ARMED FORCES

ORIGINAL ALBUM (40:12)
  1. Accidents Will Happen (2:59)
  2. Senior Service (2:16)
  3. Oliver's Army (2:57)
  4. Big Boys (2:54)
  5. Green Shirt (2:41)
  6. Party Girl (3:20)
  7. Goon Squad (3:14)
  8. Busy Bodies (3:33)
  9. Sunday's Best (3:21)
  10. Moods For Moderns (2:48)
  11. Chemistry Class (2:54)
  12. Two Little Hitlers (3:10)
  13. (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding? (3:32)
BONUS DISC (52:03)
  1. Tiny Steps (2:41)
  2. Busy Bodies (alternate version) (3:47)
  3. Talking In The Dark (1:55)
  4. Big Boys (alternate version) (2:54)
  5. Clean Money (1:57)
  6. Wednesday Week (2:03)
  7. My Funny Valentine (1:28)
  8. Accidents Will Happen (live) (3:18)
  9. Mystery Dance (live) (2:01)
  10. Goon Squad (live) (3:42)
  11. Party Girl (live) (3:19)
  12. Stranger In The House (live) (3:52)
  13. Alison (live) (3:08)
  14. Lipstick Vogue (live) (4:26)
  15. Watching The Detectives (live) (5:51)
  16. You Belong To Me (live) (2:38)
  17. Chemistry Class (live) (2:34)
Ryko's 1993 reissue of Armed Forces was unique to that series in that the bonus material included no unreleased recordings whatsoever: just five B-sides previously collected on Taking Liberties/Ten Bloody Marys plus the three songs from the Live At Hollywood High EP which had been included with the initial vinyl release of Armed Forces.

Rhino's 2002 edition seems to confirm the assumption that little unreleased material exists. Despite offering nine new tracks, there are no real surprises: alternate versions of two songs from the album and seven live recordings. Nevertheless, a lineup that might look a bit weak on paper (especially for hardcore fans) is in many ways one of the most listenable bonus discs. While other bonus discs combine polished studio recordings with rough runthroughs, low-fidelity home demos, and abandoned ideas, the Armed Forces bonus disc maintains a higher quality throughout. All of the studio recordings date from the main album sessions at Eden Studios in August and September 1978, and with the possible exception of the ramshackle "Clean Money," they are nearly good enough to have made the original album. The live material nicely showcases Elvis and the Attractions at an early peak.

Like My Aim Is True and This Years Model, the original release of Armed Forces in 1979 had slightly different track listings in the UK and the US, with "Sunday's Best" appearing only on the UK version and "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding" appearing only on the US version. The Rhino release includes both tracks on disc 1.

WHAT'S NEW
BUSY BODIES (ALTERNATE VERSION)
BIG BOYS (ALTERNATE VERSION)
Although they lack the final polish of the album versions, there is little difference in quality between these alternates (from August and September 1978, respectively) and the album takes.

MYSTERY DANCE (LIVE, HOLLYWOOD, JUN. 4, 1978)
GOON SQUAD (LIVE, HOLLYWOOD, JUN. 4, 1978)
PARTY GIRL (LIVE, HOLLYWOOD, JUN. 4, 1978)
STRANGER IN THE HOUSE (LIVE, HOLLYWOOD, JUN. 4, 1978)
LIPSTICK VOGUE (LIVE, HOLLYWOOD, JUN. 4, 1978)
YOU BELONG TO ME (LIVE, HOLLYWOOD, JUN. 4, 1978)
The three familiar Hollywood High recordings are joined by these six unreleased performances from the same concert.

CHEMISTRY CLASS (LIVE, WASHINGTON, FEB. 28, 1978)
Although this is its first official release, this early solo performance of "Chemistry Class" was included on one of the earliest Elvis Costello bootlegs, Elvis Goes To Washington & Dave Edmunds & Rockpile Don't, where it was listed under the bootlegger's guess at the title, "Final Solution."

RYKO REPEATS
TINY STEPS
This was probably recorded fairly early in the August-September 1978 recording sessions for Armed Forces, since it was completed in time to be released as the B-side of "Radio, Radio" in October 1978. It was later included on Taking Liberties,Ten Bloody Marys, and the CD version of Girls + £ ÷ Girls = $ & Girls.

TALKING IN THE DARK
WEDNESDAY WEEK
 These Armed Forces outtakes were issued together on a free single distributed at a series of concerts in December 1978 and January 1979. Both tracks later saw wider release on the B-side of "Accidents Will Happen" before being collected on Taking Liberties and Ten Bloody Marys. "Talking In The Dark" was also one of the more surprising choices on 1999's The Very Best Of Elvis Costello.

CLEAN MONEY
Originally conceived as the opening track on Armed Forces, "Clean Money" instead turned up as the opening track on Taking Liberties and Ten Bloody Marys and on the B-side of "Clubland" soon after. Dave Edmunds and the Attractions feature on backing vocals.

MY FUNNY VALENTINE
Released in February 1979 as the B-side of "Oliver's Army" in the UK and on a free single given away at a Valentine's Day concert in the US, this has the distinction of being the first truly solo Elvis Costello recording released to the public. It was subsequently included on Taking Liberties, Ten Bloody Marys, and The Very Best Of Elvis Costello, among other places.

ACCIDENTS WILL HAPPEN (LIVE, HOLLYWOOD, JUN. 4, 1978)
ALISON (LIVE, HOLLYWOOD, JUN. 4, 1978)
WATCHING THE DETECTIVES (LIVE, HOLLYWOOD, JUN. 4, 1978)
The three-song Live At Hollywood High EP was included as a freebie with the initial release of Armed Forces in 1979. The Ryko CD included just the original three songs just as they were presented on the EP, while the Rhino CD incorporates them into a larger sequence drawn from the Hollywood High show. The band's tendency to play several songs in a row without pausing between proved slightly problematic when the original Live At Hollywood High EP was assembled. As each song fades out (on both the EP and Ryko's Armed Forces), the start of another song can be heard: "Accidents Will Happen" features the opening seconds of "Mystery Dance," "Alison" includes a bit of "Lipstick Vogue," and "Watching The Detectives" leads into the beginning of "Pump It Up." The Rhino CD includes the complete performances of "Mystery Dance" and "Lipstick Vogue," but the brief snippet of "Pump It Up" is missing entirely, as "Watching The Detectives" leads into "You Belong To Me." In fact, "You Belong To Me" is what followed "Watching The Detectives" at the original concert. The snippet of "Pump It Up" was edited in from another portion of the show.

WHAT'S MISSING (RELEASED RECORDINGS)
GREEN SHIRT (EXTENDED REMIX)
    ["Green Shirt" 12-inch single]
In 1985, the original version of "Green Shirt" was included on the UK compilation The Man (The Best Of Elvis Costello) and released as a single for the first time. The 12-inch single included an exclusive remix by Colin Fairley. Since this single was inexplicably excluded from the Singles CD box sets, it remains available only on vinyl.

WHAT'S MISSING (UNRELEASED RECORDINGS)

THAT'S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR (DEMO)
No relation to the 1985 Dionne Warwick hit, "That's What Friends Are For" was written by Elvis and recorded by Georgie Fame. Elvis' guitar-and-vocal demo was probably recorded around the time of Armed Forces.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

The two shows which immediately preceded the Hollywood High show in Long Beach (June 1) and Santa Barbara (June 2) were also professionally recorded. It is unclear whether any of this material was considered for the bonus disc.

When the "20th anniversary edition" of My Aim Is True was briefly considered for release in 1997, there was also talk of a similar deluxe edition of Armed Forces. Given the seemingly small selection of available bonus material, this was a curious choice. No other details ever surfaced about the abandoned project, so it remains a mystery whether anything was under consideration beyond what eventually turned up on Rhino's bonus disc.


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