Part of the (admittedly excellent) ELVIS COSTELLO re-issue campaign, “This Year’s Model” (1978) is joined by expanded, deluxe editions of both “Blood And Chocolate” (1986) and 1994’s “Brutal Youth” – surely the three most bruising records fashioned with The Attractions – all of them boasting second CDs of out-takes, acoustic demos and rare/ unreleased Radio session tracks, plus the usual in-depth liner notes from the man himself.
Quite honestly, this entire batch is all pretty mouth-watering, but Whisperin' & Hollerin' have chosen to spotlight this one because, dammit, it’s unadulterated genius and…well, who needs any other reason to believe, really?
Disc1 is “This Year’s Model” re-mastered and re-cut to freshly strut its’ wired, cocksure attitude in time for its’ 25th anniversary. On its’ initial release, NME journalist Nick Kent gushed (sagely) about EC and his mighty new backing group THE ATTRACTIONS having discovered the “wild, Mercury sound” sought after by BOB DYLAN circa “Blonde On Blonde”, and it’s tough to refute this claim, such is the strength of the new band’s input throughout.
Frankly, their contributions are to die for here – Pete and the much-maligned Bruce Thomas are clipped, aggressive and forceful; Steve Nieve at this stage was only toting that ace, trebly Vox organ and an “instapiano”, but still shadowing Costello’s every step. And Elvis’ guitar playing (vastly under-rated in my book) is the perfect foil, his riffs like blunt instruments whacking you around the shoulders.
“This Year’s Model”, of course, features the trio of bitten-off snotty singles that cemented Elvis’ reputation following “Watching The Detectives”. Even today “Pump It Up”, “(I Don’t Want To Go To) Chelsea” and the inflammatory “Radio Radio” – just check those “listen listen” backing vocals – can’t put foot wrong.
Virtually everything still gives you palpitations though. “The Beat” cheekily name checks (hey!) Cliff’s “Summer Holiday” in its’ opening line and “You Belong To Me” is a lesson in Noel Gallagher-esque creative pilfering, liberally borrowing THE ROLLING STONES’ “Last Time” guitar hook to ecstatic ends. Costello was massively into THE STONES’ “Aftermath” at the time, but there’s far more than just beat group references here – check the coy funk (a la TALKING HEADS) that introduces “Living In Paradise”. Or “Lipstick Vogue”’s breathtaking sonic pile up. Or the infinitely sinister “Night Rally”, where EC appears to be addressing the unthinkable when he sings “That’s just the sort of catchy little melody to get you singing in the showers.” Or…oh, for fuck’s sake, just dive in!
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CD2 is also valuable, showcasing a mixture of solo EC demos (“Green Shirt”, “Big Boys”); a cool album out-take “Big Tears” (with THE CLASH’s Mick Jones on lead guitar); further out-takes from the notorious Autumn 1977 “Stiffs Live” tour package, with onstage takes of “Neat Neat Neat” (yes, the DAMNED single) and Ian Dury’s “Roadette Song”. There are also a couple of surprises with earlier takes of “This Year’s Girl” (frantic) and “(I Don’t Want To Go To) Chelsea” (slow, loping and even more reggae-fied). Oh, and it’s all wrapped up with a Peel Session take of “Stranger In The House” from late 1978 that will raise eyebrows with those only familiar with the country-rock version.
So there you have it. Undoubtedly a cornucopia of treasures for a seasoned Costello campaigner, but more importantly – if you’ve never subscribed to “This Year’s Model”, then do it now. This is a great package and (despite the deliberately kitschy inner sleeves) is anything but throwaway. This or any other year.
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