Armed Forces (album)
| Armed Forces | ||||
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| Studio album by Elvis Costello and the Attractions | ||||
| Released | 5 January 1979 | |||
| Recorded | August 1978–September 1978, Eden Studios, London | |||
| Genre | New wave | |||
| Length | 40:05 | |||
| Label |
Radar (UK) Columbia (US) F-Beat (1981 UK Reissue) Demon/Rykodisc (19 October 1993 Reissue) Rhino (19 November 2002 Reissue) Hip-O (10 September 2007 Reissue) |
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| Producer | Nick Lowe | |||
| Elvis Costello and the Attractions chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Armed Forces | ||||
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| Alternative cover | ||||
US 1979 and 2002 reissue cover, also known as "paint spatter cover"
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  |
| Blender | |
| Chicago Tribune | |
| Entertainment Weekly | A+ |
| Pitchfork Media | 9.5/10 |
| Rolling Stone |  |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
| Uncut | |
| The Village Voice | A− |
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 USA by Columbia in 1979. The album had the working title Emotional Fascism.
Initial pressings of the album in the UK and USA included a promotional three-song single, Live at Hollywood High, which was recorded on 4 June 1978. The live tracks, also produced by Nick Lowe, are "Accidents Will Happen," "Alison," and "Watching the Detectives". The UK edition included 4 postcards featuring pictures of the band. The American version omitted "Sunday's Best" and replaced it with 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 has appeared on Q magazine and Rolling Stone magazine lists of "greatest albums". In the 1982 film 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.
Janet Maslin in a 1979 review in Rolling Stone felt the album was a "killer in several senses of the word"; remarking on the brief, energetic songs with dense and sometimes overly-clever but snappy lyrics. Maslin felt that Costello "wants to be daring, but he also wants to dance".Robert Christgau in a 1979 review in The Village Voice felt Costello was using words to "add color and detail to his music" rather than as "a thinking, feeling person"; though he approved of the "intricate pop constructions", and found the album overall to be "good" but not "great". Both reviewers felt the album was more densely or richly produced than the two predecessors.
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