Elvis Country (CD)

RCA's 2006 comp Elvis Country is part of a trilogy of three theme-based compilations that also includes Elvis Rock and Elvis Inspirational, and this collection delivers what the title promises: 20 tracks of Elvis singing country songs. Many of these are taken from his excellent 1971 album Elvis Country (I'm 10,000 Years Old), with several other cuts dating from elsewhere in the '70s or from his late-'60s comeback, and all the songs share a similarly lush country-pop feel, so it holds together very well; in fact, it's the best of the three 2006 thematic comps. While this certainly does not contain all of Elvis' great country tunes, it does contain many of his best country songs -- including "For the Good Times," "A Hundred Years from Now," "Kentucky Rain," "Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues," "Release Me," and "Funny How Time Slips Away" -- and anybody looking for a good sampling of his work in this field should find this useful and enjoyable. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide