Jailhouse
Rock The Bootleg Records of Elvis Presley 1970-1983
Lee Cotten and Howard A. DeWitt
1st
printing: The Pierian Press, 1983, Hardback, Illustrated,
367 pages, ISBN: 0-87650-158-7
Reprint:
Popular Culture Ink, 1993, Hardback, 412 pages, ISBN:1560750340
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Elvis
bootlegs...the mere mention of illegal, underground
releases makes some salivate and others legislate. It
all depends on whether you are a fan, an artist or a
record company.
In
Jailhouse Rock, the authors have done an amazing job
of detailing all of Elvis' early bootleg releases (singles,
EPs and albums), essentially the period of bootleg vinyl
before bootleg CDs were introduced and came to dominate
the market. In addition to bootlegs, pirate and counterfeit
albums are also covered.
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The
book is well structured with clear chapter headings. The albums
are listed in alphabetical order and numbered from 1 to 340.
Each
of the entries includes:
- label
details
- catalog
number
- release
date
- country
of origin
- track
listing
- comments
on packaging and sound quality
- album
highlights
- summary
section
- cover
artwork (in black & white)
For
example, about 'The Monologue L.P.':
- PACKAGING:
This is another "quickie" cover, with only an insert photo
on the front, and a small list of song titles pasted on
the back......
- SUMMARY:
This album represents a nice piece of history, since so
much of it reportedly comes from Elvis' opening Las Vegas
show in 1969......
There
is a goldmine of historical information in Jailhouse Rock
that you will find fascinating. Whether it be some of the
extreme label names (eg. Dog Vomit Records), historic rarities
or the significantly varied quality of cover artwork, all
fans should find the book interesting to browse through.
The
book also ventures beyond vinyl, with sections devoted to
bootlegged:
- cassette
tapes
- Super
8 film
- videotapes
Other
value-added features include:
- a
consolidated listing of recordings and illustrations
- a
fascinating introduction to bootlegs
- label
index
- name
index
- song
title index
- bootlegged
novelty albums about Elvis
Jailhouse
Rock is still available in both new and used formats from
sellers including amazon.com. Copies also appear from time-to-time
on eBay.com.
Verdict:
While now outdated, 'Jailhouse Rock The Bootleg Records of
Elvis Presley 1970-1983' is an indispensable compendium about
the early evolution of Elvis bootleg vinyl. It is an engaging
book to look through, rich in detail and a much needed historic
record of one facet of the diverse Elvis industry that often
bitterly splits fans and the record industry into two opposing
camps. Hard-core Elvisphiles will love this book!
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