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Elvis: A Listener's Guide
An essential guide to the music of Elvis Presley, for general music lovers and hardcore fans alike.
In the sixty years since his first recording session, hundreds of books have been written about Elvis Presley, but very few have concentrated on the important thing: the music.
"Elvis Presley: A Listener's Guide" is ONLY about the music. Session by session, song by song, the author takes the reader on a journey through Elvis's legacy, from the first demo disc he recorded in 1953 to the final concerts in 1977. Along with providing a fresh perspective on these 700+ recordings, the book also takes a look back at how critics reacted to the material when it was first released, with reference to over 170 contemporary reviews and articles.
Shane Brown was born in 1974 and has a PhD in Film, Television and Media. He had written on horror stars Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi (with Mark Jancovich), and silent film star Jack Pickford. Forthcoming publications include an essay on the first African-American film director, Oscar Micheaux, and another on the teen sci-fi TV series "Kyle XY." He is also the author of "Breaking Point," a novel for young adults.
In the sixty years since his first recording session, hundreds of books have been written about Elvis Presley, but very few have concentrated on the important thing: the music.
"Elvis Presley: A Listener's Guide" is ONLY about the music. Session by session, song by song, the author takes the reader on a journey through Elvis's legacy, from the first demo disc he recorded in 1953 to the final concerts in 1977. Along with providing a fresh perspective on these 700+ recordings, the book also takes a look back at how critics reacted to the material when it was first released, with reference to over 170 contemporary reviews and articles.
Shane Brown was born in 1974 and has a PhD in Film, Television and Media. He had written on horror stars Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi (with Mark Jancovich), and silent film star Jack Pickford. Forthcoming publications include an essay on the first African-American film director, Oscar Micheaux, and another on the teen sci-fi TV series "Kyle XY." He is also the author of "Breaking Point," a novel for young adults.
- GenresMusic
328 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 10, 2014
8 people are currently reading
11 people want to read
About the author
Shane Brown
26 books13 followersShane Brown has a PhD in Film, Television and Media from the University of East Anglia in Norwich, UK, with his thesis about representations of male queerness in silent and early sound film. His book on the same subject will be published in September 2016. In 2013, Shane published his young adult novel, Breaking Point, dealing with the subject of homophobic bullying in schools. To date, it has had over 7000 Kindle downloads. A new edition was published in 2019, along with a sequel, Breaking Down. His 2016 novel, The Lookout, is an adult ghost story set on the Norfolk coast. He has also published song-by-song guides to the music of Elvis Presley and Bobby Darin.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 10, 2015
A chronological look at EAP's 700+ recordings (and TV appearances) - at last an author for whom the music matters!
Being relatively young for an EAP critic, author doesn't repeat the usual mantra that everything after the 50s is dross, but didn't convince me that there's anything better than the 50s stuff.
Author is broad-minded enough to state that his book is just his opinions about the music, and his opinions kept me interested throughout the book.
Proofreading left something to be desired, I thought, but I never thought of stopping reading the book, and it's worth keeping for reference.
So, thanks to the author for sharing his deep knowledge of the EAP recordings.
EDIT:
Re: Proofreading left something to be desired
I've just come across this in a comment to a Guardian article:
I regularly read downloaded novels on a Kindle and the lack of editing and corrections to the text in some cases is downright concerning for the future of literature.
So maybe it's Kindle, not proofreading.
Being relatively young for an EAP critic, author doesn't repeat the usual mantra that everything after the 50s is dross, but didn't convince me that there's anything better than the 50s stuff.
Author is broad-minded enough to state that his book is just his opinions about the music, and his opinions kept me interested throughout the book.
Proofreading left something to be desired, I thought, but I never thought of stopping reading the book, and it's worth keeping for reference.
So, thanks to the author for sharing his deep knowledge of the EAP recordings.
EDIT:
Re: Proofreading left something to be desired
I've just come across this in a comment to a Guardian article:
I regularly read downloaded novels on a Kindle and the lack of editing and corrections to the text in some cases is downright concerning for the future of literature.
So maybe it's Kindle, not proofreading.
November 3, 2016
A little harsh at times
The author does admit in the beginning that most of this is his opinions but I find a good bit of his opinions are a bit harsh. Elvis did have a few clunkers in his catalog but it is perhaps these that made him all the more "human". Very interesting book. Tons of info on every recording session. Would recommend to any Elvis fan!
The author does admit in the beginning that most of this is his opinions but I find a good bit of his opinions are a bit harsh. Elvis did have a few clunkers in his catalog but it is perhaps these that made him all the more "human". Very interesting book. Tons of info on every recording session. Would recommend to any Elvis fan!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews