Pure Pop For Now People
	Produced by Nick Lowe
	Released on 1978
	US CHART POSITION #127
	Find it at GEMM
JC 35329 cover [high resolution scan]

T he Amerikan version of a new old UK sensation, here with a whirled order that loses something in translation. “Music for Money” sets the stage, “Rollers Show” closes the curtain, and how Columbia didn’t hear that is beyond me. So, Jesus of Cool, we love you; Pure Pop, you’re tainted by bad judgment. Moving beyond that (slowly, begrudgingly, there we go with one foot out of the mud), what’s here are the first, tantalizingly hanging fruits of Lowe’s labor: “So It Goes,” “(I Love the Sound of) Breaking Glass,” “Rollers Show,” “They Called It Rock,” “Marie Provost.” In my opinion, “So It Goes” is one of the tightest, catchiest pop songs ever written. The rest of the album is an eclectic assortment of warped pop (“Marie Provost,” “Nutted By Reality”), rock & roll (“Heart of the City,” “They Called It Rock”), an ill-advised organ transplant or two better suited to pal Elvis’ body of work (“No Reason”) and the kind of charmer that made you forget all that filler in the first place (“Rollers Show”). Jesus and Pure Pop, buffalo and bison, it’s all the same animal you’ll say, but I’m a stickler for order in some things (a lover of chaos in everything else). The two are different platters tuned to different tastes: the English and their happy ending, the Americans and their final say (can you see). In either incarnation, it’s a must-own for Lowe riders, this and Labour forming some of the spunkiest pop since 10cc. Compared to Elvis Costello’s work, well, does anything? Nick’s a smaller scale, a softer pitch, a shade cooler and a sight friendlier. When he hits the mark, though, it’s enough to make Dave Edmunds, Ian Gomm and The Rumour look like little bows.

TRACK LISTING

1. SO IT GOES    2:29
2. (I LOVE THE SOUND OF) BREAKING GLASS    (Nick Lowe/Andrew Bodner/Steve Goulding)    3:08
3. TONIGHT    3:51
4. MARIE PROVOST    2:44
5. HEART OF THE CITY    2:02
6. ROLLERS SHOW    3:32
7. THEY CALLED IT ROCK    (Nick Lowe/Rockpile/Dave Edmunds)    3:11
8. NO REASON    3:28
9. LITTLE HITLER    (Nick Lowe/Dave Edmunds)    2:53
10. NUTTED BY REALITY    2:45
11. 36 INCHES HIGHER    (Jim Ford)    2:52
12. MUSIC FOR MONEY    2:06
    
    All songs written by Nick Lowe unless noted

CREDITS

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