Nick Lowe

Related Content

• Top 15 Albums of 2011: Jason P. Woodbury
  December 15, 2011
• Top 10 Albums of 2011: Melissa Fossum
  December 22, 2011
• Nick Lowe's Labour of Lust Reissued At Last
  March 17, 2011
• The Past Solo Acts I Hope Influence Patrick Stump's New Solo Career
  August 18, 2011
• Nothing Not New: Podcast #10
  November 12, 2010

More About

• Nick Lowe
• Elvis Costello
• Brinsley Schwarz

Like this Story?

Sign up for the Music Newsletter: Keep your thumb on the local music scene with music features, additional online music listings and show picks. We'll also send special ticket offers and music promotions available only to our Music Newsletter subscribers.

Privacy Policy Cancel Continue

In the midst of his career renaissance as the silver-fox master of many musical milieus comes the 30th anniversary reissue of Nick Lowe's debut solo album. Jesus of Cool has been restored to its original title and running order after first seeing life in the U.S. as Pure Pop for Now People. In the liner notes of the new edition, Lowe says he and his manager cribbed the title from a music journalist's description of him. "We thought it was ludicrous but fantastic, an outrageous thing to say." Equally outrageous is how well the material has held up for three decades — a testament to Lowe's solid skills as a songwriter. After years as a driving force of England's pub rock scene with the band Brinsley Schwarz, Lowe aligned himself with his nation's emerging punk movement — producing early recordings by The Damned, Elvis Costello, and others — and reinvented himself musically as well. Jesus put him at the forefront of the nascent New Wave with signature songs such as "I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass" and "So It Goes." The reissue features a generous 10 bonus tracks from the same period. Best of all, this disc is slated to be the beginning of a long overdue Lowe reissue series.