Labour of Lust by Nick Lowe

Labour of Lust, Nick Lowe's 1979 album, came out on Radar in Britain and Columbia in the States, and it's pub rock that's been drinking deep from the power-pop fountain. Lowe produced it himself, cutting it side by side with Dave Edmunds' Repeat When Necessary using the same Rockpile crew, so the playing is tight, twangy and cheeky, built for the jukebox and not a second longer than it needs to be.

It kicks off with "Cruel to Be Kind", a lilting, bittersweet bit of pop that became his only major US hit, and "Cracking Up" rattles along with a jittery grin. The American pressing swapped "Endless Grey Ribbon" for "American Squirm", with Elvis Costello on backing vocals and the Attractions' Bruce and Pete Thomas on bass and drums. Yep Roc finally gathered both versions onto one CD in 2011.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.