Basher is back with another great CD! (Nick Lowe's rough, ragged production style earned him the nickname "Basher.")

I wonder what the musical landscape of the US would have looked like had this CD been better marketed when it initially came out. Jesus of Cool is one kewell CD, and if it had more airplay thirty years ago — well, one can only dream. However, with its precedent-establishing sound, and better circulation in 1978, I think the musical landscape would have looked very different than it has over these years.

Lowe writes and records a lot of pop songs, though they're generally not the same sappy, stupid sounding pop that permeated the airwaves then or now. Consequently, you may have to forage a little in order to find a station that plays his catchy, sometimes goofy songs that are usually uplifting and good, straight ahead rock and roll. Between the breakup of Brinsley Schwarz, Lowe's former group, and the original issue of this CD, Lowe recorded under aliases such as Tartan Horde and Disco Bros, and he co-founded Stiff Records, "... providing a blueprint for the modern indie-rock label in the process," according to the tout sheet that accompanied it.

Lowe's played with, performed live with, and produced a wide variety of performers, and his music shows it. It's all generally good pop-rock music, but it's often got a crazy hook, or a quirky title or line. Yet, it's always the type of music that makes you smile for a thousand different reasons. But because he's the Johnny Appleseed of music, he's generally not as known or as famous, even among his fans. Lowe's only real hit was "Cruel to Be Kind," and then he dropped out of pop circles, yet managed to keep up a string of critical praise and a very strong cult following.

But anybody who can produce recordings for the Pretenders, Elvis Costello, Doctor Feelgood, Graham Parker, and The Damned, and play in a group with Ry Cooder, John Hiatt and Jim Keltner, has got the panache to do damned near anything he wants in the music world. What allowed him to completely break out on his own was when he accidentally became a millionaire by way of one of his songs, "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding" being used in the soundtrack of the movie The Bodyguard, which turned out to be the best-selling soundtrack of all time. Mention the name of that song and 99 of 100 people would either credit the film or Elvis Costello for it.

This guy's so good that even a song he wrote that was meant to be sappy and generally bad, "Rollers Show," freakily turned out as a major hit in Japan, and then caught on in various countries around the globe. The song was written when Lowe was attempting to branch out on his own and break a contract with a record label.