Nick Lowe / Labour of Lust (1979)

No doubt in future people will look back upon the crudeness of this review with some level of disgust. That being said one has to start somewhere. I have decided to start in that momentous year for music that was 1979, some would argue (myself included) not as momentous as the year preceding it but that is something for review in a much later article. The album I have chosen to review is Nick Lowe’s Labour of Lust, the injustice for an album of this calibre is that (Lowe being a English artist) the only song to be released as a single on our side of the Atlantic Ocean, and this song ended up being the only major US hit Lowe ever had. I will be reviewing the American release, as it is the one I own (for those of you interested the English version has a slightly different track arrangement, as well it contains the song Endless Grey Ribbon in the place of American Squirm). The album plays like a good classic record, part of this can be attributed to the fact that it receives little to no radio play in North American and that keeps the songs from being overplayed to the point of utter ruin. Overall the songs are in the general rating of 4/5 but several numbers are 5/5 with the exception of Switchboard Susan which contains a beat so cool and lyrics so neat that it is elevated to the level of 6/5. Lowe has managed to balance good rocking melodies with a few slower songs You Make Me. This results in the album having a much nicer feel from back to front and doesn’t result in the listener getting an overdose of rock (Yes it can happen, i.e REM’s Accelerate for one). A good, classic and solid album, worth the purchase if you see it and it will more than likely be under ten dollars.

Rating = Saturn Record

Sincerely;

T.R.Z. Oswald