You don’t need to know much about Elvis Costello’s music to know how enigmatic it can be. His three-decades-plus career has passed through every genre it can, from rock to jazz with countless others in between. This makes it hard for new or even casual fans to dive deep into his work. (That conundrum is made even more puzzling considering that the bulk of his material – roughly anything and everything from 1977’s My Aim is True to All This Useless Beauty in 1996 – have been reissued on CD several times by several different labels with several different configurations of bonus material.)

For Universal’s Hip-O Records, who currently have the rights to Costello’s Attractions-era catalogue from 1977 to 1986, there have been plenty of double-dip releases of these classic records. But Hip-O has also gone ahead and unearthed some treasures from the vaults, namely a new series of vintage live titles known as “The Costello Show” series. Last year, the oft-bootlegged radio promo Live at the El Mocambo was the first entry in the series; now, Hip-O has dug up another great work from a few years later.

Live at Hollywood High, a powerhouse of a show recorded at Los Angeles’ Hollywood High School on June 4, 1978, barely a month after the stateside release of This Year’s Model, first saw life as a three-track single released with copies of Armed Forces in 1979. Rhino’s 2002 expansion of Armed Forces would add part of the show into the track list, but this disc is the first time the entire show has been released in its entirely.

And what a show it is. Beginning with an unorthodox arrangement of “Accidents Will Happen” featuring Costello’s voice and Steve Nieve’s piano, the show launches into a killer set practically unparalleled in its energy and precision. With a set culled from Costello’s first three albums (My Aim is True, This Year’s Model and the then-unreleased Armed Forces), Costello and his Attractions hardly come up for air – short between-song pauses and hardly any stage banter – until “Miracle Man” closes the encore.

Live at Hollywood High also does a killer job of showcasing The Attractions themselves. Nieve, bassist Bruce Thomas and drummer Pete Thomas were on the road with Costello by the recording of Live at the El Mocambo, but the FM-transmitted quality of that release doesn’t do the group as much justice as this disc does. Hearing them work with the material on Live at Hollywood High, embellishing these songs with a killer rhythm section and that unforgettable organ sound, it’s easy to realize why The Attractions were inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame aside Elvis himself.

Whether you’re a new fan desperately looking for an entry point in Costello’s labyrinthine catalogue or a veteran eager to remember his angry-young-man days, Live at Hollywood High will make a raucous, satisfying addition to your CD shelf.