Track Listing

1. That's Alright Mama
2. Blue Moon Of Kentucky
3. Good Rockin' Tonight
4. I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine
5. Milk Cow Blues Boogie
6. You're A Heartbreaker
7. Baby Let's Play House
8. I'm Left You're Right She's Gone
9. I Forgot To Remember To Forget
10. Mystery Train
11. I Love You Because
12. Harbor Lights
13. Tomorrow Night
14. I'll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin')
15. Just Because
16. I'm Left You're Right She's Gone (2)
17. Trying To Get To You
18. When It Rains It Really Pours
19. My Happiness
20. That's When Your Heartaches Begin
21. I'll Never Stand In Your Way
22. It Wouldn't Be The Same Without You
23. I Love You Because (2)
24. That's Alright Mama (2)
25. Blue Moon Of Kentucky (2)
26. Blue Moon (2)
27. I'll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin')(2)
28. I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine (2)
29. I'm Left You're Right She's Gone (3)
30. Fool Fool Fool
31. Shake Rattle And Roll
32. I'm Left You're Right She's Gone (4)
33. That's Alright Mama (3)
34. Money Honey
35. Tweedle Dee
36. I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine (3)
37. Hearts Of Stone

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #29623 in Music
• Released on: 2005-02-05
• Number of discs: 2
• Dimensions: .27 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Review
In 1954 a young Elvis Presley made musical and cultural history when he, lead guitarist Scotty Moore, and bassist Bill Black got together via Sam Phillips in Phillips's Memphis-based Sun Studios... and basically invented rock & roll. What you hear in these raw, wonderful '50s-era recordings is a perfect blend of American musical idioms, including country, blues, R&B, and Tin Pan Alley pop, all rolled into one delicious new sound. These tracks are now all legendary--and Sunrise is yet another repackaging of these tunes (making previous Sun compilations obsolete), this one supposedly featuring every outtake and "alternative" take from Presley's Sun years. A must for every serious student of rock music and popular culture. --Bill Holdship

CD Description
Originally released as 1975's THE SUN SESSIONS, SUNRISE is a two-disc compilation of early Elvis Presley material that showcases his work at Sam Phillips' Sun Studios. Here, one can hear the seeds of rock and roll being sown by this son ofthe South whose extraordinary range belied the fact that hewas a self-taught musician. Presley's musical loves are apparent: Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup ("That's All Right"), bluegrass legend Bill Monroe ("Blue Moon Of Kentucky") and R&B artists Junior Parker ("Mystery Train") and Roy Brown ("Good Rockin' Tonight"). The team of guitarist Scotty Moore and bass player Bill Black provided an excellent base for Presley's vocals which oozed like honey on slower fare such as "Blue Moon" and "Harbor Lights" and snarled when tackling faster material such as "Just Because".
SUNRISE now includes a number of previously unreleased live and studio acetates of covers ranging from a melancholic take on Jimmy Wakely's "It Wouldn't Be The Same Without You" to spirited readings of songs more closely associated with Big Joe Turner ("Shake, Rattle & Roll") and Laverne Baker ("Tweedle Dee").

Customer Reviews

Sun
The Sun sessions are the birth of Rock N' Roll; the 1st recordings in the genre and arguably still the greatest. There has been cries of Rock Around The Clock (released the summer Elvis 1st entered the studio) and Rocket 88, those 2 recordings were the first Rock N' Roll singles but all the groundwork, passion, excitement was started by Elvis Presley; he laid the groundwork. Bill Haley has about as much in common with what Elvis was doing musically as Ringo does with Dylan. If it wasn't for Presley, rock would have been just a passing fad like The Twist and Skiffle.

Elvis' voice is roar and uncontrollable: in one second baritone the next a high shriek, this is best displayed on Milk Cow Blues. Elvis was the 1st singer we didn't quite understand and it didn't matter.

The basis of the Sun sessions is complete musical freedom; Elvis had a great memory for obscure songs. Also growing up in black communities meant he bypassed the music racial divide. What Elvis does is combine Rhythm and Blues, Gospel, Country and performs it in a completely different way. Country songs would become blues songs, blues songs rockers, the lines would be blurred.

A huge mention should go out to Scotty Moore (guitar), Bill Black (bass) and Sam Phillips (producer). Elvis, Scotty and Bill communicate in complete musical harmony. During Lets Play House the music halts and Elvis snears....

''Come on back and meet a-little girl so we can play some house''

Bill bass crawls along those lines eventually bringing Scotty back in.
Scotty Moore's guitar playing is vital; the music accompaniment to Elvis' voice. He crossed RaB and country to change guitar. As a guitarist he was extremely vocal; his solo in Blue Moon Of Kentucky and That's All right are prime examples; you can sing them all.

Sam Phillips deserves a big mention, indulging Elvis' massive musical variety because of his huge wish to find a white singer that singed black. His production is raw and unbeatable; way better then the polish on the subsequent RCA material (jailhouse rock).

All 4 guys perform with a naivety, excitement and edginess which is hard to appreciate in hindsight.

Due to 3 huge controversial changes in his carear, every fan has there viewpoint: Those who held the faith during the 60s and 70s, or, the 50's purists. I lean more to the 50's purists but like some of the latter stuff (Guitar Man, Suspicious Minds) but within that category there are those that dismiss everything Elvis made after Sun. I find that ridicules because by saying that you're denying such tracks as Heartbreak Hotel, Hound Dog, King Creole. True more polished and different from the Sun stuff but the obvious extension really; Sun created rock, RCA introduced it on the world.

The variety here makes great proof that early on Elvis wanted to be a all round entertainer. As well as been a fan of old black geezers he also liked Dean Martin (which explains 'its now of never'). The material ranges from beautiful ballads such as 'Blue Moon' (with singing in falsetto), country songs such as 'I Forgot to Remember to Forget'. Gospel tinged 'Trying to get to you' is one of the big stand out tracks, Elvis would himself revive this song for his 68 Comeback Special.

It is the rockers that are best remembered though. Mystery Train's lyrics are so simple yet so perfect; Good Rockin is my favourite Elvis track bar none, the attitude and sexual tension in lyrics like...

''Meet me in a hurry behind the bar, don't you be afraid and I'll do you know harm, I want you to bring along my rockin shoes cos tonight where gonna rock away all my blues''

Milk Cow Blues see's Elvis at his most aggressive and Baby Lets Play House with its ''Babybabybbbbaby'' intro is simply incredible.

Of the 5 singles released they hit on a great formula of pairing a rocker with a country song (Good Rockin' Tonight and I Don't Care If the Sun Don't Shine). The material has been repackaged many times, most notably on For LP Fans Only which was the only place to obtain them for many years, but also 1987's The Complete Sun Sessions. Sunrise sees the addition of a 2nd disc which unfortunately bumps the price up. It contains the alternative versions and unreleased live tracks. The live tracks are extremely bad quality and are of only partial interest. The alternative versions are good but it's the 1st disc you will play time and time again. The packaging is classy, I personally didn't feel short changed.

THE HOLY GRAIL OF ROCK N ROLL
All too often the term 'essential' is tagged to CDs, well I can tell you that if any CD deserved to be called essential, this is it.

This is the birth of rock n roll music, when an unknown Elvis Presley first moulded country, blues, gospel and rythm and blues.

This is not only the birth of rock music, but the essence of rock, without it no Beatles, Stones, Zeppelin or infact music as we know it now.

All of the tracks still sparkle with raw energy, vitality and originality that all who followed tried to emulate, but never could.

PERFECTION
One double cd for which five stars seem insufficient. The second of these two cds is pure history - to be listened to alongside Peter Guralnick's wonderful biography: from the 'My Happiness' recorded at Elvis' own expense through early tentative take of 'I Love You Because' to crackly sounding live tracks such as the superb 'Tweedle Dee'.
But it is the first cd that you will listen to again and again with unalloyed pleasure. Those great singles in which Elvis (with Scotty, Bill and the great Sam Phillips) can be heard inventing rock'n'roll are all present and correct from 'That's All Right' to the supernaturally brilliant 'Mystery Train'. The none-single tracks are equally thrilling especially the ghostly 'Blue Moon' and the soulful 'Trying To Get To You'.
This music is the result of incredibly patient and persistent work over a long period and yet sounds as easy as breathing.This is pure joy.