Labour of Lust
Labour of Lust is an album by British singer-songwriter Nick Lowe. Also 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.
Labour of Lust | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 9 June 1979[1] | |||
Recorded | 1978-1979 | |||
Studio | Eden Studios, London, England; Love Studios, Helsinki, Finland (except: "American Squirm": 1978) | |||
Genre | New wave, pub rock | |||
Length | 32:40 | |||
Label | Radar (UK) Columbia (US) Demon (UK reissue) Proper Records (2011 UK reissue) Yep Roc (2011 US reissue) | |||
Producer | Nick Lowe | |||
Nick Lowe chronology | ||||
|
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
American Songwriter | |
The A.V. Club | A−[4] |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | |
Pitchfork | 8.4/10[6] |
Rolling Stone | |
Spin | 7/10[8] |
The Village Voice | A[9] |
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 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."
Track listing
U.K. version
All written songs by Nick Lowe except where noted.
- "Cruel to Be Kind" (Lowe, Ian Gomm) – 3:31
- "Cracking Up" – 2:59
- "Big Kick, Plain Scrap!" – 2:28
- "Born Fighter" – 3:09
- "You Make Me" – 1:53
- "Skin Deep" – 3:12
- "Switch Board Susan" (Mickey Jupp) – 3:50
- "Endless Grey Ribbon" – 3:17
- "Without Love" – 2:29
- "Dose of You" – 2:21
- "Love So Fine" (Lowe, Dave Edmunds, Billy Bremner, Terry Williams) – 3:52
U.S. version
- "Cruel to Be Kind" – 3:31
- "Cracking Up" – 2:59
- "Big Kick, Plain Scrap" – 2:28
- "American Squirm" – 2:29
- "You Make Me" – 1:53
- "Skin Deep" – 3:12
- "Switch Board Susan" – 3:50
- "Dose of You" – 2:21
- "Without Love" – 2:29
- "Born Fighter" – 3:09
- "Love So Fine" – 3:52
2011 Yep Roc Records
- "Cruel to Be Kind" – 3:31
- "Cracking Up" – 2:59
- "Big Kick, Plain Scrap" – 2:28
- "American Squirm" – 2:29
- "Born Fighter" – 3:09
- "You Make Me" – 1:53
- "Skin Deep" – 3:12
- "Switchboard Susan" – 3:50
- "Endless Grey Ribbon" – 3:17
- "Without Love" – 2:29
- "Dose of You" – 2:21
- "Love So Fine" – 3:52
- "Basing Street" (Bonus Track) - 2:32
Personnel
- Nick Lowe – bass and vocals
- Dave Edmunds – rhythm and solo guitars and backing vocals
- Billy Bremner – rhythm and solo guitars and backing vocals
- Terry Williams – drums
- Additional personnel
- Huey Lewis – harmonica on "Born Fighter"
- Bob Andrews – Oberheim on "Endless Grey Ribbon"
- Elvis Costello – backing vocals on "American Squirm"
- Bruce Thomas – bass on "American Squirm"
- Pete Thomas – drums on "American Squirm"
- Roger Bechirian – Engineer-recorded and mixed by
Charts
Album
Album Charts
- Sweden-20
- United States-31
- United Kingdom-42
Single
Year | Song | UK singles chart | US singles chart |
---|---|---|---|
1979 | "Cruel to Be Kind" | 12 | 12 |
Certifications
Canada-Gold (50,000 copies sold)[10]
References
- "Random Notes". Rolling Stone. Straight Arrow Publishers, Inc. (293): 46. June 14, 1979.
- Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Labour of Lust – Nick Lowe". AllMusic. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
- Berick, Michael (15 March 2011). "Nick Lowe: Labour of Lust". American Songwriter. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
- Phipps, Keith (15 March 2011). "Nick Lowe: Labour Of Lust". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
- Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-85712-595-8.
- Bevan, David (22 March 2011). "Nick Lowe: Labour of Lust". Pitchfork. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
- Hermes, Will (15 March 2011). "Nick Lowe: Labour of Lust". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
- Hultkrans, Andrew (April 2011). "Reissues". Spin. 27 (3): 80. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
- Christgau, Robert (30 July 1979). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
- https://musiccanada.com/gold-platinum/certification/gold-albums/page/515