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If anyone mistook Elvis Costello for a romantic with the misguided slow-dance of "Alison" off debut album My Aim is True (1977), the sneering first line of "No Action" off follow-up This Year's Model destroyed such notions. "I don't wanna kiss you, I don't wanna touch," he sang a capella before a cannonade of instruments belonging to a new backing band, The Attractions, fired out of the speakers. (Elvis' new ensemble — Steve Nieve on keyboards, bassist Bruce Thomas and drummer Pete Thomas — would back Costello through 1986, and again from 1994 to 1996.) "I don't wanna see you, 'cause I don't miss you that much," Costello continued. Lovelorn he wasn't!
But audiences fell in love with Costello, who was on the bleeding edge of something really cool in British pop music. It had punk's snot-nosed edge, but it didn't compromise talent and composition for image. Truly, there was a New Wave of music heading to audiences, and with killer cuts like the propulsive "Pump It Up," reggae-tinged "(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea" and live favorites "Living in Paradise" and "This Year's Girl," its standard bearer was This Year's Model.
As is the gold standard for Costello's catalogue, This Year's Model endured some permutations from the very start. The original American release, released May 1978 on Columbia Records, deleted "Chelsea" and album closer "Night Rally," and instead closed out the record with non-LP single "Radio, Radio," one of Costello's best-known songs after he halted his own performance of "Less Than Zero" on Saturday Night Live that winter for this song instead. (Also gone: a free bonus 45 that came with the original British album and the iconic, intentionally-misprinted album sleeve.)
After standard reissues of each respective track list on CD in 1986 (Demon IMP FIEND CD 18/Columbia CK 35331), a 1993 reissue campaign (Demon DPAM 2 (U.K.)/Rykodisc RCD-10272) formalized the track list to the original U.K. running order and added "Radio, Radio," a single B-side ("Big Tears," which backed "Pump It Up"), a soundtrack-only tune ("Crawling to the USA," from little-seen Americathon) and three demos, two of which would be fully fleshed out for follow-up album Armed Forces.
Of course, that wasn't the end for the album. Rhino's 2002 reissue of the album (Rhino R2 78354) expanded the original album with a whole bonus disc, including all six of the Demon/Rykodisc bonus tracks ("Radio, Radio" still closed the album) plus another seven, mostly live and including the cover of The Damned's "Neat, Neat, Neat" from the original bonus 45 (the studio track, "Stranger in the House," was included on reissues of My Aim is True).
When Costello brought his catalogue to Universal in 2007, a straight reissue (Hip-O B0008638-02) found its way into stores, and another deluxe edition was released in 2008 (Hip-O/UMe B0010681-02). This included almost all the bonus material from the Rhino set (save live sessions for BBC and Capital Radio) and "Tiny Steps" (the B-side to "Radio, Radio" included on reissues of Armed Forces), plus a lengthy, oft-bootlegged 1978 concert at Washington, D.C.'s Warner Theatre (one track of which was released on Rhino's deluxe Armed Forces).
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