Elvis For Everyone

Author: David Parker

Publisher: Abstract Sounds Publishing

ISBN: 0 9535724 5 5

Producing a catalogue of all the recorded material of Elvis must be a next to impossible task. "Elvis For Everyone" is limited largely to releases on LP and CD, with a few singles and EPs included as asides; there is no mention at all of reel-to-reel, DAT, or cassette (I don't think that any of Elvis's numbers have been issued on Mini-Disk). Even these restrictions hardly make the enormity of the task any smaller.

Compiler David Parker has, however, faced up to the challenge and produced a major catalogue that should have many collectors drooling. Of course, not even David has been able to include every release, given the very nature of releases of an international star. Nevertheless, the quantity of material and its distribution in "Elvis For Everyone" is a huge achievement.

Author David Parker's interest in Elvis began in August 1977, following the many news items, documentaries, films and so on that he saw on television as a result of Elvis's death. He is particularly interested in CD collecting, and his initial idea of "Elvis For Everyone" was to focus on CD releases. This is David's first book, though he has written numerous articles for "The Sound of Elvis Fan Club" in Australia and the "Elvis Unlimited" magazine.

Subtitled "The Essential Guide to The Recorded Music of Elvis Presley," "Elvis For Everyone" lists Elvis's LPs and CDs in the following sections:

Official RCA/BMG Releases: 1956 - 2001; Photo Feature: The Greatest Hits Compilations; RCA International: The Budget Albums; Follow That Dream: The RCA/BMG Collectors Label; Photo Feature: World Wide Compilation Albums; Unofficial Releases: Studio Recordings & Compilations; Unofficial Releases: Movie Soundtrack Recordings; Unofficial Releases: Live & Rehearsal Recordings.

Each release listed includes a photo of the cover of the album and the corresponding track listing -- both LP and CD versions are included and, indeed, in some cases, different versions are shown, such as those from different countries or significantly different re-releases; the track listings refer to both the original version and the most recent CD release. These track listings are supplemented with recording information and occasional notes, again referring to country-specific releases or interesting content. Serial numbers are not included. There are literally hundreds of illustrations in full colour.

The sections on unofficial CDs does not include every bootleg CD, and this is, indeed, indicated in the book's introduction -- a credit to the integrity of the author. Still, it does provide a fine overview of the type of material that has been made available unofficially in recent years and includes some excellent reproductions of CD art that many of us will never see in reality.

There seem to be a few layout errors, such as the switched CD and LP front covers of "Something For Everybody", but these are few and far between. Some information of interest to collectors is also missing, but this might well stem from the author's initial idea to create a CD catalogue: I found no mention of the greetings-card included with early releases of "Elvis Sings For Children...," nor of the photo included with the first batch of "Elvis Country," for example. (It must be pointed out that this review is based on a preview of the book in CD format, so these few problems might well be resolved in the final printed publication.)

My only real complaint about the book, however, is its lack of an index. A collector looking for a particular track currently has no option but to trawl through each entry in each section. A title index would make this far simpler.

But you can't really complain, given the amount of material in the book and the price -- a mere £14.99 recommended price is almost a gift.

David Neale
copyright July 2002