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Elvis Costello - No Action (early version)
Elvis Costello released his debut album, My Aim Is True, in July of 1977. Shortly before its release his backing band for most of that record, Clover, sadly went their own way - and when I say “sadly went their own way” I mean “unfortunately they went on to become Huey Lewis and the News”. Thank God for that. Of course later that same year Costello would form a new, permanent, backing band known as The Attractions. But whatever. Here’s the important part: somewhere in between the departure of Clover and the arrival of The Attractions, in May of ‘77, Costello recorded two tracks with Andrew Bodnar and Steve Goulding of The Rumour. One of those tracks was a little number you might be familiar with called “Watching The Detectives”, to which Steve Nieve would add some keys just in time for it to appear as track seven on My Aim Is True. The other tune they put to tape was this early, awesome, somewhat fuzzy, very much superior, version of “No Action” - which was later re-recorded “properly” by Costello and The Attractions for his sophomore (studio) album This Year’s Model. So I have to ask you four-eyes, why the hell couldn’t we have just left it as Elvis Costello and The Rumour’s?
