Armed Forces (album)

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Armed Forces is the third studio album by the English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, released on 5Template:NbspJanuary 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. The UK release featured an elaborate fold-out LP packaging, with a cover depicting a herd of elephants; it was simplified for the US release through Columbia Records, featuring an alternate drip-cover.

Supported by the successful UK singles "Oliver's Army" and "Accidents Will Happen", Armed Forces reached number two in the UK, becoming Costello's biggest commercial success up to that point. The American version, released in February 1979, omitted "Sunday's Best" and replaced it with Costello's version of Lowe's "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding". The album received positive reviews from music critics and appeared on several lists of the year's best albums. Costello and the Attractions supported the album on the Armed Funk tour in America.

In later decades, Armed Forces has continued to receive positive reviews, with many highlighting the production. Others noted that it contained musical styles Costello would utilise for later records. It is considered one of Costello's best works and has appeared on various best-of lists. The album has been reissued multiple times, including in 2020 as a super deluxe edition, which was positively received.

Background and recording

Armed Forces was the third of five consecutively produced Costello albums by Nick Lowe (pictured in 2017).

Elvis Costello's second studio album This Year's Model (1978) was his first with the backing band the Attractions–bassist Bruce Thomas, drummer Pete Thomas (no relation) and keyboardist Steve Nieve,<ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref>Template:Sfn after using the American band Clover for his debut album My Aim Is True (1977).Template:Sfn From mid-July to mid-December 1977, Costello and the Attractions underwent a rigorous touring schedule before taking a break to record This Year's Model.Template:Sfn Another gruesome touring schedule followed throughout 1978, which contributed to growing exhaustion for the artist and band. Nevertheless, Costello continued writing new material; songs that would appear on Armed Forces began appearing in the setlists starting in May. In July, Costello recorded his song "Stranger in the House" with country artist George Jones, which appeared on the latter's My Very Special Guests album in 1979, after which the former began recording Armed Forces.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Under the working titles Cornered On Plastic and Emotional Fascism, Armed Forces was recorded at London's Eden Studios starting in August 1978 and lasted six weeks.Template:Efn Returning from This Year's Model were musician Nick Lowe as producer and Roger Béchirian as engineer.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn<ref name="Buskin">Template:Cite web</ref> Costello's work ethic during the sessions was strong. His on-again/off-again romantic partner at the time Bebe Buell recalled: "Elvis wasn't the kind of guy who slept all day. He got up and went to the studio to record and rehearse. He was a working boy, not a loller."Template:Sfn Unlike the previous album sessions, he asserted himself as the final decision maker on all takes, production and mixes. He later admitted: "By the third [album] I thought I was God's gift. I was totally convinced. I had no doubts."Template:Sfn

Despite tensions present, Lowe remained instrumental in keeping high morale and orchestration. He was also responsible for incorporating the new sounds Costello wanted for the record. Béchirian later explained: "The whole way those things were directed and put together was very much down to Nick. Nick had a real pop sensibility about him."Template:Sfn For his process, Lowe had the band record backing tracks first before commencing on overdubs.<ref name="Buskin" /> Regarding band dynamics, Costello contended that he and the Attractions reached a level of musical agreement that would never be matched again.<ref name="CoS">Template:Cite web</ref> Nieve, in particular, was more involved in the song arrangements, particularly on "Oliver's Army".Template:Sfn<ref name="Buskin" /> Also recorded was a cover of Lowe's "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding", originally released by his band Brinsley Schwarz on The New Favourites of... Brinsley Schwarz (1974). The new version was prepared for release as a B-side for Lowe's upcoming single "American Squirm", released in November 1978; the band were credited as "Nick Lowe and His Sound".Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Recording wrapped in September, after which Costello and the Attractions continued live performances.Template:Sfn

Music and lyrics

Template:Quote box After having achieved relative commercial success with My Aim Is True and This Year's Model, Costello decided to take Armed Forces in his most commercial direction yet, stating in a 1982 interview that he was selling out modestly-sized venues but received little success with singles compared to artists such as the Bee Gees and Fleetwood Mac.Template:Sfn As such, Armed Forces marked a departure from the punk rock of its two predecessors to become, according to the biographer David Gouldstone, Costello's most pop-oriented album up to that point.Template:Sfn<ref name="Second Disc" /> Joe Marchese of The Second Disc retrospectively noted that Costello embraced the new wave sound of the era, working with Lowe and Béchirian to create a "more intricate" sound compared to its predecessors, while still "immediate and direct in its power and aggression".<ref name="Second Disc" /> Spin and Ultimate Classic Rock later identified the album's sound as new wave and post-punk, respectively.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Writer Greil Marcus noted that compared to its two predecessors, the sound of Armed Forces is "suppressed, claustrophobic, [and] twitching".Template:Sfn Lowe's production, which some compared to the Wall of Sound-style of Phil Spector,Template:Sfn<ref name="Himes" /> utilised the studio to greater effect,Template:Sfn creating a grander production overall, particularly on tracks such as "Accidents Will Happen", "Chemistry Class" and "Party Girl".Template:Sfn

Costello also used a variety of influences when crafting the sound he wanted for Armed Forces. He stated in an interview that while on the road during tours, he and the Attractions listened to the 1976–77 works of David Bowie (Station to Station, Low and "Heroes") and Iggy Pop (The Idiot, Lust for Life), Kraftwerk (Autobahn), the 1969 works of the Beatles (Abbey Road and Yellow Submarine), as well as ABBA (Greatest Hits).Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn Reviewing in 2002, MojoTemplate:'s Mat Snow found a cross between Abbey Road and Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited (1965).<ref name="MOJO">Template:Cite magazine</ref> ABBA influenced Nieve's keyboard part for "Oliver's Army" and due to his greater contributions to the arrangements, his keyboards are more prominent throughout the entire album,Template:Sfn<ref name="Buskin" /> predominantly on "Green Shirt" and "Party Girl".Template:Sfn<ref name="UDM" /> Béchirian later downplayed the numerous influences, stating that "a lot of that was just in the air".Template:Sfn

While its two predecessors dealt with issues of immediate concern to the narrators, Armed Forces focuses on bigger issues on a broader scale.Template:Sfn Marcus described it as a political album, or "a set of songs about how we live out the politics of our age whether we want to, mean to, or not".Template:Sfn He specifically writes that on the album, "every moment of personal failure or unsatisfied passion is invaded by the cruelty and shamelessness of the political world."Template:Sfn Indeed, Gouldstone identifies tracks that reflect political themes include "Senior Service", "Oliver's Army", "Goon Squad" and "Sunday's Best".Template:Sfn Writing for PopMatters, Zeth Lundy described the album as "a collection of musings on human nature and relationships, bolstered by the pervasive military metaphors".<ref name="PM">Template:Cite web</ref> The interplay is reflected by the album's working title Emotional Fascism.Template:Sfn<ref name="Erlewine" /> Although he had previously displayed fascist themes in tracks such as "Less Than Zero", "Night Rally" and "Radio Radio", Costello references fascist ideals frequently on Armed Forces, from Nazis to the Holocaust.<ref name="Atlantic" /> Like its two predecessors, Graeme Thomson finds that Costello uses his signature wordplay on the album to great effect, composing various puns, double entendres, double-bluffs and non-sequiturs.Template:Sfn

Side one

The opening track, "Accidents Will Happen", is a non-political pop song that reflects the complexities of human relationships.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn NMETemplate:'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".<ref name="NME Murray" /> The second track, the upbeat "Senior Service", concerns office politics and class warfare.Template:Sfn<ref name="PM" /><ref name="Stewart SS">Template:Cite web</ref> 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'.Template:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn Continuing the political theme is "Oliver's Army", which boasts a pop-friendly production and melody over sinister lyrics on military imperialism.Template:Sfn<ref name="Deming OA">Template:Cite web</ref> According to Gouldstone, the song's narrator is "presumably" a British soldier serving in Northern Ireland.Template:Sfn Costello refers to the Irish as "white niggers" and references the conquest of Ireland in 1649 by the English Parliamentarian leader Oliver Cromwell.Template:Sfn Musically, Bruno makes comparisons to ABBA's "Dancing Queen" (1976) and the Beach Boys' "Don't Worry Baby" (1964).Template:Sfn

Described by Murray as "sexual fascism",<ref name="NME Murray" /> "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.Template:Sfn Bruno states that it is the album's first track on which the mixture of personal and political themes appear as "volatile".Template:Sfn "Green Shirt" concerns paranoia and predicts the rise of sex hotlines.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn Musically, it is primarily led by a loop created on a Minimoog.<ref name="2002 liner notes" /> Regarding the colour green, Bruno interprets it as a possible reference to the members of the Romanian fascist movement Iron Guard.Template:Sfn "Party Girl" is a ballad in the vein of "Alison" and "Little Triggers";Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn away from the new wave of the rest of the album.<ref name="Stewart PG">Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name="2002 liner notes" /> 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.Template:Sfn After multiple political-related tracks, "Party Girl" represented a return to a more personal side.Template:Sfn

Side two

"Goon Squad" builds on the theme of "Oliver's Army" of "underhand recruitment".Template:Sfn 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 'goon squad'. Gouldstone notes that the vague lyrics do not specifically mention the 'goon squad' as being the army–they could be police or big businesses–but the song nevertheless paints them in a poor light.Template:Sfn 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".<ref name="2002 liner notes" /> Described by Lundy as "intentionally cavernous and bleak",<ref name="PM" /> Gouldstone finds it "near heavy metal",Template:Sfn while Hinton compares the intro to Thin Lizzy and the outro to the Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows" (1966).Template:Sfn "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).Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn Originally written for Ian Dury,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn "Sunday's Best" is a waltz that targets the worst aspects of British life.Template:Sfn<ref name="NME Murray" /> Gouldstone writes that it shows how ordinary people are "trivial and monotonous".Template:Sfn 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".Template:Sfn It has been musically compared to John Cooper Clarke's "You Never See a Nipple in the Daily Express".Template:Sfn<ref name="NME Murray" />

Murray considered "Moods for Moderns" a "charming pastiche of Booker T & the MGs overlaid with an oddly disturbing ghost of a song".<ref name="NME Murray" /> Gouldstone finds it "borderline funk",Template:Sfn while Bruno compares it to Bowie's "plastic soul" era.Template:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn "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.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn<ref name="PM" /> Costello described it as a reaction to the gratification of American college campuses he experienced while on tour in America.<ref name="2002 liner notes" /> Like the previous track, "Two Little Hitlers" captures the album's dual themes of love and politics,<ref name="Mason TLH">Template:Cite web</ref> fully comparing the disagreements in personal relationships to opposing factions of fascism.<ref name="PM" /> According to Hinton, it paints a picture of two long-time lovers, "like beasts engaged in a fight to the death".Template:Sfn Musically, it uses Bowie's "Rebel Rebel" (1974) riff and elements of "TVC 15" (1976).Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Packaging

Title

The new album was to be titled Emotional Fascism until the last minute.Template:Sfn The author Tony Clayton-Lea contends that Armed Forces, coined by Pete Thomas, continued Costello's theme of "control and domination over both governing and individual bodies".Template:Sfn In his memoir, Costello acknowledged changing the title to Armed Forces after knowing radio stations would refuse to play an album titled Emotional Fascism.Template:Sfn Although Hinton opined that the titles were "much [of] the same",Template:Sfn Murray argued that Emotional Fascism was the superior title, stating: "Armed Forces tells you what institution Mr. Costello has in his gunsights this time aroundTemplate:Nbsp... but Emotional Fascism tells you what attitude is about to be subjected to both long-and-short-range fire."<ref name="NME Murray" /> In the 2002 liner notes for the album, Costello explained: "Two or three half-formed notions collided uneasily in that title, although I never would have admitted to having anything as self-conscious as a 'theme' running through the songs. Any patterns that have emerged did so as the record was completed or with the benefit of hindsight."<ref name="2002 liner notes">Template:Cite AV media notes</ref> Bruno contends that the album "embodies a critique" under either title, but also deduces that it "does not present an argument".Template:Sfn

Artwork

The packaging for Armed Forces was designed by Barney Bubbles and featured different cover artworks for the UK and US releases. In the UK, the cover was a painting depicting a herd of elephants in front of mountains, with birds flying overhead and mist overlaying the ground.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The lead elephant stares directly at the onlooker, which Gouldstone notes mirrors Costello on the cover of This Year's Model.Template:Sfn For the first time, the Attractions received co-artist credit on the sleeve.<ref name="NME Murray" />Template:Sfn The artist credit is on top while the album title is on bottom. Initial UK editions boasted an elaborate fold-out sleeve containing four colour postcards of the band. The back cover illustrated art pop geometric patterns, of which emerged various army soldiers and animal prints.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The inner sleeve contained two photographs: one showed Costello and the Attractions on a suburban road, while the other featured Costello laying across a swimming pool diving board with a body lying submerged at the bottom, overall surrounded by numerous yellow boxes; the words "my placeTemplate:Nbsp... or yours" and "emotional fascism" appeared on the sides. When it was reissued on CD, the album failed to replicate the elaborate fold-out sleeves, instead having the booklet appear in the shape of a cross.Template:Sfn Bruno argues that the cover "conveys an unmistakable sense of attack" and is more significant for its statement on Costello's position at that point in his career rather than its actual design.Template:Sfn

The US release opted for a more standardised LP packaging. The elephant cover was replaced with the drip-image that was unveiled in the inner sleeve of the UK release. The UK image had various black scribble lines extending into the outer panels that utilised various animal prints.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Additionally, the US sleeve moved the elephant cover to the back and reduced it to make room for a track listing and larger rendering of the album title and artist name. Bruno argues that the "modest" cover reflected Costello's lesser status in America.Template:Sfn He furthermore associates Bubbles' decision to use the splatter design as a "mocking appropriation" of Roy Lichtenstein's mid-1960s "brushstroke" paintings.Template:Sfn A promotional photo taken for the album depicted Costello holding a machine gun barrel down his throat with the words "Don't Join" over him.<ref name="PM" /><ref name="Deming OA" />Template:Sfn The first 100,000 pressings of the LP in both the UK and the US included a bonus EP titled Live at Hollywood High, recorded in June 1978, which contained live recordings of "Alison", an extended "Watching the Detectives" and a slower version of "Accidents Will Happen".<ref name="Himes" />Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Release and promotion

Template:Quote box "Radio Radio" was issued as a standalone single in October 1978 as a stopgap release between This Year's Model and the still-titled Emotional Fascism, which was scheduled for release in early 1979. The single reached the UK top 30, earning Costello and the Attractions an appearance on BBC's Top of the Pops.Template:Sfn From November to December, the band toured Canada, Japan and Australia and filmed promotional videos for "Oliver's Army" and "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding". By the start of another British tour at the end of December, the band's growing exhaustion began to affect their performances. Bruce Thomas later admitted: "We were all fried.Template:Nbsp... we just didn't get a break. I know what Jake [Riviera] was doing, but I think he pushed it too hard, I think he really did."Template:Sfn

Now titled Armed Forces due to a complaint from Columbia/CBS, Radar Records issued the new album in the UK on 5Template:NbspJanuary 1979,Template:EfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn<ref name="UCR Giles">Template:Cite web</ref> with the catalogue number RAD 14.Template:Sfn The album was Costello's biggest commercial success to date, peaking at number two on the UK Albums Chart,Template:Sfn held off the top spot by the disco compilation Don't Walk – Boogie;<ref name="UDM">Template:Cite web</ref> it remained on the chart for 28 weeks, twice as long as This Year's Model.Template:Sfn

For its February 1979 release in the US, Columbia replaced "Sunday's Best" with "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding".Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn This release went gold by the end of the year.Template:Sfn After garnering significant radio exposure in the UK,Template:Sfn "Oliver's Army" was released as a single on 2Template:NbspFebruary 1979, backed by Costello's solo rendition of the 1937 show-tune "My Funny Valentine".Template:Sfn It peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart in March.Template:Sfn "Accidents Will Happen" was issued as a single on 4Template:NbspMay, backed by "Talking in the Dark" and "Wednesday Week", and peaked at number 29 in the UK.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Critical reception

Template:Album ratings Armed Forces received positive reviews from music critics on release.Template:Sfn Murray hailed the record as containing "some of the best rock music we'll hear this year" in NME,<ref name="NME Murray">Template:Cite magazine</ref> while a writer in The Observer cited it as "an album you just can't ignore".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The GuardianTemplate:'s Robin Denselow named Armed Forces the "first important album" of the year, and referred to it as musically "Costello's most relaxed, mellow and gentle album yet".<ref name="Guardian">Template:Cite magazine</ref> In the Los Angeles Times, Robert Hilburn named Armed Forces the best album at mid-year in July 1979. Citing it as Costello's "most compelling" album yet, Hilburn described it as "a feverish, unflinching approach" that is a cross between the "social fury of John Lennon's first two solo albums" and the "haunting dissection of Bob Dylan's choicest works".<ref name="LA Times">Template:Cite magazine</ref> The Washington PostTemplate:'s Geoffrey Himes also compared Costello's lyrical strategy of placing harsh ideals into more seductive settings with Dylan's break from the folk rock movement in the mid-1960s. In his review of Armed Forces, Himes singled out "Accidents Will Happen" as "the kind of high point that marks a great era of music".<ref name="Himes">Template:Cite news</ref> The same publication's Eve Zibart described Armed Forces as Costello's "third and most polished album [that] stakes out New Wave's first major fiefdom in the United States".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Template:Quote box Writing for Rolling Stone, Janet Maslin 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".<ref name="RS1979">Template:Cite magazine</ref> The Village Voice critic Robert Christgau 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".<ref name=ChristgauCG/> Both reviewers felt that the album was more densely or richly produced than its two predecessors.<ref name=RS1979/><ref name=ChristgauCG/> Other reviewers compared Armed Forces to its two predecessors, including Ira Robbins of Trouser Press, who considered it inferior to the "supercharged bite" of This Year's Model, but nevertheless deemed it a good record in its own right. On the lyrics, Robbins found that they "suffer from an excessive penchant towards cheap puns and pseudo-Spoonerisms".<ref name="Trouser Press">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Additionally, in a review titled "Swell El", Record MirrorTemplate:'s Sheila Prophet found the "bitter bite" of its predecessors exchanged for "depth and subtlety and new textures".<ref name="RM" /> Tony Rayns of Melody Maker took issue with the use of the terms "nigger" and "darkies" in "Oliver's Army" and "Sunday's Best", respectively, but was overall positive to Costello's improved vocals and songwriting, and the performance of Nieve on keyboards.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Sounds magazine's Giovanni Dadomo highlighted "Accidents Will Happen", "Big Boys" and "Green Shirt", while also naming "Goon Squad" "easily the best 'political' song of the last five years".<ref name="Sounds" />

In The Village VoiceTemplate:'s annual Pazz & Jop critics poll for the year's best albums, Armed Forces finished at number five.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It also featured on year-end lists by Melody Maker and NME at numbers fourteen and six, respectively.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Tour and aftermath

Costello onstage in April 1978

To support the album, Costello and the Attractions embarked on the Armed Funk tour in America, which lasted from February to April. The tour was plagued with issues, including drug and alcohol problems, aggressive behaviour from Riviera and Costello to the press, and poor performances that led to critical and audience backlash.Template:EfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn In March, a racism-filled exchange between Costello, Stephen Stills, and Stills' then-backing singer Bonnie Bramlett, where the former insulted various American musical artists, was leaked to the public and received additional backlash. Even though Armed Forces had reached the top ten on BillboardTemplate:'s Top LPs & Tape chart during the tour, by April it fell off quickly after boycotts were enacted by American radio stations and listeners.Template:Sfn<ref name="Atlantic" /> By the tour's end, Costello's reputation in America was nearly destroyed. Bruce Thomas later admitted, "We never really recovered from that tour. Every time Elvis is doing something well, he kind of sabotages it."Template:Sfn His reputation in the UK remained largely unaffected, mostly due to newspapers failing to pick up the story. The author Mick St. Michael compared it to the worldwide response from John Lennon's 1966 more popular than Jesus comment.Template:Sfn

Following the disastrous tour, Costello decided to reevaluate himself and his career. He ended his relationship with Buell and reconciled with his wife Mary and son Matthew. Apart from the occasional demo, he and the Attractions took some time off over the summer of 1979. Upon reconvening in the studio later in the year, Costello took a more soul-influenced direction for his next album, Get Happy!! (1980).Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Costello acknowledged the incident in an interview with Rolling Stone in 1982, feeling that it "outweighs my entire career",Template:Sfn but later reflected in his 2015 memoir Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink: "So what if my career was rolled back off the launching pad? Life eventually became a lot more interesting due to this failure to get into some undeserved and potentially fatal orbit."Template:Sfn Although he was not dropped by Columbia, he did not tour America again until 1981 in support of Trust.Template:Sfn

Legacy

Hinton argues that Armed Forces marked the end of the angry persona of Costello's early works,Template:Sfn although Thomson cites Get Happy!! as the first step away from the persona.Template:Sfn Bruno saw the songs on Get Happy!! as a response to the events of the Armed Funk tour.Template:Sfn Despite the tour's initial impact on him, his career recovered from the incident. He later reflected: "Some of the highly charged language may now seem a little naive; it is full of gimmicks and almost overpowers some songs with paradoxes and subverted clichés piling up into private and secret meanings. I was not quite 24 and thought I knew it all."<ref name="2002 liner notes" /> Although he continued to reference aggressive and fascist themes in his lyrics, including on his 2020 album Hey Clockface, David A. Graham of The Atlantic argued that "he has never written another record so searing in its combination of romantic and political fury as Armed Forces."<ref name="Atlantic">Template:Cite web</ref> Graham further contended that the fascist elements described on Armed Forces were still alive in America during the first presidency of Donald Trump, writing: "More than four decades after its release, Armed Forces feels more frighteningly vital and relevant than ever."<ref name="Atlantic" />

Retrospective appraisal

Template:Album ratings In later decades, Armed Forces has received acclaim as one of Costello's best works.<ref name="Stereogum">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1991, Entertainment WeeklyTemplate:'s Armond White called the album a "landmark",<ref name="EW" /> while Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune called it "Costello's 'political' record, and also one of his most irresistibly melodic."<ref name=Kot/> Reviewing for Rolling Stone in 2002, Gavin Edwards found a record "filled with great rock songs that explore the boundaries between the political and the personal". He further highlighted Costello's wordplay, Nieve's keyboard playing and the inclusion of "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding?" as the final track.<ref name="Edwards" /> Ultimate Classic RockTemplate:'s Jeff Giles stated that with the album, Costello achieved a balance between critical and commercial success, creating an album that proves "a smart, sardonic set of pop songs can also be a hit".<ref name="UCR Giles" /> In PopMatters, Lundy described Armed Forces as "a bold, highly ambitious effort" that represented a "giant leap" from its two "flawless" predecessors.<ref name="PM" /> He noted that neither of the earlier records could match Armed ForcesTemplate:' "acidic intellectualism".<ref name="PM" />

Several reviewers commented on the production. In AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine found a more "detailed and textured pop production" on Armed Forces compared to Costello's first two albums, making the music more accessible, though the lyrics were "more insular and paranoid".<ref name="Erlewine" /> Although he felt some of the lyrics were forced, he hailed the music as "demonstrat[ing] the depth of Costello's compositional talents", and named Armed Forces the artist's "third masterpiece in a row".<ref name="Erlewine" /> PitchforkTemplate:'s Matt LeMay described the production as "extravagantly layered with dense instrumentation and rich, effusive textures" that "often serve[s] to conceal, rather than reveal the nuances of Costello's songwriting".<ref name=LeMay/> He concluded that "the greatest strength of Armed Forces may be the same thing that makes it less viscerally powerful than Costello's two prior records – its songs absolutely demand to be appreciated for their craftsmanship."<ref name=LeMay/> He further argued that the album marks the point at which Costello found his voice as a songwriter.<ref name=LeMay/> Paul Sexton of uDiscoverMusic wrote that the production's "crisp and disciplined" delivery kept the material "live and vital" on a record "that enhanced Costello's reputation as an artist with depth behind the vitriol".<ref name="UDM" />

Some reviewers noted that the album contained styles that hinted at the artist's later works.<ref name="UDM" /> AllMusic's Mark Deming highlighted "Accidents Will Happen" as previewing the "stylistic diversity" Costello would incorporate into future works,<ref name="Deming Accidents">Template:Cite web</ref> while Stewart Mason felt that "Party Girl" presaged the soul music he would explore on Get Happy!!,<ref name="Stewart PG" /> and Bruno cited the keyboards on "Green Shirt" as foreshadowing Imperial Bedroom (1982).Template:Sfn Sexton stated that the songs hinted at the artist's future rock and soul directions but nevertheless "sounded entirely cutting-edge at the same time".<ref name="UDM" /> Lundy also noted that Armed Forces enacted "an eclectic blueprint of restless genre hustling" that Costello continued to utilise throughout his long career.<ref name="PM" />

Rankings

Armed Forces has appeared on several best-of lists. In 1993, the album placed at number 61 on The Times' 100 Best Albums of All Time list.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2000, it was voted number 264 in the third edition of English writer Colin Larkin's book All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The same year, Q placed Armed Forces at number 45 in its list of the "100 Greatest British Albums Ever".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> In 2003, the album was ranked number 482 on Rolling StoneTemplate:'s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and then was moved to number 475 on an updated list in 2012.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> NME and Sounds ranked Armed Forces at numbers 89 and 67 in 1985 and 1986, respectively, on lists compiling the 100 greatest albums of all time.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

The album was also included in the 2018 edition of Robert Dimery's book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Reissues

Template:Album ratings Armed Forces was first released on CD through Columbia and Demon Records in January 1986.Template:Sfn Its first extended reissue through Demon in the UK and Rykodisc in the US on CD came in October 1993. The single disc featured the original album as well as bonus tracks, including the addition of "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding" as the album's closing track.Template:Sfn<ref name="1993 liner notes">Template:Cite AV media notes</ref> Rhino Records reissued the album in 2002 as a two-disc set; disc one contained the original UK album plus "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding", and disc two contained bonus tracks.<ref name="2002 liner notes" /><ref name=LeMay/>

On 6 November 2020, Armed Forces was reissued as a vinyl-only super deluxe box set. Titled The Complete Armed Forces and issued by UM^e, the nine-LP set consists of a 2020 remaster of the original album plus various B-sides, demos, outtakes, unreleased live recordings from the era, and a new set of liner notes written by Costello himself totalling over 10,000 words.<ref name="Second Disc">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Variety">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="RS reissue">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="Spin">Template:Cite web</ref> The collection was praised by critics for giving an in-depth view of the artist's work during the period.<ref name="Second Disc" /><ref name="Horowitz" /><ref name="Flood" /><ref name="Goldmine" />

Track listing

All songs are written by Elvis Costello.<ref name="2002 liner notes" />

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

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

Notes

The American release omitted "Sunday's Best" and added Costello's cover of Lowe's "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding" as the side two closer.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Following the 1993 reissue, "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding" was added as the album's final track.Template:Sfn<ref name="UDM" />

Personnel

Credits adapted from AllMusic:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

• Elvis Costello – guitar, vocals
• Steve Nieve – keyboards
• Bruce Thomas – bass
• Pete Thomas – drums

Technical

• Nick Lowe – producer
• Roger Béchirian – engineer
• Barney Bubbles – cover artwork

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly charts for Armed Forces

Chart (1979)	Peak Position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)<ref name="auchart">Template:Cite book</ref>	9
Canadian Albums (RPM)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	8
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)<ref name="nlchart">Template:Cite web</ref>	13
New Zealand Albums (RIANZ)<ref name="nzchart">Template:Cite web</ref>	9
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)<ref name="norcharts">Template:Cite web</ref>	12
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)<ref name="sechart">Template:Cite web</ref>	11
UK Albums Chart<ref name="UKchart">Template:Cite web</ref>	2
US Billboard Top LPs & Tape<ref name="USchart1">Template:Cite magazine</ref>	10

Year-end charts

Year-end charts for Armed Forces

Chart (1979)	Position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)<ref name="auchart" />	32
Canadian Albums (RPM Year-End)<ref name="CAYearend79">Template:Cite magazine</ref>	60
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	25
UK Albums Chart<ref name="UKYearend">Template:Cite web</ref>	13

References

Sources

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External links

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