Armed Forces

ANOTHER Elvis Costello album. Pet theory: he ghost-wrote "1001 Albums."
"Oliver's Army" is pretty good. The rest is twee and boring.

Nearly a 4. There are Elvis Costello albums with better non single tracks.

I stupidly checked and I'm not even half way through all these Elvis Costello albums yet. This one is the worse so far. He leans into his whiny voice. Clearly this author was the height of cool in 1979. Unfortunate for the rest of us.

another elvis costello album. . . *sigh*

nothing against the dude, but he has such a unique sound you've gotta be in the mood to listen.

Elvis Costello AGAIN. How many albums does he have on this thing - are all of his albums worthy of consideration? I guess this is the "hits" one with Olivers Army & Accidents Will Happen. I would probably have enjoyed it more if it had been the first one I'd listened to, rather than pondering why he has multiple entries. It's Elvis Costello - you know what you're going to get right.

Ikke forfærdeligt, men virkelig heller ikke godt

Solid 4/5 album with a few 5/5 songs on it. Interesting to see how much of a magpie Elvis Costello is: "Two Little Hitlers" quotes "Rebel Rebel" and "Party Girl" quotes "You Never Give Me Your Money"

4/5 music, 7/5 album art

Once again a thoroughly decent album that somehow ended up on a list of the best albums ever. Also he drops a hard R which uhhhhh I get the context but Iunno about that one still...

Finally an Elivs Costello album I really enjoyed, great sounding album added to my permanent rotation and deserves its place on this list.

Nice album, weird cover.

I've been known to be indifferent to Elvis Costello, but to tell the truth, I've never really gave him a chance, so I am looking forward to today's listen. I have my reservations, however, because upon reading up on this record, it turns out he made it in the "new wave" style which was very popular at the time. I have been known to hate new wave, so we will see how this goes.

Apparently Elvis Costello is obsessed with dismemberment, because in at least 3 songs on this album, he mentions beheadings, or chopping people up. Also, in the song Oliver's Army, Costello drops an N-Word, which caught me off guard given the fact that he is a white nerd from the UK.

Most of the lyrics, as can he said for most of New wave, were mostly nonsensical. The songs that actually had a clear message instead of incomprehensible ramblings were the ones I liked more (there weren't many). The last song on the record, (What's so Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding, was my favourite on the album. It sounded more like classic Costello, had a clear message, and followed a normal song structure, unlike almost everything else here.

Overall, as suspected, not my favourite. I won't revisit ever again. The music wasn't bad, I just really hate new wave. Elvis gets props for the sheer magnitude of his influence on modern music though.

Favourite songs: "(What's so Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding" , Oliver's Army, Goon Squad, Senior Service, Party Girl

Least favourite songs: Big Boys, Green Shirt

2/5

Green Shirt is killer. Everything feels so right in the pocket and Elvis has this iconic singing style. The snare on Sunday's Best is like a gunshot.

I generally liked this album, but definitely liked "This Year's Model" much more. Some of the tracks and singing made me think of XTC (not a bad thing). I don't know how much I'd seek this album out again, though, and that makes it a 3 in my book. Tracks that caught my ear: Accidents Will Happen (really like the outro), Busy Bodies, Moods for Moderns, and What's So Funny Bout Peace Love and Understanding.

Well, that wasn't as bad as I was expecting my second Costello album, with me originally thinking one was enough, but this still wasn't anything special. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's alright, or it wouldn't be getting three stars, but I really don't see what some see in this album. Just was boring most of the time and a lot of the good bits were a bit covered up. Only saving grace is it feels a bit more like its own thing, where I can see where someone may start to say "I like Costello because of this!", but not totally for me. Would rate lower, but I'm feeling nice, I guess. Very low three stars.

Pretty samey, whiny and dull. The second album I have had which has a white guy using the N word. That's automatically a point off in my book - even if he has since renounced the use of the word.

Such an interesting voice. Costello always manages to write interesting melodies. Oliver's Army is a fascinating standout. As was Peace Love and Understanding, the two songs I'd heard off the album. The overall tambre and his voice bring the album down a star for me, but still a great listen.

Maak je dan toch een pop-album, doe het dan zo. Tijdloos. Het album biedt een continue kwaliteit (m.u.v. Goon Squad). En keer op keer denk je: 'Hé, lekker deuntje'.

Not for me. I'm not really a fan of any of this, there's just nothing grabbing me at all. Oliver's Army is pretty good, but that's about it.

Everything is there to make a great album, but yet I still can't manage to get to the point of connecting with the tracks and immersing in the album.