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
Elvis Costello—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. 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 (guitar), John Ciambotti (bass), Sean Hopper (keyboards) and Mickey Shine (drums) — were not credited on the final album at the time due to contractual difficulties. (Some early marketing for the album identified Costello's backing band as "The Shamrocks", without naming any individual members. British pub rock, 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. Goodman found the lyrics and production matches a bedroom performance, the song contains a punk-style beat and handclaps and utilises elements of doo-wop and new wave. The album takes its title from a line in the song. The song's chorus suggests the media suppresses knowledge of government corruption, thereby invoking censorship. Oswald Mosley is an obscure figure outside the UK, and the song only refers to the character of "Mr. Oswald" (the name Mosley is never mentioned); listeners in the United States assumed that "Mr. Oswald" was Lee Harvey Oswald, the assassin of president John F. Kennedy. Consequently, Costello wrote an alternative lyric to refer to the assassin. This alternative lyric (called the "Dallas Version") was performed when playing the song live in North America.
"Mystery Dance" is a 1950s-style rocker "Pay It Back" affirms the implication that the media lies to the public. In the song, the narrator finds out not everything in life is guaranteed and feels betrayed. Hinton describes it as "deeply cynical". Meanwhile, misogyny is prevalent on "I'm Not Angry", where sex is portrayed as demeaning rather than joyful. The ideal is acknowledged through the spite in Costello's vocal performance, while the music has been likened to hard rock. By the time it came out Costello was performing with his new backing band, donned the Attractions.
| rev2 = The Philadelphia Inquirer
| rev2score =
| rev4 = Sounds
| rev4score = Chas de Whalley of Sounds called Costello "a songwriter of rare sensitivity and talent" but had trouble getting a grip with the songs, nevertheless concluding: "Like a flower, Elvis' debut album is opening up into something of metallic beauty." In Melody Maker, Allan Jones wrote that "hell, you can dance to it, swoon and romance with it, smooch and romance to it". He further noted the record contained "enough potential hit singles to stock a bloody juke-box", concluding "I can think of only a few albums released this year that rival its general excellence." He commented that "Costello must have taken a lot of emotional knocks to come up with such a powerful album. To the extent that one is reticent to guess to what lengths he may have to go to enact a second instalment." In Stage Life, Jeffrey Morgan wrote that at only 22 years old, Costello "gashed a line in his soul using rock 'n' roll as the blade", creating an LP that, as "flawed as it is, cannot be ignored". Sam Sutherland of High Fidelity hailed Costello as a "new wave rock classicist", creating an album that "rediscovers the raw vitality of rock" in the midst of '70s pop. He also called Lowe's production "exciting" and "deliberately crude". Meanwhile, Robin Denselow of The Guardian considered the lyrics the best from a British artist in years. The Philadelphia Inquirer gave My Aim Is True three out of four stars, also praising the lyrical content and felt Costello would achieve a commercial breakthrough.
Writing for Creem, Mitchell Cohen hailed My Aim Is True as one of the year's best albums and praised the songs for their "memorable" choruses and strong ideas. He criticised the misogynistic lyrics, which he compared to the mid-1960s material of Mick Jagger, concluding that Costello has "some way to go before his emotional maturity matches his prodigious artistic skill". In The Village Voice, Robert Christgau wrote: "I like the nerdy way this guy comes on, I'm fascinated by his lyrics, and I approve of his rock and roll orientation." He negatively compared Costello to Jackson Browne in that "he's a little boring", which he states comes from an "overconcentration on lyrics" and can be solved by "a healthy relationship with a band".
In The Village Voice annual Pazz & Jop critics' poll of the year's best albums, My Aim Is True finished at number two, behind the Sex Pistols' Never Mind the Bollocks. It further placed in other year-end lists by Rolling Stone, NME (3) and Sounds (9).
Retrospective reviews
In later decades, My Aim Is True has received critical acclaim, with some naming it one of the best debut albums in rock history. Terry Staunton of Record Collector magazine summarised: "As opening salvos go, My Aim Is True has to be one of the most important, impressive and enduring debuts of all time." Senior AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote: "Costello went on to more ambitious territory fairly quickly, but My Aim Is True is a phenomenal debut, capturing a songwriter and musician whose words were as rich and clever as his music." Entertainment Weekly Armond White wrote that out of the British pub rock scene, My Aim Is True stands out as a debut "with lots to say". LeMay summarised the album as: "Wordy, witty, and geeky as fuck, My Aim Is True is without question one of the finest statements of brilliant nerddom ever to be released." In 1987, Rolling Stone placed it at number 29 on its list of the best albums of the past 20 years. The same magazine ranked the album number 168 in its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time in 2003, maintaining the rating in a 2012 revised list, and dropping to number 430 on the 2020 list. The same magazine ranked it the 21st best debut album in 2013. Uncut magazine also placed it at number 125 in their 2016 list of the 200 greatest albums of all time. In 2004, Pitchfork ranked My Aim Is True the 37th best album of the 1970s, while in 2012, Paste placed it at number 20 in a similar list. The staff of Paste later voted it the best new wave album of all time in 2020, arguing that it set both the "musical and fashion stage" for the genre.
In 2007, My Aim Is True was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. The album was also included in the 2005 edition of Robert Dimery's book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
Legacy
In lists ranking Costello's albums, My Aim Is True has consistently ranked as one of Costello's best. In 2021, writers for Stereogum placed it at number six, calling it "one of rock music's great opening salvos". A year later, writing for Spin magazine, Al Shipley placed it at number two, behind This Year's Model, stating that had he not made another record after My Aim Is True, he would "still be a legend". The same year, Michael Gallucci of Ultimate Classic Rock also placed it at number two, behind This Year's Model. He noted Clover's lack of force compared to the Attractions, but nevertheless wrote that fewer have arrived with debuts as "instantly significant" as My Aim Is True.
On 8 November 2007, Costello reunited with the members of Clover from the original recording sessions to perform the songs from My Aim Is True. This marked the first (and to date only) live public performances of these songs by the original ensemble that recorded them. The event took place at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, and was a benefit for the Richard de Lone Special Housing Fund, which assists those with Prader–Willi syndrome.
Reissues
My Aim Is True was first released on CD through Columbia and Demon Records in July 1986. The tracks from the live show were mostly from My Aim Is True, with some that appeared on This Year's Model, while the demos are previously unreleased tracks including "Blue Minute", "Call on Me", "I Don't Want to Go Home" and "I Hear a Melody".
- Elvis Costello – vocals, guitar, piano and drumsticks on "Mystery Dance"
- John McFee – lead guitar, pedal steel guitar, backing vocals
- Sean Hopper – piano, organ, backing vocals
- Johnny Ciambotti – bass, backing vocals
- Mickey Shine – drums
- Stan Shaw – organ on "Less Than Zero"
- Nick Lowe – backing vocals, piano, drumsticks and bass on "Mystery Dance"
- Andrew Bodnar – bass on "Watching the Detectives"
- Steve Goulding – drums on "Watching the Detectives"
- Steve Nieve – organ and piano overdubs on "Watching the Detectives"
Technical
- Nick Lowe – producer
- Barry "Bazza" Farmer – engineer
- Wendy Sherman – art direction, design
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+Weekly chart performance for My Aim Is True
!scope="col"|Chart (1977–78)
!scope="col"|Peak<br/>Position
|-
!scope="row"|Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)
|25
|-
!scope="row"|Canadian Albums (RPM)
|24
|-
!scope="row"|New Zealand Albums (RIANZ)
|32
|-
!scope="row"|Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)
|14
|-
!scope="row"|UK Albums Chart
|14
|-
!scope="row"|US Billboard Top LPs & Tape
|32
|}
Year-end charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+Year-end chart performance for My Aim Is True
!scope="col"|Chart (1978)
!scope="col"|Position
|-
!scope="row"|US Billboard Top LPs & Tape
|64
|}