Nick Lowe celebrated another birthday yesterday. Did you know his middle name is Drain? Me neither. Anyway, didn't want to pass up a chance to remind you of how much great work he's done.
Sensitive Man
So It Goes
Rockpile - So It Goes (Live)
Rockpile - When I Write the Book
Roller Show
Allison
Cruel to be Kind - Nick Lowe with Daryl Hall and T-Bone Wolk
As mentioned last post, Nick Lowe is one of those rare breed of rock 'n' roll guys who are growing old with some dignity. Although he wrote some of the best songs of the last 35 years or so, he doesn't write quite as much as he used to, sometimes preferring to interpret other's work. Maybe if you can afford to not worry too much about the extra bit of income from your own songwriting, if you can tame your ego, you can escape looking desperate in search of a hit. Lowe's not hitting the iTunes best-sellers on a regular basis, but he's carved out his own niche, and he's already made his pop/rock hits. From his last album, At My Age, here's I trained Her to Love Me.
One more from the last album, both of these tracks exemplify the mellow turn Lowe's recent work has taken. Lowe's label Yep Roc uses descriptive turns of phrase such as "croon", "soul-soaked country pop", and "refined", and I'd say they're spot on.
One of my favourite albums of all time, Lowe's Labour of Lust, was finally reissued recently. Give a listen to these tracks from the album, feel free to ignore the videos, some of them make no sense at all (don't ask me what's up with Endless Grey Ribbon, I haven't a clue).
I also stumbled upon a 12-part series called Born Fighters from 1979 chronicling Rockpile, Nick Lowe, Dave Edmunds at al, as they document their work after they weren't allowed to use the Name Rockpile. It's all on YouTube, with links listed under info (click "show more")to the next section.
mp3s will be posted for a limited time and are for promotional purposes only. If you like it, buy the albums, go to the shows, buy the t-shirts - support the artist so they can keep on keepin' on. Artists - if you would like an mp3 or video removed, please contact me directly at chrisyakchart@hotmail.com.
If you've got something Scruffy should hear, same email. Snail mail is cool too.
Scruffy the Yak 34 Allenby Cres Winnipeg Mb R2C 3J4
Posts
