Elvis Presley headed to Nashville in June of 1970 for a series of marathon sessions at RCA Studio B, cutting enough material to be spread over three albums -- That's The Way It Is, Elvis Country (I'm 10,000 Years Old), and Love Letters from Elvis, to be precise. Each of these records had their share of overdubs -- Elvis Country was also connected by excerpts of "I Was Born About Ten Thousand Years Ago," an intriguing idea that was maddening in practice -- so the idea behind From Elvis in Nashville is inspired: the box presents those session as a whole, without overdubs or any kind of sweetening. Listening to these 74 tracks altogether doesn't quite rewrite Presley's history, as the original albums were quite strong on their own, but it does amount to a quiet revelation as it captures Elvis in the setting that suited him best: relaxed and comfortable, surrounded by ace musicians who can play whatever tune that either came to mind or came his way. A fair chunk of these sessions were devoted to relatively recent material, songs that were designed to bring Elvis a charting hit -- Gene MacLellan's "Snowbird," Eddie Rabbitt and Rory Bourke's "Patch it Up," and the AOR-friendly "Mary in the Morning" -- but these are punctuated by rampaging readings of "I Washed My Hands in Muddy Water," "Got My Mojo Workin," and "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On." Presley can be heard joking and swearing with his band and his high spirits are not only evident, they're infectious. The music is so good and so relaxed, it can take a moment to realize that within these four discs, Presley touches upon all of his musical obsessions and does so with the grace and skill of a master, all without losing sight of the song. Hearing these sessions as a unified set underscores that this may be the peak of Elvis as a mature artist, which means it's an essential listen. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine