The Old Magic

Nick Lowe | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 13, 2011)
• Original Release Date: 2011
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Yep Roc Records
• ASIN: B0058IA838
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #56,693 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Of Nick Lowe, NPR once observed, ''Few musicians get better with age, Nick Lowe is an exception.'' While it's undeniable that his last album garnered Lowe the best reviews -- dubbed ''utterly fantastic,'' by The Village Voice -- of his career and his best one-week sales in the Soundscan era, there is little doubt that he has always been at the forefront of modern music. Be it his production work with The Damned, Elvis Costello, The Pretenders or his stone-classic solo albums Jesus of Cool or Labour of Lust, Nick has always set the standard for smart, switchblade-sharp pop music. His latest album The Old Magic continues Lowe's late-career evolution with arguably his best collection yet. Amidst urbanely insistent grooves (''Sensitive Man''), and spare-yet-imposing shuffles (''Checkout Time''), The Old Magic features three exceptional Lowe ballads - album opener ''Stoplight Roses,'' ''House for Sale'' and ''I Read A Lot.'' As is his custom, Lowe also peppers the album with three covers -- by Elvis Costello, Tom T. Hall and Jeff West -- that fit seamlessly with his originals. The Old Magic might be the album title equivalent of calling your shot, but for Nick Lowe it seems more a simple statement of fact.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars classic american songs from a brit September 15, 2011

By Moten Swing

Format:Audio CD

Fantastic songwriting, with an understated, sincere retro sound. The arrangements are classic, in the sense of representing the best, most intelligent parts of American music over more than a half-century. These songs could have come from fifty, sixty, seventy years ago, and been called "country" or just "pop". They would be hits, easily, in any time period with an intelligent popular-music culture. (Which means Nick won't be selling many of these CDs in today's market.) The smooth arrangements, often with throw-back backing vocals, serve to focus our attention on Nick's voice and lyrics. He sounds great, and the songs are finely-wrought timeless pieces. I just heard this entire release on our great radio station (FUV!) here in NYC while driving up the Upper East Side highway, and I bet bands will be covering these songs for years and years to come.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Nick Lowe has still got it September 13, 2011

By Mattmanmash

Format:MP3 Music|Amazon Verified Purchase

I've been a fan of Nick Lowe since I first heard "Cruel To Be Kind". Though he has mellowed over the years his songwriting is as sharp as ever. The songs are easy to relate to and fun to listen to. Thank you Nick Lowe for putting out quality when so few musicians are.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Classic From Nick Lowe September 15, 2011

By James N. Perlman

Format:Vinyl

It would be an injustice to Nick Lowe's body of work since the mid-70's to claim this is his best album ever. There can be no best Nick Lowe album ever. With a catalog that includes his albums with Brinsley Schwarz, his two classic early solo albums, Jesus Of Cool and Labour of Lust, and now his "rebirth", since the brilliant The Impossible Bird in 1994, there is more than enough territory to discuss which is Nick's greatest album. That said, The Old Magic, can now be placed in that discussion.

Looking back at this career, it is now fairly clear that, for many years, hiding outside of plain sight, has been one of our era's greatest and cleverest lyricist. This talent is in full view on The Old Magic. What is different is Nick has loosened-up on the anger and loathing, some self-directed (and there's nothing wrong with anger and loathing in the hands of a writer of Nick Lowe's stature) and, in their place, is some acceptance, some wisdom, some melancholy, some tenderness, a few well-selected covers and a whole bunch of good old-fashioned melody. Finely crafted lyrics and strong melody, well that's the old magic of the classic pop song. That's what Nick set out to do, that's what he has achieved in spades.

Note: If you own a turntable, get the vinyl. Great pressing and, because of the modest length of this album, the single 12" LP could be mastered at 45 RPM for higher resolution.