Celebrating its 45th anniversary today is the third LP from Elvis Costello, Armed Forces, which was released on January 5th, 1979. It's the album where Costello firmly established himself as in control of his product and where he most fully refined his abilities to write tight, concise pop songs with biting sociopolitical commentaries.
Recorded over an economic six week period beginning at the end of August of the previous year, this was Costello's second outing with his permanent backing band, The Attractions, and the first to credit the band on the album cover. By this time, thanks to an extensive touring schedule, they'd developed a close rapport, and keyboardist Steve Nieve in particular, was much more involved in working out song arrangements. Nick Lowe was back in the producer's chair and even contributed a song for the US version of the album, What's So Funny 'Bout Peace Love and Understanding.
With his first two albums skewed towards a relatively "punk" aesthetic, Costello was conscious about making a move to a more accessible pop sound with this production, moving the band into a more "new-wave" friendly style of performance. The result was a collection of razor-sharp songs that were easy on the ears while still offering his acerbic trademark sense of cultural insight. The working title for the album at the time production began was "Emotional Fascism", which didn't stick, though it may have been more apt given Costello's attitude in the studio. By the time of its production, he'd established himself as the de facto "last word" when it came to any and all creative decisions, a stance which occasionally created tensions between him and Lowe. These strains were minor in comparison to the results that they achieved in the studio, however, with Lowe proving instrumental in delivering the results that Costello demanded. Overall, Lowe maintained a steady hand in the production and engendered a high standard of morale, creating a level of musical agreement within the band that some would say was never matched again.
For the record's packaging, the original UK release featured an elaborate gate-fold design with a herd of stampeding elephants on the cover. The North American version, however, had the package simplified and featured an abstract splatter painting instead, with the inner slip utilizing the UK's front image. The US version also omitted the song, Sunday's Best, in favour of Lowe's song.
Critical reception and audience response were consistently positive and have remained so over the decades since its release. Many consider the album to be Costello's best work of his career. Personally, this was my introduction to Elvis Costello after having seen his controversial appearance on Saturday Night Live. At the time I picked up the album, I was just beginning my foray into the new territories of "punk" and "new wave", with this album being among the first half dozen records I'd add to my collection from those genres. Along with RAMONES, The Clash, DEVO and Sex Pistols, Elvis Costello was one of the foundational artists who started me along a path of musical exploration that would take me to so many far flung creative shores.
