https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82zYKm61qL4 Sure, Elvis Presley is the King of Rock And Roll, but that doesn't mean he didn't have an uneven career. Of course, there's no denying that the first phase of his career (that of "Jailhouse Rock" and "Hound Dog") is '50s rock at its finest, but Presley became a joke during the mid-1960s (the period following his stint in the Army) primarily due to the fact that Col. Tom Parker kept pushing the King into stupid movies and forcing him to record vapid songs. If Elvis had continued on the path the Colonel had started him on, he definitely wouldn't be the King today. Fortunately, Elvis came to his senses in the late 1960s. Presley's resurgence didn't last very long, but it was long enough to produce several classic tunes, including "Suspicious Minds," "Kentucky Rain," "Burning Love," and, best of all, the underrated gem "U.S. Male." "U.S. Male" resurrects the Presley swagger that had been gone for so many years. If you listen to Elvis threatening the guy who comes around his girl, you get the feeling that he really means it. You can hear Elvis' snarl coming through in his voice. This is the style that put Elvis on the map, and it's nice to hear that he could still wield it late in his career. Why is this gem so underrated? Well, you see, it's easier for Presley fans to point out Elvis' 1968 TV special as the moment when Elvis "came back." To hear fans talk, you'd think that Elvis was lousy before the special and then automatically became good again. "U.S. Male" doesn't compute with this attitude, since it came out six months before the special aired. We'd rather sweep a good song under the rug than change our way of thinking. It's time the tune was revealed again.
Alan Howell is a native of Southern California. He loves movies of any and all kinds, Hollywood, indie, and everywhere in between. He loves pizza, sitcoms, rock and pop music, surfing, baseball, reading, and girls (not necessarily in that order).