Labour of Lust | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 9 June 1979 [1] | |||
Recorded | 1978–1979 | |||
Studio | Eden, London; Love, Helsinki, Finland (except: "American Squirm": 1978) | |||
Genre | Power pop [2] | |||
Length | 32:40 | |||
Label | Radar (UK), Columbia (US) | |||
Producer | Nick Lowe | |||
Nick Lowe chronology | ||||
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Labour of Lust is an album by British singer-songwriter Nick Lowe. Produced by Lowe, it was released in 1979 by Radar Records in the UK and Columbia Records in the US. It was recorded and released at the same time as Dave Edmunds' Repeat When Necessary and features the same Rockpile personnel. It led off with "Cruel to Be Kind," Lowe's only major US hit.
The American version of this record had a slightly different track listing, with "Endless Grey Ribbon" being deleted and replaced with the UK single A-side, "American Squirm." The latter song includes members of Elvis Costello & The Attractions, namely Elvis Costello on backing vocals, Bruce Thomas on bass and Pete Thomas on drums. Credited to "Nick Lowe and His Sound," the B-side of this single was Elvis & The Attractions' version of the Lowe-penned "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding?" "Endless Grey Ribbon" was later issued in America as the B-side of the "Cruel to Be Kind" single.
Labour of Lust was released on CD in 1990 by Demon/Fiend in Europe and Columbia in North America, but quickly fell out of print. Yep Roc Records reissued the album on CD on 15 March 2011, containing all tracks from the US and UK versions, as well as "Basing Street," the B-side of both the UK single "Cracking Up" and the North American single "Switchboard Susan."
The album cover and corresponding ad campaign was designed by Barney Bubbles, who designed the artwork for virtually all of the early albums and 45's by Lowe, Elvis Costello, Ian Dury, the Damned, and many other Stiff Records and Radar Records artists. It featured a distinctive "Hamer & sickle" logo, fashioning the body and snapped neck of Lowe's Hamer bass guitar into a pop-art Hammer and sickle, the symbol of proletarian solidarity from the Russian Revolution. This logo was also used on the sleeve of the 45 release of "Cracking Up." Bubbles's original mockup of the logo, which recently sold at auction, [3] is featured in the gatefold sleeve of the 2011 Yep Roc reissue of the album.
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [4] |
American Songwriter | [5] |
The A.V. Club | A− [6] |
Pitchfork | 8.4/10 [7] |
Record Collector | [8] |
Rolling Stone | [9] |
Smash Hits | 7/10 [10] |
Spin | 7/10 [11] |
Spin Alternative Record Guide | 8/10 [12] |
The Village Voice | A [13] |
The Globe and Mail wrote that "Lowe's ear for background is, in its own contemporary way, as inventive and dramatic as Phil Spector's was 15 years ago." [14] The New York Times deemed Labour of Lust one of 1979's "most exuberant and finely crafted rock-and-roll albums." [15]
All songs written by Nick Lowe except where noted.
Chart (1979) | Peak position |
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Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [16] | 53 |
Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [17] | 21 |
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [18] | 20 |
UK Albums (OCC) [19] | 43 |
US Billboard 200 [20] | 32 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Canada (Music Canada) [21] | Gold | 50,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Nicholas Drain Lowe is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in pub rock, power pop and new wave, Lowe has recorded a string of well-reviewed solo albums. Along with being a vocalist, Lowe plays guitar, bass guitar, piano and harmonica.
Armed Forces is the third studio album by the English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, released on 5 January 1979 in the United Kingdom through Radar Records. It was his second album with the Attractions—keyboardist Steve Nieve, bassist Bruce Thomas and drummer Pete Thomas —and the first to officially credit them on the cover. The album was recorded in six weeks from August to September 1978 in London under the working title Emotional Fascism. Produced by Nick Lowe and engineered by Roger Béchirian, the sessions saw Costello exert more control over production compared to This Year's Model, while Nieve contributed more to song arrangements.
Untouched Takeaway is an album by British singer-songwriter Nick Lowe. A live recording produced by Lowe and Neil Brockbank, it was released in 2004 by Yep Roc Records. The name is from the song "Lately I've Let Things Slide" from Lowe's album The Convincer:
Repeat When Necessary is the fifth album by Welsh rock musician Dave Edmunds. Produced by Edmunds, it was released in 1979 by Swan Song Records. It was recorded and released at the same time as Nick Lowe's Labour of Lust, and features the same lineup of musicians: Edmunds, Lowe, Billy Bremner and Terry Williams.
"(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding" is a 1974 song written by English singer/songwriter Nick Lowe. Initially released by Lowe with his band Brinsley Schwarz on their 1974 album The New Favourites of... Brinsley Schwarz, the song was released as a single and did not chart.
Rockpile was a British rock and roll band of the late 1970s and early 1980s, noted for their strong pub rock, rockabilly and power pop influences, and as a foundational influence on new wave. The band consisted of Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe, Billy Bremner and Terry Williams (drums).
The Best of Elvis Costello and the Attractions is a 1985 compilation album by English musician Elvis Costello and his backing band the Attractions, the first of what would be many career-spanning compilation albums of previously released material for Costello.
Nick the Knife is the third solo album by Nick Lowe, released in 1982 and his first since the 1981 breakup of his band Rockpile.
Roger Béchirian is an English engineer and record producer. Béchirian was a key player in the British new wave scene of the late 1970s and early 1980s, best known for his work with Nick Lowe, Paul Carrack, Elvis Costello, The Undertones, Dave Edmunds, The Monkees, the Flamin' Groovies, and Squeeze. He was also a member of the pseudonymous new wave group Blanket of Secrecy, which issued one album in 1982. More recently, Béchirian has worked with the Trashcan Sinatras and Bell X1.
"Everyday I Write the Book" is a song written by Elvis Costello, from Punch the Clock, an album released in 1983 by Elvis Costello and the Attractions. It peaked at 28 on the UK Singles Chart and was their first top 40 hit single in the U.S., peaking at No. 36 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Quiet Please... The New Best of Nick Lowe is a 49-track career-spanning collection of songs written by British songwriter Nick Lowe. As well as his solo work, it also features many of his collaborations with the likes of Rockpile, Brinsley Schwarz, Paul Carrack and Little Village. The compilation was released by Proper Records in the UK and Europe and by Yep Roc in the US. The collection was compiled by Gregg Geller.
"Cruel to Be Kind" is a song co-written by Nick Lowe and his former bandmate Ian Gomm while the pair were in Brinsley Schwarz. The song only appeared as a 1978 B-side until Columbia Records convinced Lowe to rerecord it as a potential solo single. Musically, the song was inspired by "The Love I Lost" by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, an influence reflected in more recent performances of the song.
"Switchboard Susan" is a song written by Mickey Jupp and recorded by Nick Lowe for his 1979 album, Labour of Lust. The song was produced by Lowe.
"I Knew the Bride (When She Used to Rock 'n' Roll)" is a song written by Nick Lowe and first popularized by Dave Edmunds. It was released on Edmunds's 1977 album Get It and a year later in a live version by Nick Lowe's Last Chicken in the Shop on Live Stiffs Live.
"Girls Talk" is a new wave song written by Elvis Costello and first recorded by Dave Edmunds in 1978. Costello gave an early version of the song to Edmunds, who reworked the song and released it on his album Repeat When Necessary. Edmunds' version peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart and number 12 in Ireland, becoming one of Edmunds' most successful career singles.
Basher: The Best of Nick Lowe is a 1989 compilation album by British singer-songwriter Nick Lowe.
Nick Lowe is an English singer-songwriter, musician, and producer. His discography consists of 14 studio albums, 1 live album, 3 EPs, 23 singles, and 6 compilations. In addition, he has been a performer and producer on numerous albums by other artists.
Austin de Lone is an American keyboardist who records and tours with his own bands as well as with other artists, such as Bill Kirchen, Elvis Costello, Bonnie Raitt, Boz Scaggs, Nick Lowe, Commander Cody, and Loudon Wainwright.
Love Starvation / Trombone is an EP from British singer-songwriter Nick Lowe. It is Lowe's second EP to feature the American surf rock band, Los Straitjackets, as his backing band. The EP was released on May 17, 2019 through Yep Roc Records. It reached #7 on Billboard's Americana/Folk Albums chart, #28 on the Independent Albums chart, and #31 on the Current Rock Albums chart.
"Without Love" is a song by Nick Lowe from his 1979 studio album Labour of Lust.