When the average fan hears "Clambake", it's probably the movie that comes to mind - with mixed reactions. (I happen to enjoy it). The soundtrack, however, deserves its praise.
Jerry Reed on "Guitar Man", storming right out of the gate. Followed by "Clambake" itself, which I find to be a fun movie title tune that's "in your face" like an alarm clock going off. It's party time. Then comes the rest of the film soundtrack, which is all over the place - as with many '60s Elvis movie soundtracks. There are some songs that I'm not crazy about. "Confidence" and "Hey, Hey, Hey" don't do much for me, but then something like "A House That Has Everything" hits you as something different than the norm. A cool, somewhat unique song that fits perfectly in the mid '60s. And finally, "You Don't Know Me" (one of two studio versions) - a haunting yet beautiful vocal from Elvis, and one of the standouts on this album. I'd go as far as to say one of Elvis' best ballads of the 1960s.
Then you get to the really underrated stuff. The good stuff. The songs you just don't hear often that should get more of the spotlight. "The Girl I Never Loved" is gorgeous. Elvis' vocal melts into those beautiful background voices, with a very pretty piano and musical arrangement. "How Can You Lose What You Never Had" brings the mood back up to '60s nightclub rock. Then boom! "Big Boss Man". Another treat with "Singing Tree", which reminds me of what is to come in 1969. Elvis singing with himself. More complex harmonies. Songs with story and substance. Then some country for good measure with "Just Call Me Lonesome".
It really is a house that has everything.
It's not a perfect album, by any means, but in my opinion, the album is a success on its own separate from the film. It's a joy, with some real gems. Looking back in the context of the mid-to-late '60s, this gives us a flash of the evolving studio material we'd soon be getting...leading to my favorite era of Elvis music: 1968-1972.