Brilliant, twisted, sophisticated

Lowe's 1978 solo debut glorious new phase in his career started in the wake of his departure from the pub rock band, Brinsley Schwarz. As part of the pub rock Lowe had demonstrated his songwriting prowess, but in the mid-70s he moved away from Brinsley's country rock sound and towards a leaner, quirkier pop style. A pair of pre-Jesus singles (credited to The Tartan Horde and The Disco Brothers) turned out to be a lot more than vehicles for breaking his contract with United Artists.



In contrast to the staccato material he produced for Elvis Costello, The Pretenders, The Damned and others, Lowe's early singles and solo debut featured finely crafted pop songs whose melodies and production styles had more in common with the Brill Building than the then-burgeoning punk-rock scene. Still, even as he was crafting maddeningly catchy pop melodies, Lowe's quirky lyrical content (e.g., the untidy demise of a faded silent film star in "Marie Provost" and scathing rebukes of the music industry) wasn't exactly Ronettes material.



Demon's CD reissue adds two bonus tracks to the original UK album's eleven: "They Called It Rock" is a lyric rewrite of "Shake and Pop," and "Rollers Show" is the A-side of the earlier Tartan Horde single. Both of these tracks appeared on the U.S. edition of this album (which was retitled "Pure Pop for Now People"). All that's missing is the studio version of "Heart of the City" that appeared on the U.S. release. No matter - the original album was worthy of five stars all by itself.

Pure Magic

Being a 13 year old boy from Sweden, captured by Elvis Costello's "This Years Model" , I bought this soley on the strength of it being on the same label. My education begins with this L.P. Yes; I loved the Beatles, but I needed something to bring their sentiment forward in time. Jesus of Cool did it for me as it will for you. Honestly; If you don't like this record, then perhaps, you don't like music. Just tonight (Sep. 10 2004) I saw him again in Minneapolis and that sentiment still holds true. True class. Do yourself a favor and buy this (along with "Labour of Lust")and live happiply ever after. Don't ignore his last 3 albums either. They'll leave you wanting for nothing more.



Patrik

The Rapture

After performing with Brinsley Schwarz during the early 70s, Lowe breaks out of the country-influenced BS albums and recorded this album more faithful to the general rock genre. Most interesting about this album is that it is very eclectic - no song really sounds like the previous or the next so it is difficult to define a 'Nick Lowe sound.' Although parts of the album may seem odd or grating at first, upon enough listenings they will definitely grow on you.



It's difficult to pick any particular song as being the best, but "Marie Provost" is probably the best known (and funniest) on the album and a true story to boot. "Rollers Show" ridicules the fans of the Bay City Rollers, a 70s version of modern boy bands like N'Sync. "Shake and Pop" and its fraternal twin song are the best songs about one-hit wonders and the fickleness of the music industry.



Although it lacks the emotional intensity of the early Elvis Costello albums (produced by Lowe), this is definitely a must-have for any devotee of English music in the late 1970s.