Armed Forces

Recorded over about six weeks with Roger Bechirian engineering, it was an album on which Costello took more control than before. The band cut backing tracks first and added overdubs afterward, and Nieve contributed more to the arrangements, especially on Oliver's Army. Bechirian told Sound On Sound that Nieve was the record's unsung hero. The working titles were Cornered on Plastic and Emotional Fascism, and the name changed late in the day after Columbia objected. Barney Bubbles designed the cover.

The US edition dropped Sunday's Best and added Nick Lowe's (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding. The album reached number 2 in the UK, where it went Platinum, and number 10 in the US, where it went gold. Nick Kent in the NME compared it only to the Beatles and Bowie, and The Atlantic later called it his most searing mix of romantic and political fury. Christgau gave it an A-minus.