Search - Elvis Costello :: My Aim Is True (Dlx)

Elvis' aim was off on earlier edition (Ryko) but not with th

Wayne Klein | My Little Blue Window, USA | 09/25/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"First up--until the licensing agreement with UMG ends in November of 2007, the live album portion of this release IS available at iTunes (along with the new bonus tracks)at a reasonable price ($15.99)but you have to buy the whole set to get that price.





DO YOU NEED THIS ALBUM?



Absolutely but if you've bought it before and are satisfied with the Rhino release (which honestly was the best of the four versions that have been released in the last 20 plus years outside of this reissue), then you certainly could skip this and buy new music.



WHAT'S HERE THAT WASN'T BEFORE?



This edition has an entire live performance taken an appearence at the Nashville Room in 1977 plus the five track soundcheck (which only duplicates "Alison"). The original disc is augmented by the outtakes from both the Ryko and Rhino versions plus eight demos from Pathway Studios (four of which "Blue Minute", "Call On Me", "I Don't Want To Come Home" and "I Hear A Melody" are previously unreleased songs that may have been cannibalized for other songs).



If you're an EC and The Attractions fan, I'm sure that you've often wondered what "My Aim Is True" would have sounded like recorded by The Attractions. Now you can find out but if you had the "Live At El Mocambo" you had an idea.



The live album is pretty terrific with EC and the band in top form. The Pathway tracks while not as important as the album itself are interesting.



DOES THE ORIGINAL ALBUM SOUND ANY DIFFERENT?



Maybe a tad louder than the Rhino but it appears to be the exact same mastering as before (which was done by Dan Hirsch at Digiprep). Suha Gur masters the live tracks and demos new to this edition. EC and Bill Levenson supervised the compilation which means that they tried to put out a quality release.



DOES IT LOOK ANY DIFFERENT?



Yeah it's bigger but not necessarily better. It's in the "Deluxe Edition" style with the slip cover (I hate it personally but many will love it). The booklet is missing EC's notes from the previous edition on Rhino with song lyrics and photos not in the previous edition.



As sick as I am of EC reissuing his back catalog (let's see...we had Columbia, Ryko, Rhino a single disc edition of this in a Digipak and this release)with DIFFERENT tracks, the live album is great to have as are the demos. EC please, please don't do this again. Your fans have bought this one too many times and barring the discovery of tapes you made in your previous band, there's just no reason for this terrific album to be put out again and again and again and again.



CONCLUSION: Hardcore EC fans and those who have waited to upgrade their CDs (or never replaced it on vinyl and can't find it there now) will love this edition. There are different bonus tracks however between the Rhino and this edition.



UPDATE:



My advice--go to iTunes and download the live album/new bonus tracks ONLY. At least that way you won't be springing for the whole set again. Also, the whole album is downloadable there for $15.99 for the time being much cheaper than the CD edition. While it won't be lossless quality (it'll be compressed and suffer from many of the issues that dog mp3 like releases), it'll be better than not having it.



"

Brilliant debut in search of signature sound + live and demo

hyperbolium | Earth, USA | 09/23/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The first decade of Costello's catalog, everything from 1977's "My Aim is True" through 1986's "Blood & Chocolate" is on the move again. Having made stops at Columbia, Ryko and Rhino for CD reissues, Costello's first eleven albums now pit with Universal's Hip-O label for another round. Hip-O's first salvo of re-re-re-reissues included single-disc versions of the original albums that undid Rhino's second-disc bonuses, and a pair of compilations, one surveying the entire decade's output, the other pulling together many of Costello's rock-oriented tracks. Hip-O has now issued a new two-disc version of Costello's debut that includes previously unreleased material and tracks that are new-to-CD.



Many will complain that issuing "My Aim is True" on CD for a fourth time is a cynical marketing ploy aimed at luring faithful fans (those who already own vinyl and multiple CD copies) into re-buying the album. And while this may be a side-effect, it's not likely the core of marketing plan. Hip-O's goal isn't so much to re-sell this album to fans as it is to renew the title with merchants, reviewers and editors so as to entice a new generation of buyers. Gaining new shelf space and column inches for a 30-year-old release requires a bit of sizzle, which is provided by the album's bonus tracks and second disc. The margin on a rarities-only disc pushed through physical sales channels is apparently too low to be worth UMe's effort; instead, those who want only the new tracks can avail themselves of on-line download services where the set is parted out.



Recorded and originally issued amid the 1977 explosion of DIY art and angst that was punk rock, Costello's seething, literate lyrics stood above the fray. His feelings of self-loathing, confused indifference and jealous recriminations were enunciated in words rather than the raw energy of semi-professional instrument bashing, and his combination of finesse and ire was unlike anything else on the scene. But in retrospect, particularly in light of the Attractions' formation for touring and the next album, it's clear that Costello's hammer was meeting a somewhat softer anvil in the backing band of the Marin, California based Clover. The result is more a singer-songwriter effort than a true band album; as brilliant as was Costello's songwriting and singing on this LP, he was still an artist looking for his sound.



Hip-O's take on the 2-CD reissue adds a wealth of bonuses, including contemporaneous singles "Watching the Detectives" (included on the U.S. LP, but not the original UK LP), "Radio Sweetheart" (which was a B-side that also appeared on a Stiff LP sampler), and the original country weeper, "Stranger in the House" (which was delivered as a bonus single with early copies of Costello's second UK LP, and turned up in cover form on Rachel Sweet's Stiff Records debut). The heart of the bonuses are seven pre-LP demos recorded at Pathway Studios, and a seventeen-song live set recorded in Nashville in 1977 with the then newly formed Attractions.



Seven demos recorded at Pathway Studio with just Costello's vocal and electric guitar include four songs that didn't make the LP, as well as early versions of "Miracle Man," "Waiting For the End of the World" and "(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes." Hearing Costello's staccato demos of the three album tracks, one can sense just how Clover altered the musical balance. And in fact, the live show on disc two gives a demonstration of how these songs could have sounded. Just a few months into their association, Costello and the Attractions punch up the material from "My Aim is True" so that it matched songs that would land on 1978's "This Year's Model." Bruce Thompson and Steve Thompson create a bottom end that was missing on the debut LP, Steve Neive's keyboards (particularly his organ playing) adds tension and filigree, and Costello's guitar is more urgent. More telling are five tracks included from the show's soundcheck in which Costello and band play with a fluidity and confidence that belies their short time together.



Collectors will find tracks available on earlier reissues by Ryko and Rhino that don't appear here, just as this set includes material not released earlier. A good number of these extras have floated around on bootlegs, but they've never sounded as good as on this official release. The live tracks from Nashville are some of the best early work in circulation, both in sound and performance, and the Pathway demos are well worth hearing. Perhaps Bear Family will offer up a mammoth box set that includes everything; until then, you have to collect it yourself. This is a worthy replacement for Rhino's previous two-disc release (though it would have been nice to have the notes Costello wrote for that issue) and a great first buy for anyone who doesn't already own the title. Those who've already purchased one of the earlier versions would still find this worthwhile, but if you can't stand the duplication, look to download services for what you're missing. 4 stars for the original LP, plus an extra star for the live show. [©2007 hyperbolium dot com]"

Good, despite too many releases

A. Busch | 09/14/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"If you look at it as a release of the Live at the Nashville Rooms concert with some MAIT demos, it's a pretty good release, though still overpriced. The reviewer that said they should have released the live set with the Live at the El Mocambo set was spot-on.



Tacking it on as a MAIT bonus disc was kind of a pain, and it's very overpriced. But if you can catch a used copy, the concert is very good."