Sunday, August 19, 2007
Listen to this bit
I've become fascinated by the minutiae of Nick Lowe's recent songs, by the way he's managed to pare his writing back to the point where the songs seem like the sort of things that just arrived. "Hope For Us All" is typical. The TV director misses it but the key passage comes just after the instrumental at around three minutes when he simply slips in the word "feckless", doubles up the line and the confession just floods into the song.
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It looks absolutely effortless, but you just know that it's taken him over 30 years of hard work to make it look that easy. Terrific,
ReplyDeleteI hadn't seen that before. The warmth just washes over you, doesn't it? I think I may very well be in love.
ReplyDeleteMr Lowe is a craftsman, that's all there is to it really. After having listened to the new CD for only about a week (and within that time seen him perform most of it) all the songs simply nestled into his "gallery" as if they'd always been there.
ReplyDeleteAlso... you have to admire a man who uses the word "cove" to help describe the type of man that "I Trained Her to Love Me" is about as he did in the recent NPR interview.
A class act, and no mistake.
ReplyDeleteI just love the dignity and, as Clair says, the warmth of this.
This is soul music, and English soul music at that.
Unlike some of his contemporaries, he's never felt the need to inform us that he was born in a cross-fire hurricane.
Does this call back to David's artist/authenticity theme? Or do I just have a Rolling Stones blindspot, being from near Dartford and never having noticed the crossfire hurricane wing of the Darent Valley Hospital Maternity Unit?
Thanks David - that is just sublime. I might be in love too, and I'm a straight bloke.
ReplyDeleteThat's wonderful stuff indeed. I love the way Lowe can hint at other songs in his music (does that doubling line has the faintest wispy memory of Spanish Harlem or is it just me?)and yet be utterly himself. One of the greatest songwriters of his generation to be sure.
ReplyDeletegreat stuff, bought the cd on my way home, it's as great as everyone says, so there's your good deed done for today.
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