The first arrival of From Elvis in Memphis was the apex of Presley's midcareer come back to glory. "The King" had spent the 60s making anodyne pop for the lightweight Hollywood movies he'd been featuring in, and his days as a pelvis-pushing, rock and roll icon appeared ancient history. This changed with his bewildering '68 Comeback TV special, screened the world over that Christmas. The '68 Comeback Special was hotly acclaimed, and it was in the afterglow of that accomplishment, in the early weeks of 1969, that Presley produced using Elvis in Memphis. Its tunes were in the same vein as "If I Can Dream" — richly arranged, musically complicated and powerfully sung, by a reinvigorated entertainer additionally now mindful of life's enthusiastic complexities. Here, there was death (Long Black Limousine), poverty (In the Ghetto), existential battle (Only the Strong Survive) and, every step of the way, intense sentimental dissatisfaction - every last bit of it deciphered into extravagant, eminent, spiritually inspiring music. He hadn't recorded in Memphis since contracting with RCA and leaving Sam Phillips' Sun Studios in 1955-he was long past