Great Nick pick, Kevin! It was fun learning about the back-story to even getting the song re-recorded and "dressed up" for radio. Nice to hear (Nick, in this case) that artists will listen to their A&R cats, and Columbia's Gregg Geller had a great rep back in the day, not only for having a great ear (he also produced and engineered), but for being artist-friendly, so in one sense, it's not surprising Nick would trust him!
Just watched the "CTBK" video, and several other artists popped up! They showed clips of Nick's wedding to Carlene Carter, with country artist Marty Stewart walking her up the aisle. Carlene had a career worth a dive, however deep.
Also, Will Birch wrote "Cruel to Be Kind: The Life and Music of Nick Lowe," which is a book I'd like to pick up. If you don't know of Birch, he was a member of The Records, one of my beloved power pop mainstays from the late '70s.
In fact, Nick's "CTBK" arrangement all but smacks of a Records song, even down to the arrangement (which may be exactly what brought Birch into Nick's circle)! But, as a member of pub rockers, Kursaal Flyers, he and Nick may have known each other for years before, in Nick's Brinsley days.
Your articles will usually remind me of an artist or two that I'D like to cover, and this was no different. So, I'll consider an upcoming focus on both Carlene and The Records (I may just flip a coin)! Thanks again!
one of my all time favs!
LOVED this song when I was in college in the early 80s in Washington DC. Wow, the transporting power of music, eh? . . . Thanks, Kevin!
Indeed! That's why I'm here. :)
Great Nick pick, Kevin! It was fun learning about the back-story to even getting the song re-recorded and "dressed up" for radio. Nice to hear (Nick, in this case) that artists will listen to their A&R cats, and Columbia's Gregg Geller had a great rep back in the day, not only for having a great ear (he also produced and engineered), but for being artist-friendly, so in one sense, it's not surprising Nick would trust him!
Just watched the "CTBK" video, and several other artists popped up! They showed clips of Nick's wedding to Carlene Carter, with country artist Marty Stewart walking her up the aisle. Carlene had a career worth a dive, however deep.
Also, Will Birch wrote "Cruel to Be Kind: The Life and Music of Nick Lowe," which is a book I'd like to pick up. If you don't know of Birch, he was a member of The Records, one of my beloved power pop mainstays from the late '70s.
In fact, Nick's "CTBK" arrangement all but smacks of a Records song, even down to the arrangement (which may be exactly what brought Birch into Nick's circle)! But, as a member of pub rockers, Kursaal Flyers, he and Nick may have known each other for years before, in Nick's Brinsley days.
Your articles will usually remind me of an artist or two that I'D like to cover, and this was no different. So, I'll consider an upcoming focus on both Carlene and The Records (I may just flip a coin)! Thanks again!
I do know The Records (albeit not too much)!
Last year, I wrote a weekly series on Medium featuring music that had been in heavy rotation in my world. "Starry Eyes" made the list one week.
Agree 100% that Carter & The Records (and maybe Stewart, too, for that matter) are worth a deeper look. I'd love to read what you put together!
Great song! For my money, though, this was Nick Lowe's best: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kn1CXbf2xF8
Oh man, that's good!
One of faves!!