Nick Lowe
Jesus of Cool
Yep Rock
By David Chiu
Thirty years on, Nick Lowe’s Jesus of Cool is a power pop gem that displays the Englishman’s melodies, clever songwriting, and his ironic, quirky sense of humor. The latter is evident on songs about the industry like “Music for Money” and “Shake and Pop,” and the funky Bowie soundalike I Love the Song of Breaking Glass, and the disco-country-Fidel Castro-inspired “Nutted by Reality.” And though his music today seem more reflective and folkish, Lowe for a while really rocked out as in “So It Goes,” the reggae-inspired “No Reason,” and the punkish “Heart of the City.” The Yep Roc reissue generously tacks on 10 more bonus tracks including the single issue of Heart of the City and the original version of “Cruel to be Kind.” Falling in the tradition of the early Costello albums Lowe had also produced, Jesus of Cool is straight-up great power pop/New Wave.
NewBeats 