Nick Lowe

This twenty-five-song collection maps Nick Lowe's long and varied career from New Wave tunesmith to American roots-influenced troubadour. Basher: The Best of Nick Lowe serves as an excellent overview of the man's career, and would be the place for anyone to start in their discovery of this witty and word-clever singer-songwriter.

Fourteen tracks recap the two great albums of 1978 and 1979, when he declared himself pure pop and spelled out the sound of breaking glass--roadie with arm torn off, actress eaten by dog. The remaining thirteen cull from the six good albums of the subsequent decade, when the fringe professional proclaimed a "Lovers Jamboree." The rowdy songs know whereof they kick, "Stick It Where the Sun Don't Shine" wounds all heels, and every decent half-boy/half-man has a couple of good love songs in him--"Heart" pure pop, "Raging Eyes" true romance. (Grade - A-)