Elvis A Celebration

Author: Mike Evans

Publisher: DK (Dorling Kindersley)

ISBN:0 7513 7340 0 (hardback, 607 pp. incl. index)

The shortest ever book review: WOW!

This has to be the mother of all Elvis photo books.

Things are simply getting better and better in the world of Elvis in print and each new title seems to be another bit of the icing on the cake. "Elvis A Celebration" is the current cherry on the top! This year we've had the excellent "Caught In A Trap" and the superb almanac of "The Rough Guide To Elvis" already and now well-known publishers DK have come up with this superb edition -- all this and Elvis at Number 1 around the globe, as well! 2002 will go down as the year the world finally started to accept Elvis!

Anyway, back to the book!

Book? This is a tome, a huge work, a delight to behold and a pleasure to spend hours slowly browsing through its over 600 pages of good quality paper on which are printed what must be approaching a thousand photos of Elvis in just excellent quality. Okay, most of the photos are not new to the majority of fans, but to have them all in one such well-presented collection is amazing; and, of course, there are plenty of new fans for whom many if not most of the images will be a real eye-opener. Not that there is nothing for those of us who are rather more age-challenged! I'm convinced that I have not seen quite a number of the pics and many more are reproduced larger or better than I have seen them before.

Although "Elvis A Celebration" is primarily a collection of images, it also contains a fair amount of text. Almost each image is accompanied by a sensible, brief caption, and each of the sections into which the images are collected, is preceded by a two-page preface. These prefixes are well written, with some nicely balanced commentary. In addition, the final part of the book contains a very good Elvis timeline. Author Mike Evans is not a newcomer to the world of books about music heroes (he wrote "The Art of The Beatles," for example) and his understanding of Elvis and the situation he found himself in is clear, even from the relatively little text in the book, as his his admiration of Elvis as a performer. Just for a teaser, how about this, "All the white-suited impersonators in the world can't come near to reproducing the way he moved, the way he used the clothes, the way he occupied the stage -- and the way he was at one with the audience."

The photographs are divided into ten sections, each representing a period in Elvis's life. As a result, the images are presented in largely chronological sequence, though for some reason, this rule is not strictly followed, something I would have preferred. There are monochrome and full colour photos, indicated on the cover as coming "from the Elvis Presley archive at Graceland." There are posed publicity shots, impromptu fan snaps, early family pictures, on-stage action shots... you name it, it's here. Unfortunately, at least a couple of the pics are reproduced incorrectly, the most obvious being the 1945 and 1946 studies of Elvis on pages 18 and 19 (indeed, the jacket that Elvis is wearing in the shot on page 19 appears again on the following page, in a different picture, this time correctly orientated!). And inevitably in such a vast collection, a number of errors have slipped through, including an incorrect army serial number on page 239 and a pic of Elvis with a set of three stripes, stated to be from 1958 -- surely he received his stripes the following year? There are a few more cases of poor proof-reading, too, but nothing really to write home about given the superb quality of the whole. Indeed, all things considered, the book approaches a ten out of ten rating.

It will be difficult for any fan to select a favourite image from the plethora which is presented. I particularly like the superb study of Elvis signing publicity photographs on page 363; it was taken in a dressing-room during the filming of "Harem Holiday" (Harum Scarum), but don't let the film put you off the quality of the photo! There's also a fabulous grainy image on page 234 of Elvis staring out of a window in 1960, presumably and apparently contemplating his future as he is on his way home from the army.

Now if you think that a book of this quality and quantity is going to break the bank, think again! In an age when many books are almost literally worth their weight in gold (at least if you judge from their ridiculous prices), DK have kept the price of "Elvis A Celebration" down to a very acceptable £25 in the UK -- a bargain compared to a lot of the rubbish out there and, come to think of it, a bargain plain and simple!

David Neale

copyright July 2002