For this fourth LP, Elvis Costello deliberately went for the feel of an old Motown or Stax album from including a large number of short songs right down to the album's dated packaging. The music itself is superb and unique rock'n'soul - soul and reggae influenced rhythms with an exciting punk bite. The Attractions are on superb form with Steve Nieve on keyboards and Bruce Thomas on bass particularly shining - at the time Elvis was quite easily the least brilliant musician in the band - his jagged guitar is usually quite low down in the mix.

The least brilliant musician maybe but what a songwriter. The chord changes, melody and spite in these songs is immense in what must have been Costello's most prolific period of writing. The deliberately raw production may mean that it takes a while for the unaccustomed ear to get to know these songs. If so, keep persevering for it is well worth it in the end. And if you still don't like a song, there is of course another one coming in just a couple of minutes...

There really is hardly a weak track on Get Happy with some of the absolute highlights including the hits I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down, High Fidelity and New Amsterdam - the first two are typical of the album's sound with the third less typical but a nicely more intimate counterpart to the bluster elsewhere. Temptation, Beaten To The Punch and Opportunity are among my other favourites though virtually every track is excellent.

The extensive bonus disc includes a few songs recorded at the time which didn't make the final album including Girl's Talk which Elvis gave to Dave Edmunds in a foolish drunken moment (Edmunds' multi-layered version got to no. 2 in the UK singles charts). Also included are alternative band versions of several of the album tracks - when I say alternative I don't mean just a couple of overdubs added but completely different versions of the songs in different musical styles. This illustrates the supreme versatility and musicianship of The Attractions though the better version was picked for the album in most cases. Finally, the bonus disc also includes some fascinating demo's for the album which show how advanced Elvis' vision of Get Happy was before the band even entered the studio.

With the extensive bonus disc, full lyrics and a commentary by Elvis this is a superb reissue. This fantastic album has got even better and is well worth the full five-star treatment.


Great album. Great sound. Great extras !   February 15, 2005
 9 out of 9 found this review helpful

Fans of EC are advised to invest in this new 2CD release as a) the 24-bit remastered sound is awesome and b) there are some great live recordings on CD 2 that are simply essential.

"Possession" live is a revelation, punctuated by magnificent punching Stax-style horns it literally comes alive, as does "Secondary Modern", "Watch Your Step" and a superb cover version of The Temptations' "Don't Look Back". Elvis and attractions were just so damn GOOD in this period it almost hurts to listen to them. But, it hurts so good ! Wonderful.


MASTERPIECE   August 24, 2003
 11 out of 11 found this review helpful

Costello came of age with this album and nobody noticed. Largely viewed as a disappointment after Armed Forces it seemed the wunderkind had delivered his first disappointment, but we all failed to read between the lines. Costello's writing had always been 'smarter than the rest' but on Get Happy it's simply stunning. Somewhat hidden at times behind the pace and sheer number of tracks it takes a while to appreciate but it's all the better for that. You can quite often judge Costello albums by the weaker tracks and how often they appear, but trying to find one here is as hard as it was trying to find it's masterpieces on release, it's no suprise it was badly reviewed to begin with because every track is a masterpiece. I'm reminded of the first reviews of Bizet's Carmen, when it was complained about the lack of a good tune, now if you want to pick an opera with 'good tunes' beginning to end you pick Carmen. Not being able to see the wood for the trees is nothing new, but when they are chopping down the forests to build housing estates, here is one patch of land with a preservation order on it. You can judge how 'on fire' Costello was at the time by the quality of the tracks that didn't make the album and are included here, 'Dr Luthers assistant' and 'The Hoover factory' were maybe a little too obviously subtle to be included but to leave off 'just a memory' one of Costellos greatest songs, not to mention giving Dave Edmunds 'Girls talk' because Costello didn't see it as a hit. As good as Imperial Bedroom and getting better.


Get Happy!! Indeed!!   August 2, 2003
 13 out of 13 found this review helpful

The new Rhino/Demon reissue of Elvis Costello and the Attractions' 1980 album Get Happy!! makes it extremely easy for Elvis fans to do just that. The new re-release adds 20 new bonus tracks (the number of songs on the original album!) that were not on the mid-90's reissue. This set even conveniently places the original album on the first disc and the bonus material on the second. As those who bought the album upon its original release can attest to, putting 20 songs onto two sides of vinyl meant sacrificing some high fidelity (no pun intended) sound quality. Imagine your first impressions on hearing this spectacular album and then add an extra punch into Elvis' passionate vocals, Bruce's winding bass, Steve's frantic keys and Pete's fleet-handed drumming. That's the real difference here that makes this reissue so worth purchasing. All of those songs you fell in love with the first go-round, "Opportunity," "King Horse," "New Amsterdam," "High Fidelity," "I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down," "Riot Act," and many others are all back to make you jump for joy again with edgier, fuller sound. A new essay by Elvis Costello himself enlightens you on his inspirations for making this magnificent album, and plenty of B-sides, photos and other gems from the vaults round out this stunning reissue, mandatory for Elvis' fans. A deluxe treatment honestly doesn't get much better than this folks!!