Reviewed by Lins Honeyman

As the recent posthumous collaborations with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra showed, the estate of the late Elvis Presley is always keen to find new ways of keeping the King of Rock 'n' Roll's flame alive. With that in mind, this latest venture sees Presley's vocals lifted from some of the tracks that comprised two of his latter career gospel albums - 'How Great Thou Art' and 'He Touched Me' from 1967 and 1972 respectively - and placed in front of newly recorded instrumentation and backing vocals. Given the charm of the original recordings, it's debatable as to whether or not this was totally necessary but this release does succeed in giving the King's sacred work a bit of a spruce up in order to present it within the context of modern day technology. Mirroring the man's mainstream career, the material on this compilation tends to swing from electrifying rock 'n' roll to middle of the road schmaltz with high octane gospel numbers like "Bosom Of Abraham" and "So High" sitting next to saccharine weepies like "He Is My Everything" and the "In The Garden". Elsewhere, repertoire from his Vegas-era live shows seeps through with stalwarts like "How Great Thou Art" and "You'll Never Walk Alone" showcasing the man's sheer vocal power only to be contrasted by the most tender of performances on the timeless and needlessly updated "Crying In The Chapel". Despite a surgically inserted duet with daughter Lisa Marie on the title track being the main selling point of this compilation, the standout track has to be an explosive version of the LaVern Baker hit "Saved" which, thanks to the utter conviction in Elvis' voice and a top drawer performance from his new backing band, turns the song from being a frivolous piece of Leiber/Stoller quasi gospel to a powerful and believable tale of conversion.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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