Editorial Reviews The deathless melody of "Accidents Will Happen" opens a...
Armed Forces [Extra tracks]
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Amazon.com essential recording
Less hot under the collar than This Year's Model, Armed Forces was partly inspired by Elvis Costello and the Attractions' 1978 American tour. The songs are set to deceptively poppy arrangements that use plinky Abba keyboards ("Oliver's Army," a hit single about mercenaries), Beatles-ish devices (the fade on "Party Girl"), and whimsical waltz-time signatures ("Sunday's Best") to mask their core cynicism. "Goon Squad," "Busy Bodies," and "Accidents Will Happen" are among Costello's most melodically powerful songs to this point, leading the way to the masterful Get Happy!!. --Barney Hoskyns
From the Label
Legend has it that Costello's original title for this album was EMOTIONAL FASCISM. While that name may be a tad extreme, it does relate to Costello's lyrical concerns on album number three, which went further than before in exploring the dark undersides of love relationships and of England's class system. This was matched by a far lusher pop sound than the punkish THIS YEAR'S MODEL and the country/pub-rock inflections of MY AIM IS TRUE.