Elvis Presley – 24 Karat Hits

Twenty-four songs between breakthrough and renewal

“Heartbreak Hotel” and “Suspicious Minds” stand at the two ends of this collection. Between them lie the years from 1956 to 1969: early rock ’n’ roll singles, ballads, film songs and the Memphis recordings that brought another change of direction. 24 Karat Hits! is not an album drawn from one session. It connects very different moments in a career whose familiar images can sometimes come to mind more quickly than the music itself. Concentrating on twenty-four selected songs creates an opportunity to return to the singer: the beginning of a phrase, the extension of a syllable, or the movement from insistence to restraint within a few bars.

The selection opens in the early RCA years. “Don’t Be Cruel,” “Hound Dog,” “All Shook Up” and “Jailhouse Rock” are among the records that made Elvis the embodiment of rock ’n’ roll for a mass audience. Beside them, “Love Me” already represents another side of his repertoire. The relationship between rhythmic directness and carefully shaped ballad singing was not a later addition to his career; it is present from the beginning of the recordings assembled here. Listeners carrying only one version of Elvis in their imagination encounter a broader portrait within the first two sides.

24 Karat Hits! also has a release history of its own. Its foundation is the DCC compilation issued in 1997 and associated with Steve Hoffman’s mastering. The Analogue Productions reissue offered here is a distinct edition, mastered by George Marino. The collection, its earlier DCC presentation and the AP format therefore need to be distinguished. The musical history reaches further back than either release. Part of the collection’s appeal is the chance to bring well-known individual records together again in a consciously arranged sequence.

The musicians behind the singer

Elvis’s early core band included Scotty Moore on lead guitar, Bill Black on bass and D. J. Fontana on drums. Their names identify an important foundation of the early sound, but they should not simply be placed beneath all twenty-four tracks. The collection moves through different years, studios and line-ups. The interaction of a small ensemble and the more differentiated accompaniments heard later belong to that development. Bill Black’s double bass is consequently part of the story without his portrait implying participation in every performance on the set.

The documented accompanying credits also name musicians including Floyd Cramer, Hank Garland, Chet Atkins, Boots Randolph, Buddy Harman, Bob Moore and Grady Martin. Harold Bradley, Charlie McCoy, Jerry Reed, James Burton, Reggie Young, Bobby Wood, Tommy Cogbill, Hal Blaine, Barney Kessel, Tommy Tedesco and Dudley Brooks appear in the personnel pool as well. The Jordanaires represent the importance of accompanying voices. These are contributors from different recording contexts, rather than one unchanging session band. The available credits do not securely assign every person to every track, and that limitation remains visible in the musician information instead of being disguised as false precision.

Recording locations vary just as much. Nashville, New York and Hollywood all belong to the history of these songs, while film work brings additional production settings into the picture. Towards the end of the selection, “In the Ghetto” and “Suspicious Minds” point to the Memphis sessions of 1969. These changes of location are more than a list of famous studios. They help explain why accompaniment, spatial presentation and production need not remain identical from song to song. The constant is a singer whose musical personality stays recognisable under changing conditions.

Ballads, film songs and the tension within a voice

The quieter songs deserve as much attention as the obvious rock ’n’ roll landmarks. “Love Me Tender” offers a concise, gentle form of ballad singing. “It’s Now or Never” and “Surrender” open towards a much broader melodic gesture. “Are You Lonesome Tonight” uses a different relationship with intimacy and direct address, while “Can’t Help Falling in Love” develops through a calm melodic progression. Placing these recordings beside one another invites attention to the way Elvis adjusts his voice to each song’s design. Recognisability does not require a single unchanging means of expression.

The film connections are also present. “Teddy Bear” belongs to Loving You, “Jailhouse Rock” to the film of the same name, and “Love Me Tender” to the beginning of Elvis’s screen career. Within a hits collection, these songs step outside their original settings and meet each other anew. “Little Sister,” “Good Luck Charm,” “She’s Not You” and “Return to Sender” keep the sequence active rather than allowing it to settle into an uninterrupted ballad section. Their compact forms give each recording a clear outline. A guitar response, a phrase from the backing singers or a small rhythmic shift can carry considerable weight within such a short span.

“Crying in the Chapel,” “In the Ghetto” and finally “Suspicious Minds” give the last side a tension of its own. The compilation does not simply work through a strictly chronological timeline. It places different forms of urgency and intimacy beside each other. Even for listeners who have known these songs for years, it can be useful to put the familiar choruses briefly aside and follow the route towards them. How long does the voice wait? Where does the accompaniment become denser? When does a repeated sentence carry a different implication from its first appearance? Those questions allow a sequence of hits to become music unfolding in the present again.

George Marino’s mastering across three 45 RPM LPs

Analogue Productions issues AAPP 2040 on three LPs playing at 45 RPM. According to the publisher, George Marino at Sterling Sound worked from the original one-, two- and three-track masters held in the RCA archive. Quality Record Pressings manufactures the records, and the edition is specified at 180 grams. An insert supplies track and credit information together with a letter from Bill Porter to Steve Hoffman, connecting the package with the compilation’s earlier history. That document does not change the mastering credit: this AP edition was mastered by Marino, not Hoffman.

The first two sides contain the mono recordings. In the documented running order for this edition, sides C through F are designated stereo, beginning with “Love Me Tender.” The tracklist below follows the established side sequence of the triple LP, which differs from the order shown on the publisher’s general web page. Twenty-four songs are distributed across six sides. In practical terms that means shorter listening sections and more frequent record changes, a different way of approaching the collection from a CD or a continuous playlist.

For collectors, the set connects an explicitly identified source and mastering history with a broad selection from Elvis’s RCA years. It does not promise one uniform recording aesthetic across thirteen years. The differences are part of the substance: mono and stereo, a small band and larger accompaniments, early immediacy and later modes of expression. Heard in that spirit, the collection turns a famous name back into particular songs, musicians and recording histories, giving familiar material enough space to be considered on its own terms.

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More by Elvis Presley: Elvis is Back · Stereo ’57

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Musicians

Participants and documented credit status. Track references correspond to the tracklist.

• Elvis PresleyPortrait: 1957vocalsParticipation: Album personnel
• Scotty MoorePortrait: 1961, later portraitlead guitarParticipation: Core band,1956; individual tracks unconfirmed
• Bill BlackPortrait: 1956BassParticipation: Core band,1956; individual tracks unconfirmed
• D. J. FontanaPortrait: 2012drumsParticipation: Core band,1956; individual tracks unconfirmed
• The Jordanairesbacking vocalsParticipation: Individual tracks unconfirmed
• Floyd CramerAccompanying musician; individual role unconfirmed hereParticipation: Documented personnel pool; track assignments unconfirmed
• Hank GarlandAccompanying musician; individual role unconfirmed hereParticipation: Documented personnel pool; track assignments unconfirmed
• Chet AtkinsAccompanying musician; individual role unconfirmed hereParticipation: Documented personnel pool; track assignments unconfirmed
• Boots RandolphAccompanying musician; individual role unconfirmed hereParticipation: Documented personnel pool; track assignments unconfirmed
• Buddy HarmanAccompanying musician; individual role unconfirmed hereParticipation: Documented personnel pool; track assignments unconfirmed
• Bob MooreAccompanying musician; individual role unconfirmed hereParticipation: Documented personnel pool; track assignments unconfirmed
• Grady MartinAccompanying musician; individual role unconfirmed hereParticipation: Documented personnel pool; track assignments unconfirmed
• Harold BradleyAccompanying musician; individual role unconfirmed hereParticipation: Documented personnel pool; track assignments unconfirmed
• Charlie McCoyAccompanying musician; individual role unconfirmed hereParticipation: Documented personnel pool; track assignments unconfirmed
• Jerry ReedAccompanying musician; individual role unconfirmed hereParticipation: Documented personnel pool; track assignments unconfirmed
• James BurtonAccompanying musician; individual role unconfirmed hereParticipation: Documented personnel pool; track assignments unconfirmed
• Ron TuttAccompanying musician; individual role unconfirmed hereParticipation: Documented personnel pool; track assignments unconfirmed
• Reggie YoungPortrait: existing portraitAccompanying musician; individual role unconfirmed hereParticipation: Documented personnel pool; track assignments unconfirmed
• Bobby WoodAccompanying musician; individual role unconfirmed hereParticipation: Documented personnel pool; track assignments unconfirmed
• Tommy CogbillAccompanying musician; individual role unconfirmed hereParticipation: Documented personnel pool; track assignments unconfirmed
• Hal BlainePortrait: 1995Accompanying musician; individual role unconfirmed hereParticipation: Documented personnel pool; track assignments unconfirmed
• Barney KesselPortrait: existing portraitAccompanying musician; individual role unconfirmed hereParticipation: Documented personnel pool; track assignments unconfirmed
• Tommy TedescoAccompanying musician; individual role unconfirmed hereParticipation: Documented personnel pool; track assignments unconfirmed
• Dudley BrooksAccompanying musician; individual role unconfirmed hereParticipation: Documented personnel pool; track assignments unconfirmed
• Neal Matthews Jr.Accompanying musician; individual role unconfirmed hereParticipation: Documented personnel pool; track assignments unconfirmed
• Ray WalkerAccompanying musician; individual role unconfirmed hereParticipation: Documented personnel pool; track assignments unconfirmed
• Al CaseyAccompanying musician; individual role unconfirmed hereParticipation: General insert personnel pool; participation here unconfirmed
• Bernie MattinsonAccompanying musician; individual role unconfirmed hereParticipation: General insert personnel pool; participation here unconfirmed
• Bob LanningAccompanying musician; individual role unconfirmed hereParticipation: General insert personnel pool; participation here unconfirmed
• Bobby EmmonsPortrait: existing portraitAccompanying musician; individual role unconfirmed hereParticipation: General insert personnel pool; participation here unconfirmed
• Charlie HodgeAccompanying musician; individual role unconfirmed hereParticipation: General insert personnel pool; participation here unconfirmed
• Chip YoungAccompanying musician; individual role unconfirmed hereParticipation: General insert personnel pool; participation here unconfirmed
• Chuck BerghoferAccompanying musician; individual role unconfirmed hereParticipation: General insert personnel pool; participation here unconfirmed
• Don RandiAccompanying musician; individual role unconfirmed hereParticipation: General insert personnel pool; participation here unconfirmed
• Emil RichardsAccompanying musician; individual role unconfirmed hereParticipation: General insert personnel pool; participation here unconfirmed
• Emory Gordy, Jr.Accompanying musician; individual role unconfirmed hereParticipation: General insert personnel pool; participation here unconfirmed
• Gene ChrismanPortrait: existing portraitAccompanying musician; individual role unconfirmed hereParticipation: General insert personnel pool; participation here unconfirmed
• Glen HardinAccompanying musician; individual role unconfirmed hereParticipation: General insert personnel pool; participation here unconfirmed
• Glen SpreenAccompanying musician; individual role unconfirmed hereParticipation: General insert personnel pool; participation here unconfirmed
• Henry SlaughterAccompanying musician; individual role unconfirmed hereParticipation: General insert personnel pool; participation here unconfirmed
• Jerry CarriganAccompanying musician; individual role unconfirmed hereParticipation: General insert personnel pool; participation here unconfirmed
• Jerry ScheffAccompanying musician; individual role unconfirmed hereParticipation: General insert personnel pool; participation here unconfirmed
• Jimmie HaskellAccompanying musician; individual role unconfirmed hereParticipation: General insert personnel pool; participation here unconfirmed
• John WilkinsonAccompanying musician; individual role unconfirmed hereParticipation: General insert personnel pool; participation here unconfirmed
• Kenny ButtreyAccompanying musician; individual role unconfirmed hereParticipation: General insert personnel pool; participation here unconfirmed
• Larry KnechtelPortrait: existing portraitAccompanying musician; individual role unconfirmed hereParticipation: General insert personnel pool; participation here unconfirmed
• Larry MuhoberacAccompanying musician; individual role unconfirmed hereParticipation: General insert personnel pool; participation here unconfirmed
• Marvin HughesAccompanying musician; individual role unconfirmed hereParticipation: General insert personnel pool; participation here unconfirmed
• Mike DeasyAccompanying musician; individual role unconfirmed hereParticipation: General insert personnel pool; participation here unconfirmed
• Mike LeechPortrait: existing portraitAccompanying musician; individual role unconfirmed hereParticipation: General insert personnel pool; participation here unconfirmed
• Norbert PutnamAccompanying musician; individual role unconfirmed hereParticipation: General insert personnel pool; participation here unconfirmed
• Pete DrakeAccompanying musician; individual role unconfirmed hereParticipation: General insert personnel pool; participation here unconfirmed
• Ray SiegelAccompanying musician; individual role unconfirmed hereParticipation: General insert personnel pool; participation here unconfirmed
• Shorty LongAccompanying musician; individual role unconfirmed hereParticipation: General insert personnel pool; participation here unconfirmed
• Tiny TimbrellAccompanying musician; individual role unconfirmed hereParticipation: General insert personnel pool; participation here unconfirmed

The compilation covers recordings from 1956 to 1969. Accompanying musicians form a documented personnel pool, not a single session band or verified individual-track assignments. The insert personnel pool is broader than this particular selection; inclusion alone does not establish participation in any of these 24 recordings.