Nick the Knife
| Nick the Knife | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Nick Lowe | ||||
| Released | February 1982 | |||
| Recorded | at Eden Studios, Acton, London | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 34:11 | |||
| Label |
F-Beat (United Kingdom) Columbia (United States) | |||
| Producer | Nick Lowe | |||
| Nick Lowe chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Robert Christgau | (B+)[2] |
| Rolling Stone | [3] |
Nick the Knife is a 1982 album by Nick Lowe. The album was Lowe's third solo LP, and his first since the 1981 breakup of his band Rockpile. However, the record still has several Rockpile ties, as Lowe's former bandmates Billy Bremner and Terry Williams play on the album. In addition, Lowe does a slowed-down remake of the Rockpile song "Heart"; the original version can be found on the band's album Seconds of Pleasure sung by Bremner.
Nick the Knife reached #50 on the Billboard 200, and #99 on the UK album charts. No singles from the album made the US or UK charts, although in Canada "Stick It Where The Sun Don't Shine" hit the top 40.
Nick the Knife is notable for being one of only two Nick Lowe solo albums with no covers, as it is composed entirely of songs written or co-written by Lowe (the other album is 1990's Party of One).
A 1990 CD of the album was issued on Demon Records, Ltd. with the catalog number FIEND CD 183. No Bonus Tracks were included.
The album is currently out of print.
Track listing
All tracks composed by Nick Lowe except where noted.
- "Burning" - 2:07
- "Heart" (Lowe/Rockpile) – 3:41
- "Stick It Where the Sun Don't Shine" – 3:42
- "Queen of Sheba" – 3:29
- "My Heart Hurts" (Lowe/Carlene Carter) - 2:39
- "Couldn't Love You (Any More Than I Do)" – 2:36
- "Let Me Kiss Ya" – 2:45
- "Too Many Teardrops" (Lowe/Carter) – 3:32
- "Ba Doom" – 2:19
- "Raining Raining" – 2:45
- "One's Too Many (And a Hundred Ain't Enough)" (Lowe/Kim Wilson) – 2:37
- "Zulu Kiss" (Lowe/J.E. Ceiling) – 3:22
Personnel
- Nick Lowe – vocals, bass, guitar, backing vocals
- Bobby Irwin – drums, backing vocals
- Terry Williams – drums
- Billy Bremner – guitars
- Martin Belmont – guitars
- Aldo Bocca – guitars, drums on "Heart", engineer
- Neill King – piano and Hammond organ, audio grip
- Carlene Carter – piano and Hammond organ
- Steve Nieve – piano and Hammond organ
- Ben Barson – piano and Hammond organ
- Paul Carrack – piano and Hammond organ
- James Eller – more bass
Singles
Three songs off this album were released as singles:
- "Stick it Where the Sun Don’t Shine" b/w "My Heart Hurts"
- "Burning" b/w "Zulu Kiss"
- "My Heart Hurts" - released in 4 versions:
- promo b/w same
- b/w "Stick it Where the Sun Don’t Shine"
- double 45 with three live songs "Pet You and Hold You", "Cracking Up" and "(What’s So Funny ’bout) Peace, Love and Understanding"
- b/w "Pet You and Hold You" (Live)
Live versions recorded by Nick Lowe and His Noise To Go, February 10, 1982 at the Agora Ballroom, Cleveland, Ohio
Cover Version
In 2015, Justin Remer of Elastic No-No Band recorded covers of all 12 tracks on Nick the Knife with his side project Duck the Piano Wire and released it as the album Duck the Knife: A Homemade Remake of Nick Lowe's "Nick the Knife."
Notes
References
- Sleeve notes