Elvis UK 2

The Ultimate guide to Elvis Presley’s British Record Releases 1886-2002 By John Townson & Gordon Minto Foreword by Roger Semon

Firstly this is one hell of a book, in many ways one being that it’s right up to-date with “A Little Less Conversation”. And like the ending passage suggests don’t rule out a Vol. 3 in years to come as vinyl has had a rebirth over the past few years. Each record/EP/single has a in-depth look including any differences in labels etc.. Even if you are a strictly CD collector these days, this book is a must even if only for the amount of information that has been compiled and painstakingly put together here in such detail, it isn’t a book you just look at or read and put on the shelf never to look at again like so many you buy, this is more of a pick me up and have another look, because you will always find something you missed. It amazed me just how many releases were put out on vinyl, especially on the compilation section. One of the other main selling point for this book is that the quality of paper and print used on this publication is of the highest quality, this is not something that has been thrown together and quickly printed out for a fast buck. Like a few publications that have been done on the cheap which is a shame, but here you can see from page one that no expense has been spared. Some may say why should the paper quality & print be rated so high at the beginning of a review but it’s something that jumps straight at you from the moment you pick it up and open it.

The foreword to the book has been written by Roger Semon, one of the main reasons the Presley Vinyl has had a comeback. He remembers his days of purchasing his singles, and admits it great to have them on CD now as it’s handy for playing in the car, but with Vinyl buff’s they all say there is nothing that compares to the good old 33’s, he too mentions the fact that vinyl may still be around for some years to come.. This is not strictly a Vinyl reference book, as the odd CD is a mentioned with reference to the catalogue Numbers, and it’s explained why the numbers were supposed to be the same on CD and LP releases unless the track listing differed and how the rule was later ignored, also the lettering at the beginning of the catalogue number is explained, so if you don’t know exactly what all these letters & numbers mean you will soon find out. There is so much here chart entry No, highest chart position, label variations, sleeve variations like was it a glossy or matt cover, even when the item was deleted from the catalogue and then an in-depth look at each release. This 380-page book is going to be one of those books that after a year or so will look like a well worn pair of slippers, not that it’s going to fall apart, far from it more of the well used look and lived in…

(Reviewed by David Wilson)

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