NICK LOWE: LABOUR OF LUST [ESP 1979] LP EN GIRONA

NICK LOWE: LABOUR OF LUST [ESP 1979] LP NICK LOWE: LABOUR OF LUST [ESP 1979] LP Nick Lowe   "Labour Of Lust"  LP (Radar)  1979  made in Spain cat. num.  S 90.150 #rock  #pop rock   Cruel To Be Kind   Cracking Up   Big Kick, Plain Scrap!   Born Fighter   You Make Me   Skin Deep   Switchboard Susan   Endless Grey Ribbon   Without Love   Dose Of You   Love So Fine   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.