Review of Elvis The Great Performances (Volume 1)

Introduction

The star. The legend. The King. From the day Elvis shot to fame to the day he died, bloated and drugged up, on August 16, 1977 he was the finest entertainer ever. In fact, since his death, he has become even more infamous.

Elvis - The Great Performances chronicles the life of The King through an interestive and insightful narrative in the 50min documentary, to 15 of his best songs. Tracks such as "Hound Dog", "Blue Suede Shoes" and "Teddy Bear" are all here, accompanied by footage shot in the 50s, 60s and 70s - making this a very authentic disc. It is narrated by his long-term friend, George Klein, and the documentary takes you through his first ever TV performance to his last one, as `The Singing Cheeseburger` sings "Unchained Melody". Although physically he has changed, his voice is still full of that raw intensity that shot the poor truck driver to fame in the 50s.

Video

It is presented in 4:3 Fullscreen, a mixture of colour and black & white footage, shot throughout his 20 year `reign`. The print (or make that prints) is crisp throughout, and it is free of dust or grain. Although a remastered, anamorphic widescreen, transfer would have been great (and it would have improved the quality slightly), seeing Elvis in traditional form does add some authenticity to it.

Each track is performed differently, whether it`s his different hairstyles, dance routines or just general emotions and attitudes at the time of the recording.

Audio

A choice of a DD 5.1 or Dolby Stereo track is on offer. The DD 5.1 track makes good use of the surrounds, so the addictive rhythm of the songs are reproduced well in crisp surround sound. The stereo track is a good alternative if you don`t have a 5.1 setup, but of course, the impact you get from the surrounds is much better.

The main audio stream of the narration is clear and crisp, and the ambience levels during the songs are just right. If you don`t care for the visual side of the disc, and just want 15 of Elvis` finest songs in their finest quality, this still would be a wise purchase.

Features

The main extra on the disc is a photo gallery, a dozen or so stills from his various performances. As well as this (and face it, it`s a sparse extra), there are some good interactive menus, first of all asking you what audio setup you want, before you get the choice of watching the documentary, watching one of the 15 songs (some of the songs are incorporated into the documentary), watching the videos of Elvis with friends and family (again, some of these are in the documentary) or taking a look at the photo gallery.

Since the nature of the disc is to inform you, you don`t feel too hard done by that a few photos is the only piece of additional material.

Conclusion

The documentary is excellent, really insightful and it does give you a real glimpse into the life of The King. This is the first volume of The Great Performances trilogy, so no doubt other aspects of his life will be covered in later editions.

Disc wise, it`s good, apart from the sparse extras, hence the low mark, although overall, since this is an authentic and enjoyable insight, the overall score is much higher.

Whether you`re a die hard Elvis fan, a music lover, or if you just want to know more about one of the most famous people of the 20th century, you can`t get much better than this. Recommended.