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Way Down in the Jungle Room
by
Way Down in the Jungle Room Image
Metascore
73

Generally favorable reviews - based on 6 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
4.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 5 Ratings

  • Summary: The two-disc set collects the final recording sessions and outtakes in 1976 of the rock legend at Graceland.
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Top Track

Moody Blue
Well, it's hard to be a gambler Bettin' on the number That changes ev'ry time Well, you think you're gonna win Think she's givin' in A stranger's... See the rest of the song lyrics
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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
  1. Mojo
    Sep 14, 2016
    80
    The alternative takes are uniformly excellent, with studio chat, and even a stray telephone interrupting Bitter They Are, Harder They Fall. Above all, In The Jungle Room revels once again how superb his voice remained to the very end. [Oct 2016, p.110]
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  2. Record Collector
    Aug 12, 2016
    80
    With the forensic detail one would expect from the Elvis reissue programme, Way Down In The Jungle Room is the most complete and comprehensive collection of Presley’s final studio recordings ever assembled in one anthology; and very necessary it is too.
  3. PopMatters
    Aug 12, 2016
    70
    While all of the material collected here is impressive, there is nothing new for collectors.
  4. AllMusic
    Aug 12, 2016
    70
    Way Down in the Jungle Room includes the material from From Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee and Moody Blue, and a second disc of outtakes and alternate versions to create the definitive document of this often overlooked period in Presley's career.
  5. Pitchfork
    Aug 12, 2016
    70
    At times he nodded toward mainstream trends. “Way Down” soars like a jetliner; “Moody Blue” co-opts every soft, hazy sound of AM pop in the mid-’70s. But the striking thing about Way Down in the Jungle Room is how it stays true to all the music Presley claimed as his own in ’68.
  6. Rolling Stone
    Aug 12, 2016
    60
    A chance to eavesdrop on a troubled performer pulling himself together for a final sprint at artistry. A second disc of outtakes--featuring muttered wisecracks, false starts, and a couple promising alternate arrangements--adds background atmosphere but is mostly of historical interest.

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 1
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 1
  3. Negative: 0 out of 1
  1. Vickimage
    Aug 19, 2016
    9
    Way Down in the Jungle Room shines a light on Elvis Presley's final recording sessions which took place at Graceland. The critics have oftenWay Down in the Jungle Room shines a light on Elvis Presley's final recording sessions which took place at Graceland. The critics have often savaged Elvis's later output but hopefully this recording will correct that. Elvis's voice is deeper at 40 than it was in his younger days and so he steers away from rockers and towards ballads, often with quite sad and tragic lyrics about broken love. Yes, some of these songs are "middle of the road" like Solitaire, Danny Boy and The Last Farewell. Maybe that is what the critics didn't like. But Elvis puts heart and soul into his interpretations. The bonus disc of outtakes is terrific too.… Expand

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