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}} ''Armed Forces'' is Elvis Costello's third album, his second with the Attractions, and the first to officially credit the Attractions on the cover. It was released in the UK by Radar Records and in the USA by Columbia in 1979. The album had the working title ''Emotional Fascism''. Initial pressings of the album in the UK and USA included a promotional three-song single, ''Live at Hollywood High'', which was recorded on . The live tracks, also produced by Nick Lowe, are "Accidents Will Happen," "Alison," and "Watching the Detectives". The UK edition included 4 postcards featuring pictures of the band. The American version omitted "Sunday's Best" and replaced it with Costello's version of "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding", which had been released the previous November as the B-side of Nick Lowe's "American Squirm" single, at the end of side two. The album has appeared on ''Q'' magazine and ''Rolling Stone'' magazine lists of "greatest albums". In the 1982 film ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'', Elliott's brother, Michael (played by Robert MacNaughton), sings "Accidents Will Happen" in the family kitchen after coming home from school.〔 Cited at 〕 ==Reception== ;Initial Janet Maslin in a 1979 review in ''Rolling Stone'' felt the album was a "killer in several senses of the word"; remarking on the brief, energetic songs with dense and sometimes overly-clever but snappy lyrics. Maslin felt that Costello "wants to be daring, but he also wants to dance". Robert Christgau in a 1979 review in ''The Village Voice'' felt Costello was using words to "add color and detail to his music" rather than as "a thinking, feeling person"; though he approved of the "intricate pop constructions", and found the album overall to be "good" but not "great".〔 Revised version posted at 〕 Both reviewers felt the album was more densely or richly produced than the two predecessors.〔〔 ;Retrospective Stephen Thomas Erlewine in a retrospective commentary for Allmusic, felt that the album is a more "detailed and textured pop production" than Costello's first two albums, making the music more accessible, though the lyrics are "more insular and paranoid". Greg Kot of ''Chicago Tribune'', in his 1991 review, called the album "Costello's 'political' record, and also one of his most irresistibly melodic." Matt LeMay in a 2003 review for ''Pitchfork'' also commented on the production, which he felt was "extravagantly layered with dense instrumentation and rich, effusive textures" which "often serves to conceal, rather than reveal the nuances of Costello's songwriting"; and concluded that "the greatest strength of ''Armed Forces'' may be the same thing that makes it less viscerally powerful than Costello's two prior records – its songs absolutely demand to be appreciated for their craftsmanship". LeMay argued that the album marks the point at which Costello found his role as a songwriter.〔 In 2000 ''Q'' magazine placed ''Armed Forces'' at number 45 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever. In 2003, the album was ranked at number 482 on ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time", and then in 2012, was moved to number 475 on an updated list.〔Wenner, Jann S., ed. (2012). Rolling Stone – Special Collectors Issue – The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. USA: Wenner Media Specials. ISBN 978-7-09-893419-6〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Armed Forces (album)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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