Elvis Costello - This Year's Model

an unmatched songwriting performance

The album is flawless. The musicianship is so tight and economical that not a single note or beat seems out of place (every person I've ever known is thrilled to hear 'Pump it Up'). While obviously one would not cast EC in "I Pagliacci" his vocal tones and inflections are perfect for his material, perhaps never more so than on this record.

But what makes listening to this so breathtaking is the songwriting. This, along with 'Armed Forces' form the most brilliant collection of compositions in the history of popular music. The genre that once relied on "one-two-three'o'clock, four'o'clock rock" and "tutti-fruitti aw rooty" now had Declan the Great to provide "you want to throw me away, but I'm not broken" and "I want to bite the hand that feeds me".

Forget trying to pigeonhole this by saying it was part of this new wave trend or that punk scene - this is one of the greatest of all rock and roll records PERIOD and should be owned by everyone. July 5, 2008

Great In Any Year

This Year's Model was Elvis Costello's second album and his first with the Attractions. Mr. Costello embodied the angry attitude of punk rock, but unlike most punk bands who were unskilled musicians that thrived on high energy, he possessed a rapier pen and an ear for melody. The album opens with the fierce "No Action" that in fine punk form clocks in at less than two minutes. "This Year's Girl" is wry take on the fame machine. "The Beat" has a catchy organ riff and is about the tried and true subject of self-gratification. "Pump It Up" is a fiery track as is "Lip Service". "(I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea" has a manic verve while "Little Triggers" slows things down. "Radio Radio" is the most famous off the album, but the album's best track is "Lipstick Vogue". The song has a thumping bass line that shuffles along until a frenzied close. This Year's Model gave further proof that Elvis Costello may well be the king. May 14, 2008

Amazon, please correct this track listing

This is my first review. It's great when you can read these things, and be warned before spending your hard earned quan, only to be dissapointed. Everything about this release is awesome, the sound, the packaging...oh wait...whats this? There are only 12 tracks! Thats right...Radio Radio is missing! Hope it wasn't your favorite tune on the disc, cuz ya won't hear it here. My copy is not a fake either, so while Im at it, beware of all Japan discs these days. Just because it's Japanese don't necessarily make it better, or even good. I recently bought Rod Stewart's Never A Dull Moment, the Japan mini LP remaster. It's pretty thin sounding and even distorted in some places, compared with the warmth of the $5 domestic reissue. I'm just sayin! October 17, 2007

Edgy, aggro classic from the late punk era

This second album by Elvis Costello is far better than My Aim is True, in my opinion. The tunes are more immediate with much more of a pop flavour whilst the music is also more rhythmically varied and compelling. It marks the transition to his wonderfully accessible Armed Forces masterpiece.

There is even a reggae beat in (I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea and a ballad with lovely piano - Little Triggers. My favourites are the up-tempo Pump It Up and the poignant This Year's Girl, plus of course the pulsating Radio Radio with its subversive lyrics. This Year's Model is one of the top albums of the 1970s.

The Best of Elvis Costello: The First 10 Years

The Very Best Of Elvis Costello And The Attractions

July 23, 2007

Fall in to submission, hit and run transmission

If "My Aim Is True (With Bonus Disc)" landed on the music scene like a stick of dynamite with the fuse lit, "This Year's Model" was the explosion that came after. Elvis' first album with the Attractions more than lived up to its predecessor, in that having a working band behind him matched the music to the blunt force of the songs.

Once again, it is the stark voice of EC that opened the album as he ominously intones "I don't wannna kiss you, I don't wanna touch." When the players kick in, it's a whole 'nother world from "My Aim Is True," and for the first time, "new wave" had a front man. Before this album had been released, one of the central songs had made headlines. Elvis' broadside at narrow-format broadcasting, "Radio Radio," was performed in such a bizarre fashion on Saturday Night Live that he was effectively banned from the show for almost a decade and made this (then) seventeen year-old a fan for life. That performance sealed a decision for me to get into radio and make artists like Elvis accessible to listeners. When I was fortunate enough to tell him this many years later, Elvis kindly autographed a ragged poster of "Armed Forces" "Don't blame me."

Personal nostalgia aside, fourth CD version "This Year's Model" contains all the songs that comprised the original US and UK versions and the original UK artwork. These are some of the songs by which EC is measured, like "Radio Radio," "Pump it Up" and "The Beat." The Attractions' playing was melody driven in addition to frenetic, a perfect compliment to Elvis' brilliant lyrics. And it was already becoming apparent that keyboardist Steve Nieve was becoming an architect of what American ears would identify as "punk rock." The remainder of "This Year's Model" provides some hot songs that proved what this band of raving 20 somethings were capable in their rock and roll youth. This was the second of Elvis' "Angry Young Man" trilogy and it is a perfect moment.

May 5, 2007

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