DBD 2021 - Review Segui Quel Sogno (Follow That Dream)

Following previous discography books on the ‘Follow That Dream’ collector’s label catalogue from Norway and Japan, three Italian fans teamed up for a third discography book titled 'Segui Quel Sogno' covering all released from 1999 until 2020. 

Design

The 316-page black and white book comes as an A4-sized paperback. The cover features a vague compilation of some FTD titles and an almost complete line-drawing of the FTD logo. 

Inside the book is completely black and white which does not really help with the reproduction of the low resolution images of the releases. All are featured with front and artwork including the CD and LP labels. Most appear to have been sourced from the internet as sometimes the CDs are shown on a white background and sometimes in the digi-pack inlays. As they are printed very small it is impossible to read the text on the items.

The text is easy to read but the pages are filled from the left top corner to the right corner below which gives the book a “text-heavy” impression. For easy reading some (colored) illustrations and paragraph breaks would make it more easy on the eye. 

The choice for black and white does have the advantage that the price is low, around 19 Euro for a 316 page book.

Content

The content is what matters, and the book is packed with content! The discography appears to be complete - not counting re-issues - covering all releases from 1999 until 2020 showing the title, release date, catalogue number, cover art and track listings. 

Added to that are reviews of all titles and a complete index closes the book. The only release I missed was the promo CD the FTD label released in 2000 (but you can debate if that is an official FTD release as is came free with the Elvis Today magazine) and the misprints / errors like the ‘Tucson / Tuscon ‘74’ CD (also from 2000). Examples of releases (some) collectors may want to pick-up.

What makes this a great book are the detailed in-depth reviews of all FTD releases from 1999 to 2020. The authors - Giuseppe Castiglia, Davide Raga and Marco Degli Esposti - did their homework / research and it shows. 

The insightful reviews are a pleasure to read as they are well written and they take you by the hand and behind the scenes of the concert and studio-recording sessions. The authors give praise where deserved and criticism where relevant. The reviews come with additional information setting the scene and adding the proper historical context.  

Conclusion

This book is a real labor of love by three Italian Elvis Presley fans and obviously aimed at Italian fans. In this book the authors take fans on a fascinating journey opening up FTD's treasure-chest filled with Elvis' alternative studio and live discography and books on almost ll aspects of his legacy. 

Where the presentation has some flaws, the quality of the reviews certainly deserves a wider audience. Let’s hope an English version will be available one day.  

For more information, and to order the book, visit the >>> Mondadori Store.