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    Posted: May 10 2008 at 05:28

Yeah, that whole "angry young man" thing - Elvis C., Ian Dury, Graham Parker, Joe Jackson - got marketed as punk rock in the US.....wrongly, I might add, but still, MAIT and TYM had their egde, though they sound like pub rock shuffles compared to some ot the hard core punk act, especially those from the US West Coast....ugly stuff.

I listen to very little that can be considered punk....I even think MAIT and TYM pale in comparison to Armed Forces, Imperial Bedroom, King of America, and even his later records like The Delivery Man and the CD he cut with Alan Toussant.  I'd rank my top five Elvis albums as:
 
- Imperial Bedroom....it's also the record I think was most improved in the Rhino remaster series; great bonus tracks that really mesh with an already fabulous album.
- King of America....great off-beat Elvis release; the title really reflects what's contained inside...some of my favorite bits of Elvis' songwriting, just love his take on that good ol' country music.
- Armed Forces....combines that early energy with his burgeoning song crafting....Green Shirt is my all-time fave Elvis track.
- Trust....the real follow up to Armed Forces....I can't listen to Get Happy! in its entirety, just too fractured and hyper....maybe Elvis best batch of songs.
- Almost Blue....I know everyone complains about how his vocals lack the emotion and honey coating necessary to pull off Gram Parsons, but this is a personal favorite of mine....wore out my vinyl copy in high school....also one of the few records in my collection that my mom approved of. 
I like to feel the suspense when you're certain you know I am there.....
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Points: 8238 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 03 2008 at 10:23
Once I realized that he wasn't really a punk at all, I got into everything he put out up until "Imperial Bedroom" where he kinda left me cold.  But those early albums are just filled with excellent lyrics, spirited performances and good ol' rock & roll without the ridiculous posturing that his peers were displaying.
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Points: 3659 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 03 2008 at 06:31
I like his earlier albums best like Armed Forces, Get Happy and This Year's Model.
 
He's sometimes come back with strong albums in relatively recent years too like Brutal Youth and The Delivery Man.
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Points: 3449 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 02 2008 at 22:10
The first three albums -- My Aim Is True, This Years Model, Armed Forces -- are all excellent.  Elvis can just spew out lyrics, and Steve Nieve's playing -- cheesy Farfisa organ be damned -- is right up there with the big boys.
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Points: 103 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 02 2008 at 18:47
I have This Year's Model, My Aim Is True and Punch The Clock, and i think they're great
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Points: 1009 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 02 2008 at 18:41
Tis Year's Model, Armed Forces and Trust are my favorites of EC's output. (I have 13 of his releases)  Those three are great start to finish.  Most of the othhers have a couple of cringe-worthy spots, although I like the majority just fine.  Those three are the ones I still go back to the most after nearly 30 years.
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Points: 4373 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 02 2008 at 00:08
ZOMG buy "When I Was Cruel" and "The Delivery Man" now!

Smile
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Points: 2492 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 01 2008 at 23:46
Originally posted by BroSpence BroSpence wrote:

His first two albums are generally called his "most punk" albums.  Which is what turned me off because I though on first listen "These aren't punk at all!" which disappointed me.  His voice took me some time to get used to as well. 

Several years later I got some import LP versions of the My Aim is True and This Years Model and liked them quite a lot.  He is a great songwriter and a good musician with several good ideas (and good back up too!).

I think he's punk in the truer sense of the word; feel rather than a predetermined sound. His punk days are more New Wave than anything else, but he's got a lot of fire in those early LPs.

Quote I ended up buying most of his other albums (still missing a couple from the early 90s).  My most favorite would be King of America with Imperial Bedroom, Clubland, and The Delivery Man following.

Thanks for the tips on some of his later work. It's easy to find recommendations for Attractions albums, but his later stuff has less "ZOMG Buy this now!"

Quote Can't wait to hear the new one.

Ditto
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Points: 2614 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 01 2008 at 23:28
His first two albums are generally called his "most punk" albums.  Which is what turned me off because I though on first listen "These aren't punk at all!" which disappointed me.  His voice took me some time to get used to as well. 

Several years later I got some import LP versions of the My Aim is True and This Years Model and liked them quite a lot.  He is a great songwriter and a good musician with several good ideas (and good back up too!). 

I ended up buying most of his other albums (still missing a couple from the early 90s).  My most favorite would be King of America with Imperial Bedroom, Clubland, and The Delivery Man following. 

Can't wait to hear the new one.
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Points: 29630 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 01 2008 at 22:49
Not in particular, though my wife's name is Allison. Big%20smile
Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...
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Points: 2492 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 01 2008 at 21:54
For a long time now, I've been meaning to check the man out, and I figured the best place to start was This Year's Model. However, the fact that he's billed as a combination of punk and singer/songwriter made me rather nervous. All I could think was it would be a mix of the didacticism of punk mixed with the whiny angst of your average singer/songwriter, but he pulled it off perfectly. Now I'm hooked. Apart from his Attractions work, he's also been all over the place, but I haven't checked that out yet.

If you're interested, this article from the AV Club. It was mighty hand when I was looking for albums to start with.
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