''Pure Gold'' is a compilation album by American singer and musician

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

, issued in 1975 by

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

with catalog number ANL1-0971(e) as part of the RCA budget ''Pure Gold'' series of albums. At the time of this release, Presley was at the final stage of his career; he was focused more on the

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

market, where he had a string of chart-topping records in recent years. This short and rather haphazard collection focused more on his earlier

Rock and Roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm a ...

material than later hits. Although considered a mediocre compilation at best, ''Pure Gold'' became an enormous seller in the wake of Elvis' unexpected death in August, 1977.

Content

"Fever", "It's Impossible", and "In The Ghetto" are heard in true stereo; "Kentucky Rain" utilized the mono single version, with mild rechanneled or "fake stereo" effect. The other six tracks on the album are original 1950s monophonic recordings with "stereo effect reprocessed from monophonic", or "fake stereo". When RCA reissued the album on

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then released in Oc ...

in 1992, the "fake stereo" tracks were restored to their original mono sound. The album was certified Gold on September 12, 1977, Platinum on March 20, 1988, and 2× Platinum on March 27, 1992, by the RIAA. The front cover photo features Elvis from his

Aloha from Hawaii ''Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite'' is a concert starring Elvis Presley that took place at the Honolulu International Center and was broadcast live via satellite to audiences in Asia and Oceania on January 14, 1973. The show was presented ...

concert in January, 1973. The original back cover featured a listing of other RCA albums available in the ''Pure Gold'' series. The album was reissued in the early 1980s with new catalog number AYL1-3732(e), now part of the RCA budget 'Best Buy' series.

Track listing

External links

* 1975 compilation albums Elvis Presley compilation albums {{1970s-album-stub