Elvis Costello – This Year’s Model (1978/2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 39:19 minutes | 1,61 GB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © UMe – Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello’s second album, released in 1978, continued to build on the momentum that started with his debut the year before. His biggest chart success to date, the album includes two British top 30 singles, Pump It Up and Radio, Radio, along with (I Don’t Want to Go to) Chelsea which peaked at number 16. Critics were equally enthusiastic: This Year’s Model was ranked by Rolling Stone at number 98 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time and was named the best album of the year by writers at The Village Voice.
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.
Tracklist:
01. Elvis Costello & The Attractions – No Action (02:01)
02. Elvis Costello & The Attractions – This Year’s Girl (03:23)
03. Elvis Costello & The Attractions – The Beat (03:48)
04. Elvis Costello & The Attractions – Pump It Up (03:18)
05. Elvis Costello & The Attractions – Little Triggers (02:43)
06. Elvis Costello & The Attractions – You Belong To Me (02:25)
07. Elvis Costello & The Attractions – Hand In Hand (02:38)
08. Elvis Costello & The Attractions – (I Don’t Want To Go To) Chelsea (03:09)
09. Elvis Costello & The Attractions – Lip Service (02:39)
10. Elvis Costello & The Attractions – Living In Paradise (03:47)
11. Elvis Costello & The Attractions – Lipstick Vogue (03:34)
12. Elvis Costello & The Attractions – Night Rally (02:45)
13. Elvis Costello & The Attractions – Radio, Radio (03:05)
