Get Happy!! (Elvis Costello album)

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Get Happy!!
Elvis Costello - Get Happy!!.jpg
Studio album by
Elvis Costello and the Attractions
Released15 February 1980
RecordedOctober 1979
GenreNew wave, soul
Length48:08
LabelF-Beat Records UK
Columbia US
Smash Records Scandinavia
Demon/Rykodisc (29 April 1994 Reissue)
Rhino (9 September 2003 Reissue)
Hip-O (1 May 2007 Reissue)
ProducerNick Lowe
Elvis Costello and the Attractions chronology
Armed Forces
(1979) 		Get Happy!!
(1980) 		Taking Liberties
(1980)
Singles from Get Happy!!
  1. "I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down"
    Released: 8 February 1980[1]
  2. "High Fidelity"
    Released: 4 April 1980[2]
  3. "New Amsterdam"
    Released: 13 June 1980

Get Happy!! is a studio album by Elvis Costello and the Attractions. The fourth album by Elvis Costello, his third with the Attractions, it is notable for being a dramatic break in tone from Costello's three previous albums, and for being heavily influenced by R&B, ska and soul music. The cover art was intentionally designed to have a "retro" feel, to look like the cover of an old LP with ring wear on both front and back.[3]

Like its predecessor Armed Forces, it was commercially successful, charting at number 11 in the US and number 2 in the UK, where it went gold. It was placed at No. 11 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 greatest albums of the 1980s. In 2000 it was voted number 298 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.[4]

Background[]

During the American concert tour for Armed Forces in April 1979, Costello engaged in a drunken argument with Stephen Stills and Bonnie Bramlett in a Columbus, Ohio, Holiday Inn hotel bar, during which he referred to James Brown as a "jive-assed nigger," then upped the ante by pronouncing Ray Charles a "blind, ignorant nigger." Costello apologised at a New York City press conference a few days later, claiming that he had been drunk and had been attempting to be obnoxious to bring the conversation to a swift conclusion, not anticipating that Bramlett would bring his comments to the press.

It has been suggested that the R&B influence on the album was an attempt to atone for his comments,[5] but as Costello writes in the liner notes for the 2003 Rhino version,

It might have been tempting to claim that I had some noble motive in basing this record on the music that I had admired and learned from prior to my brush with infamy. But if I was trying to pay respects and make such amends, I doubt if pride would have allowed me to express that thought after I had made my rather contrived explanation ... I simply went back to work and relied on instinct, curiosity, and enduring musical passions.[6]

The band had played some of the songs during the "Armed Funk Tour" and had rehearsed them for the record, but were dissatisfied with the sound, feeling it was too "new wave."[7] (Some of the original versions can be found on disc 2 of the Rhino release.) They then went back and re-arranged many of the songs using an R&B sound. On their US tours, Costello had been able to find a number of R&B records of his favourite artists and having been listening to them during the rehearsals, decided to emulate the feel of those songs.[6]

The band recorded the album at Wisseloord Studios in Hilversum, Netherlands, in an attempt to isolate themselves from distractions, but they were still able to keep themselves drunk during the recording sessions.[6] The exception to this was "New Amsterdam," which was recorded solo by Costello in a small studio in Pimlico.

With 20 songs on the original album, the vinyl cutting and pressing process had to be precise to fit all of them on the two sides of the record.[7] A commercial for the album, added as a hidden track on the Rhino Records remaster, jokes about the album's length and number of songs.

Packaging and artwork[]

The Get Happy!! sleeve was designed by F-Beat art director Barney Bubbles,[8] who had worked with Costello at Stiff and Radar. He does not receive a credit in line with his insistence on anonymity.[citation needed]

The original album sleeve reversed the two sides; side one began with "I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down" (the current single) and ended with "Riot Act". The second side started with "Love for Tender" and ended with "High Fidelity". Only on the record labels themselves was the true running order revealed.

Original vinyl release[]

The original release of the album was on 12-inch vinyl and cassette. It was unusual for a single vinyl record to contain as many as twenty songs because it was thought that what was known in the industry as "groove cramming" would result in a loss of sound quality. Get Happy's producer, Nick Lowe, mentions this issue on the album's back cover:

'You'll have noticed that there are ten (?) tracks on each side of this, Elvis' new LP, making it a real "long player".

Elvis and I talked long and hard about the wisdom of taking this unusual step and are proud that we can now reassure hi-fi enthusiasts and/or people who never bought a record before 1967 that with the inclusion of this extra music time they will find no loss of sound quality due to "groove cramming" as the record nears the end of each face (i.e. the hole in the middle).

Now get happy.

Your friend,

Producer, Nick Lowe'[6]

A 2015 vinyl release from Universal Music spread the content across two LPs, thus avoiding this problem.

Reception[]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic5/5 stars[5]
Blender5/5 stars[9]
Chicago Tribune4/4 stars[10]
Christgau's Record GuideB[11]
Entertainment WeeklyA+[12]
Mojo5/5 stars[13]
Rolling Stone4/5 stars[14]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide4.5/5 stars[15]
Select4/5[16]
Uncut5/5 stars[17]

Although Get Happy!! received generally positive reviews upon its release, praise was not as unconditional for the album as it had been for its predecessors. Robert Christgau of The Village Voice wrote that Get Happy! establishes "not his fecundity but his fallibility", noting the presence of "lotsa duds", but observed some memorable "tropes and hooks".[11] Red Starr, writing in Smash Hits, remarked that it was "short on memorable songs" but added that "repeated plays reveal hidden depths".[18] Rolling Stone's Tom Carson felt that "if the new album is hard to get into, it's also difficult to ignore", concluding: "He's succeeded in making his obsessions belong to us. For better or worse, we'll all ride them out together to the end."[19] Sounds' Dave McCullough was highly positive, writing that the album "soars to a pinnacle of Costello's combined creative force, by the end leaving the listener quite breathless."[20] In its year-end list, the NME named Get Happy!! the second best album of 1980,[21] while the album placed seventh on The Village Voice's annual Pazz & Jop music critics' poll, beating out such better selling releases as Michael Jackson's Off the Wall, Stevie Wonder's Hotter than July and Pete Townshend's Empty Glass.[22]

Retrospective reviews have been much more positive, and Get Happy!! has since been considered to be one of Costello's greatest albums, as well as one of the best of the 1980s. On the website Acclaimed Music, it is currently ranked as the 76th most acclaimed album of the 1980s.[23] In 1989, Rolling Stone placed Get Happy!! at number 11 on its list of the 100 best albums of the 1980s,[24] and it has also ranked on other publications' lists of the decade's best albums, including a 2002 list by Pitchfork at number 26,[25] as well as a 2012 list by Slant Magazine at number 68.[26] In a retrospective review, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote that Get Happy!! "bursts with energy and invention, standing as a testament to how Costello, the pop encyclopedia, can reinvent the past in his own image".[5] Critic Rob Sheffield, writing in The New Rolling Stone Album Guide, dubbed it a "tour de force".[15] In 2008, Chris Jones of BBC Music gave it a rave review, deeming it Costello's "greatest album" and "the greatest coherent statement he ever created."[27]

Squeeze guitarist Chris Difford named the album as an inspiration, stating, "Get Happy!! was a big album for me. I just loved the lyrics. I loved the performances on that record. It’s brilliant." Costello would produce Squeeze's 1981 album East Side Story.[28]

Track listing[]

All songs written by Elvis Costello unless otherwise indicated.

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Love for Tender"1:57
2."Opportunity"3:13
3."The Imposter"1:58
4."Secondary Modern"1:58
5."King Horse"3:01
6."Possession"2:03
7."Man Called Uncle"2:17
8."Clowntime is Over"2:59
9."New Amsterdam"2:12
10."High Fidelity"2:28
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down"Homer Banks, Allen Jones2:06
2."Black and White World" 1:56
3."5ive Gears in Reverse" 2:38
4."B Movie" 2:04
5."Motel Matches" 2:30
6."Human Touch" 2:30
7."Beaten to the Punch" 1:49
8."Temptation" 2:33
9."I Stand Accused"Tony Colton, Ray Smith2:21
10."Riot Act" 3:35
  • Note the record sleeve does not match what's on the actual record. The sides are reversed.

Bonus tracks (1994 Rykodisc)[]

  2. "Girls Talk" – 1:55
  3. "Clowntime Is Over" (Version 2) – 3:44
  4. "Getting Mighty Crowded" (Van McCoy) – 2:09
  5. "So Young" (Jeff Burstin, Joe Camilleri, Tony Faehse) – 3:23
  6. "Just a Memory" – 2:16
  7. "Hoover Factory" – 1:43
  8. "Ghost Train" – 3:05
  9. "Dr. Luther's Assistant" – 3:27
  10. "Black & White World" – 1:50
  11. "Riot Act" (Demo) – 2:48
  12. "Love for Tender" (Demo) – 1:39 [Unlisted track, intentionally ends abruptly]

Bonus Disc (2003 Rhino)[]

  1. "I Stand Accused" (Alternate version) (Colton, Smith) – 3:10
  2. "So Young" (Burstin, Camilleri, Faehse) – 3:28
  3. "Girls Talk" – 1:56
  4. "Human Touch" (Alternate version) – 2:20
  5. "Temptation" (Alternate version) – 2:28
  6. "Motel Matches" (Alternate version) – 2:27
  7. "Clowntime Is Over" (Version 2) – 3:46
  8. "B Movie" (Alternate version) – 2:26
  9. "Girls Talk" (Alternate version) – 2:03
  10. "Getting Mighty Crowded" (McCoy) – 2:09
  11. "From a Whisper to a Scream" (Alternate version) – 2:30
  12. "Watch Your Step" (Alternate version) – 2:02
  13. "Dr Luther's Assistant" – 3:28
  14. "Ghost Train" – 3:07
  15. "New Lace Sleeves" (Alternate version) – 3:47
  16. "Hoover Factory" – 1:45
  17. "Just a Memory" – 2:17
  18. "I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down" (Alternate version) (Banks, Jones) – 2:45
  19. "New Amsterdam" (Alternate version) – 2:31
  20. "Black & White World" (Demo version) – 1:51
  21. "Riot Act" (Demo version) – 2:50
  22. "5ive Gears in Reverse" (Demo version) – 2:33
  23. "Love for Tender" (Demo version) – 2:07
  24. "Man Called Uncle" (Demo version) – 2:06
  25. "King Horse" (Demo version) – 2:45
  26. "Seven O'Clock" (Demo version) – 2:00
  27. "High Fidelity" (Live) – 3:17
  28. "Opportunity" (Live) – 2:33
  29. "The Imposter" (Live, also on Concerts for the People of Kampuchea) – 2:11
  30. "Don't Look Back" (Live) – 4:41

Note: The Rykodisc version has the original tracks and bonus tracks on one CD. The Rhino version has two CDs with the original tracks on the first CD.

Personnel[]

  • Elvis Costello – vocals, guitar, organ on "Possession,” all instruments on “New Amsterdam.”
The Attractions
Technical

Charts[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Discogs". Archived from the original on 13 March 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  2. ^ "Elvis Costello And The Attractions - High Fidelity". 45cat.com. Archived from the original on 1 February 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  3. ^ "Lyric Snippet Quizzes". Laser's Edge Compact Discs. 3 April 2007. Archived from the original on 26 May 2007. Retrieved 3 June 2007.
  4. ^ Colin Larkin (2000). All Time Top 1000 Albums (3rd ed.). Virgin Books. p. 125. ISBN 0-7535-0493-6.
  5. ^ a b c Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Get Happy!! – Elvis Costello & the Attractions / Elvis Costello". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 12 September 2015. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  6. ^ a b c d Get Happy!! (Inset). Elvis Costello and the Attractions. USA: Rhino Entertainment. 2003. R2 73908.CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  7. ^ a b Get Happy!! (Inset). Elvis Costello and the Attractions. USA: Rykodisc. 2003. RCD 20275.CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. ^ "Barney Bubbles". MSN. Archived from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2008.
  9. ^ Wolk, Douglas (March 2005). "Elvis Costello: Get Happy!!". Blender. No. 34. Archived from the original on 4 February 2005. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  10. ^ Kot, Greg (2 June 1991). "The Sounds Of Elvis, From San Francisco And Beyond". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  11. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (1990). "Elvis Costello and the Attractions: Get Happy!". Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s. Pantheon Books. ISBN 0-679-73015-X. Archived from the original on 25 January 2016. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  12. ^ White, Armond (10 May 1991). "Elvis Costello's albums". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 21 October 2015. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  13. ^ Doyle, Tom (November 2018). "Band Substance". Mojo. No. 300. p. 59.
  14. ^ Abowitz, Richard (2 October 2003). "Elvis Costello and the Attractions: Get Happy!! / Trust / Punch the Clock". Rolling Stone. No. 932. p. 122.
  15. ^ a b Sheffield, Rob (2004). "Elvis Costello". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). London: Fireside Books. pp. 193–95. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
  16. ^ Collis, Clark (June 1994). "Elvis Costello and the Attractions: Get Happy / Trust". Select. No. 49. p. 92.
  17. ^ Wilde, Jon (October 2003). "High fidelity". Uncut. No. 77. pp. 132–33.
  18. ^ Starr, Red (6–19 March 1980). "Albums". Smash Hits. Vol. 2 no. 5. pp. 30–31.
  19. ^ Carson, Tom (17 April 1980). "Get Happy!!". Rolling Stone. No. 315. Archived from the original on 14 April 2008. Retrieved 17 August 2006.
  20. ^ McCullough, Dave (23 February 1980). "Hit me with your rhythm Stax". Sounds.
  21. ^ "1980 Best Albums And Tracks Of The Year". NME. 10 October 2016. Archived from the original on 31 October 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  22. ^ "The 1980 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll". The Village Voice. 9 February 1981. Archived from the original on 8 March 2005. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
  23. ^ "Elvis Costello and The Attractions: Get Happy!!". Acclaimed Music. Archived from the original on 9 May 2020. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  24. ^ Azerrad, Michael; DeCurtis, Anthony (16 November 1989). "100 Best Albums of the Eighties – Elvis Costello and the Attractions, 'Get Happy!'". Rolling Stone. No. 565. p. 53. Archived from the original on 27 November 2011. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
  25. ^ Dahlen, Chris (20 November 2002). "The Top 100 Albums of the 1980s – Elvis Costello & the Attractions: Get Happy!!". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 29 December 2012. Retrieved 24 December 2011.
  26. ^ "The 100 Best Albums of the 1980s". Slant Magazine. 5 March 2012. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
  27. ^ Jones, Chris (8 February 2008). "Elvis Costello And The Attractions Get Happy!! Review". BBC Music. Archived from the original on 26 March 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  28. ^ Fitzpatrick, Richard (10 October 2019). "Cool for Cats: The music that made me". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  29. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  30. ^ Library and Archives Canada. Archived 24 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 24 October 2011
  31. ^ "dutchcharts.nl Elvis Costello and the Attractions – Get Happy!!". dutchcharts.nl (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Archived from the original (ASP) on 14 March 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
  32. ^ "charts.nz – Elvis Costello and the Attractions – Get Happy!!" (ASP). Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Archived from the original on 29 June 2019. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
  33. ^ "norwegiancharts.com Elvis Costello and the Attractions – Get Happy!!". VG-lista. Archived from the original (ASP) on 5 March 2014. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  34. ^ "swedishcharts.com Elvis Costello and the Attractions – Get Happy!!" (ASP) (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Archived from the original on 11 January 2014. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  35. ^ "Elvis Costello and the Attractions – Get Happy!!". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 5 April 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
  36. ^ Elvis Costello > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums at AllMusic. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
  37. ^ "Complete UK Year-End Album Charts". Archived from the original on 11 January 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  38. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Elvis Costello – Get Happy". Music Canada.
  39. ^ "British album certifications – Elvis Costello – Get Happy". British Phonographic Industry.Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Get Happy in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
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