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Armed Forces is Elvis Costello's third album, his second with the Attractions, and the first to officially credit the Attractions on the cover. It was released in the UK by Radar Records and in the U.S. by Columbia in 1979. The album had the working title Emotional Fascism.

Initial pressings of the album in the UK and U.S. included a promotional three-song single, Live at Hollywood High, which was recorded on 4 June 1978 (1978-06-04). The live tracks, also produced by Nick Lowe, are "Accidents Will Happen," "Alison," and "Watching the Detectives". The UK edition included 4 postcards featuring pictures of the band. The American version substituted "Sunday's Best" for Costello's version of "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding", which had been released the previous November as the B-side of Nick Lowe's "American Squirm" single, at the end of side two.

The album has appeared on Q magazine and Rolling Stone magazine lists of "greatest albums". In the 1982 film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Elliott's brother, Michael (played by Robert MacNaughton), sings "Accidents Will Happen" in the family kitchen after coming home from school.

Reception

Janet Maslin in a 1979 review in Rolling Stone felt the album was a "killer in several senses of the word"; remarking on the brief, energetic songs with dense and sometimes over-clever but snappy lyrics, Maslin felt that Costello "wants to be daring, but he also wants to dance". Robert Christgau in a 1979 review in The Village Voice felt Costello was using words to "add color and detail to his music" rather than as "a thinking, feeling person"; though he approved of the "intricate pop constructions", and found the album overall to be "good" but not "great".

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Pitchfork	(9.5/10)
Rolling Stone Album Guide

In 2000 Q magazine placed Armed Forces at number 45 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever. In 2003, the album was ranked at number 482 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, and then in 2012, moved it to number 475 on its updated list.

Track listing

All songs written by Elvis Costello, except as noted.

Side one

1. "Accidents Will Happen" – 3:00
2. "Senior Service" – 2:17
3. "Oliver's Army" – 2:58
4. "Big Boys" – 2:54
5. "Green Shirt" – 2:42
6. "Party Girl" – 3:20

Side two

1. "Goon Squad" – 3:14
2. "Busy Bodies" – 3:33
3. "Sunday's Best" – 3:22
4. "Moods for Moderns" – 2:48
5. "Chemistry Class" – 2:55
6. "Two Little Hitlers" – 3:18

Live at Hollywood High promo single

1. "Accidents Will Happen" (Live) – 3:18
2. "Alison" (Live) – 3:08
3. "Watching the Detectives" (Live) – 5:51

Reissues

There was a Rykodisc reissue in 1993, and a Rhino reissue in 2001. The Rykodisc version contains the original album and bonus tracks on one CD; the Rhino version has two CDs - disc one contains the original UK album plus "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding?" and disc two contains bonus tracks.

Personnel

• Elvis Costello – guitar, vocals
• Steve Nieve – piano, organ, synthesizer
• Bruce Thomas – bass
• Pete Thomas – drums

Charts

References

1. ^ "Main Single Release Discography". The Elvis Costello Home Page. Retrieved 25 August 2008.
2. Q Magazine. 2008. {{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help) Cited at "E.T.: – The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) – Trivia". imdb.com. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
3. Janet Maslin (22 March 1979). "Elvis Costello Armed Forces > Review". Rolling Stone. No. 287. Archived from the original on 14 November 2007. Retrieved 24 April 2005. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
4. Robert Christgau (26 February 1979). "Christgau's Consumer Guide: Elvis Costello: Armed Forces". The Village Voice. Retrieved 30 November 2011. Revised version posted at "Elvis Costello: Armed Forces > Consumer Album Guide". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 29 April 2006.
5. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Armed Forces at AllMusic. Retrieved 20 Jun 2005.
6. LeMay, Matt (2 March 2003). "Elvis Costello & The Attractions Armed Forces > Review". pitchfork.com. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 20 June 2005.
7. Sheffield, Rob (2004). "Elvis Costello". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). [[The New Rolling Stone Album Guide]]. London: Fireside. pp. 193–195. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. Retrieved 30 November 2011. {{cite book}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help); Unknown parameter |author-separator= ignored (help) Portions posted at "Elvis Costello > Album Guide". rollingstone.com. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
8. Levy, Joe (2006) . "482 | Armed Forces - Elvis Costello and the Attractions". [[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time]] (3rd ed.). London: Turnaround. ISBN 1-932958-61-4. OCLC 70672814. Archived from the original on 11 May 2012. Retrieved 18 February 2006. {{cite book}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
9. Wenner, Jann S., ed. (2012). Rolling Stone - Special Collectors Issue - The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. USA: Wenner Media Specials. ISBN 978-7-09-893419-6
10. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
11. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 24 October 2011
12. "dutchcharts.nl Elvis Costello - This Year's Model" (ASP). dutchcharts.nl (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
13. "charts.org.nz - Elvis Costello and the Attractions - Armed Forces" (ASP). Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
14. "norwegiancharts.com Elvis Costello and the Attractions - Armed Forces" (ASP). VG-lista. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
15. "swedishcharts.com Elvis Costello and the Attractions - Armed Forces" (ASP) (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
16. "Elvis Costello and the Attractions - Armed Forces". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 23 October 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
17. Elvis Costello > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums at AllMusic. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
18. "RPM Top 100 Albums of 1979". RPM. Retrieved 3 October 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
19. "Complete UK Year-End Album Charts". Retrieved 3 October 2011.
20. "Canadian album certifications – Elvis Costello – Armed Forces". Music Canada.
21. id MUST BE PROVIDED for UK CERTIFICATION.
22. "American album certifications – Elvis Costello – Armed Forces". Recording Industry Association of America.

External links

• Armed Forces (Adobe Flash) at Radio3Net (streamed copy where licensed)

• Use dmy dates from August 2012
• Pages with empty short description
• 1979 albums
• Albums produced by Nick Lowe
• Columbia Records albums
• Elvis Costello albums
• F-Beat Records albums
• Hip-O Records albums
• Radar Records albums
• Rhino Records albums
• Rykodisc albums