From the chuckling honk of the saxophone intro, 'Return To Sender' marks itself out as a more amiable, looser limbed entry in Presley's canon; Elvis is trying to write to his ex girlfriend to try and make up but the letters keep coming back unopened. Elvis sings the verses with a tone of mischief, as if he doesn't really expect a reply and that it's all part of some wind up ("I gave a letter to the postman, he put it his sack. Bright in early next morning, he brought my letter back"). As a kind of reply, his vocal on the chorus turns to loud indignation, giving voice to (and slightly mocking) his girlfriend's mood - "RETURN TO SEN-DAH, ADD-RESS UN-KNOWN" so that it sounds written in red capital letters with a thumb thick felt pen.As a piece of theatre, 'Return To Sender' avoids the corn and is actually good fun, but for me it marks the point where Elvis threw off the shackles of his own past and becomes Elvis The Family Entertainer; it's telling that this is taken from the Girls! Girls! Girls! film soundtrack where any attempts at an edge or danger were cast aside in favour of "a light-entertainment formula of beautiful scenery and girls galore". This isn't imitation Elvis anymore so it's pointless to bemoan that it's no 'Mystery Train'. No, this is Elvis Mark 2 (or 3, depending on your viewpoint) and on that level 'Return To Sender' is solid to the point of becoming one of his career signature tunes. Whether that's a good or bad thing I'll leave to your own personal prejudices.
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