Nick Lowe - The Old Magic (Yep Roc)

On his first release since 2007’s At My Age, it’s apparent that Nick Lowe isn’t interested in lowering the quality level of his output or in pandering to current trends or anyone else’s definition of what he should be doing. In fact, one could argue (and some have) that he just keeps getting better and better. At the very least, though, he’s maintains his incredible quality level in his early 60s and that’s quite a mean feat. This Lp is very much in the mold of everything he’s done since 1994’s career-redefining The Impossible Bird and if it ain’t broken, why fix it? His almost crooner-like voice works really well with the musical settings, inspired by ’60s soul and countrypolitan sounds and recorded with warmth, substance, depth and feeling.

I think I like this one a little more than the also excellent At My Age (one of my favorite albums from that year), but perhaps not quite as much as 2001’s The Convincer, the best album he’s done in the last 17 years and one of his best overall. This Lp is also notable for containing a cover of Elvis Costello‘s “Poisoned Rose”. This is the second time he’s covered a song from Costello’s King of America album. In 1985, he covered “Indoor Fireworks” for his album The Rose of England. While that cover came off as a bit stifled and awkward, “Poisoned Rose” is a natural fit for Lowe. In fact, I like it as much as the original and that’s high praise.

Lyrically, this is perhaps his most somber affair yet. One could be forgiven for not believing that Lowe is, in fact, a happily married man with a six year old daughter when one hears such lovelorn pleas as “House for Sale” (in the mold of a George Jones weeper) or “I Read a Lot”. Elsewhere, mortality is addressed on “Checkout Time”, a song that seems to be garnering some much deserved airplay on some AAA stations.