Nick Lowe Dig My Mood Tour Report
Mr. David Crosby sent me a copy of concert reviews. The first is from the Chicago Sun-Times and the other is from The Chicago Tribune.
Nick Lowe at Park West
June 17, 1998
Nick Lowe's cool must have turned his hair white. The 49-year old pop master
took the Park West stage Tuesday sporting an entirely pigmentless pompadour,
then electrified the crowd by doing right what aging rock stars almost always
do wrong.
He got out of the way of great songs.
In a time when Dorian Grayish popsters seem bent on leaping and shrieking
their way down youth's gullet, Lowe strolled center stage with the kind of
calm that comes from carrying ageless material.
Lowe opened with Ron Sexsmith's sweet ``Secret Heart,'' an egoless gesture and
a study in the elegant pop simplicity Lowe himself inspired in the Toronto
songwriter. ``Without Love'' was effortlessly executed, Lowe's vocals turning
boyish in the verses without sounding affected, his faint yodel accenting the
song's hopeful yearnings. John Hiatt's ``She Don't Love Nobody,'' covered by
Lowe in 1985, rang fresh and mellow from the acoustic guitar, the song's
emotional ask-and-answer verses unrushed even though Lowe stood alone on stage
and in need of backing vocals.
Joined onstage by his capable trio, Lowe shined brightest doing material from
his new lounge-tinged ``Dig My Mood'' CD. ``Faithless Lover'' was aching and
hushed, a descent into broken-hearted realms that would snap the sturdiest
pure pop singers. ``You Inspire Me'' was done deftly and in the tradition of
America's great lounge singers, a likely candidate to swallow Lowe in
cheesiness but for his sense of when to allow a song to breathe. He sighed his
way into the number like an old pro, undersinging the song with a soft touch
not often seen from a pure pop star.
Lowe delivered his hard-edged ``Crackin' Up'' minimalistically, almost
subversively, the trademark bass line leading the procession toward Lowe's
brand of devilishly fun madness. Lowe didn't twitch during the tune, leaving
the crowd with the sense that they were watching a guy who'd found his groove
and wouldn't be rushed. That confidence alone made the evening distinct.
Legendary songwriters Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham played an acoustic opening
set. Authors of tunes for such artists as Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin and
Otis Redding, the duo sang mesmerizingly and soulfully about loneliness,
heartbreak and Memphis. Especially Memphis.
- Bob Kurson
OVERNIGHT REVIEWS
Music review, Nick Lowe at Park West
By Cara Jepsen
SPECIAL TO THE TRIBUNE
Wednesday, June 17, 1998
The slow, haunting melodies that make up Nick Lowe's latest solo album, ``Dig
My Mood,'' (Upstart) are solid proof that the 48-year old purveyor of pop has
made a smooth transition from a producer of catchy, rockabilly-tinged melodies
to one of pop's elder statesmen.
But that doesn't mean the 48 year-old Lowe has turned his back on his past
role as one of the architects of the British power pop explosion.
At the Park West on Tuesday he proved that even his older work has staying
power as he took the stage and offered solo renditions of songs such as
``Without Love,'' and John Hiatt's ``She Don't Love Nobody.'' With his dark
suit, shock of silver hair, bottle of mineral water and charming stage banter,
Lowe looked and acted the part of rock and roll survivor.
Partway through the show he brought out his trio and launched into a rocking
version of his ``Half a Boy and Half a Man'' before slowing the pace and
playing a number of moody, perfectly-executed songs from his new album. The
audience was captivated, especially by the honky-tonk of ``Man that I've
Become,'' in which he describes a man who is old and bitter -- which does not
appear to be Lowe's case at all.
Nevertheless, he is still better-known for the songs he's written for others.
Perhaps that's why he chose the Alabama-based songwriting duo of Dan Penn and
Spooner Oldham to open for him. The blue-eyed soulsters joked about playing
covers of covers before offering their own renditions hits they had written
for luminaries such as The Box Tops and Aretha Franklin.
Between making others on his Stiff Records label famous in the late 1970s,
including producing nerdy pop king Elvis Costello's first five albums and
writing his first hit, ``(What's So Funny `bout) Peace, Love and
Understanding,'' he's written a number of songs for a who's who of other
artists. Between his own stints with short-lived roots-rock supergroups
Rockpile and Little Village, he also managed to produce a string of his own
albums, with moderate success. His earlier pop records had gimmicky titles
(``The Abominable Showman'') and upbeat pop tunes with ironical lyrics (``Time
Wounds all Hells). ``Dig My Mood'' is his first entirely serious record.
The twelve spare-but-solid songs on the cohesive album alternately recall
Johnny Cash, Nat King Cole and Bob Dylan.
Lowe has always had a soft spot in his heart for the mushy love song. On
``Labour of Lust,'' the 1979 album that contained the minor hit ``Cruel to be
Kind` Lowe included the a Capella ``You Make Me.'' His more recent records
have included more and more heartfelt ballads, especially his last effort
1994's smooth ``The Impossible Bird.''
Judging by the number of gray-topped heads in the audience, it's apparent that
Lowe's fans have been growing up along with him. The jury's still out on
whether the undulating, Nat King Cole-esque ``You Inspire Me'' will one day
replace ``I Knew the Bride (When She Used to Rock and Roll)'' as a standard at
at baby boomer wedding receptions.
On second thought, it would probably be more appropriate for divorcees going
for broke a second time around. Either way, Lowe has proven beyond a doubt
that growing up doesn't always have to be a drag.