Early masterpiece from musical genius

This wonderful album from 1978 was one of that year's best offerings and remains a classic. The music covers a wide variety of pop and rock styles but every song is blessed with a catchy tune and witty, intelligent lyrics. In addition, the album has a sharp punk edge to it that made it stand out then and now. The only other artist doing the same thing back then was Elvis Costello.

So It Goes is a bouncy little pop tune, whilst I Love The Sound Of Breaking Glass has an eerie air of desperation about it, like it was the answer to David Bowie's Breaking Glass on his Low album from 1977. Tonight is beautiful melodic pop and Marie Provost is a weird tale of the silent screen actress who fell into obscurity when the talkies came in and how she was nibbled on by her lapdog before they found her body. If it weren't for the engaging melody and lyrical twists the song would have been rather macabre.

Heart Of The City is heavy rock, whilst Little Hitler (co-written by Dave Edmunds) is a quirky little pop song in the same vein as Elvis Costello's Two Little Hitlers on his Armed forces album from around the same time. Nutted By Reality is another witty, humorous pop song with a great melody and Music For Money ends this masterpiece of an album on a pounding rock note.

I think Nick lowe was a member of a UK pub-rock band Rockpile before he went solo with this classic album, which was released under different titles in the UK and USA. The UK version was called Jesus Of Cool. I subsequently rediscovered Nick Lowe in the 1990s when I heard his brilliant work The Impossible Bird, an album of totally unique country music containing some of that decade's most memorable and well crafted songs. You just cannot keep a true genius down!

The pure pleasure of pop music

I was a nick lowe fan from the first time I heard him do, What's so funny about peace love and understanding? He has satire in his aproach to pop music and manages to keep the sugar of pop mixed with a liitle dose of dry humor to temper it. He plays with words like a great chef deals with spice. He adds enough to make it taste good but not too much to overpower it and let the taste come thru. Anyone who can spoof Castro and Hitler on the the same disc has the world view for breakfast. This disc is a trip thru the world of pop by a purveayor of purloined prose. Well worth your time to track down a copy.