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Armed Forces is the third studio album by the English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, released on 5 January 1979 in the United Kingdom through Radar Records.
It was his second album with the Attractions—keyboardist Steve Nieve, bassist Bruce Thomas and drummer Pete Thomas (no relation)—and the first to officially credit them on the cover.
The album was recorded in six weeks from August to September 1978 in London under the working title Emotional Fascism.
Produced by Nick Lowe and engineered by Roger Béchirian, the sessions saw Costello exert more control over production compared to This Year's Model, while Nieve contributed more to song arrangements.
For Armed Forces, Costello sought a more commercial sound than the punk rock style employed on his two previous records, resulting in a more pop-oriented production reflecting the new wave era. The overtly political lyrics concern the effect of politics on human relationships.
Side one
The opening track, "Accidents Will Happen", is a non-political pop song that reflects the complexities of human relationships. Labelled by Hinton as a cross between the Byrds and the Beatles, it is addressed to Buell-type figure, but the actual subject is Costello himself, referring to his newfound sexual possibilities after achieving fame. NME's Charles Shaar Murray described it as "an ornate, melodic and exquisitely danceable pop song designed to lull American record executives into a state of false security".
The second track, the upbeat "Senior Service", concerns office politics and class warfare. More specifically, the song is about the brutality of big business in striking those down who are too weak to obtain power for themselves. It contains the first reference to the 'armed forces'. Writer Franklin Bruno states that while "Accidents Will Happen" was a showcase for Costello's voice, "Senior Service" "reintroduces" the Attractions and contains a widely different production style from the previous track.
Continuing the political theme is "Oliver's Army", which boasts a pop-friendly production and melody over sinister lyrics on military imperialism.According to Gouldstone, the song's narrator is "presumably" a British soldier serving in Northern Ireland.
Costello refers to the Irish as "white niggers" and references the conquest of Ireland in 1649 by the English Parliamentarian leader Oliver Cromwell. Musically, Bruno makes comparisons to ABBA's "Dancing Queen" (1976) and the Beach Boys' "Don't Worry Baby" (1964).
Described by Murray as "sexual fascism", "Big Boys" follows a narrator who is split between sympathy and contempt in his infatuation with a woman; he wants to be a 'big boy' and is seen as immature. Gouldstone compares it to "The Beat" from This Year's Model.
Bruno states that it is the album's first track on which the mixture of personal and political themes appear as "volatile".
"Green Shirt" concerns paranoia and predicts the rise of sex hotlines. It uses three different themes: assault on the media, a woman tidying herself, and images of betrayals to establish a connection between personal behaviour and relationships on a larger scale.
Musically, it is primarily led by a loop created on a Minimoog. Regarding the colour green, Bruno interprets it as a possible reference to the members of the Romanian fascist movement Iron Guard. "Party Girl" is a ballad in the vein of "Alison" and "Little Triggers"; away from the new wave of the rest of the album.
Reportedly about Buell, Costello denied this in the 2002 Armed Forces reissue liner notes, stating he wrote it for an art student he barely knew. In the song, the narrator pleads for the 'party girl' not to dismiss him even though he knows she has control over him and does not care how long it will take. After multiple political-related tracks, "Party Girl" represented a return to a more personal side.
Side two
"Goon Squad" builds on the theme of "Oliver's Army" of "underhand recruitment". In the song, a soldier relays messages on his experiences back to his family but by the end, he has lost his hand and fully joined the 'good squad'.
Gouldstone notes that the vague lyrics do not specifically mention the 'good squad' as being the army–they could be police or big businesses–but the song nevertheless paints them in a poor light. Musically, Costello traced the song back to Don Covay's "It's Better to Have (and Don't Need)", but admitted that "we were too wound up to play it in that fashion".
Described by Lundy as "intentionally cavernous and bleak", Gouldstone finds it "near heavy metal", while Hinton compares the intro to Thin Lizzy and the outro to the Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows" (1966).
"Busy Bodies" is, in Gouldstone's words, a "snappy pop tune" that evokes Roy Orbison's "Pretty Woman", "A Whiter Shade of Pale" and the Beach Boys' "Heroes and Villains" (1967). Like "Pump It Up", it concerns the insignificance of modern life; people spend their lives purchasing superfluous items, sleeping with each other and ultimately amounting to nothing, becoming busy bodies. Originally written for Ian Dury, "Sunday's Best" is a waltz that targets the worst aspects of British life. Gouldstone writes that it shows how ordinary people are "trivial and monotonous".
On the song, Costello said that it is "not so much a song as an attack on the small-ads page of The News of the World with a big pair of scissors". It has been musically compared to John Cooper Clarke's "You Never See a Nipple in the Daily Express".
Murray considered "Moods for Moderns" a "charming pastiche of Booker T & the MGs overlaid with an oddly disturbing ghost of a song".
Gouldstone finds it "borderline funk", while Bruno compares it to Bowie's "plastic soul" era. Lyrically, the song is about the pain one feels at the end of a relationship, with sinister undertones that reflect moods of disillusionment, alienation and fear.
"Chemistry Class" combines the personal and political themes to tell a tale about the natural attraction of two people.
One of the last lines references Adolf Hitler's Final Solution as a metaphor for two lovers parting ways. Costello described it as a reaction to the gratification of American college campuses he experienced while on tour in America. Like the previous track, "Two Little Hitlers" captures the album's dual themes of love and politics, fully comparing the disagreements in personal relationships to opposing factions of fascism.
According to Hinton, it paints a picture of two long-time lovers, "like beasts engaged in a fight to the death". Musically, it uses Bowie's "Rebel Rebel" (1974) riff and elements of "TVC 15" (1976).
Side A
A1. Accidents Will Happen - 3:00
A2. Senior Service - 2:17
A3. Oliver’s Army - 2:57
A4. Big Boys - 2:55
A5. Green Shirt - 2:42
A6. Party Girl - 3:20
Side B
B1. Goon Squad - 3:15
B2. Busy Bodies - 3:33
B3. Sunday’s Best - 3:23
B4. Moods For Moderns - 2:49
B5. Chemistry Class - 2:55
B6. Two Little Hitlers - 3:10
Personnel
- Elvis Costello – guitar, vocals
- Steve Nieve – keyboards
- Bruce Thomas – bass
- Pete Thomas – drums
Companies, etc.
- Record Company – Warner Communications
- Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Riviera Global Record Productions Ltd.
- Copyright © – Riviera Global Record Productions Ltd.
- Copyright © – Radarscope Records Ltd.
- Licensed From – Riviera Global Record Productions Ltd.
- Published By – Plangent Visions Music Ltd.
- Published By – Street Music Ltd.
- Made By – WEA Musik GmbH
- Lacquer Cut At – Tonstudio Pfanz
Credits
Notes
Release: 1979
Format: LP, vINYL
Genre: New wave, post-punk
Label: Radar Records
Catalog# RAD 56597
Vinyl: Goed (vg)
Cover: Goed (Vg)
Prijs: €10,00
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