Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
His best since "Labour of Lust", July 31, 2001
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.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Overtalented (And Overlooked) Mr. Lowe, January 27, 2000
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.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best all-around album from the best artist around, July 28, 1999
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!
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by Nick Lowe 
