We have always loved listening to songs by Elvis, be it his super hit songs, or songs from his numerous movie soundtracks. Some highly theatrical tunes, which, could even be heard in Classic Hollywood or Broadway musicals.

If you're looking for something exciting from Elvis Presley, in the vein of the mid 60s, sail away on the funky showboat with Elvis and his crew.

This is a great addition to any collection.  I think you have to be an Elvis to enjoy this though. It is not a great selection of songs, as most of Elvis' movies from the mid to late 60's did not offer great quality songs anyway. If you are an Elvis fan, like I am, you will take great joy in tuning in just to know what this pressing has in store. So, except for a few, Elvis's movie soundtracks are either generally great or generally bad, although some of the bad soundtracks include a couple of decent songs. However, the "Frankie and Johnny" soundtrack is an anomaly because most of it is listenable and quite enjoyable, yet none of the songs rises to the level of greatness. Often, the arrangements of these songs are not ideal, and Elvis was not in the best voice during these sessions either. The highlights of the album for me are Please Don't Stop Loving Me, Down by the Riverside / When the Saints Go Marching In, and Hard Luck. That last song features good harmonica playing by Charlie McCoy, who played on a lot of Elvis's recordings in the 1960s and 70s.

The rest of the songs do not instigate any exciting listening experiences and the case is certainly made for Petunia, the gardener's daughter. Still, the out-takes of even that tune provide a fresh look for avid collectors. A gypsy-like song by the name Chesay is sheer pleasure and is wonderfully mastered by Elvis. After all he has a voice to make a song which might be bad into really good. The song again is not a great but works quite well sung in a gypsy camp in the film. As far as the ballads go, in this album we are treated with more than the usual one or two. Beginner's luck and coming near the end strong and emotional Please don't stop loving me are real cult classics that command repeat performances. In every Elvis soundtrack there's a "feel good", celebration of life, and here we find Shout it Out!, a mixed bag of Rock and Dixieland and Hollywood, a bit of an anachronism, but not much more so than what was heard in Elvis' first movie, the Civil war era drama, the very beautiful "Love Me Tender".

Elvis' twentieth movie release even though on a Mono playing mode sounds fantastic, with truly excellent premastering bringing a richness and warmth to these recordings that I for one, have never heard before.

The sound quality is quite good considering it's from a 50-year-old film and I have just heard it once. It's quite enjoyable and listenable. Highly recommended.

Rating: ****

Label: RCA Victor

Pressing: Made in India

Format: Mono

Year: 1966

Reviewed by Verus Ferreira