Elvis Costello: This Year's Model

The best way to deal with aggression: channel it into something creative. Play sports. Turn it into art.

After checking out Up the Bracket by the Libertines, I went back to the tight masters of controlled fury -- Elvis Costello and The Attractions (Elvis on vocals and guitar; Steve Nieve on keyboards; Bruce Thomas on bass; Pete Thomas on drums).

Elvis Costello -- love him or hate him, he's a genius. Since My Aim Is True (1977), the first album, he's covered just about every form of musical style possible, and most recently he's been playing gigs to help New Orleans relief and rebuilding efforts.

But the real killer albums, the total sonic assaults combined with cheeky lyrics, are This Year's Model (1978) and Armed Forces (1979).

The Rhino reissue of This Year's Model is brilliant: two discs for the price of one; the first disc combines the British and American versions of the initial release and the second has a stack of gems from around the same time period. Elvis himself wrote the extensive liner notes, all fascinating.

Calling all Elvis Costello fans: if you don't have a copy of this re-issue, snap it up. It's golden.

This Year's Model includes "This Year's Girl," the anthemic fast and the furious "Pump It Up," the demented "You Belong To Me," "Living in Paradise," and "Lipstick Vogue," the always catchy "(I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea," and the anti-establishment firebomb, "Radio, Radio:" "I want to bite the hand that feeds me / I want to bite that hand so badly. . ."

Disc Two has the big sounding march, "Big Tears" (including Mick Jones of The Clash on extra guitar), and the hilarious "Crawling to the USA:

She said, "I catch you taking liberties and they do not impress me
Attach me to your credit card and then you can undress me."
Everybody is on their knees except the Russians and the Chinese
"You had better not go too far!"

There's a demo of a gorgeous "unplugged" song, "Running Out of Angels," and other terrific alternative tracks and demos. Great great stuff. Let's not forget "Night Rally," which along with "Chelsea" didn't make the initial American release -- it was considered "too English for American tastes." Ha! Rally ho!

Today's Rune: Harvest.

Here's to Taking Liberties -- Viva Elvis Costello!