A dollar changed my outlook

The year was 1989 when I bought this album for a buck in Chicago at a garage sale. I already knew that I loved Costello and Lowe and Squeeze. At first, I found the songs catchy, easy to live with. Then they grew on me exponentially and it became clear that Nick Lowe had the ability to take his Buddy Holly and his 1960s American country music influences and turn them into catchier british grooves with sardonic lyrics. Listen closely to the play on the blues and rockabilly beats. This is one of my top three favorite albums of all time. As much as I love Costello, I am not sure he would have been what he was without Lowe.

Give me a C, a bouncy C!

The highest compliment I can pay Nick Lowe is that whenever I put on some of his songs, people who have no idea who he is like it almost instantly and ask "who is this guy?". I can't say that for other favorites of mine like Elvis Costello and Graham Parker, whose harsher styles and voices turn off many listeners before they can appreciate the depth of the songwriting.

This is a great album for fans of Mr. Lowe who prefer his rockin' easily accessible music to the more morose slower paced crooner songs he's into now. From the opening drumbeat, these songs have your toe tapping. Lowe combines a great sense of humor and a unique smooth singing voice to make songs that just make you smile. The Production is typically Nick Lowe....low-tech, and those who prefer a crisper "sound" may be disappointed. My favorites are "stick it where the sun don't shine" and "burnin", but most of the songs are good ones.

Sounds like a death rattle....

I was already turned on to Nick Lowe from Labour of Lust and Pure Pop/Jesus of Cool. Of course, the foray into the works of other artists and bands, in which Nick had active and/or behind the scenes impact, created a large and diverse section of my old LP collection. When Nick the Knife came out, the band was different, the sound was different, the lyrics were classic and edgy Lowe. I purchased a new German import of the album and was enchanted. The songs have pop-hooks for the most part, but they are still unique and, to me, are hard to categorize. My favorite Lowe song of all time is "My Heart Hurts" on this record. I have to agree with some of the other reviewers for this and other Lowe records that he has become somewhat blue and morose, so I have to admit I'm partial to the "First Half" ouvre.