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Elvis Costello owes a lot to pub rock. It was pub rock that gave him the opportunity to perform, in band called Flip City, while he spent his days slaving away at a computer. And let us not forget that his first album, the landmark My Aim Is True, would have been pub rock if it had been released in 1974 rather than 1977. Although it can be argued that Costello merely had the same influences that the pub boys had, I think there's more to the man than that facile assessment. All of Costello's albums have the what-the-hell-let's-try-it-anyway feeling of the best pub rock. His lyrics and later arrangements may have been more sophisticated and complicated than anything Ducks Deluxe or Ace ever tried, but I'm convinced that Elvis never lost the spirit that he picked up back in 1975 with Flip City.
Costello's first three albums tend to stick to the relative basics of guitar, bass, drums, and piano/organ. In fact, My Aim Is True is so basic that the arrangements are nearly non-existent. The songs "Alison," "Welcome To The Working Week," and "Waiting For The End Of The World" don't sound like much, musically, but make their impact through those bitterly ironic lyrics and Costello's sarcastic singing. These songs take their dynamics from pub rock, but the attitude is certainly not hippie in outlook. What hippie would write a song about the end of the world or a 1930s fascist leader? Under-produced certainly, but My Aim Is True still plays well today and had an influence beyond its limitations.
One of the best songs on My Aim Is True is "Watching The Detectives"; its crackling reggae accompaniment was ostensibly provided by the Attractions, and according to legend, was the very first song they played together (the rest of the album's instrumentation was provided by a Marin County band named Clover, which included among its members future star Huey Lewis, future Newsman Sean Hopper, and future Doobie Brother John McFee). The Attractions — Pete Thomas on drums, Bruce Thomas (no relation) on bass, and Steve Nieve on keyboards — made their album debut proper on Costello's 1978 waxing, This Year's Model, a wonderful album by any yardstick.
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