Artist of the Century
Artist of the 20th century? Quite an assertion, and yet as a pop-culture phenomenon, who else? Among the dozens of quotes included in this career-spanning boxed retrospective is one from rock scribe Greil Marcus: "If any individual of our time can be said to have changed the world, Elvis Presley is the one." Indeed, and these are 75 of his towering recordings, ranging from 1954's "That's All Right" through 1976's "For the Heart." The three discs are packaged in a handsome book that includes the aforementioned tributes from his many disciples (sayeth James Brown: "He taught white America how to get down"), studio credits, and pithy anecdotes. On the downside, the vertical foldout is cumbersome and fragile. The music? Of course it makes the case for the grandiose title claim more than adequately.--Steven Stolder