My Aim Is True
My Aim Is True is the debut studio album by the English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, originally released in the United Kingdom on 22July 1977 on Stiff Records. Produced by Stiff artist and musician Nick Lowe, the album was recorded from late 1976 to early 1977 over six four-hour studio sessions at Pathway Studios in Islington, London. The backing band was the California-based country rock act Clover, who were uncredited on the original release due to contractual difficulties. At the suggestion of the label, Costello changed his name from D.P. Costello to Elvis after Elvis Presley, and adjusted his image to match the rising punk rock movement.
Musically, My Aim Is True is influenced by a wide variety of genres, from punk, new wave and British pub rock to elements of 1950s rock and roll, R&B and rockabilly. The more downbeat lyrics are motivated by revenge and guilt, reflecting topics from relationship struggles to politically charged situations and misogynistic characters. The original monochrome cover art, showing Costello in a pigeon-toed stance, was later colourised for reissues.
The album was preceded by three singles, all of which failed to chart. By June 1977, Costello formed a new permanent backing band, the Attractions, to better match his new image and commenced live performances with them for the rest of the year. In August, My Aim Is True reached number 14 in the UK. The American version, released in November 1977 through Columbia Records, added Costello's newest single "Watching the Detectives". By then the biggest-selling import album in U.S. history, it reached number 32.
On release, My Aim Is True was met with critical acclaim, with many praising Costello's musicianship and songwriting; it appeared on several year-end lists. In later decades, commentators consider it one of Costello's finest works, one of the best debut albums in music history and has appeared on numerous best-of lists. The album was reissued in 1993 and 2001, both of which featured extensive liner notes written by Costello, and in 2007 as a deluxe edition.
Background
—under his actual name Declan MacManus—began performing in clubs and pubs in Liverpool and London in 1970. Over the years he created some demo tapes, but had little success in obtaining a recording contract. He later told Melody Maker that he "didn't have enough money to do anything with a band". According to the author Graeme Thomson, British DJ Charlie Gillett played songs from one tape, containing future My Aim Is True songs "Blame It On Cain" and "Mystery Dance", on his show throughout the summer of 1976. The exposure garnered interest from labels, although it was rejected by Island Records, Virgin Records and American-based CBS Records. He was eventually signed to London-based Stiff Records in August 1976 by label co-founders Jake Riviera and Dave Robinson. He was the first artist signed to Stiff, but was the label's eleventh release.Writing and recording
Stiff financed recording sessions for an album at Pathway Studios, an eight-track studio located in Islington, with members of the American country rock act Clover as the backing band. The band had moved to Britain after gaining a cult following there and signed to Phonogram Records. Clover's most famous members, singers Huey Lewis and Alex Call, did not participate in the recording sessions in any capacity, while the members who played on My Aim Is True — John McFee, John Ciambotti, Sean Hopper and Mickey Shine — were not credited on the final album at the time due to contractual difficulties. Costello said Clover arrived in London during the punk revolution and due to appearing as "American hippies", they "just didn't fit in". The band resided at the country house Headley Grange during the period.My Aim Is True was recorded in a series of six four-hour sessions, from late 1976 to early 1977 for about £2,000. Costello kept his day job as a data entry clerk at Elizabeth Arden during the sessions; he would call in sick, travel to Headley Grange to rehearse the songs with Clover and head back to Pathway the next day to record. Costello recalled disliking the time at Headley Grange and that he and Clover had musical disagreements, but nevertheless praised their musicianship. According to Thomson, Clover were paid little for their contributions. Most of the tracks were recorded live and in first takes with little overdubbing. While Clover provided most of the instrumentation, Stan Shaw of the Hitmen played keyboards on "Less Than Zero" while Lowe produced and sang backing vocals. Regarding his guitar work, Costello stated in his memoir that at the time, he did not own his signature Jazzmaster guitar so he used a "shrill" Telecaster on the album. He also lacked substantial knowledge on guitars themselves, saying that he played his guitar unadjusted until halfway through the sessions.
The majority of the songs on My Aim Is True were written in about two weeks. Most of them came from Costello's earlier demo tapes and live performances with his former band Flip City. Some tracks would appear on later albums, such as "Hand In Hand", which was written specifically for Lowe, who rejected it. More adventurous numbers such as "Hoover Factory", "Dr. Luther's Assistant", "Ghost Train" and "Stranger in the House" were also recorded during the sessions, but were omitted from My Aim Is True and instead appeared on EPs and singles. According to the biographer Brian Hinton, these tracks would have contrasted with Costello's aspiring image of a "straight talking psychopath". In the liner notes for the 1993 reissue of My Aim Is True, Costello stated that the three main outtakes from the sessions were "Radio Sweetheart", "Stranger in the House" and "Living in Paradise", the first two being left off the final track list due to differences in sound and the last being properly recorded for Costello's follow-up album This Year's Model.
Fellow Stiff artist and house producer Nick Lowe produced the album. Regarding his role as producer, Thomson states that Lowe's priority was to keep the feel of the songs and create appropriate atmospheres for each. Lowe himself later stated that the musicians did all the work and all he contributed was "switch everything on". He rough-mixed the tracks with engineer Barry "Bazza" Farmer, the final mix completed in a single five-hour session at Pathway on 27January 1977.
Name change
At the time, Costello was performing under the stage name "D.P. Costello" as a tribute to his father. With "Less Than Zero" being readied for release as a single in March 1977, Robinson and Riviera decided to adjust his image to better match the rising punk rock movement. Looking like, in Clayton-Lea's words, an "average ordinary-looking computer operator geek", he lacked "neither aggression nor energy" in his live performances, as musician Graham Parker told Mojo.As a marketing tactic, Riviera suggested changing Costello's name from Declan to Elvis after American singer Elvis Presley. Considered irrational but accepted by Costello himself, the change sparked controversy in both Britain and America, facing opposition from both Costello's supporters and Presley's fans. Costello later stated that the change was not meant to "insult" Presley; it "meant people would pause just that little bit longer". Wardrobe-wise, Costello became more exaggerated, donning Buddy Holly-style glasses, tight jackets and "turned-up" jeans. He made his live solo debut under the new name and look on 27 May 1977.
Music and lyrics
According to the biographer Tony Clayton-Lea, Costello and Lowe aimed to create "a collection of songs that were not only of their time, but which were also rooted in classic songwriting values". As such, commentators have written that the album combines various musical genres, including new wave, British pub rock, punk rock, and power pop. William Goodman of Billboard magazine called it "rough edged and bluesy" in a style reminiscent of New Orleans, and recognised the presence of punk, rockabilly, UK pub rock, jazz and honky-tonk country. Consequence of Sound Nick Freed wrote that the album combines elements of the British punk movement with 1950s and 1960s-style rock and roll. He found tracks like "Miracle Man", "No Dancing" and "Alison" utilise that style to create doo-wop and R&B melodies, thereby "taking the '50s and '60s ideas and adding the modern spin". The rockabilly sound is present on "Less Than Zero", "Mystery Dance" and "Sneaky Feelings". Clayton-Lea states that while it shared similarities with punk, it displayed musicianship and lyricism that were in control, showcasing a softer touch while underlined with a "unique savagery".While the music presents a wide range of styles, the lyrics are mostly downbeat, discussing topics such as "deceit, sarcasm, bitterness, disdain, scorn disgust". In an interview with Nick Kent of the NME, Costello stated that the songs are motivated solely by "revenge and guilt". The biographer David Gouldstone writes that the album's primary theme is "the unaccommodating nature of the world", which is explored in two distinct ways: "the personal songs as the microcosm, and the public as the macrocosm". The lyrics range from complex and surreal to unsympathetic and misogynistic. Dave Schulps of Trouser Press described the album as "12 songs of revenge, guilt, jealousy, humiliation and rage". Goodman found the lyrics and production matches a bedroom performance, a sentiment echoed by LeMay, who similarly stated that Lowe's production has a "latent energy" that grants the album "all the immediacy of a live show". The painter and art critic Julian Bell wrote that Costello's work "relies heavily on being between emotions, between sensations, ideas informations." Regarding Costello's vocal performance on the record, Gouldstone writes that his directness contributes to listeners' constant interest: "he continually grabs us by the shirtfront and harangues us, and we are sucked into the vortex."