Elvis: The Illustrated Record

by Roy Carr, Mick Farren

Book by Rh Value Publishing

Genres: Music

191 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 1980

About the author

Roy Carr (b. 1945) was an English music journalist, covering pop, rock and jazz. He joined the New Musical Express (NME) in the late 1960s, and edited NME, Vox and Melody Maker magazines.

Reviews

[Neal Umphred · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elvis: The Illustrated Record was the first book to specifically address the records of Elvis Presley at length. As such, I loved it at first glance. I especially like that Carr and Farren don't pull their punches when addressing the (many) weak points of Presley's career.

While their opinions may turn off many diehard (and often less-than-critical) fans, they are often insightful—especially for the time—and clever.

In a clever putdown of the Kissin' Cousins single from late 1963, they wrote, 'The single heralded yet another atrocious movie. In another galaxy, the Rolling Stones issued Not Fade Away.'

For me, that remark was worth the price of admission!

The weakest part of the book is that Carr and Farren have little patience (or, apparently, little understanding) of Presley's recordings after 1970 except for the straight-ahead rockers.

I also don't like the book's garish and cluttered design, especially the interior pages. Had it been less busy (and less colorful), it would have given a more serious tone to the whole endeavor.

Nonetheless, I highly recommend this book and consider it a requisite for any serious collection of books about Elvis Presley.

And it's not just for Elvis fans only.

[David Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A tart, opinionated look, record by record, at Elvis' entire output as of 1981, with tart, opinionated biographical material too. Dated, of course, as this was compiled before the CD era, but I learned a lot and was steered toward a couple of records I hadn't investigated before.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

From Joe, Jill, Beau, Hunter and Ashley Biden for Christmas