Shortly after Elvis Costello let this 13 song tornado touch down in the US, he made the infamous comment that his thorny songs about relationships were motivated by revenge and guilt. That having been said, rarely has this much misanthropic venting been so great a joy to listen to. It wasn't just that Elvis was angry, it was that he was throwing twisted phrases into the vocabulary with seeming effortlessness.
Take some of these:

"I used to be disgusted, now I try to be amused."
"Rhythmically admired."
"Walking on the water won't make me a miracle man."
"Everything means less than zero."
And of course, "My aim is true."

That's just five songs. The astounding thing (at the time), was each song was always just as good as the one before it, if not better! During the burgeoning punk movement, most of the bands getting press were doing so less for the music than for the attention getting behavior. (Think the Sex Pistols, etc.) Despite the blatant headline grabber of his assumed name and that bizarre knock kneed mutation of Buddy Holly's look, Elvis' debut was one of musical assurance. Part of that came from the usage of Clover, the band of Californians that contained a few of Huey Lewis' eventual Newsmates, and John McFee's guitar work. It was McFee's brief guitar lick that gave "Alison" a signature introduction. While hardly the fiery backing Elvis would find once The Attractions signed on, Clover gave "My Aim Is True" a barebones framework that made the in your face immediacy of the songs explode from the album.

In 1977, this was one of the albums that changed my outlook on life. (Hey, I was 17 years old, when such things were still possible.) Of those records from that time in my life, this is one for the very few discs that stayed with me and one of the only artists to emerge with a lifetime's worth of talent. "My Aim Is True" remains a showcase for songwriters, no matter what the motivations for their pens.

Shortly after Elvis Costello let this 13 song tornado touch down in the US, he made the infamous comment that his thorny songs about relationships were motivated by revenge and guilt. That having been said, rarely has this much misanthropic venting been so great a joy to listen to. It wasn't just that Elvis was angry, it was that he was throwing twisted phrases into the vocabulary with seeming effortlessness.
Take some of these:

"I used to be disgusted, now I try to be amused."
"Rhythmically admired."
"Walking on the water won't make me a miracle man."
"Everything means less than zero."
And of course, "My aim is true."

That's just five songs. The astounding thing (at the time), was each song was always just as good as the one before it, if not better! During the burgeoning punk movement, most of the bands getting press were doing so less for the music than for the attention getting behavior. (Think the Sex Pistols, etc.) Despite the blatant headline grabber of his assumed name and that bizarre knock kneed mutation of Buddy Holly's look, Elvis' debut was one of musical assurance. Part of that came from the usage of Clover, the band of Californians that contained a few of Huey Lewis' eventual Newsmates, and John McFee's guitar work. It was McFee's brief guitar lick that gave "Alison" a signature introduction. While hardly the fiery backing Elvis would find once The Attractions signed on, Clover gave "My Aim Is True" a barebones framework that made the in your face immediacy of the songs explode from the album.

In 1977, this was one of the albums that changed my outlook on life. (Hey, I was 17 years old, when such things were still possible.) Of those records from that time in my life, this is one for the very few discs that stayed with me and one of the only artists to emerge with a lifetime's worth of talent. "My Aim Is True" remains a showcase for songwriters, no matter what the motivations for their pens.

Also: This Year's Model, Armed Forces

Brisk and informed rock debut from this thinking class hero had all the touchstones of a noteworthy first release even if a majority of tricks were stated right away in the first track- intelligent yet catchy structures fused with multiple styles to create something fresh for aggressive as well as slow songs.

OK, so radio airplay years ago of Alison got me to buy this (on vinyl, long before CDS). I wasn't prepared for an album that was so consistently excellent from beginning to end. It's a shame "This Year's Model" has gotten the Legacy classic two-CD treatment, because this is as good, if not better, than his sophomore effort. The remastering is excellent and more than two decades later, this album (OK, CD...) holds up well with time. It's absolutely essential owning, not just for Alison, but for the entire album, er, CD, er, download.

Back in 1977, it must have taken exactly 1:23 min to realize that Elvis Costello was a serious case and would be around for a long time.
Welcome To The Working Week bursts in with so much nerve and confidence that you want to go back to check it again. But Miracle Man is equally as good. As most of this album is. This geeky Liverpudlian with Buddy Holly glasses delivers american rock and roll with punk attitude and a lot more chords than you would expect. Fast and angry but clever. The backing band is competent but it's Costello's sneering vocals and song-writing skills that make the difference. Costello sounds like an urban Springsteen - the same passion without the good-heart.

My Aim Is True is still one of Costello's best albums, but as someone wrote "the best was yet to come". I'll save the 5 stars for the next ones.

This release comes in a nice digipack with a small booklet containing little more than lyrics.