UMeElvis Costello‘s acclaimed 1979 album Armed Forces is the subject of an expansive box set featuring nine vinyl discs that will be released on November 6.
The Complete Armed Forces is comprised of three 12-inch LPs, three 10-inch discs and three seven-inch singles, and includes a newly remastered version of the original album, as well as B-sides, alternate versions, outtakes, demos, and a selection of live recordings, among them 23 previously unreleased performances.
Armed Forces was Costello’s third album and the second credited to Elvis and his backing band, The Attractions. It featured popular songs like “Accidents Will Happen,” “Oliver’s Army,” and Costello and the Attractions’ signature cover of Nick Lowe‘s “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding?” The album peaked at #10 on the Billboard 20, making it Elvis’ highest-charting studio effort to date.
The box set’s 12-inch and 10-inch discs feature the aforementioned remastered album; outtakes, demos and alternative versions from the Armed Forces sessions; and live performances from 1978 and ’79 recorded in Los Angeles, in London, in Sydney, Australia, and at Holland’s Pinkpop Festival.
The seven-inch discs feature the “Accidents Will Happen” and “Oliver’s Army” singles, and their respective B-sides, and a split single featuring Lowe’s “American Squirm” on one side and “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding” on the other.
The box set comes packaged with seven comic books and pulp novels featuring liner notes and handwritten lyrics, a vintage poster and collectible post cards. The collection is available in standard vinyl and limited-edition colored-vinyl editions, and also will be released digitally.
You can order The Complete Armed Forces at uDiscoverMusic.com’s online store. Three of the live tracks were released today as an advance digital EP.
Here’s The Complete Armed Forces‘ track list:
Disc 1: Armed Forces (12″ LP)
Side A
“Accidents Will Happen”
“Senior Service”
“Oliver’s Army”
“Big Boys”
“Green Shirt”
“Party Girl”
Side B
“Goon Squad”
“Busy Bodies”
“Sunday’s Best
“Moods for Moderns”
“Chemistry Class”
“Two Little Hitlers”
“(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding?”
Disc 2: Live at Hollywood High & Elsewhere 1978 (12″ LP)
Side A
“Accidents Will Happen”
“Mystery Dance”
“Goon Squad”
“Party Girl”
“Stranger in the House”
Side B
“Alison”
“Lipstick Vogue”
“Watching the Detectives”
“You Belong to Me”
“Chemistry Class” (Live at the Warner Theatre, Washington D.C.)
Disc 3: Europe ’79 — Live at Pinkpop (12″ LP)
Side A
“Goon Squad”*
“B-Movie”
“Green Shirt”
“(I Don’t Want to Go to) Chelsea”
“Opportunity”
“So Young”
“High Fidelity”
Side B
“Lipstick Vogue”
“Watching the Detectives”
“Big Boys”
“Pump It Up”
“You Belong to Me”
“(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding?”
Disc 4: Sketches for Emotional Fascism (10″ LP)
Side A
“Clean Money”
“Talking in the Dark”
“Wednesday Week”
“Tiny Steps”
Side B
“Crawling to the U.S.A.”
“Big Boys” (Alternate Version)
“Green Shirt” (Demo Version)
“My Funny Valentine”
Disc 5: Riot at the Regent — Live in Sydney ’78 (10″ LP)
Side A
“Oliver’s Army”
“Waiting for the End of the World”
“Big Boys”
Side B
“This Year’s Girl”
“You Belong to Me”
“Pump It Up”*
Disc 6: Christmas in the Dominion –- Live 24th December ’78 (10″ LP)
Side A
“(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes”
“No Dancing”
Side B
“I Stand Accused”
“(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding?”*
Disc 7: “Oliver’s Army” (7″ single)
Side A
“Oliver’s Army”
Side B
“Big Boys” (Demo)
Disc 8: “Accidents Will Happen” (7″ single)
Side A
“Accidents Will Happen”
Side B
“Busy Bodies” (Alternate)
Disc 9: Nick Lowe & His Sound – “American Squirm” (7″ single)
Side A
American Squirm — Nick Lowe
Side B
“(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding?” — Elvis Costello and the Attractions
* = featured on newly released digital EP.
By Matt Friedlander
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