Nick Lowe

The definitive biography of singer-songwriter Nick Lowe, best-known for "Cruel to Be Kind" and "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding"

Nick Lowe returns with Indoor Safari, his first studio album in over a decade. Backed on every track by Nick's trusted collaborators Los Straitjackets, Nick exhibits his razorsharp songwriting ability through a multitude of sonic environments. With his signature wit on display for grooving numbers like "Went to a Party" and "Don't Be Nice to Me," to the heartfelt sentiment on "Blue on Blue" and "Jet Pac Boomerang," and topped with Nick breathing new life into hidden gems of the '60s like "Raincoat in the River" and "A Quiet Place," Indoor Safari demonstrates how Nick Lowe continues to make his mark as a performer, songwriter and producer over a half-century after his start in the music industry.

Nick Lowe's 2001 album The Convincer established him as an elder statesman of rock and roll, far removed from the ironic power popper he was in the 1970s. The album arrived in a different world than the day before, releasing on September 11, 2001. These were songs for troubled times ("I'm a Mess," "Lately I've Let Things Slide") and Nick's songwriting was never sharper, with Mojo Magazine saying "Nick Lowe has made the album of his career." For the album’s 20th anniversary, three bonus tracks are added to the album: a long-lost Lowe-original called “Different Kind of Blue,” an acoustic cover of The Shirelles’ “Mama Said,” and a stripped-back rendition of The Chi-lites’ “There Will Never Be Any Peace (Until God Is Seated at the Conference Table).”

Nick Lowe returns with Indoor Safari, his first studio album in over a decade. Backed on every track by Nick's trusted collaborators Los Straitjackets, Nick exhibits his razorsharp songwriting ability through a multitude of sonic environments. With his signature wit on display for grooving numbers like "Went to a Party" and "Don't Be Nice to Me," to the heartfelt sentiment on "Blue on Blue" and "Jet Pac Boomerang," and topped with Nick breathing new life into hidden gems of the '60s like "Raincoat in the River" and "A Quiet Place," Indoor Safari demonstrates how Nick Lowe continues to make his mark as a performer, songwriter and producer over a half-century after his start in the music industry.

Nick the Knife is one of master songwriter, producer and performer Nick Lowe's most underrated albums, and these demos and rarities give insight into his recording process at the time. The demo version of "Heart" shows its reggae-influenced guitar work that separates it from Rockpile's version, and the demo of "Raining Raining" exhibits Nick's vocal range that makes it sound like a long-lost soulful classic. Also included is the rarity "I Got a Job," a funny but rocking number that gets Nick laughing.

Nick Lowe's debut album Jesus Of Cool (titled Pure Pop For Now People in The US) is one of the true underappreciated gems in music history. Released in 1978, this 30th anniversary edition provides not only the UK tracks, but the US tracks as well as songs released on his Bowi EP (a classic Lowe tongue-in-cheek joke at David Bowie who released his Low album in 1977) and b-sides. The songs do sound like they are from a different era and that's not a bad thing. They still crackle and sparkle and have an immediate freshness and vibrancy. "So It Goes" is a masterpiece. It is three minutes of simple yet sophisticated pop music that rivals anything Brian Wilson every recorded. "I Love The Sound Of Breaking Glass" has a hypnotic, pulsating beat and "Heart Of The City" dips back into the sound of his pub rock days. "Marie Provost" is a whimsical ditty about a former movie star who ended up becoming puppy chow which Mr. Lowe based on a story he read in the paper.

Lowe may have only one true hit to his credit (1979's "Cruel To Be Kind"), but he is one of rock's most respected artists. Across 86 tracks, THE DOINGS traces his transformation from self-styled "Jesus of Cool" and purveyor of "pure pop for now people" into a bluesy roots-rocker and perennial critics' darling. The fun-filled pure pop on disc 1 was recorded between 1976 and 1982, skipping recordings from Lowe's tenure as bassist/singer in Brinsley Schwarz, Rockpile, and Little Village. The disc kicks off with "So It Goes", Lowe's 1976Stiff Records debut single, and collects obscure B-sides (the rocking "Shake That Rat") and sublime power pop numbers ("I Love The Sound Of Breaking Glass", "American Squirm"). Discs two and three explore Lowe's 1983-1998 output and find him moving away from boisterous garage rock ("Half A Boy And Half A Man") in favour of reflective roots rock ("Shelly My Love"). A fourth disc of unreleased studio recordings andlive tracks will be of greatest interest to Lowe's dedicated cult following.

Nick Lowe returns with Indoor Safari, his first studio album in over a decade. Backed on every track by Nick's trusted collaborators Los Straitjackets, Nick exhibits his razorsharp songwriting ability through a multitude of sonic environments. With his signature wit on display for grooving numbers like "Went to a Party" and "Don't Be Nice to Me," to the heartfelt sentiment on "Blue on Blue" and "Jet Pac Boomerang," and topped with Nick breathing new life into hidden gems of the '60s like "Raincoat in the River" and "A Quiet Place," Indoor Safari demonstrates how Nick Lowe continues to make his mark as a performer, songwriter and producer over a half-century after his start in the music industry.