Album: This Year's Model
Artist: Elvis Costello & the Attractions
Born: Paddington, London
Released: March 1978
Genre: New Wave
Influenced: Billy Bragg, Red Hot Chili Peppers, New Pornographers, British Sea Power, Pulp
Punk & new wave were responsible for an explosion in new British acts and one of the key figures that navigated this fast-growing field to champion new music was John Peel. Over two nights in March 1978, Peel played This Year's Model in full on his late-night BBC 1 radio show, as well as inviting Elvis Costello and his (then new) band the Attractions on air to record some live sessions. Building on the success of his late 1977 hit single, Watching The Detectives, Costello was fast building a reputation as the "bug-eyed monster from Planet Guilt & Revenge", a geeky but scathing songsmith that began as a pub rocker but later hitched a ride on the punk bandwagon. His second album, This Year's Model, was sonically much richer thanks to the support of the Attractions, notably Pete Thomas' athletic drumming, giving songs like Lipstick Vogue a real punch. One of the best songs on the record is (I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea which, like the album title, hint at Costello's desire to reject the trappings of fame and stay young & hungry. All that would change, of course, but Costello's early recordings are full of urgency and brilliantly original songwriting.
Bruce Thomas' phenomenally dextrous bass line, Steve Nieve's exuberant organ playing and Costello's staccato delivery combine to give Chelsea a strong ska flavour, creating a sound that was clearly a huge influence on the Red Hot Chili Peppers and others. I also reckon some of the bass line on Lip Service provided inspiration for Peter Hook. In fact, some songs like the mesmeric Lipstick Vogue and seriously catchy Pump It Up wouldn't work at all without Bruce Thomas' bass lines, a fact that Costello may be likely to underplay (they had a huge spat after Thomas called him "whiny" and many other things in his autobiography). In the album's quieter moments, such as Little Triggers and Living Paradise, Costello's songwriting comes to the fore ("waiting until I come to my senses / better put it all in present tenses"), that acerbic wit brilliantly exploring the complexities of human relationships without ever sounding pretentious. The Beat details feelings of guilt after a meaningless nightclub encounter, while No Action is full of jealousy and the desire for revenge. Behind that sneering, angry young man pretence was one of the best songwriters that Britain's ever produced. (P.S. The album was produced by the mercurial Nick Lowe, whose first solo record Jesus Of Cool was released in the same month -- March 1978 -- and contained New Wave gems like I Love The Sound Of Breaking Glass. Highly recommended).
Punk & new wave were responsible for an explosion in new British acts and one of the key figures that navigated this fast-growing field to champion new music was John Peel. Over two nights in March 1978, Peel played This Year's Model in full on his late-night BBC 1 radio show, as well as inviting Elvis Costello and his (then new) band the Attractions on air to record some live sessions. Building on the success of his late 1977 hit single, Watching The Detectives, Costello was fast building a reputation as the "bug-eyed monster from Planet Guilt & Revenge", a geeky but scathing songsmith that began as a pub rocker but later hitched a ride on the punk bandwagon. His second album, This Year's Model, was sonically much richer thanks to the support of the Attractions, notably Pete Thomas' athletic drumming, giving songs like Lipstick Vogue a real punch. One of the best songs on the record is (I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea which, like the album title, hint at Costello's desire to reject the trappings of fame and stay young & hungry. All that would change, of course, but Costello's early recordings are full of urgency and brilliantly original songwriting.
Bruce Thomas' phenomenally dextrous bass line, Steve Nieve's exuberant organ playing and Costello's staccato delivery combine to give Chelsea a strong ska flavour, creating a sound that was clearly a huge influence on the Red Hot Chili Peppers and others. I also reckon some of the bass line on Lip Service provided inspiration for Peter Hook. In fact, some songs like the mesmeric Lipstick Vogue and seriously catchy Pump It Up wouldn't work at all without Bruce Thomas' bass lines, a fact that Costello may be likely to underplay (they had a huge spat after Thomas called him "whiny" and many other things in his autobiography). In the album's quieter moments, such as Little Triggers and Living Paradise, Costello's songwriting comes to the fore ("waiting until I come to my senses / better put it all in present tenses"), that acerbic wit brilliantly exploring the complexities of human relationships without ever sounding pretentious. The Beat details feelings of guilt after a meaningless nightclub encounter, while No Action is full of jealousy and the desire for revenge. Behind that sneering, angry young man pretence was one of the best songwriters that Britain's ever produced. (P.S. The album was produced by the mercurial Nick Lowe, whose first solo record Jesus Of Cool was released in the same month -- March 1978 -- and contained New Wave gems like I Love The Sound Of Breaking Glass. Highly recommended).
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