Customer Reviews

Party of One

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've been a Nick Lowe fan since I borrowed a friend's copy of "Labour of Lust" back in 1987. That landmark album, along with Nick's association with Elvis Costello, have helped plant him firmly as one of my favorite singer/songwriter/producers. It's a terrible shame that he hasn't received nearly the credit he deserves for his abundant talents.

I recently picked up "Party of One" at a discount bin for [price]! Definitely one of my all-time greatest CD steals. This is a fantastic disc. There are so many great, fun, hilarious, infectious tunes on this disc. "You Got the Look I Like." "Gai-Gin Man." "Who Was That Man." "Jumbo Ark." And of course, one of Nick's funniest tunes, "All Men Are Liars" (That song contains one of his most infamous lines -- "Do you remember Rick Astley? He had a big fat hit, it was ghastly"). He practically invented tongue-in-cheek. Who else could write a song called "Shting-Shtang?" Or "You Stabbed Me In The Front?"

The songs have a distinct rockabilly feel, aided in no small part by the musical talents of Dave Edmunds and session ace Jim Keltner, among others. The emphasis here is on fun with a capital "F." This is a great place for people to discover the wonder of Nick Lowe, truly one of rock's most overlooked songwriters. You should also check out the excellent "Labour of Lust." If you really want to go all out, get the 1999 box set "The Doings," but his single-disc anthology "Basher" is great too.

Nick Lowe is that most endearing of oxymorons, the self-effacing genius. The songs on this cd display the enormous range of musical styles and writing moods of Mr. Lowe: the catchy celebration of xenophobia in "Gai-Gin Man"; the perfect pop infatuation song, "The Look I Like"; the very moving and simple statement of unsentimental despair in "What's Shakin' On The Hill." As far as I'm concerned, this is one of the best pop albums ever, up there with the Beach Boys "Pet Sounds" or Dylan's "Blonde on Blonde"- rarely does a musician's delight in his art form remain this contagious , when his craft is so highly developed as well. In other words, usually by the time someone is THIS accomplished, he/she is usually bitter and/or burned out. Lowe's wit and playfulness seem to have worked in his favor. The most trademark Lowe song on this, for me, is "All Men Are Liars", in which he [a man] sings "All men are liars/And that's the truth." Unfortunately, this very versatility of form has worked against Nick Lowe's "star" quotient: he's hard to market, because he seems to have a very productive form of Attention Deficit Disorder...by the time he's perfected a style, he's bored with it and on to the next thing.

Get this album. Live with it. You'll thank me.

Nick Lowe is one of the best performers andsongwriters of the past 25 years, maybe ever. This album represents his high-point. There are rockers(You Got The Look, Shting Shtang, Refrigerator White), great ballads(Rocky Road, What's Shakin' on the Hill, I Don't Know Why You Keep Me On) and the typical Lowe humor(Gai-Gin Man, I Want to Build A Jumbo Ark, Honeygun) This is a GREAT album, worth anyone's time. Buy this album right now, particularly if you've never heard Nick before!

After listening to this CD in which Lowe wrote every song you wonder why in the heck would he ever record a CD with something other than his originals. Every song would stand on its own musically but when you couple that with lyrics that are unique and, at times, a whole lot of fun you've got a classic.

Only Lowe can title a song "Shting-Shtang" and make it sound natural. Another fave is the story song "Who Was That Man?".

If you're looking for moody slow ballads stay away from this one. But if you want an up tempo cooker in which you'll grin from start to finish, "Party of One" is the party for you.

My understanding of the US Constitution leads me to believe that the Founders intended free speech to be INFORMED speech. In that spirit, I must set straight critics of this fine CD.

This is NOT a rockabilly CD. Jim Keltner is NOT a Rockabilly drummer. He has played every style known to musicianhood. This record deftly crosses genres. Take, for example, the much loathed "Shting-Shtang." Rockabilly? It's pure testifying Gospel music. I've been to meetings; this is what they sound like. And as such, the secular nature of the lyrics is quite ironic. "You Got the Look I Like"? Roots Rock and Roll, but nobody ever once used that beat in Rockabilly. "What's Shakin' on the Hill" is in the tradition of the poor boy out. Gene Pitney. The Four Seasons. Melodically closer to Country, but lyrically part of a valued tradition of class distinction in America, particularly. And if somebody has issues with the autobiographical nature of "Gai Jin Man," I would suggest you build a bonfire and burn all your Chuck Berry records and toss in Plastic Ono Band just for fun. Well, toss in all of John Lennon while you are at it.

I find the nagging criticisms of this record preposterous. Like "Abbey Road" doesn't have some just for fun songs? An undersea garden, anyone? Serious thought there. Sgt. Peppers doesn't have a song about a meter maid? Why didn't Shakespeare think of this?

To newcomers, I can recommend ALL of Nick's CDs, and this one no less. Sure, it's got a bigger sound and some toss offs to amuse, but in the words of the great one himself, SO WHAT?

Is this Nick Lowe's best work ever? No. Then again, that's akin to saying "you have a Renoir, but it's not considered to be his finest work..."

This CD is eminently listen-able, particularly on one of those roll-down-the-windows driving days.

Some of Nick's hooks are as good (i.e. "brilliant") as they have ever been, as in "You got the look I like." Plus, as has been said earlier, you have two guitar masters working on this album: Cooder and Edwards.

Nope, not his best work, and there are even a few times you'll hit the "skip" button after you've listened through it once or twice, but the fact that you keep playing those other 9 songs, or that you can't shake one from your head hours later, should tell you something.

One thing other reviewers have missed is that Ry Cooder's typically-awesome guitar work adorns a few of the tracks (Gaijin Man, Rocky Road, and a couple others). Some of these songs are great, and the whole thing is fun.

This release finds Nick Lowe at his witty best, backed by a great group of players including Jim Keltner on drums, Dave Edmunds on guitar, and Gerant Watkins on keys. Nick reclaims his songwriting wit, particularly on the tune "All Men Are Liars". The story goes that Nick heard that phrase yelled at a bar by a scorned young lady and wrote the tune around it. "You Got the Look I Like" is Nick's traditional pub pop, with a catchy chorus that is repeated over and over. Rather than being repetitive and annoying, Nick makes that style of composition work for him. "Who Was That Man" is a humerous pop tune in the classic Nick tongue in cheek style. "What's Shakin On the Hill" is a sweet melody with soft singing. "Shting - Shtang" is the background line that repeats over a classic rock 1, 4, 5 change. "Rocky Road" is well a well written tale of the path of love, with strong vocals in the chorus. "Refrigerator White" is not one my favorites on this release, nor is "Honey Gun". "You Stabbed Me In the Front" is a great title for a good song. This is one of the better later releases by Nick. Enjoy it.

I have followed, and largely admired, Nick Lowe's output since "Pure Pop for Now People". Lowe has always struck me as someone willing to go out farther on a limb than others for a song. More often than not, the risk paid off, and sometimes it didn't. Generally, I'd rather hear Lowe on an off day than certain others when they're firing on all cylinders, but that's merely my taste.

"Party of One" is interesting in where it comes in Lowe's career. He's well off his high-point (post-Rockpile and his high-profile solo efforts), and I think this album finds him in a slightly more reflective groove, but with his wit in full flower. There's the fun-outrageousness of "The Look I Like", "(I Want To Build A) Jumbo Ark", "Refrigerator White", and "Shting-Shtang", but there are hints at the autobiographical in "Gai-Gin Man" and "Rocky Road", as well as slice-of-life stuff in the chilling "Who Was That Man?" and the seemingly laconic "What's Shakin' On The Hill". Behind it all is a feel of "seasoning", of a grown-up wise-guy (made even more clear in subsequent albums), musically sharp as ever, but with a broader, deeper perspective, which, interestingly enough, makes me enjoy the funny bits all the more.

I regard "Party of One" as the most enjoyable and balanced of Lowe's output up to this point. A master storyteller with musical chops to burn.

I have a real soft spot for Nick Lowe's first two solo albums, Pure Pop For Now People (or Jesus of Cool in the U.K.) and Labour of Lust. A soft spot? They are two of my favorite albums EVER!! While I love Nick's more adult fare, like The Convincer, I've had a desire to hear something more of the Labour of Lust or even Nick the Knife rockabilly ilk lately, and Party of One is just the rockabilly recipe for what I needed! It's not too slick, nice and rugged, and it ROCKS and is a lot of fun and varied enough to stay exciting the whole listen! Oh, and Dave Edmunds produced it!