Absolute Radio: Discover real music

The previous review by Sarah Jones is misguided at best or frankly completely ignorant. The CD is not of so called original versions of songs Elvis recorded - indeed, most of these are original Presley recordings - nor will you find them on the likes of any CD compiltaion she refers to. What the CD actually comprises are demos of songs submitted to Elvis by songwriters for his assessment of whether he wanted to record them or not. With a few exceptions, Elvis stayed pretty true to the arrangements but some like I've Lost You, Mary In the Morning sound very different. Notwithstanding the similarity in arrangement, none of the demos comes anywhere near the final Presley version, though many are fun and interesting to listen to. The Elvis CD comprises live versions, most of which have been previously released, however not in this sound quality - the sound is superb, with Elvis fully 'upfront' and dmonstrating his genius as a live performer and singer, stand outs are incomparable versions of 'Something' and 'I Just Can't Help Believin'.

The book is very strange as most of the interviews are dull beyond belief, offer little new information, and even include interviews with songwriters who weren't even aware Elvis had sung their songs live. Pointless and shoddy.

Read the book once, play the demo CD once, but if you haven't already got the live Elvis recordings, you'll be playing those over and over again - but buying this set is an expensive way to obtain them!!! This could have been a great release and at the price should have been, but it's really quite a disappoinment.




Rating: 3 out of 5

I have been looking forward to this FTD release for quite some time and the book did not disapoint but the two discs did. Its nice to have a book not full of Elvis pictures. This book is all about the songwriters that wrote songs for Elvis and its great to see some of the things written explaining the background of the songs especially on some of my favourite Elvis numbers.

Disc 1 is a big disapointment and you will have most of it from other FTD releases or bootlegs, I was hoping it was going to be outtakes & demos but its mostly live. I try to avoid FTD live releases as I find live albums a con.

Disc 2 is the songs by the original artists which again you probably have elsewhere on those dodgy Elvis compilation CDs like 'the songs that inspired the King '. I thought this was poor.

The book however is worth the money alone.

Rating: 4 out of 5

This is the ultimate book for any Elvis fanatic who believes that the gift of his music was the most significant factor in his career. Ken Sharp has interviewed 140 songwritters with their unique stories behind all their songs. Not only that, he's got their original demo records which are included in one of the 2 CD's offered with the book. The other CD is unreleased Elvis in concert and it completes the most interesting Elvis product to hit the market in recent years. I would compare it to the two Peter Guralnick classic books 'Last Train to Memphis' and 'Careless Love' which gave true accounts of the life of Elvis Presley. 'Writing for The King' is a quality book and includes written lyrics from the song writers, sheet music of the songs and photographs many of which I have never seen before. I feel that it will become a collectors item in years to come because it is a limited edition of only 500 copies. Buy it now - you will not be dissapointed!!
Trevor Simpson.

Rating: 5 out of 5

It has cost me a small fortune to obtain all the FTD releases so far, and it hs to be said that they are a mixed bunch. I was ultimately disappointed with the other book/CD releases that had come before this one. Expecting much of the same I was taken aback at how brilliant this release really is. The book is thick and full of great interviews with the writers of some of Elvis' best known tracks. I have spent many an afternoon just leafing through this book and reading snippets of interviews with the writers about the songs/ their lives and Elvis. The 2 CD's are also fantastic- one a live concert and the other compiling some of the original recordings by the original artists of some of the songs Elvis got to grips with. For once I can say that this is an FTD book/CD release that is actually worth the money. A sterling job has been done of it.

Rating: 5 out of 5