Elvis Costello and The Attractions - This Year's Model

I have always been fascinated by the lasting relationships some songwriters have with their musicians. Weird Al for example, has had the same band for his entire career (which is coming up on 30 years). That's pretty incredible. John Mellencamp had Kenny Aronoff (10 albums, 17 years), Bruce Springsteen had Max Weinberg (5 albums, 15 years) and Elvis Costello?

well, Elvis had Pete Thomas.

And after their first record was pretty successful, the pressure was on for #2. Second albums make or break careers, it has to be better than the first, but not TOO much better, you can't come off as too pompous or artistic, but if it's even a tiny, little bit worse than your first record, everyone will think you've lost the fire, so you have to sound like you are coming out swinging, but not too hard, enough so that the same people that loved you before stick around but all the naysayers/elitists realize that you don't suck anymore.

So that's what they did.

Pete Thomas kicks ass on this album. Right out of the gate, No Action comes on and he's all over the kit. He's playing sixteenth notes on the ride bell, swooping the toms around, rolling his snare in between bars, the guy is a fucking animal. Pete's updated version of classic 50's drumming was exactly what Costello needed. It was like Buddy Holly meets the Clash, and Pete Thomas's career was solidified from this point on. He went on to have a great studio career and play with guys like Elliot Smith and John Paul Jones and is probably living a better life than 99.87% of drummers, and he should be. I hope Pete Thomas spends his days relaxed in a mega expensive reclining chair in a giant living room with a hi fidelity record player sipping a Seabreeze listening to his own albums thinking "fuck I'm awesome".

He deserves to.

There is no way, as a drummer, you can listen to Pump It Up and not wish it was you playing that song at that moment in time. I would have loved to have seen the grin laid across Elvis Costello's face when Pete kicked that in for the first time. No wonder he kept him for nine albums.

Audio/Visual Evidence : No Action, This Years Girl, Pump it Up