Daring And Dancing 

Elvis Costello And Armed Forces

Elvis Costello,the Buddy Holly on acid,the Punk troubadour of the late 70's,one of the most prolific and consistent artists of his generation.To go through his canon of albums would be a long,although exciting adventure,but here I'll stick with the stand outs,starting with the first record of his I listened to,and one I still listen to and love passionately,'Armed Forces'.

Some have said this is one of the best albeit subtle political statements of the 70's,a bigger statement than one which the late Woody Guthrie would have attempted.

Wrapped in its fold back cover and front picture of elephants charging is an electrifying,rock steady album and an enigma to some albums,one that doesn't contain a dud track.

Released in January 1979,the working title says more than the given one,'Emotional Fascism'.
A daring album,a dance to album,this was the album where Elvis Costello came into his own as a songwriter,a melodic and textured work,hiding songs of a strong political nature,delivered with Costellos unique and demand to be listened to vocal.Onyl two singles released,'Accidents Will Happen' the albums catchy opener,and the number 2 hit 'Olivers Army'.

Based on a trip to Belfast,Costello being of Irish descent,'Olivers Army' remains one of Costellos most memorable songs.
The trip to Belfast opening his eyes to the young men,almost boys,armed and in uniform,from this was born his anti-occupation song.
A song about the young,working class men always sent to do the killing,name dropping along the way,apart from Belfast,'Checkpoint Charlie',Palestine,Cyprus and South Africa,wrapped nicely in bubblegum pop,wether the listen knew or not is another story,but that was Costellos gift,the subtly.
The phrase 'White Nigger' remaining in the song when played on the airwaves for thirty years up until March 2013 when the BBC decided to censor the phrase,leading to a backlash as it damaged the songs intentional anti-war,anti-racisim message.

The album 'Armed Forces',produced in full by the irrefutable Nick Lowe,the 'Stiff Records' in house producer,but a notable pub,power pop rocker similar to the style of Elvis Costello so an understanding of the sound and handling of the songs was best served by Lowe.Although having produced the previous albums by Elvis Costello,Nick Lowe is also responsible for the production on The Damneds first single and albums,aswell as other Stiff and associated acts including Wreckless Eric,The Pretenders,Dr Feelgood and of all artists,Johnny Cash.

The other significant footnote of this album is it lists The Attractions as the band,although their second album with Costello,'Armed Forces' is the first album to state them on the cover.

I do have a love for this record,as I feel it's a combination of everything a record should be,no filler,a deep thinking political statement but not one that overpowers the positivity of the album,so if you haven't heard it,dig and find it.