ELVIS UK 2 review by Dale Hampton

The Ultimate Guide To Elvis Presley's British Records Releases 1986-2002
By John Townson & Gordon Minto
Forward by Roger Semon


It must be three or four years ago when I first heard that the guys who had produced a book called Elvis UK were working on another edition. I can't tell you how pleased I was to hear this news, as Elvis UK is one of my all-time favorite books.

Elvis UK came out in 1987, and it's a huge reference work covering just about every aspect of 
Elvis' British record releases from 1956-1986.

Tis new volume - Elvis UK 2 - should be an absolutely essential purchase for everyone.
And don't be fooled into thinking that it will only appeal to die-hard vinyl collectors. While it's
true that the book deals with Elvis' vinyl records released in the UK between 1986 and 2002,
it should appeal to both CD and less serious collectors for a whole host of reasons.

The authors point out track differences between vinyl and CD releases, and show how the
rapid growth of CD releases almost led to the extinction of vinyl. There are some behind-
the-scenes company details which are very informative. Some of my favorite parts are the
prototype cover photo for the Stereo '57 LP, and the handwritten release notes prepared
by Roger Semon (who also wrote the Forward).

There were two aspects of the original volume that I always thought could have been
improved upon. One was that the layout wasn't very clear. The headings weren't as clear
as they could have been, and it wasn't easy to tell when details of one record ended and 
another one begin.
Secondly, I always felt that the first volume was short on photographs. There were some
full-page shots that separated the main sections, but little more than that. To be fair
though, the sheer size of the book meant that there wasn't room to include more.

I mention these not as criticism, rather to show that the authors must have felt as I did, for
Elvis UK 2 features a completely revised and more modern layout with clear separation
of subjects. Not only that, but this time there are hundreds of photographs of record
sleeves, labels and of the man himself. The photographs aren't just confined to full-
page spreads either, but have been used to great effect to fill the spaces at the bottom
of pages, which would otherwise have been blank. A nice touch.

All of the really great reference details from the original book have been retained, so there's
full chronological listings of singles, EP's and LP's, and all of the new releases are
cross-referenced to the original, which makes it easy to check re-issues and so on.
One of the books' great strengths is that it is packed with information that you won't
find anywhere else. And, because there's so much of it, you'll find yourself going back
to it time and time again.

A tip. Buy two copies - one for day-to day referencing and one to keep put away as a
investment. Like the first volume, this one will be a collector's item. I've tried for years
to get another copy of the original, without seccess, and I've heard that copies have
sold for as high as $125. 


2002/09/15 Dale Hampton / Ep.Gold.Com