New Music

As readers of this here blog know, I like to keep my finger on the pulse of the popular music of the day. That's why I decided to review two CDs from 2007 today, both by - let's call them seasoned - performers. The CDs are At my Age by Nick Lowe and I Stand Alone by Ramblin Jack Elliott.

I've enjoyed Nick Lowe's music since the days of I Knew the Bride When She Used to Rock and Roll, and I've seen him perform twice - once in 1978 at Massey Hall with Rockpile as part of a three act show featuring Rockpile, Mink DeVille and Elvis and the Attractions - and the other time last year at a club here in Toronto with Geraint Watkins. Both were excellent shows.

At My Age continues the stylish laid-back approach earlier cultivated on Impossible Bird, Dig my Mood and The Convincer, and continues to employ the services of Mr. Watkins, a great keyboard player (and accordionist from what I hear). Lowe crafts great songs, and performs covers as if he's just written them himself. I like all 12 tunes, and I think this one will be playing a lot around Anchovy World Headquarters.

Mr. Lowe may have been around for a while, but I think Ramblin Jack Elliott must have been traveling around with Woody Guthrie when Lowe was in knee-pants. And where Nick Lowe is a great songwriter, Elliott is a great interpretor (he's only written a small number of songs over the years, the most famous of which is really more of a story than a song - 912 Greens). I Stand Alone has some great moments: Arthritis Blues (and not just because of the accordion), Driving Nails in My Coffin, Cisco Houston's Old Blue, and the peculiar Mr. Garfield are all terrific performances. Curiously, I've been listening to a couple other versions of Driving Nails in my Coffin as well lately - one by Ernest Tubb and one by Floyd Tillman, and Jack's interpretation holds up well among the older performances. The CD is also punctuated by some short bits, almost song fragments, such as Jean Harlow, and My old Dog & Me. Lucinda Williams guests on Careless Darling, and Flea plays bass on a number of cuts. I like this CD a lot, although it is a little uneven compared to The Long Ride, from a couple years back.

These are two fine new CDs from two of the best.