Nick Lowe - Labour of Lust (Reissue)
Tuesday, March 15, 2011 at 5:10PM
Out of print for more than twenty years and never released digitally, Brit pub-rocker turner New Wave maven Nick Lowe's Labour Of Lust makes a long overdue return in a newly remastered and expanded version today via Yep Roc. The house producer of the legendary Stiff label in England (home to The Pretenders and Elvis Costello, for whom he wrote "What's So Funny About Peace, Love and Understanding"), Lowe is not only a revered partriarch of the late 70's pioneering music scene in London he is a gifted songwriter and performer who still tours regularly and releases new albums periodically. Labour of Lust is a classic of the era, a smart, lyrically acidic and gloriously ironic-free slice of inspired fun and loosely controlled pop mayhem.
The centerpiece of Lowe's Lust is "Cruel to Be Kind", a Top 15 U.S. hit and gem of New Wave glory (the smarter, neater brother of the concurrent 70's punk movement) -- jangley guitars and sweet, slightly ragged harmonies that managed to recall British skiffley pub-stool strum-pop and distinctively U.S. influences (The Byrds, The Beachboys) simultaneously. It was (and still is), Lowe reflects, "a cool little tune". True to his nickname The Basher, Lowe's music had a loose, spontaneous feel, his studio band Rockpile (with Dave Edmunds) adding a perfectly honed edge. The Labour of Lust reissue contains the original American version of the album plus the U.K. only track "Endless Grey Ribbon" and b-side "Basing Street" along with a 12-page booklet of period pix, notes and essays.
Nick Lowe - "Cruel to Be Kind" (from Labour of Lust)
Nick Lowe - "Endless Grey Ribbon" (from Labour of Lust)
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