Rick Clark's Music I Love Blog - Artist: Nick Lowe / Album: The Impossible Bird
There are so many things I love about Nick Lowe’s music. It is so effortlessly soulful and tender, playfully good-natured, heart-on-the-sleeve vulnerable, and smartly funny. Picking one album is a next to impossible task, but the one I want to share today is The Impossible Bird, which came out in the UK on the Demon record label and in the US on the Upstart label in 1994.
The Impossible Bird not only showcases Lowe’s great songwriting, but also his knack for choosing perfect covers. In this case, Lowe's versions of Dallas Fraizer and Arthur Leo "Doodle" Owens gem “True Love Travels on a Gravel Road, Roger Cook and Allen Reynolds “Trail of Tears,” and Ray Price and Rusty Gabbard’s “I’ll Be There” are standouts. Among Lowe’s originals,
Artist: Nick Lowe - Song: “The Beast in Me” from the album The Impossible Bird.
“The Beast In Me” is a masterstroke on every level. It was written for Johnny Cash, but I prefer Lowe’s version. “Shelley My Love” is a gorgeously tender Lowe gem, while “Where is my Everything?” reflects on expecting life to work out as desired.
Artist: Nick Lowe - Song: “Shelly My Love” from the album The Impossible Bird
"12-Step Program (To Quit You Babe)” and “Soulful Wind” are classic driving Lowe numbers that, like all of his music, feels like they always existed.
If you like what you hear here, then there are so many directions to go, but his first two solo albums Jesus of Cool / Pure Pop for Now People and Labour of Lust, are smart, fun classics. The Rose of England, Dig My Mood, The Convincer and At My Age are also great. Meanwhile, check out The Impossible Bird. Thanks for listening.