The original album is as fresh today as it was 30 years ago. You have the poster boy for the punk rock movement with his snarly tongue, biting off the heads of the establishment, and delivering the kind of harsh one liners that haven't been heard since Dylan; and all this at a snowball's pace in an avalanche. The album was produced by rocker Nick Lowe.

The B-sides have been released before in other collections, and still retain the same quality of sound as the main release. The live CD brings the feeling of the show to the music — more energized and vibrant. As I said, this concert took place before the actual release of the album and so it has that feeling of something new. You can hear it in the crowd and you can hear it in the band.

The question then becomes should you get This Years Model: Deluxe Edition? Certainly if you are an Elvis Costello fan and collect everything, of course. If you don't have any of the reissues, definitely it is a must buy. If you have one of the prior releases, it then becomes a matter of taste and budget. Personally, I think that the addition of the Warner concert makes it worth while and so I eagerly recommend this album.

Article Author: T. Michael Testi

T. Michael Testi is software developer, a writer, and a photographer. He also blogs at The Enlightened Image and is building a blog about the development of a state-of-the-art Green Dream Home in Oklahoma.

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