This Year's Model



This Year's Model is Elvis Costello's second album and his first with the Attractions, released in 1978. It was mainly recorded at Eden Studios in West London.

It was voted the best album of the year in The Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics poll. In 2000, Q magazine placed This Year's Model at number 82 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever. In 1987, Rolling Stone magazine ranked it number 11 on its list of the best albums of the period 1967–1987. In 2003, the album was ranked number 98 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Packaging and artwork
Early issues of the album have an apparently misprinted sleeve, which cuts off the left side of the front cover (including the letters 'E' from 'Elvis' and 'T' from 'This') and shows a printers' colour bar along the right side (see cover right). This was a deliberate mistake (a favourite technique of cover designer Barney Bubbles), as was pressing "Special pressing No. 003. Ring 434 32 32. Ask for Moira for your prize" between the holding spirals on Side 1. Indeed, people calling the aforementioned number ("Moira" being a press agent at Radar Records) would be rewarded with a badge.

Early issues of the LP came with a free 7" single, housed in a Radar house sleeve, with "Stranger in the House" on side A and a live cover of The Damned's "Neat Neat Neat" on side B. The promotion also included a black and white sticker stuck on the LP's shrinkwrap that said 'Free Album With This Single'.

The USA version was a different photo from the same session and didn't feature the deliberate mis-cropping. The original American pressing on Columbia also says "Costello" instead of "Columbia" on the inner label.

The title This Year's Model indirectly references two songs on the original UK album: most obviously "This Year's Girl", but also "(I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea", which contains a lyric about "last year's model".

About the photo session, photographer Chris Gabrin's words
"The concept of him behind a camera for the sleeve of This Year's Model had already been chosen, so I decided to equip Elvis with exactly the same tripod and camera as I was using to create a 'mirror' for him. Alongside a powerful stereo I kept a large record collection at my Camden Studio, and artists would choose music they enjoyed or were interested in for their sessions. Just as we were about to start shooting, Elvis asked me if I had "Hotel California" by The Eagles, and could I play it? I was puzzled by his choice – until he told me that he loathed the record, but wanted to look really pissed off and angry in the shots! We played the record several times during the session and whilst I directed him, I was also aware of his copying some of my own actions as I took the photographs."

Original LP track listing
All songs written by Elvis Costello.

Side one

 * 1) "No Action" – 1:58
 * 2) "This Year's Girl" – 3:17
 * 3) "The Beat" – 3:45
 * 4) "Pump It Up" – 3:14
 * 5) "Little Triggers" – 2:40
 * 6) "You Belong to Me" – 2:22

Side two

 * 1) "Hand in Hand" – 2:33
 * 2) "(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea" – 3:07
 * 3) "Lip Service" – 2:36
 * 4) "Living in Paradise" – 3:52
 * 5) "Lipstick Vogue" – 3:42
 * 6) "Night Rally" – 2:41


 * The US release on Columbia, two months after the original UK release, dropped "(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea" and "Night Rally" and added "Radio Radio" to close side two.

Some European versions of the album added "Watching The Detectives" at the end of side one. This non-album single released in 1977 shortly after My Aim Is True was already included on the US version of Costello's first album. The original Japanese release (Radar P-10538F) has "Watching The Detectives" at the end of side two but omits "Night Rally".

Bonus Tracks (1993 Rykodisc CD)

 * 1) "Radio, Radio" – 3:05
 * 2) "Big Tears" – 3:09
 * 3) "Crawling to the USA" – 2:53
 * 4) "Running Out of Angels" (demo) – 2:02
 * 5) "Green Shirt" (demo) – 2:20
 * 6) "Big Boys" (demo) – 3:00
 * Note: the Rykodisc reissue placed "Radio Radio" after a 10-second silence following "Night Rally."

Bonus Disc (2002 Rhino CD)

 * 1) "Big Tears" – 3:12
 * 2) "Crawling to the USA" – 2:55
 * 3) "Running Out of Angels" (Demo version) – 2:05
 * 4) "Greenshirt" (Demo version) – 2:22
 * 5) "Big Boys" (Demo version) – 3:00
 * 6) "You Belong to Me" (Capital Radio version) – 1:55
 * 7) "Radio Radio" (Capital Radio version) – 3:01
 * 8) "Neat Neat Neat" (Brian James) (Live) – 3:16
 * 9) "Roadette Song" (Ian Dury, Russell Hardy) (Live) – 5:40
 * 10) "This Year's Girl" (Alternate Eden Studios version) – 2:09
 * 11) "(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea" (Basing Street Studios version) – 3:00
 * 12) "Stranger in the House" (BBC version) – 4:15


 * Note: while 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 "Radio, Radio" and disc two contains bonus tracks.

Disc one

 * 1) "No Action" – 2:01
 * 2) "This Year's Girl" – 3:22
 * 3) "The Beat" – 3:48
 * 4) "Pump It Up" – 3:17
 * 5) "Little Triggers" – 2:43
 * 6) "You Belong to Me" – 2:25
 * 7) "Hand In Hand" – 2:38
 * 8) "(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea" – 3:10
 * 9) "Lip Service" – 2:39
 * 10) "Living In Paradise" – 3:47
 * 11) "Lipstick Vogue" – 3:33
 * 12) "Night Rally" – 2:46
 * 13) "Radio, Radio" – 3:12
 * 14) "Big Tears" – 3:12
 * 15) "Crawling To The USA" – 2:54
 * 16) "Tiny Steps" – 2:44
 * 17) "Running Out of Angels" (Demo) – 2:04
 * 18) "Green Shirt" (Demo) – 2:22
 * 19) "Big Boys" (Demo) – 3:00
 * 20) "Neat Neat Neat" (Live) – 3:16
 * 21) "Roadette Song" (Live) – 5:40
 * 22) "This Year's Girl" (Alternate Eden Studios version) – 2:09
 * 23) "(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea" (Alternate Basing Street Studios version) – 2:57

Disc two (Live at the Warner Theatre, Washington, DC, 28 February 1978)

 * 1) "Pump It Up" – 3:31
 * 2) "Waiting for the End of the World" – 3:59
 * 3) "No Action" – 2:28
 * 4) "Less Than Zero" –  4:29
 * 5) "The Beat" – 3:43
 * 6) "(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes" – 2:35
 * 7) "(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea" – 3:58
 * 8) "Hand in Hand" – 2:53
 * 9) "Little Triggers" – 3:08
 * 10) "Radio, Radio" – 2:37
 * 11) "You Belong to Me" – 2:54
 * 12) "Lipstick Vogue" – 5:02
 * 13) "Watching the Detectives" – 6:02
 * 14) "Mystery Dance" – 3:58
 * 15) "Miracle Man" – 4:25
 * 16) "Blame It on Cain" – 4:05
 * 17) "Chemistry Class" (solo acoustic) – 2:44

"Chemistry Class" is a solo acoustic recording which was previously released on the 2002 Rhino re-issue of Armed Forces

Personnel
with:
 * Elvis Costello – guitar, vocals
 * The Attractions
 * Steve Nieve – piano, organ
 * Bruce Thomas – bass
 * Pete Thomas – drums
 * Mick Jones – lead guitar on "Big Tears"

Certifications
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