Promised Land

Released on Elvis’s 40th birthday, Promised Land was the last album culled from his 1973 recordings at Stax Studios, and it’s the strongest of the three. The opening title track, written by Chuck Berry, features a manic vocal over an absolutely ripping country-soul-funk performance by the band. Other highlights include the strutting “If You Talk in Your Sleep,” the anguished ballad “It’s Midnight,” and versions of two recent, major country hits, “There’s a Honky Tonk Angel (Who’ll Take Me Back In)” (recorded by Conway Twitty) and “You Asked Me To” (written and recorded by Waylon Jennings).