Elvis Costello My Aim Is True CD

The 2001 edition of MY AIM IS TRUE comes with a bonus disc of rare material including demos and alternative versions of songs.
Personnel: Elvis Costello (vocals, guitar, piano); John McFee (guitar, pedal steel); Alex Call (guitar); Sean Hopper (piano, organ, background vocals); Steve Nieve (piano, organ); Nick Lowe (piano, bass, background vocals); Stan Shaw (organ); John Ciambotti (bass, background vocals); Bruce Thomas, Andrew Bodnar (bass); Michael Shine, Steve Goulding, Malcolm Dennis, Ian Powling (drums); Dickie Faulkner (percussion).
Recorded at Pathway Studios, Islington, United Kingdom from 1976 to 1977. Originally released on Stiff (UK SEEZ 3)/Columbia (US 35037). Includes liner notes by Elvis Costello.
Personnel: Elvis Costello (vocals, guitar, piano, background vocals); Elvis Costello; Andrew Bodnar (bass guitar); Micky Shine, Steve Goulding (drums, drum); John McFee (guitar); Sean Hopper (piano, organ, background vocals); Nick Lowe (piano, background vocals); Stan Show, Steve Nieve (organ); John Ciambotti (background vocals).
Recording information: Pathway Studios, Islington, England (1976-1977).
Photographer: Keith Morris.
Elvis Costello was as much a pub rocker as he was a punk rocker and nowhere is that more evident than on his debut, My Aim Is True. It's not just that Clover, a San Franciscan rock outfit led by Huey Lewis (absent here), back him here, not the Attractions; it's that his sensibility is borrowed from the pile-driving rock & roll and folksy introspection of pub rockers like Brinsley Schwarz, adding touches of cult singer/songwriters like Randy Newman and David Ackles. Then, there's the infusion of pure nastiness and cynical humor, which is pure Costello. That blend of classicist sensibilities and cleverness make this collection of shiny roots rock a punk record -- it informs his nervy performances and his prickly songs. Of all classic punk debuts, this remains perhaps the most idiosyncratic because it's not cathartic in sound, only in spirit. Which, of course, meant that it could play to a broader audience, and Linda Ronstadt did indeed cover the standout ballad "Alison." Still, there's no mistaking this for anything other than a punk record, and it's a terrific one at that, since even if he buries his singer/songwriter inclinations, they shine through as brightly as his cheerfully mean humor and immense musical skill; he sounds as comfortable with a '50s knockoff like "No Dancing" as he does on the reggae-inflected "Less Than Zero." Costello went on to more ambitious territory fairly quickly, but My Aim Is True is a phenomenal debut, capturing a songwriter ...