Elvis Costello & The Attractions "All This Useless Beauty" (1996)

All This Useless Beauty
release date: May 14, 1996
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,62]
producer: Geoff Emerick and Elvis Costello
label: Warner Bros. Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "The Other End of the Telescope" - 2. "Little Atoms" - 3. "All This Useless Beauty" (4 / 5) - 4. "Complicated Shadows" - 5. "Why Can't a Man Stand Alone?" - 6. "Distorted Angel" - 10. "You Bowed Down"

16th studio album by Elvis Costello following Kojak Variety (1995) is his first in a decade since Blood & Chocolate (1986) but also his final to feature his old backing band The Attractions on all tracks [see Brutal Youth]. And then it's also his last studio album on the Warner Bros. Records label (a best of album, Extreme Honey, subtitled "The Very Best of Warner Brothers Years" from '97 would be his final issue releasing him from his contract with Warner).

All songs here is a collection of songs that Costello intentionally wrote for other artists to record and two of the these were written and composed with other artists: track #1 with Aimee Mann, and track #7 with Paul McCartney.

It's not a return to the sound and tempo of former albums delivered together with The Attractions, but it's neither a follow-up to other recent releases, where he has experimented with classical material and roots rock, country and traditional folk. Before his '95 album he released the acclaimed Brutal Youth (1994) with reminiscences of his heydays with his renowned backing band, but not really in that neighbourhood either. Then what is it? To compare with former Costello works it sits somewhere in between - and could be described as the combination of three albums: the stripped-down and pure Brutal Youth, the softer Mighty Like a Rose (without the heavy arrangements) and the personal, much varied, and yet unique sound of Spike.

Personally, I had stopped following new material from Elvis after his '95 album. My impression at the time was that he had peaked long before that and had his best years behind him, Although, what years they were! 'Cause no mater what, how could he come up with anything new without risking to to fail?! At this point in his massive career, he has been around all corners of genres and styles, he had covered and played with music greats. And perhaps that's what he cleverly unfolds here when he mix EVERYTHING he has done and showcases his 'roots rock' fascination, perfections his Dylanesque composer skills, points to popular music icons of the sixties and plagiarises his older self in completely new tones. It's all Costello, and he can do anything. I still think his best years were back then in the '70s and 80s, but nevertheless, I should have paid this album some attention in '96 'cause fact is, it's much better than many of his other recent releases and up there close to his '94 album. It contains many strong compositions - perhaps not as musical originals but as a songwriter, boy, he really still delivers.

[ allmusic.com, NME 3,5 / 5, Rolling Stone, Uncut, Q Magazine 4 / 5 stars ]

Elvis Costello & The Attractions "The Very Best of Elvis Costello & the Attractions" (1994)

The Very Best of Elvis Costello & the Attractions (compilation)
release date: Oct. 25, 1994
format: digital
[album rate: 4 / 5]
producer: various
label: Demon Records - nationality: England, UK

Best of compilation album released on Costello's former record label with songs spanning from his earliest albums to Blood & Chocolate (1986) after which he signed with Warner Bros. And just this label had earlier in '94 (Mar. 8) released Costello's Brutal Youth, which had been seen as a "return" despite having already released two other albums on Warner since his '86 album; however, both Spike (1989) and Mighty Like a Rose (1991) had been reviewed and possibly intentionally released as bolder mainstream albums, and Brutal Youth was compared to his more power pop-shaped '86 release.

This is not the best "best of" album you'll find with Costello, in fact there are so many best of albums claiming to contain his "hits" that it seems like an endless project to list them all. The first official album making the attempt to compile a best of album is The Best of Elvis Costello and The Attractions from 1985 issued on Columbia exclusively for the North American market containing 19 tracks, and a similar, though not identical, release The Best of Elvis Costello - The Man issued by Demon for the UK and Japanese markets containing 18 tracks. These two issues originally had the same front cover as background but "only" twelve tracks in common and a completely different playlist. Later issues of the UK version have a different cover. In 2007, Hip-O-Records issued the album The Best of Elvis Costello - The First 10 Years compiled by Costello himself, which basically is a (fine) combination of the two former best of albums containing 22 tracks.

Demon also released the extensive album Girls + £ ÷ Girls = $ & Girls (commonly referred to as Girls, Girls, Girls) subtitled "The Songs of Elvis Costello / The Sounds of Elvis Costello & The Attractions" from 1989 containing 47 tracks, and in 1999: The Very Best of Elvis Costello containing 42 tracks. Apart from these, Demon and associated labels have released various compilation albums, and also Warner / WEA has issued a number of Costello compilations like Malice and Magic (1994) and Extreme Honey (The Very Best of the Warner Bros. Years) (1997).

Forced to choose just one of the many best of albums, I would go with the 2007 Hip-O-Records issue.

[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5 stars ]

Elvis Costello "Brutal Youth" (1994)

Brutal Youth
release date: Mar. 8, 1994
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,66]
producer: Mitchell Froom and Elvis Costello
label: Warner Bros. - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Pony St." - 2. "Kinder Murder" (4 / 5) (live on Letterman) - 3. "13 Steps Lead Down" - 4. "This Is Hell" - 5. "Clown Strike" - 7. "Still Too Soon to Know" - 9. "Sulky Girl" (official video) - 11. "My Science Fiction Twin" - 13. "Just About Glad" - 15. "Favourite Hour"

14th studio album by Elvis Costello follows an usual three years since his latest album Mighty Like a Rose (1991). The album is like the '91 release co-produced by Mitchell Froom and it's Costello's first album since Blood and Chocolate (1986) to feature The Attractions. They are not credited on the cover (or spine) but are listed as backing band on five of the songs. The relative long hiatus - for Costello - in between albums doesn't mean he didn't produce and compose music. As soon as the recording sessions for his '91 album was over (Winter '90/'91), he was engaged in composing and writing music with film-composer Richard Harvey for the BBC Channel 4 TV-series GBH, released Jul. '91, in '92 he began a collaborative work with the classical act The Brodsky Quartet with whom he released the album The Juliet Letters (Jan. '93), AND he wrote and composed all songs songs for the Wendy James' solo debut Now Ain't the Time for Your Tears (1993) - half of these co-written by Costello's wife Cait O'Riordan. So, no! The man is bloody productive as always.

Critics were rather divided on this (see below) ranking the album from mediocre to near masterpiece. Stephen Erlewine from Allmusic criticises the production sound: "Unfortunately, all this nostalgia and good intentions are cancelled by the retention of producer Mitchell Froom, whose junkyard, hazily cerebral productions stand in direct contrast to the Attractions' best work.", and Chris Willman in Los Angeles Times on the other hand: "You don’t have to have underrated Costello’s recent work to agree this is his finest album since his last with the Attractions, 1986’s Blood and Chocolate.”

Brutal Youth was promoted as a return to former heydays and it's striking how Costello has left the orchestrated arrangements of brass and strings somewhat behind instead of focussing on simpler song structures. That said, it's not Blood and Chocolate part 2 - the power pop songs are outnumbered by more singer / songwriter and pop / rock material but it IS a fine album that gave promises of a return to form of one of Britain's most acclaimed contemporary songwriters.

[ allmusic.com 2,5 / 5, Blender, Rolling Stone 3 / 5, Q Magazine, Uncut 4 / 5, NME 4,5 / 5 stars ]

Elvis Costello & The Attractions "Blood & Chocolate" (1986)

2015 Remaster

Blood & Chocolate

release date: Sep. 15, 1986

format: vinyl (X FIEND 80) / digital (2015 remaster)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,98]

producer: Nick Lowe and Colin Fairley

label: F-Beat Records / Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: 1. "Uncomplicated" (live) - 2. "I Hope You're Happy Now" (4,5 / 5) - 3. "Tokyo Storm Warning" - 4. "Home Is Anywhere You Hang Your Head" - 5. "I Want You" (4 / 5) (studio session) - 6. "Honey Are You Straight or Are You Blind?" - 7. "Blue Chair" - 8. "Battered Old Bird" - 9. "Crimes of Paris" (4 / 5) - 10. "Poor Napoleon" - 11. "Next Time Round" (4,5 / 5)

11th studio album by Elvis Costello and his second fine studio album in the same year. King of America (Feb. '86) was Costello's quiet solo singer / songwriter clone of country folk and acoustic ballads, which stands as yet another fine accomplishment by one of Britain's strongest songwriters, and then he rocks away with The Attractions on this one fuelled with energy and great songs.

Costello had already established himself as a bit of an artistic chameleon - you would always be a bit curious of what style he would dig into next. His first albums were all energetic new wave-oriented albums, but then he went on to make ballads, singer / songwriter material and country-fused songs. And then he made more sophisticated pop / rock songs in a pop soul-style - he did just what he wanted, regardless his fans.

With this, he sort steps back for a while, but also, he doesn't really. Yes, there are many new wave elements on this, but it feels more like s new combo than a step back to what he did. Here, he combines the energy of new wave with his more 'serious' singer / songwriter contributions, and then the production sound both leaves room for the roughness as well as the more polished and softer sides. I recall my initial thoughts about it as generally positive, but with a slight unfulfilled sensation that it could be more in terms with his earlier material. His musical progress was so fast that it was hard to follow. Fans wanted the angry and sharp Costello but he was so much more, and it has taken me decades to understand his tremendous repertoire.

The album is enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".

This is truly one of his finest moments, and it may just turn out as one of his artistic cornerstones.

The 2015 remaster is released by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab.

[ allmusic.com, Q Magazine, Uncut 4 / 5, Rolling Stone 4,5 / 5, Blender 5 / 5 stars ]

Elvis Costello & The Attractions "Goodbye Cruel World" (1984)

Goodbye Cruel World
release date: Jun. 18, 1984
format: digital (2004 2 cd remaster)
[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,88]
producer: Clive Langer & Alan Winstanley
label: Rhino Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "The Only Flame in Town" - 2. "Home Truth" - 3. "Room With No Number" - 6. "Love Field" - 12. "The Deportees Club"

9th studio album released as Elvis Costello & The Attractions following 10 months after Punch the Clock (1983) is like the predecessor produced by the duo Langer / Winstanley. The end result is not as good since Costello apparently wanted to pursue a stronger folk rock sound but the management and the producer-duo sat out for a new pop-styled mix, which ended up with a compromise: songs like "I Wanna Be Loved" [track #7] and "The Only Flame in Town" were pure Langer-Winstanley productions, whereas other songs were made according to Costello's wishes.

The 2004 2cd remaster on Rhino comes with a bonus disc containing 26 additional tracks consisting of demo takes, alternate versions, outtakes, other takes and live recordings - as a collector's item, mostly.

The album is mainstream pop / rock-founded in sheer sophisti-pop-arrangements with bits of pop soul that makes it sound like a close relative to the '83 album - also with the same producer-duo.

To me, it was like witnessing the end of a great comet-career with two lesser albums in a row, and with this like the outtakes to the '83-album being clearly the weakest. Some compositions even sound as well-written songs but with strong use of harmony-vocals, 80s synths and an abundance of shakers and bleeps and bloops songs are turned into a generic... mish-mash.

The album spawned three singles: track #13 "Peace in Our Time", track #7 "I Wanna Be Loved", and track #1 "The Only Flame in Town" peaking at number #48, number #25, and #71 respectively on the UK singles chart list.

Costello had been super-productive from the late 70s and into the early '80s but his artistic level had begun to crumble, or so it appears. For a '95 reissue in the liner notes, Costello even wrote: "Congratulations! You've just purchased our worst album." And that's pretty much how it's widely considered.

In retrospect it doesn't really shine much, and looking at Costello's long-lasting career this very album seems like an absolute wrong turn down a dead-end street without a clear direction, which he luckily understood quite soon. The album may suffer from the fact that Costello and The Attractions experienced inner conflicts, which apparently had Costello suggest it was to be his last with the backing band [also hinted at in the title] and that he found himself in the midst of a divorce from his first wife Mary as well as in a romantic restart of his relationship with (American) Bebe Buell. In this respect, many of the songs deal with starting and ending relationships.

Already as the album was in the making, Costello had made plans of solo concerts in the US without his normal backing band, and these concerts gave him the freedom he needed.

Given various ideas of musical direction, inner conflicts between band members, the album is an incoherent whole, and it stands out as a strong contender to Costello's biggest miss. Overall, it's an album that cannot be recommended.

[ allmusic.com, Mojo, Blender, Rolling Stone 2 / 5, Uncut, Q Magazine 4 / 5 stars ]

Elvis Costello & The Attractions "Punch the Clock" (1983)

Punch the Clock
release date: Aug. 5, 1983
format: vinyl (XXLP 20) / digital (2013 remaster)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,62]
producer: Clive Langer & Alan Winstanley
label: F-Beat Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Let Them All Talk" - 2. "Everyday I Write the Book" - 3. "The Greatest Thing" - 4. "The Element Within Her" - 5. "Love Went Mad" - 6. "Shipbuilding" (5 / 5) - 7. "TKO (Boxing Day)" - 13. "The World and His Wife"

8th studio album by Elvis Costello - his sixth with The Attractions and the first of two consecutive albums to be produced by the pop-producer-duo Langer / Winstanley, who at this point had faced great sales with albums like The Rise & Fall by Madness and Too-Rye-Ay by Dexys Midnight Runners, and the duo's job was to secure hit material singles that had been missing on his previous album, Imperial Bedroom (Jul. '82). Langer / Winstanley stood for large-scale arrangements and they brought with them strings arranger David Bedford, the Afrodiziak [backing choir] and the brass-constellation, The TKO Horns in support of The Attractions.

The 2013 remaster is released by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab.

I recall buying the vinyl album immediately upon its release - I found the single "Everyday I Write the Book" rather nice despite signalling a new pop tone to the sonic universe of Costello. I also recall how I found the album too slick and without much else. Yes, it also contains his modern classic "Shipbuilding", originally written by Costello to be released with Robert Wyatt [Wyatt version] on lead vocals in Aug. '82 - a quite unforgettable version - and as Costello thought of it as his best song ever he included it here with his own vocals and with the addition of a trumpet solo by Chet Baker; and then a few other fine songs, but the overall impression wasn't entirely positive. The video to "Everyday I Write the Book" became an MTV staple and together with a positive Costello, who no longer rejected the press but now willingly stood up for interviews, all in all secured good sales, and the album eventually sold Gold, both in the US and in the UK, where the album peaked at a high top 3 - making it his best-selling album since Get Happy!! (1980).

Over the years it has proved to contain other fine songs but it's still an album that has that unfortunate Langer / Winstanley 'over-produced' touch all over it - a notion several contemporary critics also heard when they referred to the album as 'pretentious' - a tendency that would prove to be further accentuated on Goodbye Cruel World (rel. Jun. '84) - also produced by Langer / Winstanley. The album may be touched, or slightly ruined from poor production and too heavy arrangements, but it's still an album that reveal great songwriting, and in that perspective, it's not a bad album at all.

[ allmusic.com, Blender, Uncut, Mojo 3 / 5, Rolling Stone, Sounds 4 / 5 stars ]

Elvis Costello & The Attractions "Imperial Bedroom" (1982)

Imperial Bedroom
release date: Jul. 2, 1982
format: digital (1994 remaster Extended Play) / digital (2012 remaster)
[album rate: 4,5 / 5] [4,32]
producer: Geoff Emerick
label: Rykodisc / MFSL - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Beyond Belief" (4,5 / 5) - 2. "Tears Before Bedtime" - 3. "Shabby Doll" - 4. "The Long Honeymoon" - 5. "Man Out of Time" - 6. "Almost Blue" (5 / 5) - 7. "...And in Every Home" - 9. "Human Hands" - 10. "Kid About It" - 12. "Boy With a Problem" - 14. "You Little Fool" - 15. "Town Cryer"

7th studio album by Elvis Costello and his fifth consecutive album with The Attractions originally released on F-Beat sees Costello back with his own material as the natural successor to Trust (1981), but it also introduces a new producer as Costello wanted something else, than what he knew Nick Lowe could garantee.

The song "Almost Blue" soon became a stable by Chet Baker [Baker's version - and live in Tokyo], however, the album basically failed to produce single hits as Costello and Emerick had been concentrating on creating a special sound for the entire album, and apparently, Costello didn't come up with full-finished compositions as much as an idea to follow before re-arranging and re-working the song with Emerick.

The '94 Extended Play remaster contains 9 bonus tracks of which five are demos or early / alternate versions and the remaining four are cover songs. Despite not containing top-10 single hits, I think of it as packed with great songs, and I really enjoy the sound of one of his most coherent albums.

[ allmusic.com, Q Magazine, Mojo, Uncut 5 / 5, Rolling Stone, Blender 4 / 5 stars ]

1982 Favourite releases: 1. Laurie Anderson Big Science - 2. Dead Kennedys Plastic Surgery Disasters - 3. Elvis Costello & The Attractions Imperial Bedroom

Elvis Costello & The Attractions "Almost Blue" (1981)

Almost Blue
release date: Oct. 23, 1981
format: cd (1994 remaster Extended Play)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,38]
producer: Billy Sherrill
label: Demon Records - nationality: England, UK

6th studio album by Elvis Costello and his fourth consecutive album with The Attractions is an album of country covers recorded in Nashville, USA with producer Billy Sherill.
The '94 Extended Play version almost doubles the number of songs with its 23 tracks (the original album contains 12 songs) of which seven are live recordings (five from a concert in Aberdeen '81, one from The Palomino Club, Hollywood '79, and one live track from Royal Albert Hall, London '82.
The album was a hard one to swallow by critics and fans, I guess. Costello selected a bunch of songs that were not sheer hit-singles but still were classic country songs, and he may have felt he could do anything he wanted, so he turned to a style and genre, he had not yet excelled in. Also, the genre was perfect when considering his troubled private life with a wife and kid at home, and his ongoing relationships with new lovers on top of drug addiction issues.
Costello had been a success from the start and it's no wonder he thought he could do anything. But in restrospect, I don't think of this as one of his better albums.

Btw. the front cover is with reference to the 1963 album Midnight Blue by Kenny Burrell.
[ allmusic.com, Blender, Mojo, Uncut 4 / 5, Rolling Stone, Q Magazine 3 / 5 stars ]

Elvis Costello & The Attractions "Trust" (1981)

Trust
release date: Jan. 23, 1981
format: vinyl / digital (2015 remaster)
[album rate: 4,5 / 5] [4,33]
producer: Nick Lowe with Roger Bechirian
label: F-Beat Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Clubland" (5 / 5) (better sound) (live) - 2. "Lover's Walk" - 3. "You'll Never Be a Man" - 4. "Pretty Words" - 5. "Strict Time" (4,5 / 5) - 6. "Luxembourg" - 7. "Watch Your Step" (4,5 / 5) - 8. "New Lace Sleeves" (4,5 / 5) - 9. "From a Whisper to a Scream" (4,5 / 5) - 10. "Different Finger" - 11. "White Knuckles" - 12. "Shot With His Own Gun" (4,5 / 5) - 13. "Fish 'n' Chip Paper" - 14. "Big Sister's Clothes" (5 / 5)

[ full album playlist ]

5th studio album by Costello and his third consecutive release with The Attractions is like his previous four albums produced by Nick Lowe. The album is also his fifth studio album in just four years, which at the time made him renowned for his pace as a songwriter having so far 'only' released his own original material.

Stylistically, this is - I feel - more in family with Armed Forces than the predecessor with a stress under singer / songwriter. It's a fine conglomerate of all his strengths: strong lyrics, great hooks, power pop, energetic new wave and heavy ballads. "Clubland" is like no other song with its calm, its soul, AND its sheer energy!

The album has always been one of my favourite Costello albums, and I simply don't understand how it was seen as inferior to his first four. Perhaps critics just needed a break from praising yet another Costello album 'cause how was it even possible to release quality songs again and again?! Anyway, I cannot leave a single track out when highlighting the best tracks. "Luxembourg" is perhaps the weakest track here, but speaking of 'weak' when that would be a damn fine song on most other artists' albums. Critics still liked the album, although, it has been rated in even more positive terms retrospectively.

The 2015 remaster is released by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab.

Highly recommendable.

[ allmusic.com, Blender, Rolling Stone, Uncut 5 / 5, Smash Hits 4,5 / 5 stars ]

2015 remaster

Elvis Costello & The Attractions "Get Happy!!" (1980)

Get Happy!!
release date: Feb. 15, 1980
format: vinyl / cd (1994 remaster Extended Play)
[album rate: 4,5 / 5] [4,46]
producer: Nick Lowe
label: F-Beat / Demon Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Love for Tender" (5 / 5) - 2. "Opportunity" - 3. "The Imposter" (4,5 / 5) - 5. "King Horse" - 6. "Possession" (5 / 5) - 7. "Man Called Uncle" - 8. "Clowntime Is Over" - 10. "High Fidelity" - 11. "I Can't Stand Up (For Falling Down)" - 14. "B Movie" - 15. "Motel Matches" - 18. "Temptation" (5 / 5) - 19. "I Stand Accused" - *23 "Getting Mighty Crowded" - *24. "So Young"
*Bonus track on 1994 remaster 'Extended Play'

4th studio album by Elvis Costello is like the predecessor made with The Attractions, and it's his now fourth album to be produced by Nick Lowe. The original vinyl release is released on F-Beat and the '94 remaster in the Extended Play-series, is released by Demon Records.
Already, at this point Costello was known for the incredible production speed he was pursuing. Many artist spewed out albums faster than ever before at this point in modern music history, but Costello wrote and composed close to 100% of his material on his own, and here just one year after the new-found style of Armed Forces he bangs another style-shift on the counter with this one to avoid repeating himself.
Get Happy!! contains 20 tracks in the original vinyl version, which in itself is an accomplishment and something almost unheard of with its running time at 48 mins they indeed pressed the limits with the vinyl format. Several songs run out under 2 mins, and the average playing time of the songs must be somewhere around 2:30, but still he demonstrates impressive writing pace. Stylistically, the album showcases Costello's musical strengths as he explores soul and r&b sources to mix his own new wave and power pop version of pop soul and with the tight backing band, The Attractions they make it a bomb of sheer rhythmic energy.
I think the album is one of my first purchases after having bought This Year's Model with Costello in the early 1980s, and it immediately felt great. I know, contemporary critics praised his earlier and some later releases higher than this, but from my perspective this is Costello at his best. Much like with his '79 album it's a pretty hard job to enlist the track highlights on an album that just consists of great songs, which is why I have only enlisted the very very best. The 1994 remaster on Demon is worth every penny. Like the vinyl was followed by producer Nick Lowe's comment to the record buyer to pay attention that the album has 10 tracks on each side without loss of quality, the remaster has another 10 bonus tracks in the 'Extended Play' series (actually, 11 tracks counting the unlisted 31st incomplete demo track of "Love for Tender" intentionally ending abruptly after 1:39). The original vinyl album was issued with a wrong playing order - having swapped the A and B-sides, and the '94 remaster plays along with this by enlisting the total tracks in reverse order.
The first (and the best charting) single from the album is I Can't Stand Up (For Falling Down) (Feb. 1980) peaking at number #4 on the UK singles chart list, followed by High Fidelity (Feb. 1980) and New Amsterdam (Jun. 1980). The album was well-received, and it reached the same high position on the national albums chart list with a second place, although, it wasn't met by the same positive reviews as his two previous albums. Retrospectively, however, the album is by many considered one of Costello's absolute best. On the website Acclaimed Music, the album is ranked the 76th most acclaimed album of the 1980s, and in 1989, Rolling Stone placed Get Happy!! at number #11 on its list of 'The 100 Best Albums of the 1980s'.
The album is and has always been one of my absolute favourites by Costello, and would surely end up on my personal top 3 list of his extensive production, if I should ever attempt to make such a list.
Highly recommended.
"EveryHomeShouldHaveOne."
[ allmusic.com, Blender, Sounds, Uncut 5 / 5, Rolling Stone, Select 4 / 5 stars ]

Elvis Costello & The Attractions "Armed Forces" (1979)

Armed Forces
release date: Jan. 5, 1979
format: vinyl (foldout cover - RAD 56 597) / cd (1993 remaster Extended Play)
[album rate: 4,5 / 5] [4,42]
producer: Nick Lowe
label: Radar Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Accidents Will Happen" (4,5 / 5) - 2. "Senior Service" - 3. "Oliver's Army" (5 / 5) - 4. "Big Boys" - 5. "Green Shirt" - 6. "Party Girl" - 7. "Goon Squad" - 8. "Busy Bodies" - 9. "Sunday's Best" - 10. "Moods for Moderns" - 11. "Chemistry Class" - 12. "Two Little Hitlers" - 13. "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding?" (5 / 5) - *14. "My Funny Valentine" - *15. "Tiny Steps" - *16. "Clean Money" - *17. "Talking in the Dark" - *18. "Wednesday Week" - *19. "Accidents Will Happen" (Live) - *20. "Alison" (Live) - *21. "Watching the Detectives" (Live)
*Bonus tracks on 1993 Extended Play remaster

3rd studio album by Elvis Costello and the first official album release as Elvis Costello & The Attractions, although, The Attractions also backed Costello on his second studio album This Years Model. Allegedly, the new album had the working title "Emotional Fascism" (this title is printed on the inner sleeve of the vinyl album) and it was originally released on Radar Records with 12 songs and, once again, with Nick Lowe in the producer seat.

With Armed Forces, Costello both continues his wry and energetic new wave thrusts and takes his scores into more complex arrangements, which just sounds like the matured natural progression. The album contains 'the usual' strong and simple 1-2-3-4 rhythms, albeit fewer of them, and he has turned down on the power pop and instead placed more focus on strong ballad-like songs as well as more sophisticated compositions.
The album was one of the very first I encountered with Costello. I recall borrowing it from a friend and playing the copied cassette version over and over. Very quickly, the album was one of my preferred Costello albums and so it has remained throughout the years.
The album was met by critical acclaim and the first single "Oliver's Army" reached number #2 on the UK singles chart list, and soon also the album followed in its footsteps on the albums chart list. The American issue contained the track "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding", (soon to be a Costello staple, although written by Nick Lowe), and on the American issue this replaced the song "Sunday's Best".
The album has found its way to many best of lists including Q's "100 Greatest British Albums Ever", Rolling Stone's "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" as well as "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
The 1993 remastered Extended Play issue (on Demon Records) contains a mix of the EU and the US version of the original (making the original album a 13 track album) with the addition of 8 bonus tracks enlisted as the Extended Play content. First track of the bonus content is a marvellous version of "My Funny Valentine" - I think inspired both by the Chet Baker version but also the appraised Robert Wyatt cover of Costello's own "Shipbuilding", making it a very delicate and haunting piece with much jazz feel. Then follows four tracks that have been associated with the American-only release Taking Liberties from 1980, which includes the songs #15-18, ending with three live songs - a beautiful semi-acoustic live version of "Accidents Will Happen," the fine "Alison" and "Watching the Detectives." All in all, a more than adequate re-issue from Demon with a running time above 63 minutes, and when enlisting the highlights I have enlisted all tracks as they're all more than just ordinarily good. There are simply no fillers on the 21 tracks extended edition.
Armed Forces is perhaps the strongest contender to Costello's finest album, and it's surely one of the best of '79 and naturally, highly recommended.
[ allmusic.com, Blender, Rolling Stone 5 / 5 stars ]