Great list, and I appreciate your effort to span his entire career - I first got into him when "Pure Pop/Jesus of Cool" came out, and he's remained one of my favorite artists to this day.
One thing I'll never understand, however, is why "Seconds Of Pleasure" always seems to be viewed as a lesser effort. Even Nick himself once said in an interview that it was not a "wizard platter" - I respectfully disagree, though I do love that term - such a Nick-ism!
"Seconds of Pleasure" is an exuberant 35-minute blast of pure pop & rock 'n' roll, straight & to the point. "Teacher Teacher" is a highlight to be sure, but what's not to love about the Everlys-flavored "Now & Always," the Sam & Dave cover "If Sugar Was As Sweet As You", the kick-butt rockers "Play That Fast Thing" and "You Ain't Nothing But Fine," Billy Bremner 'singing like a bird' on Nick's tune "Heart," and what I think is one of Nick's very best pop songs - "When I Write The Book."
For me, "Seconds of Pleasure" is a killer from start to finish. Don't overlook it if you're just diving into his catalog!
Hear, hear! I definitely love Seconds of Pleasure (might have implied less so in the post). And your recap makes me want to go put it on once again! (And thanks for the kind words and the engagement!) - CH
16: American Squirm; Heart (Rockpile version); Baby It’s You (w/E.C.); Raging Eyes; Half a Boy & Half a Man; She Don’t Love Nobody; What’s Shaking on the Hill; The Beast in Me; Failed Christian; A Man in Love; Poisoned Rose; Christmas at the Airport; I Live on a Battlefield; When I Write the Book (Rockpile); Play That Fast Thing One More Time; Pet You And Hold You.
Great write up. Impossible Bird got me thru a really hard time in my life. Loved your comment that every song on that album had been your favorite at one time or another.
Thanks for an interesting list. Absolutely spot on regarding Changing All Those Changes, which is just wonderful, but missing 14 Days. “In two weeks time you will notice I’ve been gone for fourteen days” kills me every time.
Heart of the City!! Cracking Up! So many great ones. He was going to come to the best venue in my small town with Los Straightjackets in June 2020 … but the pandemic scuttled it. Such a bummer!
In high school, I bought both "Labor of Lust" and "Repeat When Necessary" on the same day. My course was charted for good that day.
Haven't looked at the whole list but I hope Nick's terrific version of "Poor Side of Town" made the cut. And "All Men Are Liars"!!
David here, Chris, just to second that, despite my best efforts, Charles left out SO many great picks (LOL). Still a great list, though...
Those are both great! "Poor Side of Town," in particular, is a favorite. - CH
Hard to leave off anything from ‘The Convincer’, for me, Nick’s finest solo album.
Spot on!
Thank you! - CH
Great list, and I appreciate your effort to span his entire career - I first got into him when "Pure Pop/Jesus of Cool" came out, and he's remained one of my favorite artists to this day.
One thing I'll never understand, however, is why "Seconds Of Pleasure" always seems to be viewed as a lesser effort. Even Nick himself once said in an interview that it was not a "wizard platter" - I respectfully disagree, though I do love that term - such a Nick-ism!
"Seconds of Pleasure" is an exuberant 35-minute blast of pure pop & rock 'n' roll, straight & to the point. "Teacher Teacher" is a highlight to be sure, but what's not to love about the Everlys-flavored "Now & Always," the Sam & Dave cover "If Sugar Was As Sweet As You", the kick-butt rockers "Play That Fast Thing" and "You Ain't Nothing But Fine," Billy Bremner 'singing like a bird' on Nick's tune "Heart," and what I think is one of Nick's very best pop songs - "When I Write The Book."
For me, "Seconds of Pleasure" is a killer from start to finish. Don't overlook it if you're just diving into his catalog!
Hear, hear! I definitely love Seconds of Pleasure (might have implied less so in the post). And your recap makes me want to go put it on once again! (And thanks for the kind words and the engagement!) - CH
Wow! As a fellow (and massive) NL fan I have to say these are some of his very worst songs!
😀
Wouldn’t go that far, but there’s about 100 ahead of these …
Like you, excluding best-known, my
16: American Squirm; Heart (Rockpile version); Baby It’s You (w/E.C.); Raging Eyes; Half a Boy & Half a Man; She Don’t Love Nobody; What’s Shaking on the Hill; The Beast in Me; Failed Christian; A Man in Love; Poisoned Rose; Christmas at the Airport; I Live on a Battlefield; When I Write the Book (Rockpile); Play That Fast Thing One More Time; Pet You And Hold You.
Nothing from Jesus of Cool? Cmon man. Nutted by Reality? 36 Inches High?
Enjoyed reading that. You’re not positioning these as Nick’s greatest are you? Surely?
if i was picking an unsung gem from the Brinsleys days, it would be ‘the Ugly Things’…
Thanks for this. I need to re-examine the back catalogue!
Marie Provost
Which is the better version of Cruel To Be Kind - the original on Jesus of Cool or the later on Labour of Lust?
Isn’t the single version different again (and the best?)…
Great write up. Impossible Bird got me thru a really hard time in my life. Loved your comment that every song on that album had been your favorite at one time or another.
Thanks for an interesting list. Absolutely spot on regarding Changing All Those Changes, which is just wonderful, but missing 14 Days. “In two weeks time you will notice I’ve been gone for fourteen days” kills me every time.
Heart of the City!! Cracking Up! So many great ones. He was going to come to the best venue in my small town with Los Straightjackets in June 2020 … but the pandemic scuttled it. Such a bummer!