'THE KING'

If you are looking for something extraordinary amongst a zillion Elvis books then this is it. Way over-the-top and so large that it will never fit on your bookshelf, this 160 page glossy high quality, high-style book is an immense 15 inches by 17 inches. That means a double-page photo (see above) is a gigantic 2½ feet by 1½ feet! Not only that, but the front cover has the name 'THE KING' written large in diamantes!

The book is packed with magnificent & huge images of Elvis that will blow you away, all presented in a lovely modern design, it is a real winner. But for exactly the same reason it is almost too big to read. It certainly is a coffee-table book - but only if you have a large coffee-table!

(Note: All the images in this review have the ‘Elvis at Sun’ CD cover placed on the page to give you a reference as to the size of the photos)

However if you can find the right place to read it, then the writing does contain plenty of interest and author Jim Piazza includes some pertinent observations outside the usual scope.

The design by Matthew Bouloutian & Andy Taray is particularly impressive, well laid out and with every main page nicely set-off with a relevant quote including …

"Man, if I could ever get people to talk about me the way they talk about Liberace, I would really have it made" - Elvis 1954
"Everyone of those Elvis sessions was like I was filming Gone With The Wind" – Sam Phillips
"After Gladys died he didn’t seem like Elvis ever again" – Aunt Lillian

And although the text is fairly brief you can still find plenty to ponder about.
Another nice touch is that along the top of every page there are relevant dates and information to highlight Elvis’ time-line.

Another amusing touch is the off-the-wall lists of information that are included on each page.
For instance ‘Elvis' Girls’ with a selection of very different comments..

• Dixie Locke (his first real love) "We were saving ourselves for marriage."
• Barbara Leigh "He had this thing for white cotton panties."
• Ann-Margret "He touched something deep within my psyche."
• Natalie Wood "He can sing, but that's about it"
• Tuesday Weld "He walked into a room and everything stopped. I was gaga about him."
• June Juanico "He was a wonderful kisser. How do you describe soft lips, slightly parted, not too much, just perfect?"
• Tempest Storm "... made me hornier than a goat in a pepper patch."
• Dottie Harmony "We'd read the bible together - out loud.'

There are chapters on the Army, Priscilla, a look at Graceland, The Memphis Mafia etc, along with an interesting section on Colonel Parker, cleverly titled ‘Colonel of Truth’. Exploring more than a lot of Elvis books there are even photos of The Colonel looking decrepit in his old age. The highlight of this chapter is Priscilla’s speech at The Colonel’s memorial service:

"Elvis and the Colonel made history together and the world is richer, better and far more interesting because of their collaboration. And now I need to locate my wallet, because I noticed there was no ticket booth on the way in here but I'm sure that Colonel must have arranged for some sort of toll on the way out."

All Elvis' films are represented in a colourful & enjoyable way and the chapter includes this clever insight that goes against what we often believe …

It's been argued, interestingly, that Elvis's movie career kept him
freezer-fresh and in the public eye during the sixties thus preventing
him from being flattened by a musical revolution that threatened to make
him irrelevant. When he re-emerged for his "comeback" TV special in 1968,
the world was awed by what it had been missing.

Along with a selection of photos & quotes, the ‘Great Songs’ from each film are listed. However fourteen films are listed as having ‘None’! This point is extremely debatable since most Elvis films managed at least one classic song. ‘Rock-A-Hula Baby’, ‘Please Don’t Stop Loving Me’, even ‘Baby I Don’t Care’ aren’t listed yet ‘Puppet On A String’ is! However I have to agree with one quote about one of my least favourite films ‘Kissin Cousins’ and it is from Elvis - "What can you do with a piece of shit like this?" (Right: Design of the Movie pages)

So as you can tell there is plenty to enjoy and ruminate over, but more than anything it is about THE PHOTOS, LARGE photos – (see more examples below) and splendid they are too.

With everything going so nicely it is a disappointment that the book continues beyond the touching image (right) of Vernon at Elvis’ grave. This seems a waste of quality ink with images of yet more impersonators & Elvis trinkets. These should have been left for lesser books.

However, as usual, minor factual errors are all too easy to spot including...

• Elvis did not record a song called ‘Again’ nor ‘Evening Party’ nor ‘Daddy Don’t Cry’ etc
• ‘All Shook Up’ did not play on the jukebox in G.I. Blues.
• ‘Love Me’ was never a 45rpm single.
• Linda Thompson is identified as ‘Ginger Alden’ in a 1974 photo!
• Elvis was not 6 foot 2 inches tall.

But the text is basically a sideline to the images – and to be honest the book is a little big to read easily!

Verdict: The biggest Elvis book you will ever own! While the text is very enjoyable, this is basically a top-quality coffee-table book with a brilliant stylish design. It is most enjoyable to dip into - and did I mention that the photos are HUGE!? If you see it at a good price, and if you are strong enough to carry it home - you won’t be disappointed.

BELOW - more great images from the book.

Review by Piers Beagley.
-EIN Copyright, August 2006-

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