or better or worse, we here at Stylus, in all of our autocratic consumer-crit greed, are slaves to timeliness. A record over six months old is often discarded, deemed too old for publication, a relic in the internet age. That's why each week at Stylus, one writer takes a look at an album with the benefit of time. Whether it has been unjustly ignored, unfairly lauded, or misunderstood in some fundamental way, we aim with On Second Thought to provide a fresh look at albums that need it.

Declan Patrick McManus took a few sick days in 1976 to record My Aim Is True under the moniker "Elvis Costello". Since then it has secured a place in the rock and roll canon as one of the most accomplished debut albums recorded.

"The only two things that matter to me, the only motivation for me to write all these songs are revenge and guilt. Those are the only emotions I know about..." Costello told NME in '77. "Welcome To The Working Week" opens the record and prepares the listen for the bitterness and bile Costello spews on the record.

While the album is powerful and vivid in its lyrical aim, "Miracle Man", "No Dancing", and "Blame It On Cain" are prime examples of songs that may have been exciting at the time of the album's release but have not worn well because Costello's lyrical scope had not yet matched his ability to convey emotion. Also, these songs are musically typical of the popular British pub-rock of the time and don't hint at the innovation of his work with the Attractions. However, subsequent live recordings of some of these songs reveal that maybe some of the fault lies with Costello's backing band at the time-a band that would later become Huey Lewis's News.

"Alison" is considered the high watermark of Costello's early catalog. It is here that he captures the raw emotion of the rest of the record but remains controlled and witty-making the lyrics sting even harder. This style became a trademark of Costello's and is what initially separated him from the punk scene that he had been lumped in with.

One of the biggest problems on the debut arises on "Watching The Detectives". One of the album's lyrical highlights, it is not matched musically. "I'm Not Angry" also suffers from this problem. This is not to say that the album is sonically weak as a whole-"Less Than Zero", "Sneaky Feelings" and "Waiting For The End of The World" feature stellar hooks and instrumentation to match.

Costello's geeky image coupled with his arrogance and rage struck a chord with music fans in critics at the album's release. So it is no surprise that the record is still considered one of his best by a number of critics. However, as someone who wasn't around for the album's release, it appears to me that Costello had a chance to fully mature on his next three albums.