It's received wisdom that the five years from 1953-58 were a still inconceivable outpouring of groundbreaking innovation and hit singles, but that after Elvis joined the Army in a mismatch as ill-conceived as, his career became a barren wasteland of uninspired music marked by mediocre films. But that's too pat. In fact, Elvis recorded brilliant music throughout his life, especially 1969's From Elvis in Memphis and From Memphis to Vegas/From Vegas to Memphis (collected, along with alternate versions, on 1999's excellent ). The great music was admittedly harder to uncover, which gave credibility to the notion that military service drained his creativity. But even the much (and often justly) maligned movie soundtracks usually featured a gem or two: Given good material, Elvis invariably sang it with with typical brio. Blue Hawaii, lame by even the relaxed standards of Elvis movies, is no exception.