We're Not Who You Think We Are
Album: Labour of Lust
Year: 1979
Why “Cruel to Be Kind”??
Without dismissing it as a song — it’s a great pop song on every level — out of all of the great power-pop songs floating around in 1979, how is it that “Cruel to Be Kind” became a massive hit, peaking a #12 not just here in the U.S., but also in the U.K., Australia, Canada and New Zealand?
[Read more…] about Certain Songs #1333: Nick Lowe – “Cruel to Be Kind”
Album: Repeat When Necessary
Year: 1979
The Dave Edmunds cover of Elvis Costello’s “Girls Talk” is an object lesson of “the singer not the song.” I mean, Elvis Costello’s version is a nice-enough outtake from the Get Happy!!! sessions, but the Dave Edmunds version is one of the great singles of the 1970s.
Why? Rockpile, that magical confluence of Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe, Billy Bremner and Terry Williams.
[Read more…] about Certain Songs #272: Dave Edmunds – “Girls Talk”