The Elvis Costello album-by-album thread

Here's a promotional Stiff 7" that included excerpts from Stiff's Greatest Hits including "Alison", "Red Shoes", and "Watching the Detectives", all from MAIT. Next to that is an Australian Stiff promo flexidisc, called "Stiff Fourplay" with its sleeve with 2 tracks from MAIT.

 

That's exactly how I feel about it. It's one of the first few EC records I ever heard (around 1993) and was instrumental in making me a hardcore fan, and I'd probably still put it in his top six or so, but I think it's slightly--as much as I hate this word--overrated.

I think it ends up on so many lists because it's a bit "safer" than some of the more acidic material that followed. Even the angry songs have a sort of blue collar, pub rock feel to them. By the time we get to "This Year's Model," EC's voice is a lot more sneering and the backing is really frenetic and sometimes downright menacing.

It has some great tracks, for sure, such as "Miracle Man," "Red Shoes" and "No Dancing," but he had yet to find his own style. Someone once described EC as "Buddy Holly on acid" and no record of his fits that description better than this one. "Mystery Dance" is a shameless pastiche, but a good one (although I much prefer the "Live at El Mocambo" version). "Sneaky Feelings" and "Pay It Back" almost sound interchangeable to me and are by far the weakest tracks, to my ears. "Alison" is a true enigma in his catalogue: no other song of his has that MOR '70s torch song feel to it. It's a good one, but it's an oddball. The tracks that bookend the original album are also strong.

I love the Honky Tonk demos on the Ryko and Rhino editions, particularly "Poison Moon," a stunning tune that never got resurrected. I'm also pretty fond of "Imagination (Is A Powerful Deceiver)."

 

While I love the wordplay that would come on the next few albums, there was a directness to the lyrics of the 1st album that didn't reappear until King of America.

 

Nobody is saying that the other albums are bad: "Imperial bedroom", "King of America" and "Blood and chocolat" are generally considered excellent albums. Personally I also like a "Mighty like a rose", "Punch the clock" and "Brutal youth" and even his last ten years output has a quite good reputation, notably "The delivery man".
If anything, I feel that since the 90s he went on with too many collaborations with totally different artists and in a way he got sort of debranded

 

Correction: I mentioned the sampler had tracks all from MAIT. This is actually incorrect, as "Watching the Detectives" was not on the UK version of the album. It was late and I wasn't thinking.

 

I was already sort of an old hippy when this came out, so it sounded like punk to me. I suppose, in addition to his singing there's the subject matter and his tendency to cram in tons of words/syllables. And then, re-listening to Never Mind the Bollocks, those songs actually sound fairly slow now ...

Something else that IMO connects a lot of Costello to punk/new wave is the angularity of his compositions, his tendency to cram in lots of musical twists and turns, something he has in common with Squeeze or XTC. Admittedly, I don't hear much of that on MAIT.

There's some guitar playing on the album that sounds a bit like Dave Edmonds, i.e. the solo on "Mystery Dance," etc. Did he help produce? Any chance he did an uncredited guest spot/s?

As an old hippy, I was somewhat dissappointed by the next album, missed the guitars, thought the playing sounded cruder -- I guess I still do, compared to the later albums -- but I guess that was the point.

Didn't EC say something once about listening to the Clash on headphones in his appartment, cause he didn't want to bother the neighbors, and hating it?

Despite that I was in my 20s when this came out, it was still a pretty formative album for me. Mine came with the bonus live ep.

 

Maybe nobody's said it yet here but it's a common perspective on Costello's career.

 

I had heard Alison & Red Shoes on the radio. Thought they were okay but it didn't prompt me to go out & buy the album. I remember seeing a Rolling Stone review of My Aim Is True coupled with a review of Bat Out Of Hell (I hope I am remembering correctly) suggesting a similarity between the two artists. That stuck in my mind as I was a big fan of the Meat Loaf album at the time. I also recall seeing him on Saturday Night Live, start a tune then abruptly stop & play a different one (Radio Radio). His stage presence was memorable as were his disjointed knees. At the end of the performance I remember thinking "what the heck was THAT?"

So Elvis was on my radar but I think he was a bit odd for my 15 year old sensibilities (in 1977).

But the next year, my brother had taped an Elvis song off of the radio & played it for me. I was floored! It was sooooo different from anything I had heard before. Unfortunately, he didn't get the name of it. So the next day I went to the local record shop. There were two Elvis albums available & I didn't know which had the mysterious song I had heard....so I bought both.

So, my introduction to EC was strange as there is such a trememdous difference between My Aim Is True and This Years Model. I liked both, but This Years Model astounded me. Every song was as good as, or better than, that crazy song I'd heard taped off of the air - Living In Paradise.

I still feel the same about My Aim Is True today that I felt in 1978 - there are a few standout tracks and the rest of it is good. Where This Years Model has a few standout tracks and the rest is GREAT.

I sometimes wish I had purchased MAIT a year earlier as I'm pretty sure it would have had a much greater impact on me.

BTW - the b-sides Stranger In The House and Radio Sweetheart - both great!

 

This is how I remember the first time I saw EC, and it was on TV. It was a Saturday afternoon, and I was watching wrestling (probably on WOR-TV Channel 9 sometime around after 1:00 PM.) A still image of EC behind the Hasselblad camera was onscreen. A voiceover said, "This is last year's model..." EC burst through the still image on paper, stumbling to the chords from "Pump it Up" and the voiceover continued, "... and this is this year's model!" Clips from the "Pump it Up" video played. I remember thinking, "Who is this guy?"

I didn't run out and buy any records. This curious figure just remained in the back of my mind until I got more into music hanging out in high school. I eventually picked up MAIT sometime in 1979.

 

I really didn't become a fan until the next album. The local FM station played 'Red Shoes' constantly up here and, to me, it just sounded like Bruce Springsteen-style MOR mainstream rock.

But then, at the time, I didn't associate him with cool indie-label Stiff, all I saw were the ads promoting him as a Columbia mega-star.

I grew to like the album a bit more later, but it's still my least favorite of his earlier work. Too much guitar, not enough keyboards.

Technically, 'Stranger' was an a-side. (freebie single with 'This Year's Model', and methinks it really belongs as a bonus track on that album instead)

 

"Stranger" was recorded during the My Aim Is True sessions.

 

Maybe true somewhat sqealy, but a lot of EC fans I know love his later albums even up until the early 90's material as well..

The biggest fan I know, and the one who introduced me to his music originally has maintained for the last 20 or so years that "King Of America" is his best..

YMMV of course!

 

In the Bowie album by album thread someone stated that Bowie's output in the 70's cannot even remotely be matched by anybody else.
While I do agree with the statement above, it would be interesting to analyse the artist with the best output in ten consecutive years.
I think Costello (from 77 to 86) and Bowie would stand out by a long shot, followed in third position by Led Zeppelin (Fantastic string of six albums until Physical graffiti).
All and all I think I prefer Costello as far as sheer music quality is concerned, while Bowie certainly had more impact with all his different reincarnations

 

I had heard a few songs from MAIT on KOME or KSJO and liked them but did not rush out to buy the LP. Then I saw him at Winterland in 1978 I believe and was hooked from then on. A new Elvis Costello release warranted an immediate trip to Tower Records in San Jose.

 

Picking up on the Bowie comparison, during the time periods in question both Bowie and EC found time to also produce important records -- Lou Reed and Iggy, Specials/Squeeze/Pogues, respectively. Amazing.

 

Two musical geniuses, IMHO, so, it doesn't surprise me! Great music period, there. I only wish the current one was half as interesting....

 

I'm a relatively new convert to Costello. I was vaguely aware of his hits, but never got into any of his albums until a manager of a movie theater I was working in would put Elvis on the CD changer that played in the lobby. I immediately dove into the back catalog. Thankfully, Rhino was in the middle of their reissue series at the time. Essentially, I came to the Costello catalog out of order, and with a lot of hindsight. I'm definitely interested in the perpsective of those who were there from the beginning.

When I heard "My Aim Is True," I was surprised at the sound. I always liked his "new wave" work best, and this album isn't quite the debut I expected. As I learned more, I could see how the first album made sense, since Elvis had a wide range of influences. This is even clearer when you consider "Watching the Detectives," with the reggae influence not evident anywhere else on the record.

I could definitely see myself being disappointed in the album at the time for being too "basic." "Blame It On Cain," "Sneaky Feelings" and "Mystery Dance" are examples - songs which stuck to familiar rock & roll patterns. What still shines brightly here, all these years later, is how perfect a ballad "Alison" was (I'm not a fan of this type of song usually, but I absolutely love "Alison"), and how original "Less Than Zero" must have sounded. To me "Red Shoes" and "No Dancing" also hint at the direction Elvis would go on future albums.

 

Bingo. My 2 fave tracks on this lp, although I'd have to add "I'm Not Angry", an incredible song!. I backtracked to this lp as well, although from the "Armed Forces" lp that I first heard a white label promo of at the dinky record store I was working at then. Next I picked up "This year's Model", then "My Aim..". As others have posted, I listen to the Rhino bonus disc if I ever dig this out. I would probably feel differently if this was my actual introduction to EC, and I wish it was: the shift from MAIT to TYM must have been astounding!

By the way, "Wave A White Flag" is one of the most offensive "relationship" songs ever - I love it!!

 

Remember Woody Allen's Stardust Memories? One fan after another approached his film director character and gushed something like, "I love your movies...especially the early funny ones."

The director appeared to loathe these fans.

That sums up how I feel about Elvis. I especially like his early, snarling albums. Funny thing is, Costello loathed his American fans then and seems far more tolerant these days. My Aim is True was a stunning debut. This Year's Model seethed venom and bile. Armed Forces kicked pop in the ribs. Get Happy included more intelligent beats than all of Greenwich Village in 1959 and might've made Bonnie Bramlett smile. Maybe not.

 

Welcome, Half Japanese - I think you are going to be a great addition to this thread, which I am eagerly looking forward to and enjoying!

 

Some of the influence would have come from his backing band Clover which consisted of some American players if I am not wrong. This may have accounted for the sound of Allison for example.

But its certainly a great debut album and although its been overshadowed by his later works, I still take it out for a spin now and then.

 

Costello loathed a lot of people in those days. He was a particularly unpleasant person to be around until about 1982.

 

Added to his appeal, IMHO. Maybe this, and not the music, is where his connection to "Punk" originates.