My DVD Snapcase Collection! 📀

 

Infamous for not alphabetizing her physical media collection, Kristin Battestella shares her budding DVD Snapcase collection – from early video release memories and classic films to horror movies and sentimental favorites.

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Top Ten: Christmas Albums!

Welcome to our new Top Tens series in celebration of I Think, Therefore I Review's Tenth Anniversary! These monthly lists will highlight special themes and topics from our extensive archive of reviews.

This time a festive I Think, Therefore I Review presents...

Our Top Ten Christmas Albums!

Elvis' Christmas Album

Bing Crosby White Christmas

Johnny Mathis Merry Christmas

Celtic Woman: A Christmas Celebration

Ella Wishes You A Swinging Christmas

Mariah Carey Merry Christmas

Wynonna's A Classic Christmas

Noel Josh Groban

Kate Smith Christmas

Christmas Songs by Sinatra

Please see our Christmas tag for more holiday spirit or our Vinyl Records label for ye olde yule reviews!

I Think, Therefore I Review began as the blog home for previously published reviews and reprinted critiques by horror author Kristin Battestella. Naturally older articles linked here may be out of date and codes or formatting may be broken. Please excuse any errors and remember our Top Tens will generally only include films, shows, books, or music previously reviewed at I Think, Therefore I Review. 

 

The Essential Now That's What I Call Christmas

The Essential Now That’s What I Call Christmas Does What It Says

by Kristin Battestella

The Essential Now That's What I Call Christmas is a 2008 holiday collection brimming with 25 tracks for nearly 80 minutes of both traditional and contemporary Yule staples for one and all. Yowza!

Ironically, The Essential gets off to a bittersweet start with Happy Xmas (War Is Over) by John & Yoko and the Plastic Ono Band with the Harlem Community Choir – a lovely but sociological somber that feels more like it should be a penultimate track. Of course, Elvis is on hand to serve up everyone's favorite little melancholy in Blue Christmas, and later on Wham! provides some more recent toe tapping sadness with Last Christmas. Fortunately, several mid century classics including It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year from Andy Williams and Dean Martin's Baby, It's Cold Outside set a more lighthearted seasonal mood as does the whimsical Johnny Mathis version of It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas. Burl Ives' A Holly Jolly Christmas adds some more peppy fun for The Essential alongside Little Saint Nick by The Beach Boys, and the kids can have a good time with Gene Autry's Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late).

The Jackson 5's version of Santa Claus Is Coming to Town shakes up the merriment and Chuck Berry's Run Rudolph Run creates some groove – don't lie, everyone sings along to Elmo & Patsy's Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer and secretly dances to Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree by Little Miss Dynamite Brenda Lee. Oddly, rather than the Brenda Lee or Bobbly Helms versions, Hall & Oates take on Jingle Bell Rock is included here. However, the Now That's What I Call Christmas franchise is also only repeating a handful of songs or renditions on The Essential that were already included on previous Now That's What I Call Christmas Volumes 1, 2, or 3 – shrewdly swaying listeners to pick up this set to complete their holiday music collection. José Feliciano's Feliz Navidad and Paul McCartney's Wonderful Christmastime fit The Essential's catchy theme, but the Donny Hathaway original This Christmas plays suave alongside Elton John's throwback Step into Christmas.

Two new in 2008 singles Mistletoe from Colbie Caillat and Ledisi's very smooth This Christmas (Could Be the One) feel a little less famous and slightly out of place amid the classic names. Indeed, there are a few songs on The Essential I could do without – some are certainly more perennial or timeless compared to others steeped in their dated era. Too much of the engineered pop saccharin sounds the same after awhile, becoming nothing but holiday background noise. As much as this session provides some titular must haves, there are certainly several big songs missing – cough The Christmas Song and White Christmas cough – not to mention the lack of, you know, Christmas carols. The Little Drummer Boy from the Harry Simeone Chorale is an unusually old fashioned choice for The Essential, and Do You Hear What I Hear? by Carrie Underwood and Amy Grant's Breath of Heaven (Mary's Song) mark a brief spiritual block of longer, reverent ballads before The Essential concludes with a slightly misrepresenting but no less gentle and appropriately fitting Silent Night from The Temptations.

Yes, the numbers, volumes, and titles of these Now That's What I Call Christmas sets can become increasingly confusing. The Essential will repeat hits you already have on other combination collections and original albums. This CD is packed with mostly shorter tracks, and the mix is uneven with some songs being louder or at a lower volume than others. There are precious few powerhouse vocals or ballads and only a handful of religious tunes. However, the catch all by design also makes it easy to skip to your favorites. By and large, these are the original editions we want to hear, not generic covers or instrumentals often found on cheap compilation sets. The Essential Now That's What I Call Christmas is a breezy, safe potluck of secular classics, contemporary rock, and seasonal pop. Be it the office playlist or a fast all in one place download, there's a little something for everyone to be found here.

Our Christmas Vinyl Collection

The Christmas Vinyl Collection 2012

By Kristin Battestella

Another year, another look at the state of the ever-growing collection of Yule on Vinyl here at I Think, Therefore I Review! Here’s a quick list of all the snap, crackle, and pop holiday essays, conveniently in one non-scratchable location at last.

The Abbey Choir Little Drummer Boy

Barbra Streisand Christmas Album

Bing Crosby White Christmas (record and CD)

Charles Dickens Classics: A Christmas Carol and Mr. Pickwick’s Christmas 

The Christmas Song Nat King Cole

Christmas Through the Years Holiday Box Set

Christmas with George Beverly Shea

Christmas with Kate Smith

Elvis’ Christmas Album (record and CD)

Elvis' Christmas Album (Pickwick Issue)

Elvis Sings the Wonderful World of Christmas

Favorite Christmas Carols from the Voices of Firestone Volume 1

George Beverly Shea Christmas Hymns

Give Me Your Love for Christmas Johnny Mathis

Hark the Herald Angels Sings George Beverly Shea

A Henry Mancini Christmas

Holiday Sing Along with Mitch Miller

Jackie Gleason White Christmas

John Lanchbery Conducts Tchaikovsky’sThe Nutcracker

Joyous Christmas Volume 4

Luciano Pavarotti O Holy Night

Merry Christmas with Johnny Mathis (record and CD)

O Come All Ye Faithful Kate Smith

Seasons Greetings from Perry Como

Silent Night Christmas Carols and Holiday Strings

Silent Night George Beverly Shea

Sing We Now of Christmas: The Harry Simeone Chorale

The Star Carol Tennessee Ernie Ford

A Tennessee Ernie Ford Christmas Special Double LP

A Very Merry Christmas Volume 1

A Very Merry Christmas Volume 2

A Very Merry Christmas Volume 5

And lastly, the only remaining Christmas records I own and have not reviewed thus far are the 10 album Great Songs of Christmas Goodyear series. Whew!

For more fun reference, you can also visit the 2009 Christmas Vinyl Assessment or use the Christmas tags, labels, and search options. Most of these reviews and posts have shopping links or album cover photos where available, as heck, not all of this turntable material is available digitally or even that easy to find and identify via checking the musty attic or searching the messy thrift shop.  So, if anyone has further questions on clarifications or specifications, please feel free to inquire in the Comments Section any time. And as always, whatever You and Yours celebrate this holiday season, may you be warmed, well fed, and abundantly blessed!

More Elvis Christmas Music!

Elvis Sings the Wonderful World of Christmas and His Christmas Album, Again!

By Kristin Battestella

Originally released in 1957, Elvis’ Christmas Album was so good; they just had to keep reissuing it!  I’ve chatted about the original proper previously, but as we can’t ever really get enough of Elvis at Christmas; here are a few thoughts on the 1971 LP Elvis Sings the Wonderful World of Christmas and those pesky Elvis’ Christmas Album reissues, too.

O Come All Ye Faithful and The First Noel open Elvis Sings the Wonderful World of Christmas in unique but reverent fashion. Though Elvis seems to be struggling just a bit, both deliveries are soul felt. Faithful’s unusual rock opera type arrangement and the country church tone for Noel are a touch of seventies, but also old school good.  After such a heavy religious aspect on his previous Christmas album, I must say it is a bit odd that these are the only two carols here.  I wonder why? On a Snowy Christmas Night allows more time for Elvis to take it easy and still have a seasonal spiritual message. The flow here is much more suited to his style, and thus this track sounds a lot less dated even though it carries the same power and choir of the opening two sessions.

 Winter Wonderland also gets to have some fun with a little hillbilly rock guitar jazzing up this staple along with Elvis’ bluesy voice. The titular The Wonderful World of Christmas has the most traditional sounding style here, recalling more old school winters of yore. Ironically, it’s not how the rest of the album sounds at all. It Won’t Seem Like Christmas carries more of a Kentucky Rain light feeling with lots of mellow soul and Christmas romance.  It is a ballad that seems solely meant just for Elvis in many ways. Though not all original compositions, most of the tracks here aren’t very well known or at the very least, feel Elvis exclusive and that is not a bad thing.

Side B continues with the similarly titled I’ll Be Home on Christmas Day and If I Get Home on Christmas Day. You would think they would have placed them further apart in the listing, but I digress. I’ll Be Home on Christmas Day puts the back up singers aside and let’s Elvis get singer/songwriter seventies country gospel as only he can.  It’s only fault is it doesn’t sound that much like a Christmas song and some of the lyrics are tough to understand. Oh, this is a love lost and coming home tale that just happens to be on 12/25? If I Get Home On Christmas Day is a little easier, breezy, and able to understand or sing along to, but it also doesn’t feel as timeless as the essentials from Elvis’ Christmas Album. Both are certainly likeable listens for Elvis fans, but they are too of the moment in seventies soul arrangement. Holly Leaves and Christmas Trees suffers much of the same.  Elvis sound good and mentions the titular seasonal obligations, but it’s more of that same Kentucky Rain power. 

Thankfully, Merry Christmas Baby rocks it up a bit.  Elvis gets down and naughty here in true guitar bluesy fashion. Though it is odd, I must say, for one who often kept his hip jiving rock and gospel music separate, to have this combination of sexy Yule, but it works. This is the Elvis we expect, and Merry Christmas Baby stands out wonderfully unlike the rest of Elvis Sings the Wonderful World of Christmas’ same same. Silver Bells slows the seasonal down for the finale, and Elvis has room to hold the notes above the choir for a solid traditional finish.  Perhaps because I didn’t grow up with this record as much as Elvis’ Christmas Album, it isn’t as classic to me.  Outside of a few staples, one might not even notice this was a Christmas album- which is perfect for more causal fans who don’t want his earlier gospel Christmas sound. Actually, if you pick and choose your favorite individual downloads, fans can listen to the essence of Elvis Sings the Wonderful World of Christmas anytime of year. Yes, some may find this slightly tired Elvis pseudo Christmas sound a bad thing- and if it were anyone else, I’d agree. Fortunately, these tunes are still soft seasonal sweetness for a rotating holiday dinner playlist.  Elvis die-hards, fans of his later sound, seventies soul lovers, and those in need of secular delights can take up Elvis Sings the Wonderful World of Christmas again and again.  Those who like their carols traditional should stick with the 1957 album, but at least Elvis offers the best of both worlds!

 

Of course, unlike the entirely unique Elvis Sings the Wonderful World of Christmas, the 1958 reissue of Elvis’ Christmas Album is just that, a re-release with an identical line up to the original record.  This RCA issue is the one with the snowy blue cover sleeve, which is probably more iconic for some than the original red presents edition that subsequently returned for the brief CD release. I have a picture of my parents from the Christmas before they were married, and you can clearly see this album in the background, no lie!  The 1970 Pickwick redo record, however, shakes things up a bit- and not just with its jazzy red ribbons on the album cover.  While Blue Christmas, Silent Night, and White Christmas are retained among others from the original 1957 Elvis’ Christmas Album, they sound somewhat different here.  There’s no information of a rerecording or use of alternate takes- understandable on an obscure record, but not for Elvis- so maybe it’s just me being used to the CD versions.  That and this record might just be really flat!  After all, one shouldn’t actually play Elvis records anymore- just display them.  

Unfortunately, the four B-side gospel tracks are gone from this 10 tune, paired down Pickwick set, having been replaced with If Everyday Was Just Like Christmas and Mama Liked the Roses.  While If Everyday Was Just Like Christmas pays for the affordable price of admission on the reissue with its heartfelt sentimentality, Mama Liked the Roses is an odd selection for a Christmas album.  It’s a nice memorial ditty indeed, but it’s just a bit out of place.  Then again, I suppose some might have found the gospel inclusions on Elvis’ Christmas Album in 1957 unusual, but are they not quintessential holiday listens now? 

Collectors of the record editions can find Elvis Sings the Wonderful World of Christmas or the Pickwick do over if you search long enough, but fortunately, you don’t have to keep on such valuable vinyl Yule after Yule. The Christmas Peace and Elvis Christmas CDs combine all Elvis’ holiday music in one convenient place, and digital options and MP3 downloads make it much easier to keep your seasonal Presley favorites handy.  Though dated with some unique sounds and track choices, Elvis Sings the Wonderful World of Christmas is perfect for fans of a soulful secular season, and seriously, there is no reason to not have any version of Elvis’ Christmas Album handy every December. 

Whew!

Jailhouse Rock

Jailhouse Rock Full of Elvis’ Charm and Finery

By Kristin Battestella

You’ve been educated previously about my favorite Elvis Presley picture King Creole.  Though Jailhouse Rock is my very close second, this 1957 romp is probably one of his most famous- if not THEE most lauded of his films.  Everyone knows the iconic titular dance number; and odd trivia like Elvis’ prisoner number dominate among fans of the King of Rock ‘n Roll.  Add compelling drama and musical fifties delights, and honestly, what’s not to love?

Vince Everett’s (Presley) temper lands him a stint in the penitentiary along side washed up country singer Hunk Houghton (Mickey Shaughnessy).  Although Vince can carry a tune, Hunk teaches him the ropes on the inside, how to play his guitar- and most importantly, the cruelty of the music industry.  Hunk hopes to get back into the biz with Vince when they get out, but upon his early release, Vince strikes out on his own.  After toiling with no money and no singing breaks, he meets recording scout Peggy Van Alden (Judy Tyler) and cuts a record.  Peggy has faith in Vince and his music, and the two start up their own label after strikeouts and betrayal from the bigger recording companies.  Vince and his manager Mr. Shores (Vaughn Taylor) enjoy counting the money, and Vince finds himself in Hollywood with dames and the convertible he always wanted.  But is the price of fame worth the cost of Vince’s friendships and where he comes from?

Though Elvis is of course known for his irreplaceable music first and foremost and his often less than stellar acting career second, Jailhouse Rock is one of his finer performances- before all the carbon copy song snoozers. His Vince Everett is allowed time to develop his anger and rebellious youth before we get to all the singing and dancing. Yes, the music is an integral part of the story, but this isn’t the usual lighthearted fair with huge, colorful production numbers every ten minutes. Elvis is going to prison, getting his hair cut, and suffering in coal labor- this is heavy stuff for the screaming fans of 1957! By time we get to ‘Young and Beautiful’ fifteen minutes in, we don’t think it’s just an excuse for Elvis to sing.  Vince’s meager prison rising and subsequent stardom feel realistic and believable.  Sure, Jailhouse Rock is not unlike Elvis’ own humble beginnings-perhaps no other character has him so nearly playing himself, and the audience knows this.  However, Elvis brings his real emotion, skill, and more to Vince’s style and journey - be it his rough side, great sarcasm, or that undeniable singing persona.  He’s Elvis; he can’t really help that part, can he? Even if you somehow just landed on this planet and don’t know who Elvis is, you see him perform ‘Don’t Leave Me Now’ and you are hooked.

Balancing Elvis onscreen can’t be easy, but Judy Tyler (The Howdy Doody Show) is great as the fifties dressed but educated businesswoman who knows how to keep her head in the tough music business.  Of course, Peggy does harbor a wonderful soft spot, doesn’t she?  Her wavering over Vince is very well played, not girlie girl and melodramatic like so many of the over the top ladies of the day.  Instead of being merely a love interest, Peggy is a great antithesis and fulcrum for Vince because she can see beyond the fame and dollars.  Tyler is so lovely and charming here, and it is such a shame her life was cut short only weeks after completing filming.  Likewise, Mickey Shaughnessy’s (From Here to Eternity) Hunk Houghton adds layers to the prison life with his first guitar ditty ‘One More Day’. Indeed the harsh support is not in the traditional fifties musical atmosphere we expect.  We know Hunk might be a tender soul if it weren’t for the sour of show business and the prison system he’s established for himself.  Although he gets Vince straight laced and on the musical path, we don’t like when Hunk comes sniffing around Vince again. However, the audience feels for him all the same when Vince gives him one humble on the chin after another.  Eventually something has to give between the two former kings of Cell Block 21. Thankfully, Vaughn Taylor (Psycho) is a lot of fun as the bespectacled calculator Mr. Shores and keeps Jailhouse Rock light hearted when needed, too.

Naturally, if you don’t like good old-fashioned rock and roll or classic fifties looks and musical stylings, you might not be interested in Jailhouse Rock. Though black and white (forget those blasphemous colorized versions), the mid-century clothes and accessories are fun to see.  How swanky everything looks- the drinking and cigarettes, upturned collars, plenty of greased hair, the old record players and studio design.  I mean, they have record booths!  The cars are sweet and the pads are mod.  We even get a great old-fashioned montage with ‘Treat me Nice’, too.  Of course, the big jailhouse titular number an hour into the film is, well, its ‘Jailhouse Rock’.  We don’t have many more fifties iconic Americana than this.  Ironically, the routine is black and white cardboard, small scale, film within a film tight, all men, and not the best dancing to some by today’s standards. With that said, the streamline design, risqué moves, and damn fine music still works specifically because it is so different than other Broadway styled spectacles of the time. Jailhouse Rock is not There’s No Business Like Show Business. Time isn’t wasted on such cinematic choruses.   Actually, there’s not even that many songs here- after ‘(You’re So Square) Baby I Don’t Care’, we end wonderfully with a ‘Young and Beautiful’ reprisal.  A musical without a lot of music? It just goes to show you maybe Elvis can really act after all.

Director Richard Thorpe (Knights of the Round Table, Ivanhoe, The Prisoner of Zenda) keeps Jailhouse Rock together with a nice blend of story and drama, allowing for performance in a plot that just happens to be about a singer and some music.  Though well paced and evenly displayed here, Vince’s humble roots, rise to the top, and errors of the high life learned are perhaps predictable to us now.  Nedrick Young (The Defiant Ones) and Guy Trosper’s (The Spy Who Came in from the Cold) fine and mature tale is actually fairly modern and still plays well today.  Though innocent for contemporary youthful audiences, Jailhouse Rock was actually kind of kinky and suggestive for its time. Oh my goodness prison whippings and women lying on beds!  What, also, is implied with the forced studio coupling of Sherry (Jennifer Holden) with Vince?  Was this one of those suggestive gay cover-ups- only to have Sherry ‘converted’ by a kiss from Elvis?  There’s certainly some steamy and amusing subtext- particularly in the titular routine- for those who want to find it.

Honestly, this is the first time I’ve sat down with Jailhouse Rock since seeing Emmy nominated and Golden Globe winner Jonathan Rhys Meyers (The Tudors) in the 2005 television biopic Elvis. I’m a little surprised to see how alike the shows are.  Meyers puts on his best angry, brooding, hip, and sexy; yet, it doesn’t quite compare.  Jailhouse Rock is still vivid, serious, and heavy enough for today’s complex audiences.  Of course, the prophetic Hollywood gone awry plot here is wonderfully ironic, too.  Whether by his own acceptance or management interference, Elvis does sell out later in film- Tickle Me and Fun in Acapulco? Come on.  We laugh at the woefully bad majority of Elvis’ pictures indeed- and yet like the gawking crew within Jailhouse Rock, we still can’t look away, 50 years later.

Available in several DVD editions, my older copy of Jailhouse Rock offers both full and widescreen, and subtitles not always matching the dialogue as its biggest extra offerings. Unfortunately, it doesn’t play in any of my computers for screen captures. Bummer.  Thankfully, fancy sets and a new blu-ray edition have all the glory, bells, and whistles for collectors and Elvis enthusiasts. Casual classic fans or musical lovers and budding Elvis aficionados also can’t go wrong with a television viewing or other affordable rental option. Spend the night doing a little Jailhouse Rock and you’ll understand why Elvis is, well, Elvis. 

King Creole

King Creole One of Elvis’ Finest

By Kristin Battestella

I’m biased I’ll admit it. King Creole is my favorite Elvis picture. Yes, the story of a New Orleans bad boy turned singer is full of excuses for The King of Rock and Roll to sing. Nevertheless, the teen angst, all around acting talent, and yes some dang fine tunes keep this 1958 classic, well, classic.

Danny Fisher (Presley) has flunked out of school. He’s got a chip on his shoulder, and working before and after classes didn’t help. After his wife’s death, Danny’s Father (Dean Jagger) lost his pharmacy and sunk into cowardly despair. Refusing to crawl like his Old Man, Danny sings at the King Creole under the tutelage of owner Charlie LeGrand (Paul Stewart, Citizen Kane, Deadline USA). The Creole is the only club in town not owned by Maxi Fields (Walter Matthau); and Danny feels the pinch from Maxi, his alcoholic girl Ronnie (Carolyn Jones), a thug named Shark (Vic Morrow, Roots, Combat!), and his true love interest Nellie (Dolores Har). Will he rise above the beat down world of New Orleans?

Writers Herbet Baker (The Flip Wilson Show, The Girl Can’t Help It) and Michael Gazzo (better known as Frankie Pentangeli in The Godfather, Part II) shake up Harold Robbins’ 1952 novel A Stone for Danny Fisher by turning the literary Jewish boxer into a onscreen bayou singer. Changes for Elvis, yes, but the result is a complex and well rounded picture-unlike all those jingle and jiggle fluff pictures for which Presley later became so infamous. Give Elvis some worth to say and put fine people around him and look what happens! There’s no sand and surf in sight here, but there’s plenty of New Orleans and its flavor in King Creole. From all the talk of Bourbon street, the jazz, the crawfish, lyrics about the bayou-perhaps it’s stereotypical, but it’s a great mood. Sure, he was from Mississippi, but it’s also a nice touch to have a genuine Southern boy as our lead.

Well then, let’s talk about the man and the music, shall we? It is after all, what draws most people to watch King Creole. Not only does the King look good and sing great hits, but he can also act. The unsettled working class home, troubles with his struggling father, and the inability to get the girl and do what he wants to do give Elvis plenty to get emotional about. He’s believable as a humble kid who just happens to sing pretty darn good. Maybe there are similar touches in Presley’s Jailhouse Rock the year before, but there’s less fun and more angst here for Elvis to milk. I’m not a swooning fan or one of those who doesn’t believe Elvis is dead, but one cannot doubt that he made some great films after viewing King Creole. And maybe, just maybe, Presley’s films were successful because he did have some acting skill. Okay, certainly hits like ‘Hard Headed Woman’, ‘Trouble’ and the titular track have something to do with Elvis’ charm here. We wouldn’t want our boy with the voice to make it if we didn’t like his music. The softer songs like ‘Don’t Ask Me Why’ and ‘As Long As I Have You’ will make the ladies swoon, but my favorite has to be ‘Crawfish’. Its eponymous word is just so dang catchy!

I’ve seen King Creole probably a dozen times, and until recently, I didn’t realize that Carolyn Jones-Morticia Addams on the original Addams Family- plays used and abused dame Ronnie. For shame on my classic film buff laurels, yes, but it’s also a great outing from Jones. Her hair is short, her look is sexy-she would be a real classy lady if it weren’t for Walter Matthau’s Maxie. Loved by modern audiences for his delightful Grumpy Old Men pictures and The Odd Couple pairings with Jack Lemmon; the late Matthau is young, lean, mean-and he’s lynching off Danny’s chance to make it big. We’re so used to seeing him in humorous parts, but Matthau has the stature and ruthlessness here to keep Elvis on his toes. Rounding out the cast with solid performances are Jan Shepard (The Virginian) as sister Mimi, good girl love interest Nellie (Dolores Hart, Loving You), and a wonderfully broken and redeemed Dean Jagger (an Oscar winner for Twelve O’Clock High) as Mr. Fisher. Everyone seems so cookie cutter on the surface; but as our tale unravels, we see how murky and troublesome life is for all involved.

My nieces are Elvis fans and don’t mind black and white films, but ye olde silver screen might turn some off today. It’s a shame that some would refuse to watch so many wonderful pictures due to the absence of color, but it’s a sad fact. We’d like to have some fantastic, early Technicolor shows from Elvis, sure, but the gray and dark cinematography helps the moody club scenery. The lack of flair visually shows the fine line between the good life and the dark New Orleans underworld. Without big colorful, outlandish music productions, King Creole has to stand on all its other filmmaking merits.

Despite these acting and musical wonders, King Creole’s end is a little depressing. After plenty of fine music, Oscar winning director Michael Curtiz (Casablanca, Yankee Doodle Dandy, Mildred Pierce, White Christmas, We’re No Angels, The Adventures of Robin Hood, okay I’ll stop!) let’s things get really, rough, serious, and heavy in the latter third of the picture. It’s good for drama, certainly, but some may prefer all those contrived, easy Elvis films to come instead of the bleak picture presented in King Creole. I don’t care; I’ll take this one over G.I. Blues, Kissing Cousins, or Blue Hawaii any day. Even Viva Las Vegas has all the romantic comedy pomp and circumstance of Elvis’ paring with Ann Margaret-and the feathers it may have ruffled off screen. There’s nothing wrong with King Creole’s fifties melodrama, and it deserves to be ranked among Elvis’ better, more complete pictures like Jailhouse Rock and Flaming Star. With such classic early pictures, it’s a wonder why Elvis’ entourage turned him from gritty acting towards all that fluff.

Presley fans certainly know and love King Creole, as should classic buffs and any others fiendish for fine film. Modern audiences looking for serious, intelligent drama blending music and a fine ensemble can take an affordable chance on several DVD editions or Elvis sets. The disc covers push the guitar and the pretty girls, but there’s everything a viewer needs here. After all, how can you not love the King…Creole?

Elvis' Christmas Album

Reissue of Elvis’ Christmas Album Essential

By Kristin Battestella

 

I grew up with four Christmas compact discs (we won’t mention the slew of records). One of them was, of course, Elvis’ Christmas Album. You’ve most likely not had a holiday season without it either, considering the 1957 release has sold an estimated nine million copies. Why then is this CD out of print? It’s just not Christmas without that red cover adored with Christmas Presents and Elvis’ face-for those folks who swear their mall’s Santa is The King.

Santa Claus Is Back In Town starts the set off in proper rock and roll fashion. This original composition has everything we love about Elvis and the way his music changed the medium forever. I don’t like a lot of secular tunes, but Elvis isn’t poking fun like I feel some of today’s bubble gum pop are doing. Great lyrics and delivery here. You know you’re going to have a good time listening just from this opener.

After the humorous chit chat to start the track, Elvis treats us to a bluesy rendition of White Christmas. More in the spirit of The Drifters than Bing Crosby, this tune has just as much singability and is equally familiar. The arrangement works for Elvis and his voice and style.

Here Comes Santa Claus continues the fun, upbeat vibe. Elvis adds more rock to this country tune. Even though the original LP was divided with the secular songs on side A and the religious material on the flipside, Elvis’ delivery give strength and Christmas meaning to each song. “Santa knows that we’re God’s children…” you can’t help but finish the whole verse!

I’ll Be Home For Christmas is the first slow tune from Elvis. His beloved Love Me Tender and Are You Lonesome Tonight vibes take on a new lonely feeling here. Perhaps there are better known renditions or superior vocalists that have taken on this track, but here Elvis’ slow blues and even a bit of cracking notes sell the holiday melancholy.

Elvis’ Blue Christmas is just that. It’s sad and tugging at your heartstrings along with that bluesy guitar, yet somehow makes this touch of melancholy fun. Who would have thought Blue Christmas would be the chance to let loose? Anyone can call themselves an Elvis impersonator just by saying ‘BlueBlueBlue Christmas.’

The single Santa Bring My Baby Back To Me is still great for a holiday dance party. Although it’s very short at under two minutes, it’s a catchy little tune in the spirit of Elvis’ rock repertoire.

 

After such hip tunes, Elvis’ Christmas Album presents several traditional carol and gospel tracks. Oh Little Town of Bethlehem slows things down, but Elvis is able to take his time. His singing range is spotlighted here with long, low notes and powerful lyrics.

Silent Night continues the Christmas lullaby feeling. It’s so slow and enchanting with Elvis’ usual backers The Jordanaires harmonizing sweetly beside him. One might think such soft sounds are meant for a meaningful finish, but Silent Night is placed nearer the middle of the album. The placement here, however, works, because we close out with a set of powerfully soft religious tunes. I imagine back in the day this was done for strategic reasons and market appeal, but this grouping allows for pause after all the hip rock and Christmas fun songs.

Today it’s a little surprising to conclude Elvis’ Christmas Album with four gospel tracks. There’s more traditional fair to be had, of course, and the total album is rather short at thirty minutes. Most singers today wouldn’t mix genres-not on the same album anyway-but in the fifties it seems it would have been more acceptable somehow, with other artists like Kate Smith and Frank Sinatra recording religious music as well as pop. These songs are, of course, now Christmas staples to me because of this album.

Peace In The Valley is a beautiful song itself lyrically, but Elvis’ low vibes and echoes again from The Jordanaires do make this a perfect song. It’s the dead of winter, nature’s darkest hour coupled with near a capella talk of lions laying with lambs, changes ‘from this creature that I am’, no sadness, and no sorrow. Truly lovely Christmas sentiments.

I Believe continues the Christian ideals and highlight of Elvis’ voice. As much fun as the pop tunes feel and sound, there’s something extra about Elvis’ gospel music. When he says I Believe, you believe him. Even when Elvis nearly cracks towards the end of the song, its okay. He didn’t mess up. On the contrary it makes each note more meaningful.

We’re treated to more of the same with Take My Hand Precious Lord. Normally I would find such seemingly redundant tunes annoying, but taken together, these final four tracks are quite the religious statement. Peace in Valley shows the joys promised, I Believe the faith it takes, Take My Hand the love of Christ, and finally It Is No Secret What God Can Do as the final witness.

It Is No Secret What God Can Do is a fitting place to conclude Elvis’ Christmas Album. It’s words are the perfect place of reflection at midnight on Christmas Eve, and Elvis’ range is perfect. During the chorus the King of Rock and Roll can awe us with his vocals. On the verses, however, it’s as if Elvis is speaking directly to you. Elvis, himself a spiritual person, makes quite a statement with these closing tunes. Sure we have all that about Santa Claus and presents, but Elvis’ Christmas Album keeps the reason for the season at heart.

 

After years of success and the keeping of holiday memories, I was surprised to see that Elvis’ Christmas Album is now out of print. These recordings are of course available on other sets-including Christmas Peace, Elvis Christmas, and I also love Elvis Sings The Wonderful World of Christmas- but the pull of this iconic album reeks with the distaste of special ultimate super duper edition re releases that are for the sake of sales, not holiday tradition. Hang on to those cassettes and LPs, folks!

 

Elvis’ Christmas Album is an essential listen in your household this holiday season. Even if your not a Presley fan, you can sing, dance, get spiritual, remember the old, and make new memories with this Christmas staple.