Viva las Vegas/Roustabout - Presley, Elvis (CD 1993)

Though Elvis' movies will never make the best of anything list, some of them have the distinction of being better than the rest 30 some flms that he made in the late fifties and throughout sixties. "Viva Las Vegas", his fiery pairing with Ann Margret, proves to be very entertaining. There is undeniable chemestry between the co-stars which comes out in the two songs they recorded together: "The Lady Loves Me" -- very playful and fun, and "You're the Boss" (never made it into the movie) -- sexually charged and, probably, the best duet Elvis recorded in all of his movies. "Viva Las Vegas" is one of the most famous of Elvis' movie songs, (recorded by other artists like Springsteen) can serve as the unofficial anthem of the Sin City. "What'd I say" (Ray Charles' version is better, but Elvis' is very respectable. The best item on the soundtrack is " I need somebody to lean on" -- a song in the tradition of Love song genre is as good as anything Sinatra, Dean Martin, or anyone else has ever done. It goes to show, how versatile Elvis was and how equally successful he could be in many music genres.
"Roustabout" was not as entertainig, however, the movie (co-starring Barbara Stanwick as Elvis' boss) still manages to produce a few decent numbers. "Little Egypt" perhaps is most familiar number since Elvis performed the song in his Comeback special in 1968. It is humorous, sexy, and kind of perfect if you evr want to attempt to belly dance. "one Track Heart" and "Wheels On my heels" are another two songs that deserve mentioning for being above average, though both songs are typical of Elvis' movie numbers: fun, fast paced, nothing remarkable. All in all, it is a great idea for the soundtracks to be combined in two for the CD edition: you get more for your money and are practically guaranteed to find something enjoyable. This particular one is better than others and is wonderful if you are still exploring Elvis Presley records and movies. And it is one of the best of his movie tracks.