Armed Forces is the third studio album by the English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, released on 5January 1979 in the United Kingdom through Radar Records. It was his second album with the Attractions—keyboardist Steve Nieve, bassist Bruce Thomas and drummer Pete Thomas (no relation)—and the first to officially credit them on the cover. The album was recorded in six weeks from August to September 1978 in London under the working title Emotional Fascism. Produced by Nick Lowe and engineered by Roger Béchirian, the sessions saw Costello exert more control over production compared to This Year's Model, while Nieve contributed more to song arrangements.
For Armed Forces, Costello sought a more commercial sound than the punk rock style employed on his two previous records, resulting in a more pop-oriented production reflecting the new wave era. The overtly political lyrics concern the effect of politics on human relationships. The UK release featured an elaborate fold-out LP packaging, with a cover depicting a herd of elephants; it was simplified for the US release through Columbia Records, featuring an alternate drip-cover.
Supported by the successful UK singles "Oliver's Army" and "Accidents Will Happen", Armed Forces reached number two in the UK, becoming Costello's biggest commercial success up to that point. The American version, released in February 1979, omitted "Sunday's Best" and replaced it with Costello's version of Lowe's "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding". The album received positive reviews from music critics and appeared on several lists of the year's best albums. Costello and the Attractions supported the album on the Armed Funk tour in America.
In later decades, Armed Forces has continued to receive positive reviews, with many highlighting the production. Others noted that it contained musical styles Costello would utilise for later records. It is considered one of Costello's best works and has appeared on various best-of lists. The album has been reissued multiple times, including in 2020 as a super deluxe edition, which was positively received.
Background and recording
Elvis Costello's second studio album This Year's Model (1978) was his first with the backing band the Attractions–bassist Bruce Thomas, drummer Pete Thomas (no relation) and keyboardist Steve Nieve, after using the American band Clover for his debut album My Aim Is True (1977). From mid-July to mid-December 1977, Costello and the Attractions underwent a rigorous touring schedule before taking a break to record This Year's Model. Another gruesome touring schedule followed throughout 1978, which contributed to growing exhaustion for the artist and band. Nevertheless, Costello continued writing new material; songs that would appear on Armed Forces began appearing in the setlists starting in May. In July, Costello recorded his song "Stranger in the House" with country artist George Jones, which appeared on the latter's My Very Special Guests album in 1979, after which the former began recording Armed Forces.
Under the working titles Cornered On Plastic and Emotional Fascism, Armed Forces was recorded at London's Eden Studios starting in August 1978 and lasted six weeks. Returning from This Year's Model were musician Nick Lowe as producer and Roger Béchirian as engineer. Costello's work ethic during the sessions was strong. His on-again/off-again romantic partner at the time Bebe Buell recalled: "Elvis wasn't the kind of guy who slept all day. He got up and went to the studio to record and rehearse. He was a working boy, not a loller." Unlike the previous album sessions, he asserted himself as the final decision maker on all takes, production and mixes. He later admitted: "By the third [album] I thought I was God's gift. I was totally convinced. I had no doubts."
Despite tensions present, Lowe remained instrumental in keeping high morale and orchestration. He was also responsible for incorporating the new sounds Costello wanted for the record. Béchirian later explained: "The whole way those things were directed and put together was very much down to Nick. Nick had a real pop sensibility about him." For his process, Lowe had the band record backing tracks first before commencing on overdubs. Regarding band dynamics, Costello contended that he and the Attractions reached a level of musical agreement that would never be matched again. Nieve, in particular, was more involved in the song arrangements, particularly on "Oliver's Army". Also recorded was a cover of Lowe's "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding", originally released by his band Brinsley Schwarz on The New Favourites of... Brinsley Schwarz (1974). The new version was prepared for release as a B-side for Lowe's upcoming single "American Squirm", released in November 1978; the band were credited as "Nick Lowe and His Sound". Recording wrapped in September, after which Costello and the Attractions continued live performances.
Music and lyrics
After having achieved relative commercial success with My Aim Is True and This Year's Model, Costello decided to take Armed Forces in his most commercial direction yet, stating in a 1982 interview that he was selling out modestly-sized venues but received little success with singles compared to artists such as the Bee Gees and Fleetwood Mac. As such, Armed Forces marked a departure from the punk rock of its two predecessors to become, according to the biographer David Gouldstone, Costello's most pop-oriented album up to that point. Joe Marchese of The Second Disc retrospectively noted that Costello embraced the new wave sound of the era, working with Lowe and Béchirian to create a "more intricate" sound compared to its predecessors, while still "immediate and direct in its power and aggression". Spin and Ultimate Classic Rock later identified the album's sound as new wave and post-punk, respectively. Writer Greil Marcus noted that compared to its two predecessors, the sound of Armed Forces is "suppressed, claustrophobic, [and] twitching". Lowe's production, which some compared to the Wall of Sound-style of Phil Spector, utilised the studio to greater effect, creating a grander production overall, particularly on tracks such as "Accidents Will Happen", "Chemistry Class" and "Party Girl".
Costello also used a variety of influences when crafting the sound he wanted for Armed Forces. He stated in an interview that while on the road during tours, he and the Attractions listened to the 1976–77 works of David Bowie (Station to Station, Low and "Heroes") and Iggy Pop (The Idiot, Lust for Life), Kraftwerk (Autobahn), the 1969 works of the Beatles (Abbey Road and Yellow Submarine), as well as ABBA (Greatest Hits). Reviewing in 2002, Mojos Mat Snow found a cross between Abbey Road and Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited (1965). ABBA influenced Nieve's keyboard part for "Oliver's Army" and due to his greater contributions to the arrangements, his keyboards are more prominent throughout the entire album, predominantly on "Green Shirt" and "Party Girl". Béchirian later downplayed the numerous influences, stating that "a lot of that was just in the air".
While its two predecessors dealt with issues of immediate concern to the narrators, Armed Forces focuses on bigger issues on a broader scale. Marcus described it as a political album, or "a set of songs about how we live out the politics of our age whether we want to, mean to, or not". He specifically writes that on the album, "every moment of personal failure or unsatisfied passion is invaded by the cruelty and shamelessness of the political world." Indeed, Gouldstone identifies tracks that reflect political themes include "Senior Service", "Oliver's Army", "Goon Squad" and "Sunday's Best". Writing for PopMatters, Zeth Lundy described the album as "a collection of musings on human nature and relationships, bolstered by the pervasive military metaphors". The interplay is reflected by the album's working title Emotional Fascism. Although he had previously displayed fascist themes in tracks such as "Less Than Zero", "Night Rally" and "Radio Radio", Costello references fascist ideals frequently on Armed Forces, from Nazis to the Holocaust. Like its two predecessors, Graeme Thomson finds that Costello uses his signature wordplay on the album to great effect, composing various puns, double entendres, double-bluffs and non-sequiturs.
Side one The opening track, "Accidents Will Happen", is a non-political pop song that reflects the complexities of human relationships. Labelled by Hinton as a cross between the Byrds and the Beatles, it is addressed to Buell-type figure, but the actual subject is Costello himself, referring to his newfound sexual possibilities after achieving fame. NMEs Charles Shaar Murray described it as "an ornate, melodic and exquisitely danceable pop song designed to lull American record executives into a state of false security". The second track, the upbeat "Senior Service", concerns office politics and class warfare. More specifically, the song is about the brutality of big business in striking those down who are too weak to obtain power for themselves. It contains the first reference to the 'armed forces'. Writer Franklin Bruno states that while "Accidents Will Happen" was a showcase for Costello's voice, "Senior Service" "reintroduces" the Attractions and contains a widely different production style from the previous track. Continuing the political theme is "Oliver's Army", which boasts a pop-friendly production and melody over sinister lyrics on military imperialism. According to Gouldstone, the song's narrator is "presumably" a British soldier serving in Northern Ireland. Costello refers to the Irish as "white niggers" and references the conquest of Ireland in 1649 by the English Parliamentarian leader Oliver Cromwell. Musically, Bruno makes comparisons to ABBA's "Dancing Queen" (1976) and the Beach Boys' "Don't Worry Baby" (1964).
Described by Murray as "sexual fascism", "Big Boys" follows a narrator who is split between sympathy and contempt in his infatuation with a woman; he wants to be a 'big boy' and is seen as immature. Gouldstone compares it to "The Beat" from This Year's Model. Bruno states that it is the album's first track on which the mixture of personal and political themes appear as "volatile". "Green Shirt" concerns paranoia and predicts the rise of sex hotlines. It uses three different themes: assault on the media, a woman tidying herself, and images of betrayals to establish a connection between personal behaviour and relationships on a larger scale. Musically, it is primarily led by a loop created on a Minimoog. Regarding the colour green, Bruno interprets it as a possible reference to the members of the Romanian fascist movement Iron Guard. "Party Girl" is a ballad in the vein of "Alison" and "Little Triggers"; away from the new wave of the rest of the album. Reportedly about Buell, Costello denied this in the 2002 Armed Forces reissue liner notes, stating he wrote it for an art student he barely knew. In the song, the narrator pleads for the 'party girl' not to dismiss him even though he knows she has control over him and does not care how long it will take. After multiple political-related tracks, "Party Girl" represented a return to a more personal side.
Side two