Nice treat this morning.
Believe it or not, we’re coming onto the 50th anniversary release of Elvis Costello’s “My Aim is True.”
I can still remember hearing songs like “Sneaky People,” “Alison,” and “Watching the Detectives” on WBCN in Bostob. Costello, with the funny name and glasses, standing pigeon toed on the cover, and looking like Buddy Holly — the whole thing was revolutionary.
Come October 2nd, the five CD set will be out, including lots of extras, demos, and songs we haven’t before now. They’re billing it as the 49th anniversary instead of 50th, because that’s iconoclastically Elvis.
First up is a track called “I Turn Around,” recorded in 1976. You can hear it below, and it’s a winner. Costello, aka Declan McManus, is one of two or three major forces to come out the punk/new wave era, and you can see why with this song. Music was changing in 1976, turning away from bombbastic rock and disco to a new level of songwriting.
From the press release:
“This Collection Features 104 Tracks, 52 Of Them Previously Unreleased Songs, Demos, Outtakes and Live Performances. The 2026 Remaster of Original Album Is From Pathway Studios Master Reels.”
OK! There’s also “A New 72-Page Essay With Contributions by Nick Lowe, John McFee, Gregg Geller, Bill Flanagan, Warren Zanes, Rosanne Cash, Peter Wolf and Jim James as well as recollections from Steve Nieve and Pete Thomas.”
Costello says of “I Turn Around”: “Anyone who has heard that peppy toe-tapper will be surprised to find that the entire title refrain had first served as the chorus of an entirely different story, written 19 years earlier” for a B side from his masterwork album, “Imperial Bedroom.”
All of this led me over to Spotify where I rediscovered a 40 year compilation of Costello pieces including sensational covers of Yoko Ono’s “Walking on Thin Ice,” and Smokey Robinson’s “From Head to Toe.” The album is called “Out of Our Idiot.” It’s definitely streaming, and there are probably CDs out there in the world.
Don’t call me October 2nd — I’ll be knee deep in this box set!
