Elvis Japan

RCA and the Elvis estate made no bones about their intention on replicating the blockbuster success of the Beatles' The Beatles 1 with their own single-disc collection of number one hits – hence, the 2002 release of Elvis: 30 #1 Hits. The idea of collecting all the number one hits is simple enough, but there are problems inherent with the concept, not the least of which is that RCA did this once before. Unlike the Beatles, who went through numerous changes in just seven years of recording, Elvis had nearly three times as many years' worth of material and hits to choose from. Also, he hit on a number of different charts – not just pop, but also R&B, country, and adult contemporary.

Number One Hits contains 18 #1 records from the charts of Billboard, who somehow didn't rank "Crying in the Chapel," "In the Ghetto," "Burning Love," and "Way Down" as chart-toppers, although other national surveys did. In fact, according to RCA, every copy of "Way Down" was sold out within days after Presley's death, not just here but all over the planet, and somehow, amazingly, it didn't even make the magazine's Top Ten!

This 2005 set is a good collection of 24 love songs from throughout Elvis' career. Although there are a couple of odd choices like "Hawaiian Wedding Song" here, for the most part this concentrates on Elvis' big hit ballads and slow dance favorites, which makes this a good choice for love-minded listeners on a budget.