an album, "Blue Hawaii" is undone by a film that demands a good chunk of its tunes carry a Hawaiian flavor. Often, this mid-century Polynesian exotica has its charms - Elvis croons sweetly on the swaying luaus and everybody involved has the good sense to embrace the project's inherent silliness, letting themselves josh around on deliberate fluff like "Rock-A-Hula Baby" and the vaudevillian rhumba that's "Beach Boy Blues." Both of these are ridiculous but on record, they're slightly preferable to the steady march of island tunes ("Aloha Oe," "Ku-U-I-Po," "Island of Love," "Hawaiian Love Song"), all silver screen corn performed with a bit more panache than they deserve. (Stephen Erlewine in AllMusic)

The soundtrack was recorded at Radio Recorders, Hollywood, California, in March 1961. The sound engineer was Thorne Nogar, and the musicians were:
Guitar: Scotty Moore, Hank Garland and Tiny Timbrell
Bass: Bob Moore
Drums: D.J. Fontana, Hal Blaine and Bernie Mattinson
Piano: Floyd Cramer
Piano & Celeste: Dudley Brooks
Sax: Boots Randolph
Steel-guitar: Alvino Ray
Harmonica: George Fields
Ukulele: Fred Tavares and Bernie Lewis
Vocal accompaniment: The Jordanaires and The Surfers

The ELVIS PRESLEY Movie Collection - 5

"FLAMING STAR"

Original released on EP RCA EPA 9009 (US, 1960)

"FOLLOW THAT DREAM"

Original released on EP RCA EPA 4368 (US, 1962)

"KID GALAHAD"

Original released on EP RCA  EPA 4371 (US, 1962)

The ELVIS PRESLEY Movie Collection - 4

Original released on LP RCA Victor LPM 2256

(US 1960, October 1)

"G.I. Blues" marks the point when Elvis Presley's '60s begin. It's the first film he made after leaving the Army - parts of the production were shot in Germany just prior to his release. "G.I. Blues" is nowhere near as tacky as some of the soundtracks that arrived later, but it nevertheless makes clear Col. Tom Parker's desire to move Presley from rock & roll and into the show biz middle of the road. Only a bold, rollicking run-through of Carl Perkins' "Blue Suede Shoes" could be called rock & roll, although "Shoppin' Around" also swings to a bluesy backbeat and there's a bit of a spark to the title track, a song that's cleverly perched between rock and show tunes without explicitly reworking previous Elvis recordings the way that "Tonight Is So Right for Love" or "Frankfort Special" do (the former kicks off with a rhythm out of "Such a Night," the latter "Mystery Train"). Most of "G.I. Blues" belongs firmly to the song-and-dance camp and for good reason: the film is a musical comedy, so the songs should be effervescent trifles, which they are. Elvis handles them admirably, never sounding embarrassed and often lending them a considerable amount of charm, a quality that when combined with a crackerjack band makes "G.I. Blues" an amiable lark. (Stephen Erlewine in AllMusic)

The ELVIS PRESLEY Movie Collection - 3

Original released on LP RCA Victor LPM 1884

(US 1958, September 19)

The ELVIS PRESLEY Movie Collection - 2

Original released on EP RCA Victor EPA 4114

(US 1957, October 30)

The ELVIS PRESLEY Movie Collection - 1

Original released on LP RCA Victor LPM 1515

(US 1957, July 1)