Greenville News, January 28, 1979

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Costello still trying for that one big hit


Tom Priddy

Hope Antman knows a good understatement when she says one.

It's her job to make Elvis Costello a star, and when she answers questions about his sales record she has an almost undetectable sigh of resignation in her voice.

How did his first two albums sell?

"They weren't hits," she said.

Actually, they sold about 300,000 each, which is several hundred thousand less than required for a gold album and about 7,700,000 less than Fleetwood Mac's Rumours.

But who's counting?

Ms. Antman, that's who. As director of national publicity for CBS Records, she's also charged with promoting Costello's new album, Armed Forces (Columbia), and that's where she can use the figures for a little boasting.

Just three weeks after it was released, "it's already at the sales level of the other two," she said. Translated from record company talk, that means it's already sold 300,000 copies and is still climbing.

Of course, none of this talk about Costello's success takes critical acclaim into account. If that were worth anything, Costello's albums would be gold or platinum many times over. His first album, My Aim Is True, released in 1977, and his second, This Year's Model, released early in 1978, have been on the best-of lists of everybody except the general public.

In addition to being the best seller of the three, Armed Forces will make the 1979 lists, too, and it just might be acclaimed as his best album to date.

There's a temptation to mention his Grammy nomination here as another measure of his success, but somehow it just doesn't fit. For the record, he's one of five nominees for best new group (or artist) of 1978. It should suffice to say that he was new on the scene in 1977, not 1978, and that he doesn't stand a snowball's chance of winning.

The competition includes A Taste of Honey, a group that is the odds-on favorite to win, mainly because they sold about a jillion copies of a song whose best line is, "Get down, boogie, oogie, oogie."

They'll win by a mile.

Obviously the only reason Costello was picked was because the judges couldn't think of five new groups that made a lot of money last year. Another nominee was The Cars, a great choice, but hardly a big seller.

Costello's new album "took a little longer" to record than his last two, said Ms. Antman. It required something like a month of recording in London instead of the usual couple of weeks.

"It's more complex than the others," she said. "I have to think it was a conscious attempt" to do something a little different. "He doesn't really repeat himself," she added. The first two albums each had their share of powerful words and music, but they were sparsely performed and arranged. The new one often uses multi-tracked keyboards and vocals.

Armed Forces isn't as initially attractive as his other albums, but because it has more depth it's an album that grows and grows. Because it's even more serious it takes longer to absorb; something new can be found on every hearing.

The only song that has an immediate bite is "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding," which is something of a parody of Costello's typical seriousness.

Just a flip through the topics covered on the rest of the songs is evidence enough of that seriousness: forced retirement, mercenaries, insane asylums, dictatorial people.

It's not a joyful album. In fact, the only thing fun about it is the pleasure you get from listening to an artist who hits heavy topics in a subtle manner. "Oliver's Army" is cloudy enough to make it a challenge to uncover. "Goon Squad" could be about a sanitarium, but it also is a metaphor for anyone banished from peers.

A sample from the lyrics of "Senior Service": "I want your company car / I want your girlfriend and love / I want your place at the bar / Because there's always another man / To chop off your head and watch it roll in the basket." A mighty tough sentiment, but one that executives forced to retire early can no doubt sympathize with.

Included in the album package for the first 200,000 copies — which may still be available in some stores — is a bonus single-sized record with three live cuts from a show last June at Hollywood High.

Even without that bonus, Armed Forces has quickly become 1979's album to beat. It'll take a tremendous effort to knock it off.


Tags: Armed ForcesOliver's Army(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding?Goon SquadSenior ServiceMy Aim Is TrueThis Year's ModelGrammy AwardsA Taste Of HoneyLive At Hollywood HighHollywood High SchoolAccidents Will HappenAlisonWatching The DetectivesHope AntmanFleetwood MacColumbia Records

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Greenville News, January 28, 1979


Tom Priddy profiles Elvis Costello and reviews Armed Forces.

Images

1979-01-28 Greenville News page 10-C clipping 01.jpg
Clipping.

Page scan.
1979-01-28 Greenville News page 10-C.jpg


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