Review Christmas at Graceland

Have you ever fantasized about spending Christmas at Graceland? Well, you're not the only one. Released by the German label Power Station Music on their Magic of Vinyl label is a Christmas fantasy on vinyl. Let's join the party!

Design

The website of the German label states, "we offer fancy records, fan editions and CDs," and seeing the many brightly colored, marbled and splatter releases in their catalog, they are true to their motto.

This new Christmas release follows the label's format, a see-through sleeve holding a bright red and white duo-tone 180-gram vinyl disc. Behind it, an AI-generated LP cover showing Elvis who invites you to join him for a Christmas party at Graceland, and in the background, we see the famous pink Cadillac and his Mansion decorated for the occasion like we know only Elvis could. 

Some fans will appreciate this artwork, some will not, and would probably have preferred to see a fantasy cover done like a painting. I belong to the latter group, although I must say that all the elements for the album are present. 

Content

You may say that this is a concept album, as it comes with a 16-page CD sized booklet containing a fantasy Elvis Christmas story in which all the artists we hear on the LP make an appearance.

Written from a third-person perspective, we join the storyteller who finds a note lying on the piano at Graceland. Not a program, not a set list and not a guest list. Just a sheet of paper, probably found in the kitchen, one corner slightly curled from where a glass had stood. On it were a few names, two telephone numbers without area codes, half a song title someone had crossed out again, and one word, underlined twice: "home".

This is how the story, set in the first half of the sixties, opens, and from here we join Elvis and his friends for a spontaneous Christmas get-together. Some guests hail  from his Memphis past, like Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison. Some are competitors in his own league, like Chuck Berry, while others stopping by spontaneously are big names in their own genre, or legends from the past such as Sinatra, Dean Martin, Louis Armstrong, Bobby Helms and Perry Como. Old friends, unexpected guests, friendly chatter and songs sung by great voices of American music fill the rooms.

The presence of Brenda Lee, Eartha Kitt and Connie Francis gives the party that extra charm only ladies can bring to the party. The Christmas story is nicely written, although I do suspect there was a virtual elf helping to get all the elements together.

The LP provides a perfect soundtrack for this Christmas fantasy with performances by all the artists mentioned above, and several others. So no, this isn't strictly an Elvis Presley release, as he only sings five of the eighteen songs featured on this compilation. But reading the booklet and playing the LP, I felt like I was at Graceland, making this an Elvis-themed record after all.

Conclusion

I found this album more enjoyable than I expected beforehand. The "concept album" really takes you to Graceland, celebrating Christmas with friends as the story ties this Christmas compilation - with Rock and Roll, Crooner Swing, Blues, Soul and timeless Christmas classics - together in a warm, nostalgic concept album, making it more than a budget compilation.

This album will certainly find its way to my turntable in December.

The set is available from >>> Amazon US, >>> Amazon UK and >>> Amazon Germany.