Sounds, January 6, 1979: Difference between revisions

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''"Oh, I just don't know where to begin,"'' sings the man in the Hulk-size glasses and average size head at the start of his third long-player.
''"Oh, I just don't know where to begin,"'' sings the man in the Hulk-size glasses and average size head at the start of his third long-player.


I know the feeling: ''Armed Forces'' comes shrink-wrapped. Get that off and there's one of these silly self-destruct sleeves, covered on the one side by a picture of a herd of rampaging Dumbos and on all the other sides (keep losing count of how many there are; it's that sort of package) in Barney Bubbles re-runs of the Tate Gallery's Pop Art Section's Greatest Hits.
I know the feeling: ''Armed Forces'' comes shrink-wrapped. Get that off and there's one of these silly self-destruct sleeves, covered on the one side by a picture of a herd of rampaging Dumbos and on all the other sides (keep losing count of how many there are; it's that sort of package) in Barney Bubbles re-runs of the Tate Gallery's Pop Art Section's Greatest Hits. An education for some perhaps.  I simply find it irritating.  "It's a joke", the artist's manager told me last week.  "You're supposed to throw it away."  I throw nothing away.  I will, however, be forced to invest in one of those plastic bags to keep the whole thing in.  As for the postcards featuring the individual artists, they'll probably get lost.  That's the point of the preamble - you can't throw it away because the inner bag's too flimsy.  For all that, I have to confess I prefer the shot of EC pretending to be a Helmut Newton photograph to all the rest of the visual information put together. 


That bloody Jackson Pollock's got a lot to answer for, too.  As he's been dead a couple of decades that's not possible right now, so let's move onto the records, shall we?   


Plural, yes.  A free '45 falls on the floor as we fight with the sleeve for the first time.  Dusted and turntabled, this turns out to feature three live cuts from the Americas.  'Accidents Will Happen' takes up one third.  Costello alone but for a piano on a somewhat Judy Garland harmony slow up of the LP's proper opener.  Must like it a lot.  This version I could live without myself, showing as it does as many strengths as weaknesses vis a vis the Costello live studio version.  Still, it's free and there's a fair stab at 'Alison' in a less barren format plus a really boiling 'Watching The Detectives' too. 


First two hearings, nothing grabbed me. Over reaction I'm sure, being as ''This Year's Model'' is one of the most consistently played records in the house, even after all these months.  I see it's fared rather well in the "Best of..." assessments in the various rags, last week and thus feel obliged to confess that its absence from my personal Top Twenty was due entirely to my being convinced that I'd owned it since November of 1977.  Idiot, that's in-breeding for you. 


I won't waste either of our times enumerating .... all the individual saints and deities I lit metaphorical candles to when, after three or four 'duty' plays, I actually started hearing this record.  A week later I can find myself semi-consciously singing along to most of the choruses and with that, most of the really offensive bits bother me less and less. 
Meaning this record contains a plethora of the worst puns ever committed to vinyl, and in addition sundry other jokes (HA!) of awesome banality. 'Accidents...' for example, finally won me over with its near-glorious chorus.


{{cx}}
{{cx}}

Revision as of 21:30, 14 April 2019

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Sounds

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Joining the professionals

Elvis Costello And The Attractions / Armed Forces

Giovanni Dadomo

4½ star reviews4½ star reviews4½ star reviews4½ star reviews4½ star reviews

"Oh, I just don't know where to begin," sings the man in the Hulk-size glasses and average size head at the start of his third long-player.

I know the feeling: Armed Forces comes shrink-wrapped. Get that off and there's one of these silly self-destruct sleeves, covered on the one side by a picture of a herd of rampaging Dumbos and on all the other sides (keep losing count of how many there are; it's that sort of package) in Barney Bubbles re-runs of the Tate Gallery's Pop Art Section's Greatest Hits. An education for some perhaps. I simply find it irritating. "It's a joke", the artist's manager told me last week. "You're supposed to throw it away." I throw nothing away. I will, however, be forced to invest in one of those plastic bags to keep the whole thing in. As for the postcards featuring the individual artists, they'll probably get lost. That's the point of the preamble - you can't throw it away because the inner bag's too flimsy. For all that, I have to confess I prefer the shot of EC pretending to be a Helmut Newton photograph to all the rest of the visual information put together.

That bloody Jackson Pollock's got a lot to answer for, too. As he's been dead a couple of decades that's not possible right now, so let's move onto the records, shall we?

Plural, yes. A free '45 falls on the floor as we fight with the sleeve for the first time. Dusted and turntabled, this turns out to feature three live cuts from the Americas. 'Accidents Will Happen' takes up one third. Costello alone but for a piano on a somewhat Judy Garland harmony slow up of the LP's proper opener. Must like it a lot. This version I could live without myself, showing as it does as many strengths as weaknesses vis a vis the Costello live studio version. Still, it's free and there's a fair stab at 'Alison' in a less barren format plus a really boiling 'Watching The Detectives' too.

First two hearings, nothing grabbed me. Over reaction I'm sure, being as This Year's Model is one of the most consistently played records in the house, even after all these months. I see it's fared rather well in the "Best of..." assessments in the various rags, last week and thus feel obliged to confess that its absence from my personal Top Twenty was due entirely to my being convinced that I'd owned it since November of 1977. Idiot, that's in-breeding for you.

I won't waste either of our times enumerating .... all the individual saints and deities I lit metaphorical candles to when, after three or four 'duty' plays, I actually started hearing this record. A week later I can find myself semi-consciously singing along to most of the choruses and with that, most of the really offensive bits bother me less and less.

Meaning this record contains a plethora of the worst puns ever committed to vinyl, and in addition sundry other jokes (HA!) of awesome banality. 'Accidents...' for example, finally won me over with its near-glorious chorus.



Remaining text and scanner-error corrections to come...

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Sounds, January 6, 1979


Giovanni Dadomo reviews Armed Forces.


An ad for Armed Forces runs on the back page.

Images

1979-01-06 Sounds page 24.jpg
Page scan.

Advertisement.
1979-01-06 Sounds page 40 advertisement.jpg


1979-01-06 Sounds cover.jpg
Cover.

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External links