Elvis Presley, “Elvis at the Hayride”
ROCK ‘N’ ROLL|Louisiana Hayride, released Aug. 29
If it’s the quintessential Elvis bootleg you’re after, avoid this two-CD set. This TV offer – part of a set complete with a DVD and paperback souvenir book documenting Presley’s performances on the Louisiana Hayride program – is more a piece for the serious fan. It’s history, and like the technology of the era in which it was recorded, it’s not all that pretty.
The murky recordings date back to October of ’54, and they’re separated by clumsy narration (filler) telling Elvis’ story in the early days. It’s information you can get any number of places on the Internet. But here it sloppily separates a charming, if telling, take on “Blue Moon of Kentucky” (Oct. ’54) and a barely audible but still respectable recording of “Hearts of Stone” (Jan. ’55).
They’re not only Elvis’ roots. They’re the roots of rock ‘n’ roll, one of America’s greatest gifts to the world. But there are better vehicles for the music than these iffy, scratchy recordings.|Ricardo Baca
Michael Bolton, “The Essential Michael Bolton”
ADULT CONTEMPORARY|Legacy, released today
The obvious joke to be made from the title of this greatest hits collection (that nothing about Bolton’s catalog is essential) is more than lazy, it obscures the guy’s long, varied career. Anyone who sells 40 million albums and wins a few Grammys over the course of 31 years merits attention.
Unfortunately, that attention leads to headaches when the works are this tightly condensed. With 32 tracks scattered across the two-disc set, “The Essential Michael Bolton” begins to drag as the stylistically repetitive songs roll by. Whether you like the throaty, big-haired pop hits (“Time, Love and Tenderness”) or the oddly heartfelt forays into opera (“Nessun dorma!” from “Turandot”), true fans won’t be disappointed. Everyone else, though should stay away from this over-earnest soft rock. Far, far away.|John Wenzel
Audioslave, “Revelations”
HARD ROCK|Sony, released today
Audioslave has long outgrown its Rage Against the Machine-meets-Soundgarden roots, maturing into a pummeling guitar-driven outfit with a distinctive sound. This new disc reinforces that trajectory, the title track threading Chris Cornell’s still-angry vocals through Tom Morello’s thick ‘n’ chunky guitar antics.
“One and the Same” features a lively hard-rock riff and Rage-quality wah-pedal treatment. The backing vocals add a ’60s garage flavor to some of the tracks, and Morello’s occasional soft touch hints that he’s mellowed since the days of “Killing in the Name.” Still, the core of “Revelations” is solid alt-metal, if a bit polished by age and an increasingly mainstream position in the rock hemisphere (see the defanged “Until We Fall”).
Most pronounced is the blues-soul direction in which Cornell seems to be dragging the entire band, though it’s easy to hear the old grunge flame burning in anthems like “Wide Awake.”|John Wenzel
Other releases today:
Jars of Clay, “Good Monsters” (Essential) Creating Christian pop-rock with mainstream appeal, this band is poised to expand its already broad audience with “Good Monsters.”
Beyonce, “B’day” (Sony) The R&B songstress returns with her second solo album, featuring the single “Déjà Vu,” with production help from boyfriend Jay-Z.
