Elvis Costello and the Attractions
This Year’s Model—Deluxe Edition
Hip-O/UME
By David Chiu
This Year’s Model is prime Elvis Costello, part of a trilogy of great albums, sandwiched between My Aim is True (1977) and Armed Forces (1979). Introducing on record his great backup band the Attractions, Costello in some ways makes a much tighter-sounding and better album than his debut—Model contains a slew of great power-pop tracks including No Action, the reggae-ish I Don’t Want to Go to Chelsea, the garage rock classic Pump it Up, and Radio Radio. This umpteenth and latest reissue of the original album is complemented by a 1977 live concert in Washington, D.C., and bonus tracks from the sessions including “Big Tears and “Crawling to the USA,” and an acoustic demo of “Greenshirt.” This Year’s Model is an essential part of any ‘70s music library.
NewBeats 