It's hard to believe that Elvis would be 75 this year.  Harder to believe that so much time has passed since his death in 1977.  Given his immense popularity, and his large body of accumulated since his beginnings in 1953, it's a bender to imagine just how much larger this Box might have actually been had Elvis survived to this day.

Elvis, from young trucker to the well-seasoned entertainer he became, had a gift that has stood the test of time.  From his cutting-edge rock roots to his hits-performing Vegas show, the man who would leave us too soon had amassed a solid and endeared fanbase.  That fanbase would award "The King" million-selling hits and albums, one after the other.  Most hold their weight even in this day and age of music.  From his defining "Blue Suede Shoes," and "Hound Dog," to his mid-career songs like "Now or Never," "Can't Help Falling In Love," and "Return to Sender," to his latter day works like "Suspicious Minds," "Kentucky Rain," "In The Ghetto," and "Burning Love," Elvis delivered over 30 years of greatness that cannot be matched.  These are reflected in Elvis 75: Good Rockin' Tonight, a collection released in celebration of his 75th birthday (January 8).

Elvis 75: Good Rockin' Tonight is a well-stocked collection of songs that cover not only his many hits but also a wise selection of tracks that widely represents the singer's phases and his uncontested excellence.  The first disc in the Box's 4CDs begins with "My Happiness," a self-financed song that ushered in the age of Elvis, and works through 30 more tracks that include "That's All Right," which double underlines the emerging talent that Elvis was, "Good Rockin' Tonight," "Mystery Train," "Blue Suede Shoes," "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You," "All Shook Up," and "Jailhouse Blues". 

The three other CDs included here run through a compilation of familiar hits, non-single album cuts, Live performance tracks, and gospel songs.  The 4th CD contains 19 late-stage tunes including a radio remix edit of his "A Little Less Conversation".   Other gracious tracks includes his covers of Danny O'Keefe's own charting single, "Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues,  Live versions of Tony Joe White's "Polk Salad Annie," and JamesTaylor's "Steamroller Blues," and his own charting hit, "Burning Love."

This 4CD Box is completed with a crammed 78-page book.  Within the pages of this book are plenty of photos, a wealth of LP cover shots and 45 RPM single sleeves, label shots, and exhaustive credits.  Chief among the inclusions found in this generous book is a 24-page, in-depth essay written by music critic and historian, Billy Altman.  Well-written and insightful, the essay moves biographically through the Elvis timeline.

There are 100 songs on Elvis 75: Good Rockin' Tonight. There is over 30 years of excellence found on this set.  Elvis 75 is not only an overview of Presley's unmatched career, but is a lighthouse to this generation on how one man helped to shape the very essence of what they now enjoy.  Elvis is a binding molecule of Rock and Roll, a component that cannot be ignored.  One can hope that this light never extinguishes.

Elvis 75: Good Rockin' Tonight is a magnificent collection of Elvis gems, worth every dollar.