Original album released 1979
Armed Forces (40:07)
- Accidents Will Happen (2:59)
- Senior Service (2:16)
- Oliver's Army (2:57)
- Big Boys (2:54)
- Green Shirt (2:41)
- Party Girl (3:20)
- Goon Squad (3:14)
- Busy Bodies (3:33)
- Sunday's Best (3:21)
- Moods for Moderns (2:48)
- Chemistry Class (2:54)
- Two Little Hitlers (3:10)
- (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding? (3:32)
Rykodisc version released 1993
Extended Play (23:02) [total 63:31]
- My Funny Valentine (1:28)
- Tiny Steps (2:41)
- Clean Money (1:57)
- Talking in the Dark (1:55)
- Wednesday Week (2:03)
- Accidents Will Happen (live) (3:22)
- Alison (live) (3:07)
- Watching the Detectives (live) (6:08)
Rhino version released 2002
Bonus Disc (52:03)
- Tiny Steps (2:41)
- Busy Bodies (alternate version) (3:47)
- Talking in the Dark (1:55)
- Big Boys (alternate version) (2:54)
- Clean Money (1:57)
- Wednesday Week (2:03)
- My Funny Valentine (1:28)
- Accidents Will Happen (live) (3:18)
- Mystery Dance (live) (2:01)
- Goon Squad (live) (3:42)
- Party Girl (live) (3:19)
- Stranger in the House (live) (3:52)
- Alison (live) (3:08)
- Lipstick Vogue (live) (4:26)
- Watching the Detectives (live) (5:51)
- You Belong to Me (live) (2:38)
- Chemistry Class (live) (2:34)
The Complete Armed Forces released 2020
Sketches for Emotional Fascism a.k.a. Armed Forces 10" (18:29)
- Clean Money (1:59)
- Talking in the Dark (1:58)
- Wednesday Week (2:04)
- Tiny Steps (2:43)
- Crawling to the U.S.A. (2:55)
- Big Boys (alternate version) (2:55)
- Greenshirt (demo) (2:22)
- My Funny Valentine (1:32)
- Accidents Will Happen (live) (3:29)
- Mystery Dance (live) (2:02)
- Goon Squad (live) (3:49)
- Party Girl (live) (2:56)
- Stranger in the House (live) (4:01)
- Alison (live) (3:05)
- Lipstick Vogue (live) (4:18)
- Watching the Detectives (live) (5:59)
- You Belong to Me (live) (2:38)
- Chemistry Class (live) (2:43)
- Oliver's Army (live) (3:28)
- Waiting for the End of the World (live) (4:38)
- Big Boys (live) (2:50)
- This Year's Girl (live) (3:24)
- You Belong to Me (live) (4:55)
- Pump It Up (live) (5:46)
- (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes (live) (3:13)
- No Dancing (live) (3:05)
- I Stand Accused (live) (3:00)
- (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding? (live) (3:46)
- Goon Squad (live) (2:51)
- B Movie (live) (2:29)
- Green Shirt (live) (2:49)
- (I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea (live) (3:57)
- Opportunity (live) (2:33)
- So Young (live) (3:35)
- High Fidelity (live) (3:27)
- Lipstick Vogue (live) (4:10)
- Watching the Detectives (live) (6:02)
- Big Boys (live) (2:29)
- Pump It Up (live) (5:19)
- You Belong to Me (live) (3:46)
- (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding? (live) (3:43)
- Oliver's Army (2:59)
- Big Boys (demo) (2:59)
- Accidents Will Happen (3:00)
- Busy Bodies (alternate version) (3:47)
- American Squirm (2:30)
- (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding? (3:32)
Ryko's 1993 reissue of Armed Forces was unique to that series in that the bonus material included no unreleased recordings whatsoever: just five B-sides previously collected on Taking Liberties/Ten Bloody Marys plus the three songs from the Live at Hollywood High EP that had been included with the initial vinyl release of Armed Forces.
Rhino's 2002 edition seemed to confirm the assumption that little unreleased studio material exists. Despite offering nine new tracks, there were no real surprises: alternate versions of two songs from the album and seven live recordings. Nevertheless, a lineup that might look a bit weak on paper (especially for hardcore fans) is in many ways one of the most listenable bonus discs. While other bonus discs combine polished studio recordings with rough runthroughs, low-fidelity home demos, and abandoned ideas, the Armed Forces bonus disc maintains a higher quality throughout. All of the studio recordings date from the main album sessions at Eden Studios in August and September 1978, and with the possible exception of the ramshackle "Clean Money," they are nearly good enough to have made the original album. The live material nicely showcases Elvis and the Attractions at an early peak.
Armed Forces was expanded again on 2020's The Complete Armed Forces — also known as Armed Forces (Super Deluxe Edition) — a box containing nine slabs of vinyl (three each of 12-inch, 10-inch, and 7-inch records) and elaborate packaging. Unlike previous reissues, this was designed with vinyl in mind and not even released in the CD format, although it is available to stream or download. All previously unreleased content is live material.
REISSUE BONUS TRACKS
TINY STEPS (2:41) RYKO RHINO COMPLETE
This was probably recorded fairly early in the August-September 1978 recording sessions for Armed Forces, since it was completed in time to be released as the B-side of "Radio, Radio" in October 1978. It was later included on Taking Liberties, Ten Bloody Marys, the CD version of Girls + £ ÷ Girls = $ & Girls, and Hip-O's deluxe edition of This Year's Model.
BUSY BODIES (Alternate Version) (3:47) RHINO COMPLETE
BIG BOYS (Alternate Version) (2:54) RHINO COMPLETE
Although they lack the final polish of the album versions, there is little difference in quality between these alternates (from August and September 1978, respectively) and the album takes.
TALKING IN THE DARK (1:55) RYKO RHINO COMPLETE
WEDNESDAY WEEK (2:03) RYKO RHINO COMPLETE
These Armed Forces outtakes were issued together on a free single distributed at a series of concerts in December 1978 and January 1979. Both tracks later saw wider release on the B-side of "Accidents Will Happen" before being collected on Taking Liberties and Ten Bloody Marys. "Talking in the Dark" was also one of the more surprising choices on 1999's The Very Best of Elvis Costello.
CLEAN MONEY (1:57) RYKO RHINO COMPLETE
Originally conceived as the opening track on Armed Forces, "Clean Money" instead turned up as the opening track on Taking Liberties and Ten Bloody Marys and on the B-side of "Clubland" soon after. Dave Edmunds and the Attractions feature on backing vocals.
MY FUNNY VALENTINE (1:28) RYKO RHINO COMPLETE
Released in February 1979 as the B-side of "Oliver's Army" in the UK and on a free single given away at a Valentine's Day concert in the US, this has the distinction of being the first truly solo Elvis Costello recording released to the public. It was subsequently included on Taking Liberties, Ten Bloody Marys, and The Very Best of Elvis Costello, among other places.
CRAWLING TO THE U.S.A. (2:55) COMPLETE
After a long run as a This Year's Model CD bonus track — it appeared on the Rykodisc edition in 1993, the Rhino edition in 2002, and the Hip-O deluxe edition in 2008 — "Crawling to the U.S.A." made its Armed Forces debut on The Complete Armed Forces in 2020. The song had been performed by Elvis and the Attractions at some of their earliest shows in July 1977, but it went unrecorded until just after the Armed Forces sessions in December 1978 at Sydney's Waterloo Studios during their first Australian tour. It was released on the Americathon soundtrack in 1979 and also included on Taking Liberties and Ten Bloody Marys.
GREENSHIRT (Demo) (2:22) COMPLETE
BIG BOYS (Demo) (2:59) COMPLETE
The acoustic guitar demos for two songs that eventually appeared on Armed Forces were recorded at Eden Studios in January 1978 and had previously appeared on the Rhino, Ryko, and Hip-O deluxe versions of This Year's Model, along with a third demo, the otherwise unrecorded "Running Out of Angels," not included here.
AMERICAN SQUIRM Nick Lowe (2:30) COMPLETE
Elvis and the Attractions' classic recording of Nick Lowe's ("What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding?" was first released in 1978 as the b-side of Lowe's single "American Squirm" and credited to "Nick Lowe and His Sound." The Complete Armed Forces recreates this pairing on one of its 7-inch singles. "American Squirm" is not really an Elvis Costello song, but he does contribute a prominent backing vocal.
| Live at Hollywood High, Los Angeles, CA, June 4, 1978 |
| ACCIDENTS WILL HAPPEN
(3:18) RYKO RHINO
COMPLETE MYSTERY DANCE (2:01) RHINO COMPLETE GOON SQUAD (3:42) RHINO COMPLETE PARTY GIRL (3:19) RHINO COMPLETE STRANGER IN THE HOUSE (3:52) RHINO COMPLETE ALISON (3:08) RYKO RHINO COMPLETE LIPSTICK VOGUE (4:26) RHINO COMPLETE WATCHING THE DETECTIVES (5:51) RYKO RHINO COMPLETE YOU BELONG TO ME (2:38) RHINO COMPLETE The original Live at Hollywood High EP had three songs — "Accidents Will Happen," "Alison," and "Watching the Detectives" — and was included as a freebie with the initial release of Armed Forces in 1979. The 1993 Ryko CD included the original three songs just as they were presented on the EP, while the 2002 Rhino CD added six more songs from the concert. The band's tendency to play several songs in a row without pausing between proved slightly problematic when the original Live at Hollywood High EP was assembled. As each song fades out (on both the EP and the Ryko CD), the start of another song can be heard: "Accidents Will Happen" features the opening seconds of "Mystery Dance," "Alison" includes a bit of "Lipstick Vogue," and "Watching the Detectives" leads into the beginning of "Pump It Up." The Rhino CD includes the complete performances of "Mystery Dance" and "Lipstick Vogue," but the brief snippet of "Pump It Up" is missing entirely, as "Watching the Detectives" leads into "You Belong to Me." (In fact, "You Belong to Me" is what followed "Watching the Detectives" at the original concert. The snippet of "Pump It Up" was edited in from another portion of the show.) The complete 20-song Hollywood High performance was released in 2010 and is discussed on the Live at Hollywood High page. 2020's The Complete Armed Forces reverts to the same nine songs as the Rhino CD but the tracks have been newly edited from the files used for the 2010 Live at Hollywood High CD, leading to some differences in the transitions and stage patter in comparison to the Rhino CD but adding nothing new. |
CHEMISTRY CLASS (Live in Washington, Feb. 28, 1978) (2:34) RHINO COMPLETE
Although the Rhino CD was its first official release, the early solo performance of "Chemistry Class" was included on one of the earliest Elvis Costello bootlegs, Elvis Goes to Washington & Dave Edmunds & Rockpile Don't, where it was listed under the bootlegger's guess at the title, "Final Solution." The complete Washington concert was released in 2008 on Hip-O's deluxe This Year's Model, but 2020's The Complete Armed Forces includes just the one song on the "Live at Hollywood High & Elsewhere" disc, where it is the sole representative of Elsewhere.
| "Riot at the Regent" (Live in Sydney, Dec. 3, 1978) |
| OLIVER'S ARMY (3:29) COMPLETE WAITING FOR THE END OF THE WORLD (4:39) COMPLETE BIG BOYS (2:51) COMPLETE THIS YEAR'S GIRL (3:24) COMPLETE YOU BELONG TO ME (4:55) COMPLETE PUMP IT UP (5:47) COMPLETE Elvis and the Attractions' first concert in Australia ended in a riot after they played less than hour and failed to return for an encore. Roughly half the show receives its first official release on The Complete Armed Forces. Despite significant contemporary press coverage (several reviews are linked at the Elvis Costello wiki site), the complete setlist does not seem to have been documented, but the missing songs include "Hand in Hand," "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding?", "Watching the Detectives" (although a tiny bit of the drum intro can be heard on the official release after "Oliver's Army"), "Alison," ("I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea," and "Lipstick Vogue." |
| Christmas in the Dominion" (Live in London, Dec. 24, 1978) |
| (THE ANGELS WANNA WEAR MY) RED
SHOES (3:13) COMPLETE NO DANCING (3:06) COMPLETE I STAND ACCUSED (3:00) COMPLETE (WHAT'S SO FUNNY 'BOUT) PEACE, LOVE AND UNDERSTANDING? (3:46) COMPLETE The Complete Armed Forces includes four of the 18 songs performed at this show. Still unreleased but available as an audience recording are "Hand in Hand," "Big Tears," "Goon Squad," "Watching the Detectives," "The Beat," "Accidents Will Happen," "Alison," "(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea," "Lipstick Vogue," "Big Boys," "This Year's Girl.," "You Belong to Me," "Pump It Up," and "Mystery Dance." |
| Europe '79 - Live at Pinkpop" (Live in Geleen, Netherlands, June 4, 1979) |
| GOON SQUAD (2:51) COMPLETE B MOVIE (2:30) COMPLETE GREEN SHIRT (2:49) COMPLETE (I DON'T WANT TO GO TO) CHELSEA (3:58) COMPLETE OPPORTUNITY (2:34) COMPLETE SO YOUNG (3:36) COMPLETE HIGH FIDELITY (3:28) COMPLETE LIPSTICK VOGUE (4:10) COMPLETE WATCHING THE DETECTIVES (6:02) COMPLETE BIG BOYS (2:29) COMPLETE PUMP IT UP (5:20) COMPLETE YOU BELONG TO ME (3:46) COMPLETE (WHAT'S SO FUNNY 'BOUT) PEACE, LOVE AND UNDERSTANDING? (3:44) COMPLETE "High Fidelity" from this show had previously appeared on Rhino's Get Happy!! CD. "Lipstick Vogue" and "Watching the Detectives" appeared on the DVD The Right Spectacle: The Very Best of Elvis Costello - The Videos. Still unavailable officially are "I Stand Accused," "The Beat," "Oliver's Army," "Party Girl," "Girls Talk," and "Accidents Will Happen," although all but "I Stand Accused" can be found in excellent quality on bootlegs. |
NOT ON THE REISSUES (BUT OFFICIALLY RELEASED)
GREEN SHIRT (Extended Remix) (3:22)
["Green Shirt" 12-inch single]
In 1985, the original version of "Green Shirt" was included on the UK compilation The Man (The Best Of Elvis Costello) and released as a single for the first time. The 12-inch single included an exclusive remix by Colin Fairley. Since this single was inexplicably excluded from the Singles CD box sets, it remains available only on vinyl.
NOT ON THE REISSUES (UNRELEASED)
THAT'S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR (Demo) (2:18)
No relation to the 1985 Dionne Warwick hit, "That's What Friends Are For" was written by Elvis and recorded by Georgie Fame. Elvis' guitar/vocal demo circulates among collectors and was probably recorded around the time of Armed Forces.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
Like My Aim Is True and This Year's Model, the original release of Armed Forces in 1979 had slightly different track listings in the UK and the US, with "Sunday's Best" appearing only on the UK version and "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding" appearing only on the US version. Most CD reissues include both tracks.
The two shows which immediately preceded the Hollywood High show in Long Beach (June 1) and Santa Barbara (June 2) were also professionally recorded. It is unclear whether any of this material was considered for official release.
When a "20th anniversary edition" of My Aim Is True was briefly considered for release in 1997, there was also talk of a similar deluxe edition of Armed Forces. No other details ever surfaced about the abandoned project, so it remains a mystery whether anything was under consideration beyond what has since been released.
