Like Elvis Used to Do

like elvis used to do

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
Covers of 23 pop gems immortalized by Elvis Presley, all recorded in Memphis at the Sun Studio with a select band of sidemen. Includes versions of 'All Shook Up', 'Heartbreak Hotel', 'Hound Dog', 'Viva Las Vegas', 'Suspicious Minds', 'Burnin' Love', 'Baby --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Like Elvis Used to Do,Billy Swan,Audium Entertainment,Country & Western,Country-Rock,Pop,Rock,Rock/Pop


Like Elvis Used to Do
Like Elvis Used to Do
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • Elvis like Billy Swan did them
  • Not Like Elvis Used to Do
  • Buy the Import!
  • Billy Swan- fine job
  • I Can Help Elvis
Like Elvis Used to Do
Billy Swan
Manufacturer: Audium Entertainment
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

GeneralGeneral | Country | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Rock | Styles | Music
Country RockCountry Rock | Rock | Styles | Music
Pop RockPop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00004SBW6
Release Date: 2000-04-11

Tracks:

  1. Suspicious Minds
  2. Mystery Train
  3. Wooden Heart
  4. Blue Moon Of Kentucky
  5. Viva Las Vegas
  6. Too Much
  7. Milk Cow Blues Boogie
  8. Heartbreak Hotel
  9. Jailhouse Rock/King Creole
  10. Love Me Tender
  11. Sun Medley: Baby, Let's Play House/I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone/You're A Heartbreaker...
  12. Burnin' Love
  13. Memphis Rocks
  14. That's All Right (Mama)

Album Description

Covers of 23 pop gems immortalized by Elvis Presley, all recorded in Memphis at the Sun Studio with a select band of sidemen. Includes versions of 'All Shook Up', 'Heartbreak Hotel', 'Hound Dog', 'Viva Las Vegas', 'Suspicious Minds', 'Burnin' Love', 'Baby

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Elvis like Billy Swan did them.......2006-05-11

This CD title is inaccurate. The songs are not "Like Elvis Used to Do." These are songs Elvis used to do but done like Billy Swan would (and did) do them.

My wife hates this CD because the songs aren't like Elvis did them. As I keep pointing out to her, if you want the songs how Elvis did them, buy Elvis. What makes these so great is what Billy Swan does for them. Had Elvis never done these songs, many of them would have been hits for Billy Swan.

I am not a huge Billy Swan fan. In fact, until recently, the only song I knew was "I Can Help". I ordered a CD named I Can Help (there appear to be at least 3 different CDs with the same name). That CD contains "Don't Be Cruel" and "All Shook Up", both of which are excellent renditions. That prompted me to search out this version of Like Elvis Used to Do and buy it. I wasn't disappointed. Billy Swan has a captivating voice and style and hearing his versions of these songs is worth the money.

If you're a diehard Elvis fan you may not like the new twist that Billy Swan adds to these tracks but otherwise, you'll probably agree with me that these would all have been big hits for Billy Swan had Elvis never done them.

5 out of 5 stars Not Like Elvis Used to Do.......2005-01-05

Billy Swan sings songs that Elvis recorded, but he sings them his way, not the Elvis way. Billy Swan is not Elvis, thank goodness. So, if in your mind the only way an "Elvis song" should be sung is the way Elvis did it, this CD is not for you. On the other hand, if you can appreciate different stylings by different artists of the same song, and you like Billy Swan's work, which I do, then you should enjoy this CD.

4 out of 5 stars Buy the Import!.......2000-10-04

If you want to buy this cd (and it is well worth getting) please make sureyou get the import either here or thruAmazon UK. It has nine extra songs and you'll be missing a large part of the charm of a fine album if you settle for the US version. My two favoriteson the whole album, Hound Dog & I Want You, I Need You, I Love You, are among the missing tracks. And although these are Elvis classics I honestly think I'd rather hear Billy Swan's versions.Swan slows down and relaxes both (although Hound Dog still has a nicebuzz in his voice) that in a bizarreway makes each song more mature and adult than Elvis's famous versions.And since Elvis was a James Dean fanSwan's I Used To Be James Dean fitsright in perfectly. This album is offbeat and fun. If you liked Swan'sI Can Help voice and were an Elvisfan, get this album. It's actuallyseems kinda inspired. It's not just product. Swan's a throwback in a good way. People seldom try like thisanymore. Worth having.

5 out of 5 stars Billy Swan- fine job.......2000-06-30

When I first listened to this cd I did not like it...I guess I was expecting more of an Elvis sound but the 2nd time I listened to it....I fell in love with it and I can't get enough of listening to it now. I truly love it.

4 out of 5 stars I Can Help Elvis.......2000-06-30

By 1974, rock and roll had seen it best days. The music scene was about to be shaken to it's foundations with the likes of Punk, Funk, Disco and Heavy Metal. The building blocks of '50's rock and roll were only heard on the far end of the AM radio dial, with names like "Honey Radio" as their barker. This dosen't mean that rock and roll was dead. Records like Dave Edmunds' " I Hear You Knockin' and Johnny Rivers' "Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu" showed rock and roll was breathing and sweating. Out of this period of retro rock came a singer and guitar player in Kris Kristofferson's backup band with an amazing song; "I Can Help". Billy Swan stepped out of the shadows and into the top forty history books with a great retro rock song, at a time when nobody thought it was a good idea. This record (of course) reached #1 in the fall of '74. Everyone loved it. Even Elvis. So much so that Presley recorded his own version the next year. Then, just as suddenly as he appeared, he was gone. Back to singing background vocals to "Me and Bobby McGee" in another town near you. 26 years later, Swan steps back in the spotlight to remind us of his love of Elvis and that old time rock and roll sound. The new album "Like Elvis Used To Do" is not at all like Elvis used to do, but that's fine. Swan is nobody's Elvis imitator. Rather, Swan used the backdrop of Presley's music to review various musical styles, styles not heard today by many under 30. "Heartbreak Hotel" is in the tradition of Cab Calloway. "Jailhouse Rock/King Creole" and "Viva Las Vegas" sound like an Ice Capades review of Doo Wop, while "Suspicious Minds" is given a positively giddy treatment, given the subject matter. I found the arrangements fun and unpredictable, and given the state of rock and roll, unpredictable is just fine by me. This isn't like Elvis used to do, but regardless, Billy Swan does alright (mama).
Like Elvis Used to Do
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • Elvis like Billy Swan did them
  • Not Like Elvis Used to Do
  • Buy the Import!
  • Billy Swan- fine job
  • I Can Help Elvis
Like Elvis Used to Do

ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

GeneralGeneral | Rock | Styles | Music
Pop RockPop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
CDs $7 - $10CDs $7 - $10 | Pop Rock | Pop | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music
All Bargain TitlesAll Bargain Titles | Pop Rock | Pop | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music
RockRock | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00002555S
Release Date: 1999-04-06

Tracks:

  1. Mystery Train
  2. Milcow Blues Boogie
  3. My Baby Left Me
  4. Mean Woman Blues
  5. Blue Moon Of Kentucky
  6. All Shook Up
  7. Heartbreak Hotel
  8. Hound Dog
  9. Wooden Heart
  10. Teddy Bear Medley
  11. I Want You , I Need You , I Love You
  12. Viva Las Vegas
  13. Suspicious Minds
  14. Burning Love
  15. Medley: Jailhouse Rock/King Creole
  16. Baby, I Don't Care(You're So Square)
  17. Too Much
  18. I Used To Be James Dean
  19. When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again
  20. Love Me Tander
  21. Memphis Rocks
  22. That's All Right Mama
  23. Sun Medley

Album Description

Covers of 23 pop gems immortalized by Elvis Presley, all recorded in Memphis at the Sun Studio with a select band of sidemen. Includes versions of 'All Shook Up', 'Heartbreak Hotel', 'Hound Dog', 'Viva Las Vegas', 'Suspicious Minds', 'Burnin' Love', 'Baby

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Elvis like Billy Swan did them.......2006-05-11

This CD title is inaccurate. The songs are not "Like Elvis Used to Do." These are songs Elvis used to do but done like Billy Swan would (and did) do them.

My wife hates this CD because the songs aren't like Elvis did them. As I keep pointing out to her, if you want the songs how Elvis did them, buy Elvis. What makes these so great is what Billy Swan does for them. Had Elvis never done these songs, many of them would have been hits for Billy Swan.

I am not a huge Billy Swan fan. In fact, until recently, the only song I knew was "I Can Help". I ordered a CD named I Can Help (there appear to be at least 3 different CDs with the same name). That CD contains "Don't Be Cruel" and "All Shook Up", both of which are excellent renditions. That prompted me to search out this version of Like Elvis Used to Do and buy it. I wasn't disappointed. Billy Swan has a captivating voice and style and hearing his versions of these songs is worth the money.

If you're a diehard Elvis fan you may not like the new twist that Billy Swan adds to these tracks but otherwise, you'll probably agree with me that these would all have been big hits for Billy Swan had Elvis never done them.

5 out of 5 stars Not Like Elvis Used to Do.......2005-01-05

Billy Swan sings songs that Elvis recorded, but he sings them his way, not the Elvis way. Billy Swan is not Elvis, thank goodness. So, if in your mind the only way an "Elvis song" should be sung is the way Elvis did it, this CD is not for you. On the other hand, if you can appreciate different stylings by different artists of the same song, and you like Billy Swan's work, which I do, then you should enjoy this CD.

4 out of 5 stars Buy the Import!.......2000-10-04

If you want to buy this cd (and it is well worth getting) please make sureyou get the import either here or thruAmazon UK. It has nine extra songs and you'll be missing a large part of the charm of a fine album if you settle for the US version. My two favoriteson the whole album, Hound Dog & I Want You, I Need You, I Love You, are among the missing tracks. And although these are Elvis classics I honestly think I'd rather hear Billy Swan's versions.Swan slows down and relaxes both (although Hound Dog still has a nicebuzz in his voice) that in a bizarreway makes each song more mature and adult than Elvis's famous versions.And since Elvis was a James Dean fanSwan's I Used To Be James Dean fitsright in perfectly. This album is offbeat and fun. If you liked Swan'sI Can Help voice and were an Elvisfan, get this album. It's actuallyseems kinda inspired. It's not just product. Swan's a throwback in a good way. People seldom try like thisanymore. Worth having.

5 out of 5 stars Billy Swan- fine job.......2000-06-30

When I first listened to this cd I did not like it...I guess I was expecting more of an Elvis sound but the 2nd time I listened to it....I fell in love with it and I can't get enough of listening to it now. I truly love it.

4 out of 5 stars I Can Help Elvis.......2000-06-30

By 1974, rock and roll had seen it best days. The music scene was about to be shaken to it's foundations with the likes of Punk, Funk, Disco and Heavy Metal. The building blocks of '50's rock and roll were only heard on the far end of the AM radio dial, with names like "Honey Radio" as their barker. This dosen't mean that rock and roll was dead. Records like Dave Edmunds' " I Hear You Knockin' and Johnny Rivers' "Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu" showed rock and roll was breathing and sweating. Out of this period of retro rock came a singer and guitar player in Kris Kristofferson's backup band with an amazing song; "I Can Help". Billy Swan stepped out of the shadows and into the top forty history books with a great retro rock song, at a time when nobody thought it was a good idea. This record (of course) reached #1 in the fall of '74. Everyone loved it. Even Elvis. So much so that Presley recorded his own version the next year. Then, just as suddenly as he appeared, he was gone. Back to singing background vocals to "Me and Bobby McGee" in another town near you. 26 years later, Swan steps back in the spotlight to remind us of his love of Elvis and that old time rock and roll sound. The new album "Like Elvis Used To Do" is not at all like Elvis used to do, but that's fine. Swan is nobody's Elvis imitator. Rather, Swan used the backdrop of Presley's music to review various musical styles, styles not heard today by many under 30. "Heartbreak Hotel" is in the tradition of Cab Calloway. "Jailhouse Rock/King Creole" and "Viva Las Vegas" sound like an Ice Capades review of Doo Wop, while "Suspicious Minds" is given a positively giddy treatment, given the subject matter. I found the arrangements fun and unpredictable, and given the state of rock and roll, unpredictable is just fine by me. This isn't like Elvis used to do, but regardless, Billy Swan does alright (mama).

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