Labour of Lust

Nick Lowe | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 15, 2011)
• Original Release Date: 2011
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Yep Roc Records
• ASIN: B004K9HIXO
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #26,198 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

As the bassist and primary songwriter for Brinsley Schwarz, Nick Lowe was one of the catalysts of the pub rock phenomenon in the early 1970s. As the co-founder and house producer at Stiff Records, he would help create the blueprint for the modern indie rock label and usher in British punk and new wave, helming historic recordings for The Damned, Elvis Costello, and The Pretenders. Here, his landmark second solo album Labour of Lust gets the deluxe reissue treatment, sporting an expanded 12pg. booklet with period photos, new essays and artwork by groundbreaking graphic artist Barney Bubbles. The reissue also includes Nick's biggest US hit ''Cruel To Be Kind'', the originally U.K.-only ''Endless Grey Ribbon'' and U.S.-only ''American Squirm''; plus bonus B-side ''Basing Street.'' LOL is the only of Lowe's solo albums to hold the distinction of featuring Nick's Rockpile cohorts Dave Edmunds, Billy Bremner and Terry Williams on every track. Originally released in 1979 and out of print for nearly twenty years, the album has been remastered from the original source, reintroducing this masterpiece to a new generation of pop music obsessives.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars The LOWEst! November 10, 2002

By Gregor von Kallahann

Format:Audio CD

A local radio station specializing in music of the 60s, 70s and 80s (after recently dropping its 50s playlist and "Oldies" tag) included Nick Lowe and his "Cruel to Be Kind" on a recent "One Hit Wonders" weekend. Technically, that's true I guess. But for those of us whose perspective on rock music goes a bit further than the U.S. Top Forty, Nick Lowe deserves a little more respect and recognition than this benighted station was bestowing.

Anyone with at least a passing knowledge of rock history knows that Nick Lowe was a seminal figure in late 70s New Wave. As a producer, solo artist and band member (Rockpile), his contribution to that underappreciated genre (more tuneful than straight-on punk, truer to the spirit of rock 'n' roll than all that arena rock junk) cannot be emphasized enough. As good a songwriter and performer as Elvis Costello or Joe Jackson, he never got the recognition he deserved--at least on this side of the Big Pond.

"Cruel To Be Kind" was indeed pure pop for now (and "then") people, but the album itself was much rockier, and thematically edgier than the hit single might imply. "Born Fighter," "Switchboard Susan," and "Skin Deep" are bristling rockers. "Big Kick, Plain Scrap," a cooler, slower talk-song is a fairly frank, non-condemnatory drug song (not TOTALLY condemnatory anway) which probably didn't exactly enhance the likelihood of the album's getting more extensive airplay. Neither do the numerous not-so-ambiguous double-entendres in any number of songs on the record.

Nick Lowe seems to be enjoying a comeback of sorts as a dapper elder statesman of rock 'n' roll. I caught him at a festival last summer on his tour backing THE CONVINCER. The audience didn't need much convincing, however. As rockers go, Nick Lowe is the genuine article. If you're a newcomer to his music LABOUR OF LUST is a great place to start. But don't stop there. There's a whole catalog of material from the 80s and 80s to explore. And maybe...just maybe...someone will see fit to release his first solo record PURE POP FOR NOW PEOPLE on CD sometime in the near future.

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A unique pop-rock classic August 9, 2000

By bruce horner

Format:Audio CD

It says something about the state of the world that this classic pop-rock album is now apparently available only as an import. According to the track listing, this import includes "Endless Grey Ribbon", a B-side ballad not on the U.S. release, but lacks "American Squirm" one of the best songs on the album. If this is true it would be a shame, but if you can't find a used vinyl copy this is still worth it. If the freak hit "Cruel To Be Kind" drove you crazy in 1979-80, songs such as "Cracking Up" or "Dose of You" or "Love So Fine" should take the curse off, and are each worth the price of admission alone. Layered acoustic and electric guitars, snappy melodies, excellent drumming, hooks galore, and (this being Nick Lowe) double entendres, puns and sick jokes all make for a hugely enjoyable, obsessively replayable album. Aside from "Cruel To Be Kind" Lowe's brand of pop irony never caught on with the public, but critics at the time assumed he would continue to release albums of this level of quality. Eleven years later, he did, with Party of One.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Rockpile CD December 12, 2003

By A Customer

Format:Audio CD

Jesus of Cool was a jukebox, spinning out a series of perfectly crafted - and decidedly quirky and subversive - pop singles. In contrast, Nick Lowe's second album, Labour of Lust, is the work of a bar band, in this case Rockpile, playing the hell out of the same type of songs. Naturally, the result is a more coherent sound that may be a little less freewheelingly eclectic, but it is no less brilliant. Recorded simultaneously with Dave Edmunds' Repeat When Necessary, Labour of Lust benefits from the muscular support of Rockpile, who make Lowe's songs crackle with vitality. Working primarily in the roots rock vein of Brinsley Schwarz but energizing his traditionalist tendencies with strong pop melodies, a sense of humor, and an edgy new wave sensibility, Lowe comes up with one of his best sets of songs. Not only is his only hit, the propulsively hook-laden "Cruel to Be Kind," here, but so are the rampaging outsider anthem "Born Fighter," the tongue-in-cheek, Chuck Berry-style "Love So Fine," the wonderful pure pop of "Dose of You," the haunting "Endless Grey Ribbon," the druggy "Big Kick, Plain Scrap!," and the terrific "Cracking Up," as well as his definitive version of Mickey Jupp's "Switchboard Susan." It's an exceptional collection of inventive pop songs, delivered with vigor and energy, making it one of the great records of the new wave. - Stephen Thomas, AMG