L'univers de Nick Lowe est tendre et apaisant. Sa voix puissante et harmonieuse, ses chansons aux accents country ont le pouvoir de créer une atmosphère paisible. Merci à ce merveilleux artiste.
5つ星のうち5.0Brit-pop veteran Lowe serves up a flawless gem
2007年8月17日にアメリカ合衆国でレビュー済み
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On his latest album, At My Age, singer-songwriter Nick Lowe -- who recently turned 58, and was a veteran of the UK pub-rock, punk and New Wave scenes of the 1970s -- continues in the same stripped-down country-soul style of his past three efforts: 1994's The Impossible Bird, 1998's Dig My Mood, and 2001's The Convincer.
Lyrically, he retains his trademark wit while increasingly offsetting his wordplay with moments of introspection, even when he's waxing optimistic about a new love: On the As Good As It Gets-inspired "A Better Man," he admits, "In my life, I've done things I'm not proud of," while on "Hope For Us All," he calls himself "a feckless man who's thrown away every single chance he's ever had." Elsewhere, he dispenses hard-earned wisdom on "People Change" (featuring harmonies from Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders, whose 1979 debut single "Stop Your Sobbing" was produced by Lowe), expresses sympathy for fellow losers in love on "The Club," and pleads for understanding regarding his wild past on "The Other Side of the Coin" ("If I'd done all the things they say I've done, I'd be in the ground or on the run"). Most startling is "I Trained Her to Love Me," about a fellow who seeks revenge on womankind by dating girls just so he can enjoy watching them "fall apart" when he eventually dumps them (I wonder if Lowe was inspired by the 1997 indie film In The Company Of Men for this one...).
In addition to the 9 fine originals on this disc, there are 3 playful covers -- "The Man in Love," "Not Too Long Ago," and "Feel Again" -- that blend in almost seamlessly with Lowe's timelessly appealing melodies. If you've liked his recent work as much as I have, this is about as close to perfect as an album can get.
Loving "Party of One" and "The Impossible Bird", I was disappointed with Nick's songwriting on "Dig my Mood" and "The Convincer" and held off from buying "At My Age" for a good while, eventually relenting a few months ago. To my delight I was absolutely thrilled with the album from the first play and I love it more each time I hear it - so much so that I bought another six copies and mailed them out to friends across the UK and abroad! All of them have loved the CD too.
Many of my favourite musicians and songwriters have diminished - to my mind - as time has passed, but Nick is an exception - he's grown in stature, skill and style over the years and "At His Age" he is producing the best stuff of his life: there isn't a duff track on this collection.