Customer Reviews

Party of One

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

 

 

I love this CD because it is fun.Sure there are one or two down tracks but the uptempo and joie de vivre of Nick shines through. The songs are all great and most are pretty amusing.If only Elvis would lighten up like this.

Back when this Cd was first release I bought it, played it and thought... damn! Nick's getting slow and too country for me. Ragin' Eyes is one of my favorites of his,... as are a lot of Nick's work from the 80s but when the 90s hit... he started slowing down. I just compared this album with the cuts I've heard off his new album and I have to say... I'm going to re-buy this one instead of the new one. This CD has so much energy and flair,... something that is really lacking on his new CD. We're all getting older but jeez Nick... at least I still like to rock. How about the next album you drink a lot of 5 hour energy and get Dave Edmonds to produce for old times sake? I'll bet you'd put out your best record since... well,... this one! Please?

Nick Lowe has songwriting talent just raining out of his pores. While this record wasn't as strong as his first several albums, there is a lot to like here: "What's Shakin' on the Hill" ranks up there with Nick's best songs, "You Got the Look I Like" is catchy and fun, "(I Want to Build A) Jumbo Ark" follows in Nick's tradition of fantastic hyperbole, "All Men Are Liars" is a hilarious song that I constantly hum to myself, years after this album came out, and "I Don't Know Why You Keep Me On" fills out the roster of fine songs on this disc. There are no bad songs here; it's just that not every single song is a stunner. Yes, this record comes from Mr. Lowe's country period, (which is understandable, as he was married to Carlene Carter, stepdaughter of Johhny Cash), but don't let that scare you away: the songs stand on their own, outside their supposed genre. Pick it up before the prices skyrocket like the early, OOP Lowe CD's have......

...which still means it's a fair sight better than most other people's work.

If you consider "Party of One" to be the first album of Nick's "indie" period, which also includes "The Impossible Bird," "Dig My Mood," and "The Convincer," it's easily the worst of the bunch. However, if you consider it to be the last one of his major-label period ("Party of One" was originally released on Reprise and was then reissued by Upstart), it fares a little better. But it's still no "Nick the Knife."

My problem with this album is: too much rockabilly. A couple of songs would have been enough, but rockabilly makes up nearly the entire album.

The best song, "What's Shakin' on the Hill," is fortunately *not* of this genre; in fact, it's a step forward toward Nick's more mellow songs of the late 90's, much as the Beach Boys' "Let Him Run Wild" was said to be a step toward "The Little Girl I Once Knew" (which was itself said to be a step toward "Pet Sounds"). But it's apparent Nick's not quite used to this mood yet, and you can hear it in his voice, which doesn't navigate the melody nearly as well as it does today. (He sounds much more comfortable on "You Got the Look I Like," the opener, and another good song.)

So--if you're already a Nick fan, you should pick this up. If you're *not* a Nick fan, don't start here. First, pick up "Basher" for the pre-1987 Nick. As for the post-1990 Nick, there's no "best of" compilation yet, so you might as well start with 2001's "The Convincer" and work your way back. Save "Party of One" for later.