from an excessive penchant towards cheap puns and pseudo-Spoonerisms". Additionally, in a review titled "Swell El", Record Mirrors Sheila Prophet found the "bitter bite" of its predecessors exchanged for "depth and subtlety and new textures". Tony Rayns of Melody Maker took issue with the use of the terms "nigger" and "darkies" in "Oliver's Army" and "Sunday's Best", respectively, but was overall positive to Costello's improved vocals and songwriting, and the performance of Nieve on keyboards. Sounds magazine's Giovanni Dadomo highlighted "Accidents Will Happen", "Big Boys" and "Green Shirt", while also naming "Goon Squad" "easily the best 'political' song of the last five years". In The Village Voices annual Pazz & Jop critics poll for the year's best albums, Armed Forces finished at number five. It also featured on year-end lists by Melody Maker and NME at numbers fourteen and six, respectively. Tour and aftermath To support the album, Costello and the Attractions embarked on the Armed Funk tour in America, which lasted from February to April. The tour was plagued with issues, including drug and alcohol problems, aggressive behaviour from Riviera and Costello to the press, and poor performances that led to critical and audience backlash. In March, a racist-filled exchange between Costello and Stephen Stills, where the former insulted various American musical artists, was leaked to the public and received additional backlash. Even though Armed Forces had reached the top ten on Billboards Top LPs & Tape chart during the tour, by April it fell off quickly after boycotts were enacted by American radio stations and listeners. By the tour's end, Costello's reputation in America was nearly destroyed. Bruce Thomas later admitted, "We never really recovered from that tour. Every time Elvis is doing something well, he kind of sabotages it." His reputation in the UK, however, remained largely unaffected, mostly due to newspapers failing to pick up the story. Author Mick St. Michael compared it to the worldwide response from John Lennon's 1966 more popular than Jesus comment. Following the disastrous tour, Costello decided to reevaluate himself and his career. He ended his relationship with Buell and reconciled with his wife Mary and son Matthew. Apart from the occasional demo, he and the Attractions took some time off over the summer of 1979. Upon reconvening in the studio later in the year, Costello took a more soul-influenced direction for his next album, Get Happy!! (1980). Costello acknowledged the