Review by Trevor Cajiao - Elvis: The Man And His Music
Trevor Simpson rounds off his trilogy of books examining Elvis’ UK releases with another monster tome that weighs in at 509 packed pages. Naturally, the format is the same as the previous volumes, with just about every detail you could imagine concerning the history of the songs covered which, in this case, runs to over forty titles as issued on the RCA imprint in Blighty during 1959 - 1960.
These were changing times, not just for Elvis but for rock n roll in general. He was doing his bit for Uncle Sam throughout 1959 but, after his discharge and return to public life in March 1960, it was a different Elvis that emerged - sporting a more wholesome, clean cut and, ultimately, more family friend|y persona. But that's not to say the book is all about the more tame Elvis - far from it.
Because it deals with each song and record release chronologically, it takes in not only the regular 45s (from ‘(Now And Then There‘s) A Fool Such As I’ to ‘The Girl Of My Best Friend’) but also EPs such as Strictly Elvis and the A Touch Of Gold releases, as well as the LPs Elvis (aka For LP Fans Only), A Date With Elvis and Elvis’ Gold Records Volume 2, which contained earlier recordings. This means that there's a little overlapping of a few titles featured in the first two books, but Simpson doesn't simply repeat himself and, in fact, offers further info on the said titles.
As before, every song is dealt with in painstaking detail, offering background stories on how each title came about, if there was a recording of it before Elvis, how it fared sales-wise etc. Every entry is illustrated by photos of the writers (where available), sheet music, trade ads, label shots, record sleeves, contemporary images of Elvis and so on. It‘s all placed in the context of the day, so there's a sense of what was happening around the time of each release via press clippings and photos of some of Elvis’ chart rivals - from Buddy Holly and Eddie Cochran to homegrown talent such as Cliff Richard and Billy Fury. it captures the times perfectly and is a veritable feast for the eyes.
Mind you, some of the press clippings can be taken with a pinch of salt, such as the one informing us that on his next single - ‘Are You Lonesome Tonight?’ - “Elvis Presley will not sing a note”. It goes on to say: ‘‘Instead, the vocal idol of millions recites!”
The printing quality certainly needs to be praised; the reproduction of most of the photos being quite outstanding. The images used are a mixture of the familiar and the rare, though there’s a little duplication with the Welcome Home Elvis and more recent A Touch Of Gold Lame books. Still, seeing such stunning visuals as '57 stage shots or rehearsals from the Sinatra show in such a large 24cm x 30cm format fairly takes your breath away. Others that caught my eye included a superb large image from the Jailhouse Rock sessions (brand new to me), a series of snaps taken during a meeting with producer Hal Wallis in Frankfurt in August 1959, plus some crystal clear photos from the set of G.I. Blues.
But, hey, if you’ve seen the two previous volumes then you'll know exactly what to expect. There's more detail and information than you can shake a stick at, and the photographic content perfectly captures the transformation from Elvis “The Rockin’ Rebel” to Elvis “The All-Round Entertainer”.
The 67-minute CD that accompanies the book contains fifteen regular tracks which Elvis “introduces” by way of extracts from a variety of interviews as well as his Army swearing-in. Unfortunately, the intro to the orgasmic ‘One Night’ is clipped. These are followed by a selection of bits and pieces from G.I. Blues - trailers / radio ads, songs lifted directly from the soundtrack (complete with extraneous noises and additional instrumentation) and the elongated German single version of ‘Tonight's All Right For Love’ (spot the edit!).
Rounding out the disc are what are listed as “Songwriter Demo Recordings”, and while this is the case with the great Jimmy Breedlove’s version of ‘Pocketful Of Rainbows’, Paul Evans’ ‘I Gotta Know’ is so obviously a much more recent recording. Who’s trying to kid who?
