"Mystery Train" - Elvis

Right off the bat this song lives up to the title, "Mystery Train". Meaning, the background instruments seem to have the sole purpose of creating a train-like sound. Not that it sounds exactly like a train, but you definitely get the feel of being on a train when you listen to this. The driving guitar & syncopated beats do a good job. At the same time, Elvis can do this thing with his voice that makes it sound a little bit like a train whistle, it goes up a little bit and cuts off in at the end of a note (when he says "coming 'round the bend" he splits the word "around" into two distinctive syllables which creates the effect). I don't want to say that his voice cracks because it is definitely an intentional sound but I don't know what I would call it. If you listen to the song I'm sure you'll understand what I'm trying to say. Elvis has such a good voice and I think sometimes people forget that there's a reason that he's so successful because they're so focused on his appearance and persona. His voice isn't overly fancy or particularly vibrato, but he has such a personal style of singing that it draws you into the song. It's very unique and I love the way that he can sing at a decently high range but then he can drop to lower notes fairly quickly, and it creates a really fun effect while he's singing. I would say that to this day he is almost instantly recognizable if you you weren't born under a rock when it comes to music. Overall, this song is pretty chill but the driving beat in the background & Elvis at the vocals make it a fun song to listen to.