Elvis Presley: A Life in Music : The Complete Recording Sessions

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Summary: Mr. Songman
Review: At last a book NOT about Elvis the man, the myth, the legend...but about his MUSIC! Finally a decent describtion of his recording sessions. A must have for every Elvisfan and musiclover!

Ernst Jorgensen, together with Roger Semon, THE expert on Elvis' music, compilating all the Elvis CD's beeing released since the late 1980s/early '90s, has written THE book about Elvis' recordingsessions.

With it's hard cover, black and white picture of the '50s Elvis and over 150 pictures inside, this book really is a beauty to look at. Chronologically, ALL recordingsessions are described, from "My Happiness" in 1953 to "Moody Blue" in 1977. All songs officially recorded by Elvis can be found in this book and from each song is mentioned:

* when it was recorded;

* where it was recorded (which studio, place):

* who wrote the song;

* which musicians are playing;

* all matrixnumbers;

* the kind of soundcarrier, the song was first released at.

Further, the book contains a complete list of all legal Elvis LPs and CDs updated to 1997, including the chartposition the song(s) reached. Quite a lot pictures in this book have never before been published and all together, this is one of THE best books ever written about Elvis' musical legacy!

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Summary: If you're a fan, buy this book. If you aren't - you need it.
Review: Ernst Jorgensen has pulled of a remarkable feat. He's managed to turn an Elvis Presley reference book into something which will appeal not only to Elvis fans, but to everybody who ever caught a few bars of Jailhouse Rock on the radio. Not only that, he has written a book that will leave the reader depserate to hear the music he is describing.

Unlike the similar tomes by Joe Tunzi (Recording Sessions 1 & 2) this book does not claim to be the last word in trivia. If all you care about is knowing when and where a particlar song was recorded, or what it's matrix number was, then stick to Joe. If however you want an appreciation of the music, and want to know the circumstances surrounding it's recording, the text which accompanies the (still very detailed) session information will have you enthralled.

If you are a fan, you will want this book, and having bought it you will never regret it. If you are not a fan, you NEED this book. And having read it, you will become a fan.

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Summary: FUNDAMENTAL y necesario desde hace tiempo. Una joya.
Review: Este libro es fundamental para conocer los detalles dentro del estudio. Paralelamente a los datos referidos a m?sicos que intervienen en cada uno de los temas, referencias a los compositores, datos muy particulares sobre los posibles problemas que ten?an los compositores, Elvis con algunos temas en particular, o Scotty o Bill, los Jordanaires, quien fuese, las diferentes tomas ... o la interferencia del Coronel, que lo ?nico que le importaba eran las cuestiones referidas a fechas, contrato, derechos de publicaci?n de los temas, etc. En este libro se constatan todas las sesiones cronologicamente con sus datos t?cnicos y no t?cnicos, comentarios objetivos de lo que all? estaba pasando, fotos muy interesantes. Es un aut?ntico disfrute para cualquier fan de Elvis, porque acompa?ado de los discos que comenta entiendes y conoces m?s produndamente a Elvis, el porqu? de los temas, porque unos u otros, un mont?n de cosas. Se refiere estrictamente a la m?sica y no cuenta chorradas subjetivas. ?ste libro junto a los dos de Peter Guralnik los podr?a comparar al libro sobre Frank Sinatra de Will Friedwald "Frank Sinatra the Song is you", en cuanto a rigor y lo buenos que son. Lo ?nico que hecho de menos es que solo est? la referencia de una canci?n a el disco en el que fu? editado por primera vez, me hubiera gustado que se hubieran hecho referencias a otros discos en los que tambi?n se hubiera includido el tema en cuesti?n. Pero bueno, esto es algo muy subjetivo y no afecta en absoluto a mi cr?tica sobre el libro. Repito: ESENCIAL.

Rating:
Summary: FUNDAMENTAL y necesario desde hace tiempo. Una joya.
Review: Este libro es fundamental para conocer los detalles dentro del estudio. Paralelamente a los datos referidos a músicos que intervienen en cada uno de los temas, referencias a los compositores, datos muy particulares sobre los posibles problemas que tenían los compositores, Elvis con algunos temas en particular, o Scotty o Bill, los Jordanaires, quien fuese, las diferentes tomas ... o la interferencia del Coronel, que lo único que le importaba eran las cuestiones referidas a fechas, contrato, derechos de publicación de los temas, etc. En este libro se constatan todas las sesiones cronologicamente con sus datos técnicos y no técnicos, comentarios objetivos de lo que allí estaba pasando, fotos muy interesantes. Es un auténtico disfrute para cualquier fan de Elvis, porque acompañado de los discos que comenta entiendes y conoces más produndamente a Elvis, el porqué de los temas, porque unos u otros, un montón de cosas. Se refiere estrictamente a la música y no cuenta chorradas subjetivas. Éste libro junto a los dos de Peter Guralnik los podría comparar al libro sobre Frank Sinatra de Will Friedwald "Frank Sinatra the Song is you", en cuanto a rigor y lo buenos que son. Lo único que hecho de menos es que solo está la referencia de una canción a el disco en el que fué editado por primera vez, me hubiera gustado que se hubieran hecho referencias a otros discos en los que también se hubiera includido el tema en cuestión. Pero bueno, esto es algo muy subjetivo y no afecta en absoluto a mi crítica sobre el libro. Repito: ESENCIAL.

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Summary: Great (if you don't have the internet!)
Review: I loved this book. In England we have a term for the obsessive fan with an unhealthy fascination for trivia. Taking note of the favored coat of the trainspotter (chap at rail station writing down train serial numbers), we call 'em "anorak"s. This is book for "anorak"s. Guess that makes me one.

The text is really well written. Jorgensen is the world's premier expert on Presley's music, and an excellent archivist for his record label too. However, all the factual information contained here (dates, take numbers etc...) is easily found here on the internet. Thus very nearly making this book superfluous.

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Summary: Ultimate Elvis recording guide hands down.
Review: If you only have the slightest interest in the recording career of Elvis Presley, are a fan/collector or student of music history, this book will be a great reference guide for you.

For over a decade the author has been responsible for completely overhauling Elvis' catalog resulting in state-of-the-art box sets reinstating the musical legacy of Elvis Presley in an ever growing music market to the place where it belongs.

The continuing interest in his music and life simply remains a phenomenon, even the more astonishing twenty years after his passing.

The majority of books about Elvis have focused on his life and have offered little or nothing to understand the music behind the man. This book focuses on the one thing that defined Elvis Presley and remained a center piece throughout his life: making music.

Putting Elvis' music into historical perspective - after all those years - was certainly a challenging task to begin with, and the author has succeeded in providing a critical view and a thorough re-evaluation of his music and its place in music history today.

The material is carefully conceived and structured around his recording sessions starting with the earliest SUN acetates in 1953 (which were only discovered and made available a few years ago) and ending with the painful recordings to the June 1977 CBS TV-Special, which probably would have never aired, hadn't Elvis passed away untimely on August 16th, 1977.

For each recording session the stage is set in terms of background, song selection process and marketing decisions by his company as well as insights into Elvis' likes or dislikes of the material. All songs are listed including matrix numbers, take numbers, publishers and reference CD's.

The accompanying text to each session (which is really the heart of the book) walks us through the songs in chronological order and offers a fascinating insight to the mood, circumstances and energy of each recording session. Even references to comments made by Elvis himself during the! sessions are given.

A separate appendix provides an overview of the 200 or so officially released alternate outtakes from these sessions; material, for which Elvis collectors worldwide seem to have an insatiable craving for.

Rating:
Summary: 5 for Content; 1 for Poor book production
Review: Not JUST a complete sessionography, but as detailed and thorough account of Elvis' life as exists in print form. There are longer tomes, but none as accurate and as wonderfully presented. The interposition of the biographical text with the session listings works well in letting the reader see the progression of Elvis through the years.
Mr. Jorgensen's inter-relationship with BMG (nee RCA Victor) makes certain that the accuracy is as good as it's going to get. And, the story itself unfolds in an "eager-to-read" fashion.
Whether you are an Elvis fan or just a rock-n-roll fan in general, this IS the Elvis book to own. All others pale by comparison.

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Summary: Music not gossip
Review: This book is for people who really care about the making of Elvis's music. The authors go into detail about the origin of songs and how they were recorded. I particulary enjoyed the musician credits - finding out who played what on the records. Even Elvis played guitar and/or piano on selected numbers. Also, because of this book and and Mr. Jorgensen's previous edition I learned that singers and musicians go through multiple takes to complete a recording. Marvelous writing!

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Summary: Remembering 'The King'
Review: This is a very informative references book about Elvis. I was wanting to find a good book on Elvis Presley and this was the best one that I saw. I can tell that it was a book of passion for the people who worked on it.
There are not as many pictures as I would have liked ( I love picture books. ) However, it is very interesting and one of the better materials I have found about the man.
The writers are also not afraid of showing Elvis's downward spiral during the last few years of his life.
Like Buddy Holly and John Lennon. A lot of people still believe that Elvis left this Earth too soon.
But the good thing though is that we still have his music and memories. That still make people happy even to day and I hope they still will. In the future.

Rating:
Summary: Great reference book
Review: This is an amazing and exhaustive look at Elvis' recording sessions. Lots of great detail and anecdotes as well as references to in-studio comments by Elvis, producers and musicians. Ernst Jorgensen is obviously a fan, but he has the ability to look at the music objectively. By the way, this book is not titled "Elvis Fashion: A Life in Music" as Amazon lists it. It's "Elvis Presley: A Life in Music." Strange typo, great book. Buy it.