The album was recorded in two sessions, the first at RCA's Hollywood Studios on March 20 1960 and the second in Nashville on April 2. Scotty Moore, the guitarist who had helped shape Presley's early Sun-era sound, returned to help out on the sessions, along with DJ Fontana and Floyd Cramer and The Jordonaires. Both sessions were speedy affairs, even by the standards of the time. The first yielded six tracks, two of which (Stuck on You and Fame and Fortune) had already been earmarked as a single. They would be released within a week, giving Elvis his first post army hit.

Presley could still turn out a creditable blues number, with an authentically gritty version of Lowell Fulson's Reconsider Baby closing the album. A Mess of Blues and It Feels So Right showed that Elvis could still rock when required. His version of Fever, stripped down to just bass and percussion, perfectly showcased his singing voice, now fuller than ever thank to developments in stereo and all the better for the sparse arrangement.

Elvis was back in some style, although the glories would be shortlived. The ever more overbearing hand of Colonel Tom Parker was already much in evidence. Are You Lonesome Tonight, another single from the sessions, was recorded only because it happened to be the favourite song of Parker's wife. Regardless of the quality of the final recording, it wasn't the best of reasons to record a song. A fortnight after the album's release Elvis was back in uniform, this time on the set of GI Blues, making Elvis is Back his last decent record until the joys of the 1968 comeback.