Armed Forces (album)

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For other uses, see armed forces (disambiguation).
Armed Forces
Studio album by Elvis Costello and the Attractions
Released 5 January 1979 (1979-01-05)
Recorded August 1978 (1978-08)–September 1978 (1978-09), Eden Studios, London
Genre New Wave
Punk rock
Length 40:05
Label Radar (UK)
Columbia (U.S.)
F-Beat (1981 (1981) UK Reissue)
Demon/Rykodisc (19 October 1993 (1993-10-19) Reissue)
Rhino (19 November 2002 (2002-11-19) Reissue)
Hip-O (10 September 2007 (2007-09-10) Reissue)
Producer Nick Lowe
Elvis Costello and the Attractions chronology
This Year's Model
(1978)		 Armed Forces
(1979)		 Get Happy!!
(1980)
Singles from Armed Forces
  1. "Oliver's Army"
    Released: 2 February 1979 (1979-02-02) [1]
  2. "Accidents Will Happen"
    Released: 4 May 1979 (1979-05-04) [1]
Alternative cover
US 1979 and 2002 reissue cover, also known as "paint spatter cover"
Promo Single
Live at Hollywood High

Armed Forces is Elvis Costello's third album, his second with the Attractions, and the first to officially credit the Attractions on the cover. It was released in the UK by Radar Records and in the U.S. by Columbia in 1979 (see 1979 in music). The American version deleted "Sunday's Best" and substituted Costello's version of "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding," which had been released the previous November as the B-side of Nick Lowe's "American Squirm" single, at the end of side two. The album had the working title Emotional Fascism.

Initial pressings of the album in the UK and U.S. included a promotional three-song single, Live at Hollywood High, which was recorded on 4 June 1978 (1978-06-04). The live tracks, also produced by Nick Lowe, are "Accidents Will Happen," "Alison," and "Watching the Detectives". The UK edition also included 4 postcards featuring pictures of the band. In E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Elliott's brother, Michael (played by Robert MacNaughton), sings "Accidents Will Happen" in the family kitchen after coming home from school.[2]

In 2000 Q magazine placed Armed Forces at number 45 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever. In 2003, the album was ranked number 482 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[3]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 5/5 stars [4]
Pitchfork (9.5/10) [5]
Robert Christgau A− [6]
Rolling Stone favorable [7]
Rolling Stone Album Guide 4/5 stars [8]
Wiki letter w.svg This table needs to be expanded using prose. See the guideline for more information.

Contents

[edit] Original LP track listing

All songs written by Elvis Costello, except as noted.

[edit] Side one

  1. "Accidents Will Happen" – 3:00
  2. "Senior Service" – 2:17
  3. "Oliver's Army" – 2:58
  4. "Big Boys" – 2:54
  5. "Green Shirt" – 2:42
  6. "Party Girl" – 3:20

[edit] Side two

  1. "Goon Squad" – 3:14
  2. "Busy Bodies" – 3:33
  3. "Sunday's Best" – 3:22
  4. "Moods for Moderns" – 2:48
  5. "Chemistry Class" – 2:55
  6. "Two Little Hitlers" – 3:18

[edit] Live at Hollywood High promo single

  1. "Accidents Will Happen" (Live) – 3:18
  2. "Alison" (Live) – 3:08
  3. "Watching the Detectives" (Live) – 5:51

[edit] Bonus CD reissue tracks (1993 Rykodisc)

  1. "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding" (Nick Lowe) – 3:31
  2. "My Funny Valentine" (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) – 1:28
  3. "Tiny Steps" – 2:42
  4. "Clean Money" – 1:57
  5. "Talking in the Dark" – 1:56
  6. "Wednesday Week" – 2:01
  7. "Accidents Will Happen" (Live at Hollywood High) – 3:18
  8. "Alison" (Live at Hollywood High) – 3:08
  9. "Watching the Detectives" (Live at Hollywood High) – 5:51
  • Tracklisting notes: The Rykodisc reissue placed "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding?" after a 15 second silence following "Two Little Hitlers."

[edit] Bonus disc (2002 Rhino)

  1. "Tiny Steps" – 2:42
  2. "Busy Bodies" (Alternative version) – 3:48
  3. "Talking in the Dark" – 1:56
  4. "Big Boys" (Alternative version) – 2:56
  5. "Clean Money" – 1:57
  6. "Wednesday Week" – 2:01
  7. "My Funny Valentine" (Rodgers, Hart) – 1:33
  8. "Accidents Will Happen" (Live at Hollywood High) – 3:18
  9. "Mystery Dance" (Live at Hollywood High) – 2:01
  10. "Goon Squad" (Live at Hollywood High) – 3:42
  11. "Party Girl" (Live at Hollywood High) – 3:19
  12. "Stranger in the House" (Live at Hollywood High) – 3:52
  13. "Alison" (Live at Hollywood High) – 3:08
  14. "Lipstick Vogue" (Live at Hollywood High) – 4:26
  15. "Watching the Detectives" (Live at Hollywood High) – 5:51
  16. "You Belong to Me" (Live at Hollywood High) – 2:39
  17. "Chemistry Class" (Live solo) – 2:34

Note: The Rykodisc version has the original tracks and bonus tracks on one CD. The Rhino version has two CDs with the original tracks on the first CD.

[edit] Personnel

[edit] Charts

[edit] Chart positions

Chart (1979) Position
Australian Albums Chart[9] 9
Canadian Albums Chart[10] 8
Dutch Mega Albums Chart[11] 13
New Zealand Albums Chart [12] 9
Norwegian VG-lista Albums Chart[13] 12
Swedish Albums Chart[14] 11
UK Albums Chart [15] 2
United States Billboard 200 [16] 10

[edit] Year-end charts

Chart (1979) Position
Australian Albums Chart[9] 32
Canadian Albums Chart[17] 60
UK Albums Chart[18] 13

[edit] Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Canada (Music Canada)[19] Platinum 100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[20] Platinum 300,000^
United States (RIAA)[21] Gold 500,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b "Main Single Release Discography". The Elvis Costello Home Page. http://www.elviscostello.info/disc/single_index.php. Retrieved 2008-08-25. 
  2. ^ Q Magazine. March 2008.  Cited at "E.T.: – The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) – Trivia". imdb.com. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083866/trivia. Retrieved 4 January 2012. 
  3. ^ Levy, Joe; Steven Van Zandt (2006) [2005]. "482 | Armed Forces - Elvis Costello and the Attractions". Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (3rd ed.). London: Turnaround. ISBN 1932958614. OCLC 70672814. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/armed-forces-elvis-costello-and-the-attractions-19691231. Retrieved 18 Feb 2006. 
  4. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Armed Forces (album) at Allmusic. Retrieved 20 Jun 2005.
  5. ^ LeMay, Matt (March 2, 2003). "Elvis Costello & The Attractions Armed Forces > Review". pitchfork.com. Pitchfork Media. http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/1621-armed-forces-with-the-attractions/. Retrieved 20 June 2005. 
  6. ^ Christgau, Robert (February 26, 1979). "Christgau's Consumer Guide: Elvis Costello: Armed Forces". The Village Voice. http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cgv2-79.php. Retrieved 30 November 2011.  Revised version posted at "Elvis Costello: Armed Forces > Consumer Album Guide". Robert Christgau. http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=1154. Retrieved 29 April 2006. 
  7. ^ Maslin, Janet (March 22, 1979). "Elvis Costello Armed Forces > Review". Rolling Stone (287). Archived from the original on 14 November 2007. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/armed-forces-19790322. Retrieved 24 April 2005. 
  8. ^ Sheffield, Rob (2004). "Elvis Costello". In Brackett, Nathan with Hoard, Christian. The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. London: Fireside. pp. 193–195. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. http://books.google.com/books?id=t9eocwUfoSoC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA193#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 30 November 2011.  Portions posted at "Elvis Costello > Album Guide". rollingstone.com. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/elvis-costello/albumguide. Retrieved 25 June 2011. 
  9. ^ a b Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. 
  10. ^ Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 2011-10-24
  11. ^ "dutchcharts.nl Elvis Costello - This Year's Model" (in Dutch) (ASP). dutchcharts.nl. MegaCharts. http://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Elvis+Costello+And+The+Attractions&titel=Armed+Forces&cat=a. Retrieved 2011-10-23. 
  12. ^ "charts.org.nz - Elvis Costello and the Attractions - Armed Forces" (ASP). Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. http://charts.org.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=Elvis+Costello+And+The+Attractions&titel=Armed+Forces&cat=a. Retrieved 2011-10-23. 
  13. ^ "norwegiancharts.com Elvis Costello and the Attractions - Armed Forces" (ASP). VG-lista. http://norwegiancharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Elvis+Costello+And+The+Attractions&titel=Armed+Forces&cat=a. Retrieved 2011-09-18. 
  14. ^ "swedishcharts.com Elvis Costello and the Attractions - Armed Forces" (in Swedish) (ASP). Sverigetopplistan. http://swedishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Elvis+Costello+And+The+Attractions&titel=Armed+Forces&cat=a. Retrieved 2011-09-18. 
  15. ^ "Elvis Costello and the Attractions - Armed Forces". UK Albums Chart. http://www.chartstats.com/release.php?release=38839. Retrieved 2011-10-23. 
  16. ^ Elvis Costello > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums at Allmusic. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
  17. ^ "RPM Top 100 Albums of 1979". RPM. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.6920&type=1&interval=20&PHPSESSID=c6btf3r8hs459qqt5ln3o3dcv5. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  18. ^ "Complete UK Year-End Album Charts". http://chartheaven.9.forumer.com/a/complete-uk-yearend-album-charts_post21.html. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  19. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Elvis Costello – Armed Forces". Music Canada. http://www.musiccanada.com/GPSearchResult.aspx?st=Armed+Forces&sa=Elvis+Costello&smt=0. 
  20. ^ "British album certifications – Elvis Costello – Armed Forces". British Phonographic Industry. http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx.  Enter Armed Forces in the field Search. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Click Go
  21. ^ "American album certifications – Elvis Costello – Armed Forces". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=%22Armed+Forces%22.  If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH

[edit] External links

Elvis Costello
Studio albums
Live albums
Collaborations
Singles
Classical works
Scores
Collaborations
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