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The Essential Elvis
Authors: Roy Samuel and Tom Aspell
Published in paperback by Rutledge Hill Press
ISBN 1-55853-693-0
"The Essential Elvis" is subtitled, "The Life and Legacy of the King as Revealed Through Personal History and 112 of His Most Significant Songs" and the authors have pretty much stuck to that description.
Elvis's singing career is broken down into seven periods, each of which is given its own chapter. Each chapter then contains analyses of a number of songs, interspersed with largely predictable, though sensibly presented facts from Elvis's life.
The selection of songs is sometimes strange: the book's subtitle seems to indicate that the authors are interested only in what they consider to be exceptional songs and yet they provide only negative criticism for featured numbers, such as "Memphis Tennessee" "Whole Lotta Shakin'" "For The Millionth And The Last Time" and "Mary In The Morning". "Hey Jude" also falls into this category, which is rather unfair, even if it is a terrible recording, as the authors appear to regard it as a serious take, rather than an off-the-cuff studio jam.
And with all the magnificent gospel numbers to choose from, why on earth pick out "He Is My Everything" as one of the five "indicative" selections? Other surprising and doubtful inclusions are "Snowbird" and "This Is Our Dance".
At the same time, often underrated tracks are given the recognition they deserve, including "Tomorrow Is A Long Time" "Hi-Heel Sneakers" and "If I Can Dream". At the end of the day, of course, any such selection must be a personal choice, so it would be wrong to criticise the 112 here too much (and real clunkers like "A Dog's Life" and "Queenie Wahine's Papaya" have been left out, after all!).
The analyses provided for the songs are insightful and right on the mark. The authors frequently offer comparisons with performances of the same songs by other artists, though, correctly, not always in Elvis's favour and are also unafraid to provide scathing comments when deserved -- and this is rarely better done than in their description of the 1971 Christmas album. Many fans will not like the negative remarks about J.D. Sumner and The Stamps, however. The authors seem to lose their way only in the chapter devoted to the seventies. They get too involved in the tragedy of Elvis's decline instead of focussing on his music and seem to select songs which reflect that tragedy. But then again, perhaps even Elvis had difficulties in separating his music from his life at that stage.
They most certainly do not lose their way when they correctly lambaste so-called "friends" and their books for providing distorted views of Elvis and his life; and they rightly argue that Elvis be given the respect that he deserves rather than the ridicule he has to suffer because of his tragic final years.
Roy Samuel and Tom Aspell clearly admire Elvis and his achievements, but do not fall into the trap of overpraising (and I'd love to see them write an "Elvis's Worst" book). They remain fair and provide honest commentary. Because of this they have created an excellent introduction for anyone interested in learning more about Elvis and his music and a source of much interest for long-standing fans.
A few errors unfortunately detract from the quality of the writing: many significant names are incorrectly reproduced (Eddie Fidal, Millie Kirkland, Louie Prima...); the sit-down and stand-up performances for the 1968 TV special are reported to have been recorded at identical dates and times. But these are minor drawbacks when compared to the general quality of "The Essential Elvis", a book which is otherwise to be thoroughly recommended.
David Neale
Copyright 1999