Elvis Costello: My Aim Is True (49th anniversary) [HIP-O RECORDS / UME]

Why you'll love it

This 49th anniversary edition is an all-analog 180g remaster cut from the original 1977 tapes by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound, with the US tracklist that adds "Watching the Detectives." The album reached No. 14 in the UK and became the biggest-selling import album in US history.

This edition

• 49th anniversary edition
• 180g vinyl
• Remastered from the original analog tapes
• All-analog cut by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound
• Original US tracklist with "Watching the Detectives"
• Stereo mix
• Pressed in the EU

About the album

Stiff Records suggested the young Declan MacManus might do better as Elvis, and the name stuck. Over six four-hour sessions at Pathway Studios in Islington, with Nick Lowe producing and the California band Clover backing him, Costello made one of the great debuts: punk attitude, pub rock bite and 50s rock and roll smarts in 13 sharp songs.

"Alison" is the heartbreaker, "Watching the Detectives" stalks along on a reggae groove, "(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes" and "Welcome to the Working Week" are bright and catchy, and "Less Than Zero" and "Mystery Dance" crackle with energy. Commentators now count it among the best debut albums ever made.

As Renée on our staff put it: "Easy to miss, yet impossible to resist. His aim is indeed true." We tried to argue with her and found we had nothing.

Also at Kops: more Elvis Costello on vinyl · browse Rock

Tracklist

Listen

On Stiff / UMe, a reissue of the 1977 album.