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Warning to Generation X:
(That's the demographic group, not the band.)
You're starting to appear in box sets.
(That's your bands, not your demographic group.)
Elvis Costello's 2½ Years marks the first major box set to be released by a member of the first wave of British punkers and popsters.
(And just in case you're hoping this is an anomaly, not the start of a trend that's soon to make you feel ooooold to yer bones, the Police's uninspiringly titled Message In A Box is now also available.)
Those of us hovering around the 30-year-old mark may have snickered at the excesses of various Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan and (egads) Bee Gees box sets, regurgitating as they did mundane material from times ancient and arcane — i.e., pre-1977.
As Billy Idol once sang, "You're generation don't mean a thing to me."
Now the red shoe's on the other foot.
To launch Rykodisc's re-release of the entire Elvis Costello catalog, up to and including 1986's Blood & Chocolate, the company has put together 2½ Years. The package contains Costello's first three studio albums (1977's My Aim Is True, 1978's This Year's Model and 1979's Armed Forces) along with their associated B-sides and rarities, as well as the famous (in fandom) and much-bootlegged 1978 El Mocambo live set.
Like the recent Bowie Sound and Vision retrospective, further re-releases will follow in chronological order. Only the Taking Liberties, 10 Bloody Marys and 10 How's Your Fathers and Out of Our Idiot compilations will be excluded from the deluge, made mostly redundant by the inclusion of related B-sides and rarities on the individual discs.
Also, the respective album's running orders are now unified, covering up sometimes severe anomalies between the British and the American releases.
Of the three original studio albums (which also can be purchased separately), only My Aim Is True sounds dated. The empty, rather cold backing Costello received from the band Clover does not translate well digitally.
Still, the CD's no slouch. "Welcome to the Working Week," "(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes" and "Alison" are all deftly constructed, ladled with Angry Young Man venom and bile. Costello's gift for the twist of phrase ("I said 'I'm so happy I could die' / She said 'Drop dead' and left with another guy") seems God-given at times.
Instead of "extra tracks," Ryko calls its add-ons "extended plays." On My Aim Is True, the selection is excellent, including the country-ish "Radio Sweetheart" and "Stranger in the House."
The best freebies, though, are to be found on 1978's This Year's Model. "Radio, Radio," is a real pounder, while "Big Tears" and "Crawling to the USA" are both vibrant and bitter.
But the demo versions of "Green Shirt" and "Big Boys" (later to be recorded as studio tracks on Armed Forces) are nearly this disc's highlights. They only rank second because of the wonderful demo, "Running Out of Angels," that precedes them.
This Year's Model, Costello's first album with the Attractions, is as pumped up as power pop gets. Riding the coattails of punk, this was the album that truly presaged greatness.
The excitement behind the Canadian El Mocambo live set also promised much for the future. The shortest of the four CDs, it captures much of My Aim Is True and This Year's Model in near-perfect live fashion.
And, true to the original intent of the recording (it was used as a promotional giveaway), people who buy the three studio albums individually can receive El Mocambo in the mail gratis.
But the real gem of the collection so far is Armed Forces, the 1979 album that cemented Costello's stature as a pop writer par excellence. The sound on this disc is great, and songs like "Big Boys" and "Green Shirt" come across with verve, wit and style.
A lot of thought has gone into the Ryko Costello series. From small touches, like 10- and 15-second gaps following the end of the studio album tracks and the beginning of the "extended play" ones, to larger matters, like Costello's added liner notes.
Just around the corner, re-re-leasewise, will come arguably Costello's greatest period: 1980's terribly underrated Get Happy, 1981's even more underrated Trust (perhaps Costello's best album, bar none), and 1982's exquisite Imperial Bedroom.
How well Ryko will do with weaker mid-'80s works like Almost Blue, Punch the Clock and Goodbye Cruel World may be harder to predict.
But for the moment, all's well and Elvis is king. 2½ Years is that rare box set: a near-perfect combination between the familiar and the obscure. Neither too long nor short, it could end up pleasing both Costello purists and rabid collectors alike.
This year's model? Get happy: You gotta love it.
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