Review : Return of the King: Elvis Presley's Great Comeback Book
One, as the rebellious rock and roll firebrand who forever changed the face of American culture with songs like 'Heartbreak Hotel', even as he shocked the older generation with his appearances on television programs like The Ed Sullivan Show (shot from the waist up as they were).
The other Elvis we remember more sadly is, of course, the bloated, more Vegas-y caricature of himself he had become in the years leading up to his death. It's not at all surprising that when America chose to honor the King with a postage stamp, they chose the former, far sexier Elvis over the latter.
But Seattle based author Gillian G. Gaar's Return Of The King explores another Elvis altogether. For lack of a better description, you could call this third version of Elvis the 'comeback Elvis.' In this very well written and researched book, Gaar conducts new interviews with longtime fans and associates to gain a better perspective on Elvis' comeback period from roughly 1968-1971. During his carefully crafted, latter-day resurgence - which began with the now legendary 1968 NBC TV Special most now refer to as 'the comeback special' - the King would record what many feel to be some of the strongest work of his career in songs like 'In The Ghetto' and 'Suspicious Minds', and albums like From Elvis In Memphis.
By 1967, after a string of bad movies accompanied by equally lackluster soundtrack albums, the once mighty 'King Of Rock And Roll' had become largely irrelevant. With the sixties' rise of the Beatles, followed in short order by Bob Dylan and the psychedelic rock of groups like the Doors and Jefferson Airplane, the youth of America by now regarded Elvis as outdated and uncool - a fact of which the King himself was painfully aware.
In Return Of The King, Gaar revisits how an interesting group of players ranging from Elvis' notoriously controlling manager Col. Tom Parker to record company and television executives engineered his miraculous, if brief, artistic comeback - even as they often seemed to be working against each other. Garr paints a particularly vivid picture of the intimate concerts taped in the NBC studios that would become the comeback special. For fans, her detailed, song-by-song descriptions of these shows are the real collective high point of the book. They instantly transport you there in such a way as to send you scrambling to dust off that old DVD copy of the 1968 comeback show. Equally interesting are behind-the-scenes accounts of the various attempts by Parker and others to water down the presentation in such a way as to potentially sabotage it. The backstage stories of a very nervous pre-show Elvis (he repeatedly asks anyone willing to listen if 'you think they'll like me?'), reveal a far more insecure and even vulnerable King Of Rock And Roll than one would normally picture in such a towering figure of American culture.
Gaar also recounts the American Studios sessions for From Elvis In Memphis, an album many regard to be his finest. As was the case with the comeback special, Parker and various RCA suits nearly derail the album over issues like publishing rights. But ultimately producer Chips Moman, along with the seasoned crew of Nashville session musicians, is able to rein the session and the egos in by asserting control in a way that Elvis was previously unaccustomed to. Here again, Gaar's detailed account of the sessions is an eye-opener.
From there, Return Of The King jumps right off into Elvis' subsequent decline, following the triumphs of 1968-1971. What's never fully explained here is how or why Elvis' allowed this to happen after fighting so hard to regain control of his career, and especially after winning that battle. Exactly why the same record company practice of glutting the market with inferior product is repeated - particularly after it had already come close to destroying his career once before - is never really made clear, nor is why Elvis himself once again surrendered complete control over these decisions to Parker and others.
What does become clear though is that it had a deep personal impact on Elvis. In mostly shutting himself out from the outside world, he became bored artistically, and deeply depressed and lonely on a personal level. In a modern-day context, perhaps Michael Jackson provides the closest comparison to this sort of isolation.
Return Of The King is also dotted with numerous interesting anecdotes about Elvis along the way, such as how he originally met George 'Dr. Nick' Nichopoulos, and how Parker deep-sixed a deal that would have given Elvis a much coveted serious acting role alongside Barbra Streisand in 'A Star Is Born'. Garr also devotes nearly an entire chapter to the infamous story of Elvis' meeting with then President Richard Nixon to offer his services in the War On Drugs (as it turns out, all he wanted was the badge).
Return Of The King is a well written and researched effort by Gaar, that also contains just enough new information to qualify as a welcome addition to any Elvis fan's library. It is also one of the more engrossing reads about Elvis' 'comeback years' to come down the pike in awhile.
Return of the King: Elvis Presley's Great Comeback
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Tupelo's Own Elvis Presley DVD
Never before have we seen an Elvis Presley concert from the 1950's with sound. Until Now! The DVD Contains recently discovered unreleased film of Elvis performing 6 songs, including Heartbreak Hotel and Don't Be Cruel, live in Tupelo Mississippi 1956. Included we see a live performance of the elusive Long Tall Sally seen here for the first time ever. + Plus Bonus DVD Audio.
This is an excellent release no fan should be without it.
The 'parade' footage is good to see as it puts you in the right context with color and b&w footage. The interviews of Elvis' Parents are well worth hearing too. The afternoon show footage is wonderful and electrifying : Here is Elvis in his prime rocking and rolling in front of 11.000 people. Highly recommended.
Tupelo's Own Elvis Presley DVD Video with Sound.
