Elvis Is King Spiral-Bound | 2015-04-01

Richard Crouse

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An explosive, groundbreaking album that crowned a new king of rock in just 33 minutes

Before Elvis Costello was one of Rolling Stone's greatest artists of all time, before he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, he was Declan P. McManus, an office drone with a dull suburban life and a side gig in a pub rock band. In 1976, under the guidance of legendary label Stiff Records, he transformed himself into the snarling, spectacled artist who defied the musical status quo to blaze the trail for a new kind of rock star with his debut album, My Aim Is True.

In Elvis Is King, Richard Crouse examines how the man, the myth, and the music of this arrestingly original album smashed the trends of the era to bridge the gap between punk and rock 'n' roll.

About the Pop Classics Series

Short books that pack a big punch, Pop Classics offer intelligent, fun, and accessible arguments about why a particular pop phenomenon matters.
Publisher: Baker & Taylor Publisher Services
Original Binding: Trade Paperback
Pages: 132 pages
ISBN-10: 1770411887
Item Weight: 0.3 lbs
Dimensions: 4.8 x 0.7 x 7.0 inches
"There's no pretentious navel-gazing or 'how do I fill 100 pages?' tangents in Elvis Is King: Costello's My Aim Is True. Like that no-bullshit debut album released at the end of a decade infamous for its poses and pomposity, Crouse's book says what's necessary in fast, furious fashion, covering Costello's musical upbringing, his debut's recording, its marketing, its songs, and subsequent stage and TV support appearances. Never does he lapse into obnoxious and very un-Rock & Roll pseudo-academic blather." -- Psychobabble
Richard Crouse is the regular film critic for CTV's Canada AM, CTV's 24-hour News Channel and CP24. His syndicated Saturday afternoon radio show, Entertainment Extra, originates on NewsTalk 1010. He is also the author of six books on pop culture history including Raising Hell: Ken Russell and the Unmaking of The Devils and The 100 Best Movies You've Never Seen, and writes two weekly columns for Metro newspaper. He lives in Toronto, Ontario.