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Product details

Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ Sony
Manufacturer reference ‏ : ‎ V1
Label ‏ : ‎ Sony
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01G9A7RU0

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4.6 104 ratings

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Gary M. Wilson

Good CD

Reviewed in Canada on May 23, 2019

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What you would want from a member of Rockpile

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Patrick Earley

NOW THIS IS POP MUSIC I CAN SINK MY TEETH INTO

Reviewed in Canada on April 30, 2001

Nick Lowe not only has produced some of the best groundbreaking albums by the likes of Graham Parker and Elvis Costello, he's also made a few great records himself. His first 2 albums were especially strong. "PURE POP FOR NOW PEOPLE", also named "JESUS OF COOL", and his second "LABOUR OF LUST" were his best works and are amply represented here by the first 14 songs. The rest of this material are from his later weaker albums. But even those albums had a few hidden gems, such as HALF A BOY AND HALF A MAN", THE ROSE OF ENGLAND, AND I KNEW THE BRIDE, which Dave Edmunds made a hit out of a few years earlier. It's hard for me to pick a favorite from these 2 early albums, I've got so many. I can tell you the 2 songs that really stick you in the ribs from the first album are SO IT GOES, in which Lowe blatantly rips off the hook to Steely Dan's REELING IN THE YEARS, and the Chuck Berry driven HEART OF THE CITY, both of which were singles for Lowe. A couple good songs off his second album is AMERICAN SQUIRM, which was another single, and the crazy Mickey Jupp rockabilly song SWITHCHBOARD SUSAN. His biggest hit was CRUEL TO BE KIND, a mid-tempo song that I remember getting alot of airplay when it first came out, but didn't stick around long. Ever since his days with the British pub rock band Brinsley Schwarz, Lowe has honed his musicial skills. He throws every kind of musical influence into his music. If you like rockabilly, soul, Motown, country, or blues, well Nick Lowe does it all. I know first hand this guy is an old accomplished workhorse musician. I once saw him when he came to Oklahoma City in the mid 80's with his band 'THE COWBOY OUTFIT". In the middle of their show the electricity that powered the bands musical instuments went out. Instead of stopping the show, Nick Lowe pulled out his acoustic guitar, and with nothing but a spotlight shining down on him, did 30 minutes of some of the best unrehearsed pop music I've ever heard come out of one person. I was sitting in the back of that big auditorium and could hear every word that he sang without a microphone. When the juice came back on, the band started playing again without missing a beat. I never forgot that night, and became an even bigger Nick Lowe fan that I already was. Nick Lowe has never been a big moneymaking artist, but at least he got a little recognition in 1992 when Curtis Stigers did a cover of his song 'WHAT'S SO FUNNY BOUT' PEACE, LOVE, AND UNDERSTANDING", which was included in the popular soundtrack THE BODYGUARD. The royalities from that song earned Lowe a nice little 7 figure check. Sometimes there is a little justice in this world. If you like pure pop music, but without the bubblegum that usually comes with it, I highly recommend you get this 77 minute 25 track essential Nick Lowe, and discover a true pop talent.

One person found this helpful

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T. E. Hibdon

.....It's All True

Reviewed in Canada on January 6, 2004

What other reviewers have written is all true. "Basher" hits all the high spots of Nick's most "commercial" period, from late 70's to the late 80's. That is if ANY part of Nicks carreer can be called "commercial". Others have pointed out that 14 tracks come from his first two solo albums, which are definately his strongest, but if you only have the cash to get one Nick Lowe CD, "Basher" is it.
Something to consider: Nick had already been "Bashing" it out in the pubs for over 10 years, produced Elvis Costello, produced the Damned, and as in-house producer/engineer at Stiff Records, been one of a handful of people that catapulted the D.I.Y. ethos of punk into the mainstream of the listening public.... All of this BEFORE the release of his first solo effort. Also make note of Nick's "supergroup" resume, both Rockpile, AND Little Village
Nick is not the songwriter Elvis Costello, or Bob Dylan is, but he is a journeyman at his craft. He can groove a bassline, put a hook to it, and weave some catchy words in, and before you know it, you are singing along, even if it is more "campy" than "classic" (A La current popsters Fountains of Wayne). Nick was not above borrowing from others' (a riff here, a hook there), but did so out in the open, and was up front about it. Many of his songs were written with tongue firmly in cheek, with a kind of British wit, that I have to do a double-take on, to check if he is joking or not. Truly an underappreciated artist of the punk/new wave era. Go buy this record.

Reviewed in Canada on August 1, 2000

Nick Lowe may be best known as the producer of the best of Elvis Costello's 70's & early 80's albums, but he has crafted some the smartest & wittiest music around. Lowe came out of the early 70's English pub-rock scene, playing in the genre's biggest group, Brinsley Swarz. After he left the band, he released his first solo record, "So It Goes". It was also the first ever release on the seminal label Stiff Records. The song set the mold for which Lowe would follow for much of his career. The lyrics on the surface appear to be somewhat humorous but underneath they are laced with cynism. Other great songs include "American Squirm", "Marie Provost" which tells of an old movie star who died and the police found her half-eaten by her dog, "Little Hitler", "Cracking Up", "Heart Of The City", the reggae remake of his Rockpile song "Heart", the rockbilly of "Half A Boy, Half A Man", the pretty country-flavored "Without Love" and his only hit in America, "Cruel To Be Kind", which is one of the most overlooked hit songs of the 70's. The album is sequenced in chronilogical order and some the later songs are weak, especially compared to the early stuff, but one cannot complain when you get 25 songs on a single cd. If you love Nick Lowe, this album is indepensible and if you are unfamiliar with him, it is more than worth checking out.

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Eppy

Getting High on Nick Lowe

Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2023

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Great writer and musician.

Tim Brough

Hall of Famer deserves better

Reviewed in the United States on September 21, 2007

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One of music's little indignities is that your greatest achievements wind up disappearing if the curators don't give a damn. Such is the case with Nick Lowe, a criminally underrated artist who helped shape the sound of the 80's. His production work with the likes of Elvis Costello and Graham Parker all but defined New Wave, his work with Rockpile is perfect and his solo albums always had reasons to actively listen.

Alas, from that classic period, this is all that remains domestically available. "Basher" (a nickname he earned for his production methods, famously described by Elvis Costello as "a fader in one hand and a vodka bottle in the other") is 25 songs from 8 albums, the first 14 from "Jesus of Cool/Pure Pop For Now People" and "Labour Of Lust." His best known song, "Cruel to be Kind" is here in all its pure pop glory, along with such proto-punk material like "I Love The Sound of Breaking Glass" from the Stiff record days. There's the perversely witty "Marie Provost" ("she was a winner that became the doggie's dinner") and "Cracking Up" as well.

After that, each album gets a slim pick or two ( The Rose of England manages four) and only one solitary track from Rockpile's " Seconds of Pleasure " (and not even "Teacher Teacher!"). There's some cool pubrock/rockabilly like "Half a Boy and Half a Man" (should have been a hit!) and "7 Nights to Rock" which belies the depth of later albums. This leaves off a great deal of interesting songs ("Stick it Where The Sun Don't Shine" and "The Beast in Me" would have made my list) and stops when Lowe left Columbia for "Party of One." Lowe is one of those heritage artists who deserves a double "Essentials" collection, and his golden albums should be available to all.

Which leads to my final comments: Why is Lowe yet to be even nominated for The Rock and Roll Hall of fame? He is the architect of a lot of the sound we came to identify as a decade, even to where Huey Lewis is a producer on "I Knew The Bride" (and once covered it) and such luminaries as John Hiatt and Paul Carrack make appearances. The other is that this album is a 1989 master of songs that you can't get anywhere else. Lowe deserves better.

9 people found this helpful

Bartman

High Lowe !

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 11, 2016

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A good retrospective of an iconic British artist. I still have the original albums on vinyl but this is convenient collection all in one place.

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Lothar Gürtner

Gute CD

Reviewed in Germany on April 7, 2020

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hier ging es mir nur um ein Lied. Aber alleine für den Titel hat es sich gelohnt die CD zu Kaufen. Half a Boy & half a man ist vom Feinsten.

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Mr Producer

Great

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 7, 2020

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Brilliant album

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Basher: The Best of Nick Lowe by Nick Lowe

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