Some musicians, (Brian Eno comes to mind) are able to wear a variety of artistic hats. At any given time, they're able to switch between composer, solo act, band member and producer (and more), thereby enhancing their reputation. Others pull off the same trick just as well only to find it diffuses, and therefore diminishes, their reputation. Nick Lowe is one of the latter.
Despite over a decade of solid work in all of those roles, including some very influential productions, Nick Lowe is barely remembered these days. He not only produced all of Elvis Costello's early, groundbreaking albums, but he also wrote one of that singer's biggest hits in the form of "(What's So Funny About) Peace, Love and Understanding?". He also produced the first album by The Damned, and, as in-house producer for Stiff Records, a number of other early punk classics. He helmed two great but forgotten bands (Brinsley Schwartz was first in the early Seventies), the most notable of which was Rockpile (with Dave Edmunds) in the latter half of that decade, and he wrote a series of amazing pop songs even beyond that which should all be considered classics today.
Labour of Lust, his second album (released in 1979), has just been reissued. It is a relatively unadorned reissue, combining the American and British permutations of the album (which only had one song's worth of difference between them) into one and adding one B-side. There are no demos included, nor are there any live cuts or otherwise unreleased material. It would be unfair to say that such a meager reissue should be of any interest to those fans who have followed Lowe over the years but, still, it is a fine opportunity for a new audience to discover Lowe.
The focus on this reissue of Labour Of Lust is on great pop songs and Lowe's talent for writing them, which remains the singer's greatest. His first album (called The Jesus of Cool in Britain, and Pure Pop for Now People in the U.S.) demonstrated his versatility in the form, but often came off as parody (especially in the Bowieish "I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass" and the straight Bay City Rollers imitation "Rollers Show"). On Labour of Lust though, Lowe got serious and just wrote great songs.
Not that he toned down his somewhat twisted sense of humor, which was so predominant on Jesus of Cool though. "Born Fighter," "Switchboard Susan" and the hit "Cruel to be Kind" all demonstrate his wry wit. It is often subtle, but at times blatant, such as, "Girls like that bring a lump to my pocket" in "Born Fighter."
However, the jokes are less important than the hooks. He turns in a number of fine, straightforward love songs, such as "Without Love" and "Love So Fine." He also shows that he has a melancholy side in songs like "Endless Grey Ribbon” (about a long night drive) and "You Make Me."
In the end, this edition of Labour Of Lust is a rare reissue in that it seems more interested in reintroducing a forgotten classic and finding fans for it than in sucking yet another dollar out of the pockets of old fans. Let's hope it succeeds.
Artist:
www.nicklowe.net/
www.myspace.com/nicklowe4
www.facebook.com/pages/Nick-Lowe/112772378735871
Album:
The Labour Of Lust reissue is out now. Buy it here on Amazon .
