Elvis Costello & The Attractions / This Year's Model
Artist Elvis Costello & The Attractions
Album Title: This Year's Model
Album Cover:
Primary Genre Rock: New Wave
Format CD
Released 03/17/1978
Reissue Date 00/00/1986
Label Columbia Records
Catalog No CK 35331
Bar Code No 0 7464-35331-2
Packaging Jewelcase
Tracks
1. No Action / Elvis Costello (2:01)
2. This Year's Girl / Elvis Costello (3:23)
3. The Beat / Elvis Costello (3:48)
4. Pump It Up / Elvis Costello (3:17)
5. Little Triggers / Elvis Costello (2:43)
6. You Belong To Me / Elvis Costello (2:22)
7. Hand In Hand / Elvis Costello (2:34)
8. Lip Service / Elvis Costello (2:40)
9. Living In Paradise / Elvis Costello (3:48)
10. Lipstick Vogue / Elvis Costello (3:36)
11. Radio, Radio / Elvis Costello (3:06)
Date Acquired 06/06/1986
Personal Rating
Acquired from Down In The Valley
Purchase Price 15.00

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Reviews
All Music Guide Review:

Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Where My Aim Is True implied punk rock with its lyrics and stripped-down production, This Year's Model sounds like punk. Not that Elvis Costello's songwriting has changed -- This Year's Model is comprised largely of leftovers from My Aim Is True and songs written on the road. It's the music that changed. After releasing My Aim Is True, Costello assembled a backing band called the Attractions, which were considerably tougher and wilder than Clover, who played on his debut. The Attractions were a rock & roll band, which gives This Year's Model a reckless, careening feel. It's nervous, amphetamine-fueled, nearly paranoid music -- the group sounds like they're spinning out of control as soon as they crash in on the brief opener, "No Action," and they never get completely back on track, even on the slower numbers. Costello and the Attractions speed through This Year's Model at a blinding pace, which gives his songs -- which were already meaner than the set on My Aim Is True -- a nastier edge. "Lipstick Vogue," "Pump It Up," and "(I Don't Want to Go To) Chelsea" are all underscored with sexual menace, while "Night Rally" touches on a bizarre fascination with fascism that would blossom on his next album, Armed Forces. Even the songs that sound relatively lighthearted -- "Hand in Hand," "Little Triggers," "Lip Service," "Living in Paradise" -- are all edgy, thanks to Costello's breathless vocals, Steve Nieve's carnival-esque organ riffs, and Nick Lowe's bare-bones production. Of course, the songs on This Year's Model are typically catchy and help the vicious sentiments sink into your skin, but the most remarkable thing about the album is the sound -- Costello and the Attractions never rocked this hard, or this vengefully, ever again. [The 1993 CD reissue standardized the sequencing of This Year's Model on both sides of the Atlantic, restoring the album to its original British running order and adding six bonus tracks. The first three tracks are singles and B-sides, including the classic rant "Radio, Radio," the organ-driven '60s pop of "Big Tears," and the frenetic "Crawling to the USA." The remaining three tracks -- "Running Out of Angels," "Greenshirt," and "Big Boys" -- are all demos.]
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