Nick Lowe Starter Kit

Nick Lowe, a 62 year old with a shock of white hair, is the opening act on the Wilco tour. And if last night’s performance at Massey Hall is any indication—he earned a standing ovation—a lot of people will be checking out his music for the first time. If you’re one of those people, here’s an eleven-song Nick Lowe starter kit:

“House for Sale”
From The Old Magic (2011)
One of many examples of how Lowe makes songwriting seem easy: DtYOh_UpWeM

“Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day”
From At My Age (2007)
My second favourite Lowe album—after The Convincer—is At My Age and this is just one of the many wonderful songs on it. Here he is doing it as part of an NPR Tiny Desk Concert: 8_iFgtf2Ag4

“Lately I’ve Let Things Slide”
From The Convincer (2001)
Anyone who’s ever had a broken heart will know what Lowe is singing about in this sadly gorgeous song about a man’s “exquisite hurt”: watch?v=1HO4mTPJUMw

 “Poor Side of Town”
From The Convincer (2001)
Although he’s one of the finest songwriters around, Lowe is also a fabulous interpreter of other people’s great songs. He says he keeps working away at a tune until it feels as though he wrote it. If this brilliant cover of Johnny Rivers’s 1966 hit is anything to go by, that’s an excellent approach. Love, love this song: watch?v=da-Is1lZOS0

“The Beast in Me”
From The Impossible Bird (1994)
Lowe wrote this for Johnny Cash who was, for a time, his father-in-law. You may also know it from The Sopranos: watch?v=hlQ3RumReqU

“12-Step Program (to Quit You Babe)”
From The Impossible Bird (1994)
One of my wife’s favourites (should I be worried about that?): SaGOH_fMkwM

“All Men Are Liars”
From Party of One (1990)
A song that makes fun of Rick Astley while admitting men aren’t perfect: watch?v=m6hzkBihaew

“I Knew the Bride (When She Used to Rock & Roll)”
From The Rose of England (1985)
A rockier tune from a really good country album: watch?v=Kn1CXbf2xF8

“Cruel to Be Kind”
From Labour of Lust (1979)
This bit of pop perfection was a big hit during Lowe’s brief pop star phase: watch?v=b0l3QWUXVho
 
“So It Goes”
From Jesus of Cool; released in North America as Pure Pop for Now People (1978)
Lowe’s solo debut had great titles on both sides of the Atlantic, didn’t it? This song is one he recorded with Rockpile, the band he was in with Dave Edmunds: 7O4GagrfqO8
 
“(What’s So Funny ‘bout) Peace, Love and Understanding”
From The New Favourites of Brinsley Schwarz (1974)
This song, which many people assume Elvis Costello wrote, is now something of a rock anthem and I’ve seen artists as varied as U2, Steve Earle and Midnight Oil perform it live. But Lowe wrote and performed the original when he was in seminal pub rock band Brinsley Schwarz. Costello made it famous, but Curtis Stigers made Lowe a rich man when he covered it for the soundtrack to My Bodyguard. A live BBC version: watch?v=_l_lPhUcBR8