When last we left Nick Lowe Á¢€” at the end of Part One last week Á¢€” he was mired in a sales slump and battling the bottle. After the commercial disappointment of The Rose of England, Lowe took a couple of years away from recording, presumably to recharge his batteries; alas, the result was Pinker and Prouder Than Previous, an album unfortunate for reasons beyond its titleÁ¢€¦
Pinker and Prouder Than Previous (1988)
Okay, so this isnÁ¢€â„¢t a horrible album. ItÁ¢€â„¢s just pretty listless and bland, two things you could rarely have accused Lowe of being before. Having abandoned the Cowboy Outfit, Lowe seemed unsure of what he was supposed to do next; Pinker has its share of the twangy, bottom-heavy roots rock that he explored on the Outfit albums, but itÁ¢€â„¢s got all the form and little of the function Á¢€” tracks like Á¢€Å“I Got the LoveÁ¢€ (download) and Á¢€Å“Black Lincoln ContinentalÁ¢€ (download) try to groove, but never gather any momentum.
The thing is, on paper, this seems like it could have been LoweÁ¢€â„¢s best: Dave Edmunds was back as (part-time) producer, and the band included John Hiatt, Paul Carrack, Pete Thomas, Jimmie Vaughan, and the inimitable Geraint Watkins Á¢€” but their performances are, to a man, unexceptional, like the songs. Of all LoweÁ¢€â„¢s out-of-print albums, Pinker is the most deserving of its fate Á¢€” and yet, as I write this, the cheapest copy on Amazon is selling for around $25.
My point? Even bad Nick Lowe isnÁ¢€â„¢t that bad. I hate Pinker and Prouder Than Previous, but only in comparison to what came before and after.
Party of One (1990)
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Á¢€Å“I woke up one morning and it was like the clouds had parted,Á¢€ Lowe told Rolling Stone after Party of One was released. Á¢€Å“I felt like writing again.Á¢€
And write he did Á¢€” if IÁ¢€â„¢m not mistaken, Party is the only Nick Lowe album that doesnÁ¢€â„¢t contain any cover songs. ItÁ¢€â„¢s true that this is a rather uneven set of tunes Á¢€” for every Á¢€Å“You Got the Look I LikeÁ¢€ (download) or Á¢€Å“WhatÁ¢€â„¢s ShakinÁ¢€â„¢ On The HillÁ¢€ (download), thereÁ¢€â„¢s a half-baked trifle like Á¢€Å“All Men Are LiarsÁ¢€ (download) or Á¢€Å“Honey GunÁ¢€ (download) Á¢€” but itÁ¢€â„¢s got the sort of relaxed, loose-limbed spirit that renders such quibbles sort of academic.
This has a lot to do with Dave EdmundsÁ¢€â„¢ sharp, sympathetic production, as well as the cast of characters assembled for the album: PartyÁ¢€â„¢s core band consisted of Lowe on bass, Jim Keltner on drums, Edmunds and Ry Cooder on guitar, and Paul Carrack on keys. Hardcore rock nerds will recognize this outfit as three-fourths of the crew that brought you John HiattÁ¢€â„¢s Bring the Family album, and if Party doesnÁ¢€â„¢t come near FamilyÁ¢€â„¢s heights, itÁ¢€â„¢s still a solid record, and a step in the right direction.
Speaking of that Bring the Family band Á¢€” Lowe, Keltner, Hiatt, and Cooder Á¢€” they decided to attempt a high-profile reunion after Party of One. Calling themselves Little Village, they lasted for only one album and one tour before going kaput. We didnÁ¢€â„¢t take an in-depth look at RockpileÁ¢€â„¢s Seconds of Pleasure, so we sure arenÁ¢€â„¢t going to spend much time on the inferior Little Village (of which Lowe has said, Á¢€Å“ItÁ¢€â„¢s a shame we left behind this rather limp record, which got limper and limper as certain members of the group messed around with itÁ¢€), but we will be making a stop out Little Village way on an upcoming Bootleg City. The record wasnÁ¢€â„¢t much to write home about, but the tour was the stuff of legend (Lowe, in his understated British way, said Á¢€Å“The last live shows we did were exquisiteÁ¢€).
The Impossible Bird (1994)
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In 1992, Curtis Stigers Á¢€” an artist whose name means nothing to roughly everybody now, but at the time, was being aggressively promoted as the Next Big Thing by Arista Records Á¢€” covered an old Nick Lowe tune, Á¢€Å“(WhatÁ¢€â„¢s So Funny Á¢€ËœBout) Peace, Love, and Understanding?,Á¢€ for the soundtrack to a little film called The Bodyguard. It went on to become the biggest-selling soundtrack of all time, putting a nice pile of coin in LoweÁ¢€â„¢s pocket in the process; when I saw him on his 1999 tour, he joked, Á¢€Å“This song helped paint my houseÁ¢€ before playing Á¢€Å“Understanding.Á¢€
It isnÁ¢€â„¢t a particularly profound story, I know. But I like it: Lowe had been dumped by Reprise Records after Little Village splintered, and Á¢€” in the days before every TomÁ¢€â„¢s Harry Dick was declaring himself a record label and securing worldwide distribution via iTunes and Amazon Á¢€” his options were relatively few in number. His earnings from The Bodyguard enabled him to record his next album, The Impossible Bird, on his own dime, and license it to whomever he damn well pleased; in this case, it was Upstart Records, a tiny, Rounder-distributed label whose other major signing wasÁ¢€¦um, Big Ass Truck.
Clearly, heÁ¢€â„¢d lucked into a big pile of what the kids are calling Á¢€Å“fuck youÁ¢€ money, and liberation agreed with him completely; Bird is arguably his best record. Freed from major-label constraints and beyond worrying about sales, Lowe turned in his most relaxed, confident, and mature album to that point. And though Á¢€Å“matureÁ¢€ isnÁ¢€â„¢t exactly what youÁ¢€â„¢d think to expect from the man who wrote Á¢€Å“Bay City Rollers, We Love You,Á¢€ it really works. This is the sound, basically, of a man aging gracefully.
Honestly, there isnÁ¢€â„¢t a bum number in the bunch, though some have grown in stature more than others through the years. LoweÁ¢€â„¢s former father-in-law, Johnny Cash, covered Á¢€Å“The Beast in MeÁ¢€ (download) on his first American album, and Rod Stewart tipped his admittedly fading hat to Á¢€Å“Shelley My LoveÁ¢€ (download); other notable highlights include the Paul Carrack co-write Á¢€Å“I Live on a BattlefieldÁ¢€ and the brilliant Á¢€Å“14 DaysÁ¢€ Á¢€” but as I said, you really canÁ¢€â„¢t go wrong with this album.
Dig My Mood (1998)
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Call it The Impossible Bird, part II, but donÁ¢€â„¢t go thinking itÁ¢€â„¢s just a mindless rehash; though Dig My Mood shares its predecessorÁ¢€â„¢s quiet, laid-back vibe, Lowe isnÁ¢€â„¢t repeating himself, just crafting the sort of minimalist, casually wonderful records that youÁ¢€â„¢d expect from a songwriter of his age (he was 49 when Mood came out) and stature.
In the comments to Part One of the Lowe Guide, some people mentioned a frustration with LoweÁ¢€â„¢s inability or unwillingness to really rock out, despite frequently hinting that he might; starting with the trilogy that began with Bird, thatÁ¢€â„¢s no longer a concern. When his songs do manage to kick up a little dust, itÁ¢€â„¢s a very refined dust. For the most part, though, heÁ¢€â„¢s content these days to live in the spaces between the beats Á¢€” like on the stately, swinging Á¢€Å“Time I Took A HolidayÁ¢€ (download) Á¢€” or just abandon the beat altogether, as with Á¢€Å“Faithless LoverÁ¢€ (download) and Á¢€Å“Failed ChristianÁ¢€ (download).
Personally, I prefer it when my albums work a little harder to gain my affection, but IÁ¢€â„¢m not immune to MoodÁ¢€â„¢s charms. When the chips are down, though, I turn to The Impossible Bird when I want to hear LoweÁ¢€â„¢s brand of parlor music.
The Convincer (2001)
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And this is where the story ends, at least for now. The Convincer sends the late-period trilogy Lowe started with The Impossible Bird into its third (and, one would guess, final) act. Where he goes from here is difficult to guess Á¢€” though heÁ¢€â„¢s made a career out of frequently shifting his musical focus, his latest direction makes for an extremely comfortable fit.
These songs might be hard to swallow for fans who wish heÁ¢€â„¢d go back to more uptempo fare, but Lowe is well into his fifties now, and Mick Jagger he ainÁ¢€â„¢t; he no longer plays many of his older songs in concert. He says a lot of them feel Á¢€Å“callowÁ¢€ now, and even the ones that donÁ¢€â„¢t come from a place he canÁ¢€â„¢t identify with anymore. As I said about Bird, this is the sound of a man aging gracefully. More often than not, graybeard rockers either cope with their advancing mortality by completely ignoring it (a la Jagger) or totally abandoning their musical identity (a la Billy Joel). Lowe makes an, ahem, convincing case for the middle path.
HeÁ¢€â„¢s always been an iconoclast, and though it sounds a little funny in reference to the distinguished, grandfatherly-looking gentleman on The ConvincerÁ¢€â„¢s cover, an iconoclast he remains. Songs like Á¢€Å“HomewreckerÁ¢€ (download) and Á¢€Å“SheÁ¢€â„¢s Got SoulÁ¢€ (download) may not reach out and grab you as forcefully as Á¢€Å“Cruel to Be KindÁ¢€ or Á¢€Å“Heart of the City,Á¢€ but what they lack in immediacy, they make up in other ways.
As a brief side note, I hasten to add that you should also check out two releases we arenÁ¢€â„¢t covering here: The live album Untouched Takeaway, released last year, which captures Lowe in truly fine form, and the boxed set, The Doings, which covers every album except The Convincer and includes a ton of live and previously unreleased tracks.
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