Surprised no one here has reviewed this.
Usual collection of beautifully written, played and sung songs from Mr L
with the added attraction of some wonderfully Dick Daleish guitar stylings
from long-time live collaborators, Los Straitjackets
Only minor quibble is that it’s such a sunny upbeat record that he really
should have released it earlier in the summer
MODS – Pls feel free to delete if someone wishes to post a more detailed review
More about Nick’s new one here – surprisingly few reviews considering that it;s been 13 years since his last “proper” album, 2011’s The Old Magic*
https://www.uncut.co.uk/reviews/nick-lowe-indoor-safari-147201/
Either way, good to have the old boy back
* I think many fans would view his Xmas collection from 2013, Quality Street, as something of a side project
Album of the year. No review necessary. Fact.
I’ve listened to it a few times now and although there’s not a duffer on there, and it really is a fine album, its a bit of a disappointment because it doesn’t really feel like a new album. At least half of the tracks have been around a few years and a few more have been drip fed through this year. I think there must only be 3 or 4 songs that are not previously released.
That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t have snapped up a ticket to see him perform it if it hadn’t clashed with my holiday!… I was surprised to see this week’s Palladium gig being advertised in the Sunday Times today.. are the sales going badly?
Decent enough for a pretty big venue. The problem might be that the tickets are between£45.50 and £63.50.
He’s on in Dublin’s NCH next weekend.
Would ordinarily have got tickets when they came out but already had tickets to see Elvis C and Steve N at Vicar Street and the NCH is a horribly sterile venue. Last time I looked a couple of weeks back they still had quite a few tickets left.
While agree with @johnw re the lack of new stuff, hard to argue with Boneshaker – Take a very good album indeed to usurp Nick at No 1 on my AOTY list – exceeding short though it is
Saw him earlier this summer with the Straitjackets at Solid Sound festival in MA. It was nice enough, but I think I’m done with seeing him live now. Good songs, but performance, perhaps understandably, a bit lacking in energy these days.
For someone of his public profile I’ve always considered Nick Lowe to be a little on the pricey side to go and see. It’s not as if he’s a household name.
There’s no denying his very obvious talent and pedigree, of course.
I suppose pricing himself towards the upper end of his profile bracket means that he doesn’t need to do as many gigs/tours as some others do.
Pretty cheap in Dublin – tickets range from E35 to E45.
As mentioned up the page. the only problem is the NCH is
a soulless cavern of a venue
Been playing it this week and loving it.
So much so, I’ve moved on to the “Brentford Trilogy” just now.
I don’t like to come on to be negative, we’re huge fans of Nick Lowe, live and on record, and have been since the seventies but we gave up on it after about five pretty much identical sounding dull songs.* To be fair, as mentioned a lot of it is rehashed and we don’t like what he’s been doing with the Straitjackets so we shouldn’t be surprised.
*’Went to a party’ is catchy in an irritating kind of way.
Well that’s one less Xmas card I’ll have to buy, Erie and send. She.
Damn – hit that little audio prompt thing that types words it hears on the TV
Love the album and have seen him twice in last three years – last year as support for Costello in Reykjavik.
I particularly like the song Trombone.
I’ll miss those cards. Anyway, words from the tv? I’m a bit disappointed it wasn’t a random snatch of lyrics from the new Nick Lowe album. Apparently it’s a belter!
After all that miserable, grown-up, dirgey stuff, I’ve got my Nick Lowe back. Huzzah!
There’s a fine Nick BBC 4 session on iPlayer at the moment.
BBC Four Sessions, Nick Lowe: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0022lj7 via @bbciplayer
It undoubtedly is a wonderful collection of songs but as has been pointed out we have literally heard it all before. There’s only one song (Jet Pack Boomerang) which I haven’t heard before. Luckily I like it a lot.
In theory they’ve either been remixed or rerecorded but I’m struggling to hear much difference. But, I do think once the disappointment subsides and over time it becomes an album rather than a collection of EPs it might be seen as one of his very best.
@Guiri oddly one of the few changes is taking off the trombone on the eponymous track. Preferred the EP version myself.
You’re right, he has! Like you I prefer the EP version.
I watched the BBC4 thing again recently and found myself wondering if he’s overrated. It was all worthy but a bit samey and for every clever couplet there’s a bigger picture realisation that more or less all his songs are wistful dirges about old girlfriends. The musical backing was all very ‘solid’ but there just didn’t seem to be that much ‘musical’ interest in the performances of the songs – everything bar Nick and his languid strumming was very much background. He mentioned how great his lead guitar player was, for instance, but bar the odd lick we didn’t really hear anything to write home about from him. The same with the brass and piano. I think a night out with Nick Lowe would end up being a bit of a bore, to be honest.
That said, I loved Will Birch’s book about pub rock and purely on the basis of Will’s writing, I’m tempted to buy his Lowe biography. (Again, after reading the pub rock book I went and listened to some Brinsley Schwarz – but it was all a US-country-rock-derivative bore. More interesting to read about than listen to…)
Un peu harsh Colon but I’m with you on the guitarist. Every time I’ve seen him I think how under powered he is. I saw Nick with Mark Flanagan, usually with Jools Holland, who is a fantastic player and really lifted the songs.
I’m sure you’re right – definitely more balls / oomph / bite or *something* needed. That BBC4 show was 10+ years ago so I’m guessing he/they have become even more languid by now…
@Colin_H sadly even more languid now as he is the late Steve Donnelly. He was certainly capable of shredding a bit as I saw him do so in many a pub gig. Just think it was what Nick asked him to do.
Mr Lowe has reappraised slightly now though and has surf / safari backing.
I’m sorry to hear that, KJ. I wasn’t wanting any shredding (a word I wince at – and avoid those who do it!) – I just got the impression that Nick wanted his band to be not so much a band as very determinedly discreet ‘supporting musicians’. Which is all very well, but for me, it was… well, too discreet. I have a recollection that ‘At My Age’ – the album from whence came some of the songs on that TV performance, a copy of which I own – was a bit punchier, somehow. Must give it a listen soon.
@Colin-H
Perhaps he could try and broaden his musical horizons by jazzing up his setlist a tad?
I can see the end of the show now…
“A big hand for John McLaughlin and his 80 minutes of bewilderingly lightning-fast fretwork on tonight’s opening number ‘Penis Possessors’ Propensity to Prevarication’.
I hope you like John’s even more frenetic accelerandos on tonight’s closing number ‘The Inherent Earnestness Undermining Universal Harmony’ as much as John himself does”
Just had a good listen. His voice seems a bit buried in the mix. Didn’t mind his version of Johnny Dollar but again , the voice too low in the mix.
Overall, I was underwhelmed by the album.
Hash Nicksh gotsch usyed to hish newsh teesh yetsch?
I appreciate that I’m usually in a minority: but – leaving aside Rockpile and the John Hiatt collaborations – I think it’s been all downhill since Jesus of Cool and Labour of Lust.
Oh, I really like his 80s output like Nick the Knife, Rose of England and so on – they get played a lot! I do think his later output is a tad samey, but still enjoyable enough.
We saw him live relatively recently and it was good to see the old boy, but it was a short set – around an hour and a half tops if I recall.
Just my opinion – minority of one around here, I expect…🙂
@fitterstoke
That box of 10 Christmas cards I bought in the January sales is starting to look as though it may have been a tad extravagant
I have seen him live a number of times over the years, usually as a support act, just him and an acoustic guitar. Sure, he has a great catalogue of songs, but, once you get past the glimmer of recognition that comes with each song, it it is all rather dull and samey. I remember he also did a trio set, with Andy Fairweather-Lowe and Paul Carrack. I expected him to be the best of them, but he was the weakest by far. He is a good idea and it’s nice to see his ongoing presence but little current substance.
It’s often forgotten what an excellent bassist he is – more than holds his own
with Ry C and Jim K on John Hiatt’s Bring The Family*
* Let’s not mention Little Village….
I listened to Little Village for the first time yesterday, as one of the few Lowe related albums I haven’t heard. F*** me it’s dull.
Bring the Family is in my list of goodies…Little Village pales by comparison.
OK once I’ve got LV out of my system, I’ll try Bring the Family.
Terrific album
The difference between the two albums is striking.
All the best songs are on Bring The Family. Little Village sounds like an exercise in going through the motions when the material just isn’t there.
I mostly liked Nick’s albums up to and including The Convincer. At My Age didn’t work for me somehow and I haven’t really bothered with him since.
I Read A Lot is a good later song, though the version he recorded isn’t as good as the early version performed unaccompanied on the Prairie Home Companion DVD.