Elvis Greatest Hits (AFL1-2347) was an album to be released in 1977. The tracklisting was to be as follows:-
Side A
The Wonder Of You
Burning Love
There Goes My Everything
A Big Hunk O’ Love
(unreleased live version)
Suspicious Minds
Side B
In The Ghetto
Steamroller Blues
(unreleased live version)
The Sound Of Your Cry
Surrender
You’ll Never Walk Alone
The tracklisting would be slightly revised now dropping ‘In The Ghetto’ and ‘Surrender’ and replacing them with unreleased live versions of ‘What’d I Say’ and ‘Don’t Cry Daddy’.
UK version:
- It‘s Only Love – the extended version of It’s Only Love was released as a 12″ single in the UK, and also appeared on the cassette version of the silver box set.
- Suspicious Minds – then unreleased stereo version
- Angel – then unreleased stereo version
- What‘d I Say – still not released elsewhere edited version
- The Sound Of Your Cry – then unreleased stereo version
- A Big Hunk O‘Love – then unreleased best version ever
- Are You Lonesome Tonight – 1st release on LP; popular in Austria, because used in popular Austrian TV-comedy
- Steamroller Blues – then unreleased version
- Don‘t Cry Daddy – then only released on hard to get 25th anniversary box set
- Burning Love – remix (still unreleased elsewhere?)
- You‘ll Never Walk Alone – then unreleased stereo version
- Kentucky Rain – then only released on hard to get 25th anniversary box set
US version:
- The Wonder Of You: rare single edit
- There Goes My Everything: rare single edit (WRONG, the single was mono, this is probably the first stereo version of the single version
As far as I remember, all these infos were on the backcover. The sound was excellent and It‘s Only Love bw The Sound Of Your Cry and Are You Lonesome Tonight bw Beyond The Reef were singles as far as I remember (at least in Europe).
A killer set back in it‘s time. Still one of the best releases from the early 80s imo. I still love to listen to this LP from time to time as the sound is very balanced despite the various sources and the songlist somehow works as a coherent album.
I can completely understand why RCA would create this product in 1977, just based on some undeniable facts:
- Elvis didn’t record enough for them to release “new” product, but he did have an enormous legacy.
- After the RCA deal from 1973 (that’s the year that pops in my mind, forgive me if I’m wrong) the company had a huge backload of recordings they could exploit more or less as they wished.
- There were already many regular compilations around, so if they wanted to release something, they’d better choose something “different”
Other facts related to this album
- The fact that the 1977 announcement already mentioned “volume 1” indicates that they were planning to release more volumes. (probably based on sales from a first volume)
- There were already a bucket load of compilations around, so including “new” material might be a good thing for this release. That they didn’t mention that information on the cover is unforgivable, but they just didn’t.
- We will never know, but I think it was a mistake NOT to mention that, and it was also a mistake NOT to release that ready made compilation after Elvis died in either 1977 or in 1978.
We did, however, get some “goodies”, and I’m basing that on the final 1981 release:
- the first stereo versions of “The Wonder of You” (47-9835), “There Goes My Everything” (47-9960), “Suspicious Minds” (47-9764). I presume “Suspicious Minds” was the stereo master that was prepared in 1969, I don’t know about the other two. Were they really the “stereo masters” or just “new stereo mixes”. I don’t know.
- a longer, and stereo version than the original single “The Sound Of Your Cry” (48-1017)
- a stereo remix of “You’ll Never Walk Alone”, different from the mono single (47-9600) and the stereo version from the Camden CAL-2472 (yes the catalogue number makes you think it’s mono, but some tracks are in stereo on all the version I have of the album)
- a remix of “Burning Love” (which I like better than the original mix, but slightly less than the mono promo mix)
- Four live songs: the alternate “Steamroller Blues”, “A Big Hunk O’ Love”, “What’d I Say”, “Don’t Cry Daddy”
I don’t think it’s the perfect compilation, and one could argue about the title. You could even argue about the edits that were made, or on the track selection. Some of these songs might not deserve a “greatest hits”-label. But one can not deny that this way better than the many “Hits From His Movies” and similar compilations we got at the time, and even up until now. Or the many soundtrack albums that were sold after Elvis died, just because they were “Elvis”.
I liked the album. The marketing was wrong, completely. But I wonder, if you would asked the fans in 1977 or 1981: do you want unreleased stereo versions of mono singles, and some extra live tracks on a new release, would they really have said: no, I don’t, I’d rather have the “Hits From His Movies”-type compilations or a compilation like “Pure Gold”?
