THIS YEARS MODEL

ORIGINAL ALBUM (39:21)
  1. No Action (2:01)
  2. This Year's Girl (3:20)
  3. The Beat (3:47)
  4. Pump It Up (3:15)
  5. Little Triggers (2:41)
  6. You Belong To Me (2:22)
  7. Hand In Hand (2:36)
  8. (I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea (3:09)
  9. Lip Service (2:38)
  10. Living In Paradise (3:46)
  11. Lipstick Vogue (3:33)
  12. Night Rally (2:43)
  13. Radio, Radio (3:05)
BONUS DISC (36:57)
  1. Big Tears (3:09)
  2. Crawling To The USA (2:52)
  3. Running Out Of Angels (demo) (2:02)
  4. Greenshirt (demo) (2:20)
  5. Big Boys (demo) (2:58)
  6. You Belong To Me (Capital Radio version) (1:52)
  7. Radio, Radio (Capital Radio version) (2:58)
  8. Neat Neat Neat (live) (3:16)
  9. Roadette Song (live) (5:38)
  10. This Year's Girl (alternate Eden Studios version) (2:07)
  11. (I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea (Basing Street Studios version) (2:57)
  12. Stranger In The House (BBC version) (4:15)
Elvis' second album was recorded at Eden Studios over 11 days toward the end of 1977 and the beginning of 1978. Like Rhino's My Aim Is True, the bonus disc only offers two tracks which are completely new to hardcore collectors (studio alternates of "This Year's Girl" and "(I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea"). Unlike My Aim Is True, however, this CD is rounded out with high-quality bootleg fare and a B-side previously available only on vinyl. Still, the end result is a bit slight, and This Years Model has the fewest songs of any Rhino bonus disc.

The original release of This Years Model in 1978 had slightly different track lineups in the UK and the US, with "(I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea" and "Night Rally" appearing only on the former and "Radio, Radio" appearing only on the latter. This reissue includes all tracks from both versions on disc 1.

WHAT'S NEW
YOU BELONG TO ME (CAPITAL RADIO VERSION)
RADIO, RADIO (CAPITAL RADIO VERSION)
Described as "solo demo recordings" in Elvis' liner notes, these should not be mistaken for primitive renditions that were subsequently rearranged for the band, since Elvis was already performing both songs with the band prior to recording these versions for Capital Radio on September 27, 1977. Both performances have been available on bootlegs for years.

ROADETTE SONG (LIVE, LEICESTER, OCT. 22, 1977)
Coming from the same show as "Neat Neat Neat" and the Live Stiffs version of "Miracle Man," this cover of an early Ian Dury song was apparently included on a partial soundboard recording of the show which was circulating among collectors for years.

THIS YEAR'S GIRL (ALTERNATE EDEN STUDIOS VERSION)
This outtake from the This Years Model sessions takes the song at a significantly faster tempo.

(I DON'T WANT TO GO TO) CHELSEA (BASING STREET STUDIOS VERSION)
Recorded August 7, 1977 – the same day as the live versions of "Miracle Man," "Blame It On Cain," and "Mystery Dance" released as early B-sides and about three months prior to the This Years Model sessions – this somewhat tentative performance is of historical interest as the earliest available studio recording by Elvis Costello and the Attractions.

STRANGER IN THE HOUSE (BBC VERSION)
Recorded October 23, 1978, this drastic rearrangement of the My Aim Is True outtake no longer bears any sign of the country influence which prevented it from appearing on that album. This was available on bootlegs for years prior to this official release.

WHAT'S OLD (BUT NOT ON THE RYKO CD)
NEAT NEAT NEAT (LIVE, LEICESTER, OCT. 22, 1977)
This first appeared as the B-side of "Stranger In The House" on a bonus single included with initial copies of the This Years Model LP in the UK. This is its debut CD appearance. It is also slightly longer here, since the single version faded out before the song's conclusion, while this release restores the full ending. The version on Singles, Vol. 1 is identical to the Rhino release.

RYKO REPEATS
BIG TEARS
Described in Elvis' liner notes as "the only genuine outtake song from the This Years Model sessions," this first appeared as the B-side of "Pump It Up" in the UK. It was subsequently the B-side of "This Year's Girl" in the US and included on Taking Liberties, Ten Bloody Marys,Girls + £ ÷ Girls = $ & Girls, and The Very Best Of Elvis Costello. Obviously one of Elvis' favorite B-sides, it is also notable for featuring The Clash's Mick Jones on guitar.

CRAWLING TO THE USA
Although Elvis and the Attractions performed this song in concert at some of their earliest shows in July 1977, they did not get around to recording it until a session at Sydney's Waterloo Studios during their first Australian tour in December 1978, which means it was recorded after Armed Forces. It was first released on the soundtrack of the film Americathon in 1979 and included on Taking Liberties and Ten Bloody Marys.

RUNNING OUT OF ANGELS (DEMO)
GREENSHIRT (DEMO)
BIG BOYS (DEMO)
These acoustic guitar demos, recorded at Eden Studios in January 1978, were first heard on the Ryko CD. This is the only known performance of "Running Out Of Angels." "Greenshirt" is notable for an extra verse and a slightly different title. (Otherwise spelled as two words, the title change is apparently deliberate, since it also appeared that way on the Ryko release.)

WHAT'S MISSING (RELEASED RECORDINGS)
LESS THAN ZERO/RADIO, RADIO (LIVE, NEW YORK, DEC. 17, 1977)
    [Saturday Night Live – The Musical Performances Volume 1 album by various artists]
Elvis' legendary switcheroo performance on Saturday Night Live received an official release in 1999. Certainly a strong argument could be made for including such a famous performance on This Years Model's bonus disc, although perhaps not if it would be at the expense of the version of "Radio, Radio" which is included. It would apparently also require licensing the recording from NBC, which may have been less than eager to allow it a relatively short time after the reason of its own CD.

PUMP IT UP (BBC VERSION)
    [1 And Only — 25 Years Of Radio 1 album by various artists]
This performance from March 13, 1978, was undoubtedly included on the Radio 1 collection due to the popularity of the song rather than on the merits of the particular performance, which is fairly ordinary.

YOU GOTTA LOSE (LIVE, NEW YORK, OCT. 18, 1978) with Richard Hell & The Voidoids
    [Time album by Richard Hell]
Elvis sings lead on Richard Hell's song, backed by Hell and his band. The official release of this somewhat lo-fi recording in March 2002 actually came just after the release of Rhino's This Years Model, but I am including it here for completeness' sake.

PUMP IT UP (1984 MONSTER MIX)
    ["The Only Flame In Town" 12-inch single]
This ill-advised attempt to modernize "Pump It Up" would have been an awkward fit on the bonus disc even if Elvis had the slightest interest in including it, which he most likely did not, in light of his 1994 comment in ICE magazine that his mid-'80s 12-inch remixes are "crap." Also known as "Pump It Up (dance mix)," this is most interesting for including what is apparently the unused guitar part that Mick Jones recorded at the same time as his "Big Tears" contribution. As Elvis cryptically remarks in the liner notes, "There is a version lying around somewhere on which he plays." It eventually made its CD debut on Singles, Vol. 3.

WHAT'S MISSING (UNRELEASED RECORDINGS)

THE PRICE OF LOVE (LIVE, LONDON, SEP. 4, 1977)
Actually recorded at a soundcheck, this Everly Brothers cover was to have appeared on the bonus disc (after "Roadette Song") but was dropped at the last minute. Because this change came after some review copies had already been sent out, this is available in excellent quality on bootlegs. (Even the store copies include evidence of this last minute change: The sticker on the cover advertises a 13-track bonus disc, when there are only 12 tracks on the final release.)

HOOVER FACTORY (CAPITAL RADIO VERSION)
The third song from Elvis' September 27, 1977 Capital Radio session is slightly incomplete on bootlegs. If the source tape used by Rhino is also incomplete, that may explain the exclusion of this excellent performance from the bonus disc.

I JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH MYSELF (BBC VERSION)
REALLY MYSTIFIED (BBC VERSION)
In light of his comment in the liner notes that the bonus disc version of "Stranger In The House" "is the only decent item from several sessions recorded for BBC Radio in the first year of my professional career," it would appear that Elvis considers these interesting recordings (long available on bootleg) from the same October 23, 1978 session unworthy of release.


return to index

return to index

1