http://blogcritics.org/ A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, politics, and technology - updated continuously. en Copyright 2005-2007 by the authors Mon, 28 Apr 2008 09:30:20 EDT http://backend.userland.com/rss Blogcritics.org custom software http://blogcritics.org/archives/2008/04/27/005825.php#comment-713942 Sorry for the triple post. Sluggish computer tricked me... 713942@blogcritics.org Mon, 28 Apr 2008 09:30:20 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2008/04/27/005825.php#comment-713941 Nice review, Lou. There can never be enough Nick Lowe in the world, in my opinion. Nick himself denies that he was ever a punk rocker -- he hated that sound, though he appreciated the "mischief" that came with it (and committed a fair bit of mischief himself in the Stiff Records heyday). But you're right about one thing: this record never got its due when it came out 30 years ago, either in the UK or here -- it wasn't just because of the stupid alternative title his US label saddled it with. Maybe it would have changed the musical landscape; on the other hand, I doubt other musicians could have followed Nick's lead. Behind all the goofiness, these are incredibly solid and yet inventive pop songs -- it takes real craft to write things like this. There's been a lot of press about Nick as the godfather of punk, but he was equally a godfather of power pop, yet very little of that genre ever was this good either. I'm glad this is back in print; YepRoc says they're going to follow it up with re-releases of his other 70s and 80s solo efforts, which I assume means we can expect Labour of Lust in the near future. A word of warning, though -- fans who've attended Nick's current US shows expecting him to perform numbers from Jesus of Cool will be disappointed (except for the occasional rendition of Heart of the City). Nick's current thing, as At My Age demonstrates, is a mix of vintage R&B and country-soul; he plays an acoustic solo show that's wonderful indeed, but not very Jesus-of-Coolish. The man actually has had the temerity to evolve throughout his career, which is probably lousy marketing, but great artistry. 713941@blogcritics.org Mon, 28 Apr 2008 09:25:54 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2008/04/27/005825.php#comment-713940 Nice review, Lou. There can never be enough Nick Lowe in the world, in my opinion. Nick himself denies that he was ever a punk rocker -- he hated that sound, though he appreciated the "mischief" that came with it (and committed a fair bit of mischief himself in the Stiff Records heyday). But you're right about one thing: this record never got its due when it came out 30 years ago, either in the UK or here -- it wasn't just because of the stupid alternative title his US label saddled it with. Maybe it would have changed the musical landscape; on the other hand, I doubt other musicians could have followed Nick's lead. Behind all the goofiness, these are incredibly solid and yet inventive pop songs -- it takes real craft to write things like this. There's been a lot of press about Nick as the godfather of punk, but he was equally a godfather of power pop, yet very little of that genre ever was this good either. I'm glad this is back in print; YepRoc says they're going to follow it up with re-releases of his other 70s and 80s solo efforts, which I assume means we can expect Labour of Lust in the near future. A word of warning, though -- fans who've attended Nick's current US shows expecting him to perform numbers from Jesus of Cool will be disappointed (except for the occasional rendition of Heart of the City). Nick's current thing, as At My Age demonstrates, is a mix of vintage R&B and country-soul; he plays an acoustic solo show that's wonderful indeed, but not very Jesus-of-Coolish. The man actually has had the temerity to evolve throughout his career, which is probably lousy marketing, but great artistry. 713940@blogcritics.org Mon, 28 Apr 2008 09:25:36 EDT