Get Happy!!

The Attractions rehearsed the new songs at Eden Studios in London in September and October 1979, but Costello found the results too close to Armed Forces. He bought soul records in Camden Town, including Motown Chartbusters Vol. 3 and Atlantic's This Is Soul, and gave them to the band as a guide. The sessions then moved to Wisseloord Studios in Hilversum, where Lowe produced and Roger Bechirian engineered through the rest of October. Bechirian remembered the mood as a cocaine haze, and Lowe had Costello sing in a booth built for string instruments. "New Amsterdam" is a solo demo Costello had taped earlier at Archipelago in Pimlico, and it was kept for the album.

Two songs are covers, Sam and Dave's "I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down" and the Merseybeats' "I Stand Accused", the first non-original material on one of his UK studio albums. The title comes from a Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler song. The first pressings printed the side labels in reverse, and the cover by Barney Bubbles was styled after a 1960s Stax record, with a pre-worn look on the UK sleeve.

A legal dispute between Warner Bros. and Costello's old label Radar delayed release. "I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down" came out on 8 February 1980 and reached number 4 in the UK. The album followed on 15 February, with the catalogue number XXLP 1, and Columbia issued it in the US the week of 25 February. It reached number 2 in the UK and number 11 in the US, though it sold less than Armed Forces. "High Fidelity" was the second single and reached the UK top 30. In June an EP led by "New Amsterdam" added "Just a Memory", "Ghost Train" and "Dr. Luther's Assistant".

Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times called it a vibrant work by someone who understood rock and roll history and sought to shape its future, and Robert Palmer of the New York Times thought it his most satisfying work to date. Christgau acknowledged lots of duds. NME placed it second among the albums of 1980, behind Joy Division's Closer, and Trouser Press second behind London Calling. Rolling Stone ranked it number 11 among the albums of the 1980s in 1989, and Chris Jones of BBC Music called it his finest album in 2008.