The Basher

They Called It Rock (1978)
Nutted by Reality (1978)

These songs are taken from Nick Lowe's first solo album. If you lived in the States in '78 it was called Pure Pop For Now People. If you lived in the UK, it was called Jesus of Cool. The albums are identical with the exception of "Shake and Pop," which appears to only be on Jesus of Cool.

My fascination from Nick Lowe came through his body of work, most notably some people he produced. One of those people, Elvis Costello, has a number of records on my "favorite records of all-time" list...so I figured that the guy who is producing all of these records might not be too bad on his own. Not to mention the fact that he was a member of Rockpile, a band that I liked long before I realized who Nick Lowe is.

Needless to say, thanks to his work with Costello, Rockpile, and The Damned, when I saw this LP at a store, it was a must-have. The album does not disappoint--12 tracks that have fun and intelligent lyrics surrounded by well-crafted instrumentation. Lowe's wit and intelligence is apparent throughout the album, especially on the track "Nutted by Reality."

Nick Lowe still performs and had a live album come out some time last year. His official site has all the updated information about him and his projects. This album joins the long list of albums that should be reissued but won't (another example is Al Kooper's entire solo back catalog...however, that rant will be saved for another post). Enjoy.