Nick Lowe

hugo · March 10th, 2008, 09:19 AM

I was reading a thread on this forum about Nick Lowe. Of course I've heard of him but can anybody give me some info on him? Such as his style of music, what guitar he plays, background such as CD's etc?

jonitkin · March 10th, 2008, 09:27 AM

Nick Lowe is a singer/songwriter, guitarist, bassist and producer. He's British and came out of the Pub Rock scene with Rockpile, a killer band with Dave Edmunds. Nick Lowe famously produced Elvis Costello's first record and wrote "What's So Funny about Peace, Love and Undestanding."

He has a very old-fashioned country/soul flavor, writes really understated, classic-sounding songs and has a great, keyboard-heavy, soul-inflected style.

Nick isn't much more than a rhythm guitarist, but he plays bass pretty well. He was in the "supergroup" Little Village with John Hiatt, Ry Cooder and Jim Keltner, as a bassist.

Google him. There should be lots of info. Check youtube too.

KC · March 10th, 2008, 11:07 AM

great starting place is his album Jesus of Cool which is now available on emusic and elsewhere. He's had a long career and a lot of stops along the way but this is still pretty much my fave. Marie Provost! 36 Inches High! I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass!

Borgnine! · March 10th, 2008, 11:12 AM

Get the 30th anniversary re-issue of "Jesus of Cool"---originally issued in North America as "Pure Pop for Now People"--has 10 songs not on the original JC/PPFNP....

hankseiz · March 10th, 2008, 11:23 AM

Ol' Nick made a handfull of albums with Brinsley Schwartz in the early to mid 70's.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOnXqW-BJPg

[Sorry, gotta go to embed class.]

jhundt · March 10th, 2008, 11:33 AM

Nick Lowe is extremely cool. Listen to anything you can find. He understood the value of simple "pop" production when most producers were taking 30 months and 3 million dollars to turn out self-indulgent "masterpiece" flops.

telecarp · March 10th, 2008, 11:43 AM

Lowe is an underrated songwriter-and often gets overlooked. Johnny Cash's cover of the Lowe tune "The Beast in Me," on American Recordings is AMAZING. Turns out Lowe was married to Cash's step daughter. I heard a great radio interview years ago when Lowe was in Chicago and was in the WXRT radio studios when Johnny Cash called in to talk to him. The two talked family and music for 10-15 minutes. Strange duo? But both top-notch song craftsmen of the highest caliber.

pengipete · March 10th, 2008, 12:12 PM

His middle name is Drain.

No really - it is.

Dan R · March 10th, 2008, 12:36 PM

Not much to add. I think Nick is a great talent, along with Dave Edmunds. A big hit for him was "Cruel to Be Kind" from Labour of Lust. You may want to check out Rose of England as well. It's one of my favorites. He is seen quite often with a telecaster.

Dan R

MandyMarie · March 10th, 2008, 12:49 PM

I absolutely love Nick Lowe...he's such an amazing songwriter and that guy can write a hook like nobody but Chuck Berry IMO!

If I was you I'd start by listening/watching a bunch of YouTube clips - that will, for free, give you an idea of which era of his life you dig the most. I honestly wish I was re-discovering Nick Lowe and getting "Basher" for the first time hahaha - when I first heard "When I Write The Book" I thought "who is this guy and how come I don't already own everything he's ever recorded?!

telecarp, I love Johnny's version of "Without Love" - his voice and those lyrics go hand in hand!

neocaster · March 10th, 2008, 12:49 PM

It's all been said. All I can add is: Nick Lowe. Wow..

Nick covered Elvis Costello's "Indoor Fireworks"

Tele295 · March 10th, 2008, 12:59 PM

Bill Kirchen plays on some of his recent records

stax · March 10th, 2008, 01:06 PM

He also produced, played bass and Telecaster on one of my fave Stiff singles.
Whole Wide World by Wreckless Eric.
Stax

Durtdog · March 10th, 2008, 01:43 PM

Class act.
Classic act.

I can't say enough about how much I love his music.

jonitkin · March 10th, 2008, 03:14 PM

Say it, durtdog, say it!

Tim Armstrong · March 10th, 2008, 03:19 PM

Me too! I've been a big fan for thirty years or so!

Cheers, Tim

TheWasp · March 10th, 2008, 03:58 PM

Nick told a fantastic story on radio here last year. As most of you know he is critically acclaimed and has made a decent living over the years but as he said he wasn't a wealthy man, i think he said comfortably off.Sorry I digress,the story goes that he was sorting through his morning mail and there is a letter from the P.R.S. containing a royalties cheque for over £1 million. He said he was totally taken aback,so he phoned them to report their mistake. He was further shocked to be told that it was genuine and was for his song that appeared in the movie 'The Bodyguard'.He hadn't even known that a cover version had been used on the soundtrack album..

markinlondon · March 10th, 2008, 04:17 PM

He even used to be Johnny Cash's son-in-law. Yes, he's that cool

When I saw Little Village (Lowe, Cooder, Hyatt, Keltner) the marquee above the Hammersmith Odeon read "all the way from L.A., Nashville, New York and Brentford". London readers will get this one.

Mid Life Crisis · March 10th, 2008, 04:42 PM

There are a couple of funny stories about Nick Lowe that I love.

First, he wanted to get fired from his record label in the mid-70s so he recorded a purposefully-dreadful Bay City Rollers tribute EP. This didn't work as it was a hit in Japan so he then recorded another called Lets Go To The Disco, which did the trick.

When David Bowie released his album "Low" Lowe responded with an EP called "Bowi".

Class.

David Barnett · March 10th, 2008, 05:30 PM

All these responses, and no one's mentioned how wonderful Nick Lowe's voice is? It's so smooth and effortless, he's like the Perry Como of pop rock.

Paul in Colorado · March 10th, 2008, 05:59 PM

And Bill Kirchen played with him, too.

David Barnett · March 10th, 2008, 06:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul in Colorado

And Bill Kirchen played with him, too.

And Ry Cooder.

Tele295 · March 10th, 2008, 06:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by markinlondon

He even used to be Johnny Cash's son-in-law. Yes, he's that cool

He was married to Carlene, right? I wonder how she's doing these days. What a drag about Howie.

Tim Armstrong · March 10th, 2008, 09:15 PM

Carlene is coming back strong. Here's her Myspace page:

http://www.myspace.com/carlenecartermusic

Cheers, Tim

Tele295 · March 12th, 2008, 03:15 PM

She's lookin' a lot like June these days! Thanks for the link

teleman65 · March 14th, 2008, 12:14 AM

Nick Lowe = timeless.

March 10th, 2008, 09:19 AM	#1 (permalink)
hugo Tele-Holic Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Sarnia,Ontario Age: 48 Posts: 812	Nick Lowe I was reading a thread on this forum about Nick Lowe. Of course I've heard of him but can anybody give me some info on him? Such as his style of music, what guitar he plays, background such as CD's etc?

March 10th, 2008, 09:27 AM	#2 (permalink)
jonitkin Tele-Meister Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: New York City Age: 25 Posts: 182	Nick Lowe is a singer/songwriter, guitarist, bassist and producer. He's British and came out of the Pub Rock scene with Rockpile, a killer band with Dave Edmunds. Nick Lowe famously produced Elvis Costello's first record and wrote "What's So Funny about Peace, Love and Undestanding." He has a very old-fashioned country/soul flavor, writes really understated, classic-sounding songs and has a great, keyboard-heavy, soul-inflected style. Nick isn't much more than a rhythm guitarist, but he plays bass pretty well. He was in the "supergroup" Little Village with John Hiatt, Ry Cooder and Jim Keltner, as a bassist. Google him. There should be lots of info. Check youtube too. __________________ www.jonitkin.com wwww.myspace.com/jonitkin

March 10th, 2008, 11:12 AM	#4 (permalink)
Borgnine! Tele-Meister Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Vancouver Canada Posts: 101	check it out Get the 30th anniversary re-issue of "Jesus of Cool"---originally issued in North America as "Pure Pop for Now People"--has 10 songs not on the original JC/PPFNP.... __________________ Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must lead---Charles Bukowski

March 10th, 2008, 12:49 PM	#10 (permalink)
MandyMarie Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Indianapolis, IN Age: 28 Posts: 2,354 65 Photos	I absolutely love Nick Lowe...he's such an amazing songwriter and that guy can write a hook like nobody but Chuck Berry IMO! If I was you I'd start by listening/watching a bunch of YouTube clips - that will, for free, give you an idea of which era of his life you dig the most. I honestly wish I was re-discovering Nick Lowe and getting "Basher" for the first time hahaha - when I first heard "When I Write The Book" I thought "who is this guy and how come I don't already own everything he's ever recorded?! telecarp, I love Johnny's version of "Without Love" - his voice and those lyrics go hand in hand! __________________ our wacky little hillbilly band

March 10th, 2008, 12:49 PM	#11 (permalink)
neocaster Friend of Leo's Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Chester County, PA Age: 35 Posts: 3,439 11 Photos	It's all been said. All I can add is: Nick Lowe. Wow.. Nick covered Elvis Costello's "Indoor Fireworks" __________________ "...You don't need faith if you know it's gonna work!" "The views expressed here are mine and do not reflect the official opinion of my employer or the organization through which the Internet was accessed."

March 10th, 2008, 11:07 AM	#3 (permalink)
KC Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Missoula, Montana Posts: 1,193 15 Photos	great starting place is his album Jesus of Cool which is now available on emusic and elsewhere. He's had a long career and a lot of stops along the way but this is still pretty much my fave. Marie Provost! 36 Inches High! I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass!

March 10th, 2008, 11:23 AM	#5 (permalink)
hankseiz Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Clifton, NJ Posts: 160	Ol' Nick made a handfull of albums with Brinsley Schwartz in the early to mid 70's. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOnXqW-BJPg [Sorry, gotta go to embed class.]

March 10th, 2008, 11:33 AM	#6 (permalink)
jhundt Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Netherlands Age: 54 Posts: 2,782 9 Photos	Nick Lowe is extremely cool. Listen to anything you can find. He understood the value of simple "pop" production when most producers were taking 30 months and 3 million dollars to turn out self-indulgent "masterpiece" flops.

March 10th, 2008, 11:43 AM	#7 (permalink)
telecarp NEW MEMBER! Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Illinois Posts: 5	Lowe is an underrated songwriter-and often gets overlooked. Johnny Cash's cover of the Lowe tune "The Beast in Me," on American Recordings is AMAZING. Turns out Lowe was married to Cash's step daughter. I heard a great radio interview years ago when Lowe was in Chicago and was in the WXRT radio studios when Johnny Cash called in to talk to him. The two talked family and music for 10-15 minutes. Strange duo? But both top-notch song craftsmen of the highest caliber.

March 10th, 2008, 12:12 PM	#8 (permalink)
pengipete Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Gloucester U.K. Age: 47 Posts: 1,002	His middle name is Drain. No really - it is.

March 10th, 2008, 12:36 PM	#9 (permalink)
Dan R Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Charleston, SC Age: 50 Posts: 845	Not much to add. I think Nick is a great talent, along with Dave Edmunds. A big hit for him was "Cruel to Be Kind" from Labour of Lust. You may want to check out Rose of England as well. It's one of my favorites. He is seen quite often with a telecaster. Dan R

March 10th, 2008, 12:59 PM	#12 (permalink)
Tele295 Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Tiger Town Posts: 3,185 14 Photos	Bill Kirchen plays on some of his recent records __________________ "Turn it up and it doesn't need any reverb." - Danny Gatton www.dannygatton.info Tiger Town Aces - Music That Bites Back In Redd we trust! Free Bill Kirchen! If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen defrocked, doesn't it follow that electricians can be delighted, musicians denoted, cowboys deranged, models deposed, tree surgeons debarked, and dry cleaners depressed?

March 10th, 2008, 01:06 PM	#13 (permalink)
stax Tele-Meister Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Brentwood U.K. Age: 52 Posts: 290 9 Photos	He also produced, played bass and Telecaster on one of my fave Stiff singles. Whole Wide World by Wreckless Eric. Stax

March 10th, 2008, 01:43 PM	#14 (permalink)
Durtdog Friend of Leo's Join Date: May 2004 Location: Tennessee Posts: 3,050	Class act. Classic act. I can't say enough about how much I love his music.

March 10th, 2008, 03:14 PM	#15 (permalink)
jonitkin Tele-Meister Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: New York City Age: 25 Posts: 182	Say it, durtdog, say it! __________________ www.jonitkin.com wwww.myspace.com/jonitkin

March 10th, 2008, 03:19 PM	#16 (permalink)
Tim Armstrong Moderator Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Berlin, Maryland, USA Age: 49 Posts: 7,893	Me too! I've been a big fan for thirty years or so! Cheers, Tim __________________ http://www.moodswingers.org

March 10th, 2008, 03:58 PM	#17 (permalink)
TheWasp Tele-Meister Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Alloa,Scotland Posts: 232	Nick told a fantastic story on radio here last year. As most of you know he is critically acclaimed and has made a decent living over the years but as he said he wasn't a wealthy man, i think he said comfortably off.Sorry I digress,the story goes that he was sorting through his morning mail and there is a letter from the P.R.S. containing a royalties cheque for over £1 million. He said he was totally taken aback,so he phoned them to report their mistake. He was further shocked to be told that it was genuine and was for his song that appeared in the movie 'The Bodyguard'.He hadn't even known that a cover version had been used on the soundtrack album.. __________________ Listen:- It's a Sonic Sensation...

March 10th, 2008, 04:17 PM	#18 (permalink)
markinlondon Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Wellington, NZ Age: 48 Posts: 426	He even used to be Johnny Cash's son-in-law. Yes, he's that cool When I saw Little Village (Lowe, Cooder, Hyatt, Keltner) the marquee above the Hammersmith Odeon read "all the way from L.A., Nashville, New York and Brentford". London readers will get this one. __________________ Helping to invent english country dance guitar since 1981.

March 10th, 2008, 04:42 PM	#19 (permalink)
Mid Life Crisis Tele-Meister Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Cambridge, England Age: 42 Posts: 468 6 Photos	There are a couple of funny stories about Nick Lowe that I love. First, he wanted to get fired from his record label in the mid-70s so he recorded a purposefully-dreadful Bay City Rollers tribute EP. This didn't work as it was a hit in Japan so he then recorded another called Lets Go To The Disco, which did the trick. When David Bowie released his album "Low" Lowe responded with an EP called "Bowi". Class. __________________ Quiet desperation is the English way...

March 10th, 2008, 05:30 PM	#20 (permalink)
David Barnett Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: LIttle Rock, AR Age: 52 Posts: 5,188	All these responses, and no one's mentioned how wonderful Nick Lowe's voice is? It's so smooth and effortless, he's like the Perry Como of pop rock.

March 10th, 2008, 05:59 PM	#21 (permalink)
Paul in Colorado Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Fort Collins, CO Age: 55 Posts: 4,041 3 Photos	And Bill Kirchen played with him, too. __________________ www.tuatha.net

March 10th, 2008, 09:15 PM	#24 (permalink)
Tim Armstrong Moderator Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Berlin, Maryland, USA Age: 49 Posts: 7,893	Carlene is coming back strong. Here's her Myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/carlenecartermusic Cheers, Tim __________________ http://www.moodswingers.org

March 12th, 2008, 03:15 PM	#25 (permalink)
Tele295 Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Tiger Town Posts: 3,185 14 Photos	She's lookin' a lot like June these days! Thanks for the link __________________ "Turn it up and it doesn't need any reverb." - Danny Gatton www.dannygatton.info Tiger Town Aces - Music That Bites Back In Redd we trust! Free Bill Kirchen! If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen defrocked, doesn't it follow that electricians can be delighted, musicians denoted, cowboys deranged, models deposed, tree surgeons debarked, and dry cleaners depressed?