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Elvis 2000
Author: Jay Gould
Published in paperback by Glitter Books, London
ISBN 1-902588-02-9
This is the book that will stun the world. Not my words, I hasten to write, but part of the blurb on the back cover of "Elvis 2000," subtitled "The King Returns!" Read the rest of this blurb and you'll have a pretty good idea of what to expect from this small paperback, written, apparently, by a "top American psychic" called Jay Gould: Elvis died, but will return; life on Mars; details of Elvis's meeting with Nixon; unknown recordings; illegitimate sons; UFOs; Atlantis...
The premise is that the spirit of Elvis contacted Gould in a series of more than forty "visitations," when he apparently spoke in some sort of code, the original transcriptions of which are the exclusive property of the "Church of Elvis." Gould has been kind enough to translate this code for our edification and has presented us with this little book of Elvelation.
Having struggled through the whole book, I'm still not sure whether we are to take it seriously, but I sincerely hope not. I would prefer to think that the author, whoever it may be, is having a tongue-in-cheek dig at all the wildest theories surrounding the Elvis phenomenon. Surely nobody is expected to take the plethora of wild suggestions made here for anything more than that!
There's no way to discuss sensibly the issues proposed in "Elvis 2000," especially as a number of dates for predicted events have gone by with nothing approaching the predictions occurring. The book must therefore be regarded as a spoof.
As such, it certainly covers the the stranger aspects of Elvisology quite well. Strangely, the author accepts that Elvis did die, but only to go to a heavenly place where he was able to reform his old underground backing group of John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix and Brian Jones, ready for his triumphant return and comeback tour of China, India and Tibet. Incidentally, the lighting for this tour will be arranged by his stellar son (conceived outside this world), who also owns an underground record store on Mars...
Underground backing group? Yes, it appears that Elvis was well into psychedelia and cut numerous experimental tracks between April and August 1967, with the above-mentioned group, the members of which are now, of course, conveniently dead. Lately, new "astral" recordings have been made with the same line-up, and these will soon be released on a new CD. If you can't wait for the CD, however, be aware that the recordings are already available at the aforementioned Martian record shop as an implant chip...
Still with me? The book goes on to reveal that Hitler escaped the earth by UFO, that one of the purposes of Elvis's return is to save the world from a resurgence of Nazism, that Elvis had a brief but passionate affair with Jackie Kennedy, that he shared a lover with Nixon (the real reason for his White House visit!), that... well, need I go on? And in between all this, Elvis, through Gould, explains the secrets of Atlantis, crop circles, Jack The Ripper (no, honestly!), and extraterrestrials.
Take "Elvis 2000" with an extremely large pinch of salt and it borders on the hilarious (assume it's a serious work and it borders on the hysterical). Unfortunately, part of the book is marred by totally unnecessary bad language, which makes the whole thing far less amusing than I hope it is meant to be.
If you have difficulty locating "Elvis 2000," it can be ordered from
Glitter Books 4th Floor, 72-80 Leather Lane London EC1N 7TR
Phone orders (visa, mastercard, or AmEx): +44 (0)20 7430 9878
The book's price is 5.99: cheques should be made payable to "Creation Books"; postage is free in UK and Europe, 10% elsewhere.
David Neale
Copyright Novenber 2000