Melody Maker, October 22, 1977: Difference between revisions
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<center> Allan Jones </center> | <center> Allan Jones </center> | ||
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'''... that's how Jake Riviera describes Nick Lowe, who himself adds: 'Sometimes I even wish I was | '''... that's how Jake Riviera describes Nick Lowe, who himself adds: 'Sometimes I even wish I was ABBA.' Allan Jones catches up with this enigmatic character on the Stiff tour | ||
{{Bibliography text}} | {{Bibliography text}} | ||
Stiff Records, with the colourful and killer flair for snappy slogans that characterises so many of the promotional devices that have accompanied the company's various releases, designed a particularly neat one-liner for the badges and associated paraphernalia that waltzed hand-in-hand from Alexander Street with Nick Lowe's recent EP, ''Bowi''. | Stiff Records, with the colourful and killer flair for snappy slogans that characterises so many of the promotional devices that have accompanied the company's various releases, designed a particularly neat one-liner for the badges and associated paraphernalia that waltzed hand-in-hand from Alexander Street with Nick Lowe's recent EP, ''Bowi''. | ||
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"Because I want to make hit singles. I really want to produce hit records. There's no greater challenge for a songwriter than getting it all down in under three minutes of perfection and creating a classic pop single. Imagine it. | "Because I want to make hit singles. I really want to produce hit records. There's no greater challenge for a songwriter than getting it all down in under three minutes of perfection and creating a classic pop single. Imagine it. | ||
"And that's really What I want to do. Sometimes I just wish I could do it better. I just wish that I had that extra bit of suss. | "And that's really What I want to do. Sometimes I just wish I could do it better. I just wish that I had that extra bit of suss. | ||
"Sometimes I even wish I was ABBA." | |||
It's a chilling March evening in West Kensington and shelter from the storm is being sought by your correspondent as he tumbles into the Nashville Rooms, exhausted by a frantic flight through the Monday night rush-hour madness to attend a rather special rock | |||
It's a chilling March evening in West Kensington and shelter from the storm is being sought by your correspondent as he tumbles into the Nashville Rooms, exhausted by a frantic flight through the Monday night rush-hour madness to attend a rather special rock 'n' roll event: the London debut of Dave Edmunds' Rockpile, a band potentially so hot you need to wear sunglasses to read the lineup. | |||
The Edmundo, of course, on guitar, supported on rhythm axe by Billy Bremner and on drums by Terry Williams and, on bass, stage centre and very much the man of the hour this night at the Nashville, there's Nick Lowe. | The Edmundo, of course, on guitar, supported on rhythm axe by Billy Bremner and on drums by Terry Williams and, on bass, stage centre and very much the man of the hour this night at the Nashville, there's Nick Lowe. | ||
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"I don't know about all that. I certainly can't account for the Nick Lowe Mystique. I've read about it ... I'm faintly aware that some people have this strange image of me as ... I don't know ... I've never given it much thought. It's all a bit out of hand, really. | "I don't know about all that. I certainly can't account for the Nick Lowe Mystique. I've read about it ... I'm faintly aware that some people have this strange image of me as ... I don't know ... I've never given it much thought. It's all a bit out of hand, really. | ||
"I mean, I've done | "I mean, I've done fuck all when you think about it. Produced a couple of albums. Released one single and the ''Bowi'' E.P. it's not a lot to show for two years, really ... as far as interviews are concerned, I never tried to avoid talking to the press: It wasn't any kind of scheme to build up any mystique. | ||
"It's just that I don't have that much to say. So it seems pointless to give endless interviews to people who maybe aren't that interested in me ... | "It's just that I don't have that much to say. So it seems pointless to give endless interviews to people who maybe aren't that interested in me ... | ||
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"There's no excuse for hanging around for weeks and months in the studio. And I can't tolerate laziness. Perhaps it's because I come from a very disciplined background ... I don't know ... I just don't like any form of self-indulgence. | "There's no excuse for hanging around for weeks and months in the studio. And I can't tolerate laziness. Perhaps it's because I come from a very disciplined background ... I don't know ... I just don't like any form of self-indulgence. | ||
"There's too much self indulgence in rock | "There's too much self indulgence in rock 'n' roll today. I think rock 'n' roll took a wrong turning at the beginning of the Seventies. And it still hasn't recovered. | ||
"There're still too many banger bands trying to create art. Which is nonsense. And they labour at it, and there's simply no fun in it. There's certainly no fun in it for me. | "There're still too many banger bands trying to create art. Which is nonsense. And they labour at it, and there's simply no fun in it. There's certainly no fun in it for me. | ||
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"He does like to work quickly, get it recorded in one take if he can. While it's fresh. And I agree with him. That's the best way to record rock and roll. Capture the energy. | "He does like to work quickly, get it recorded in one take if he can. While it's fresh. And I agree with him. That's the best way to record rock and roll. Capture the energy. | ||
" | "That's another thing he's great at: he's able to relax the band, he's able to encourage them and keep them busy. If something's not working, he won't make a big drama out of it. He'll distract them from the problems. Keep their minds on what's happening. | ||
"He'll keep them at it even when something's going wrong. He won't show them that he's worried. He doesn't want them to be disturbed. | "He'll keep them at it even when something's going wrong. He won't show them that he's worried. He doesn't want them to be disturbed. | ||
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"He might spend ages on a solo overdub to get it right. But it won't be anything that's unnecessary. It'll be something that he knows is absolutely right for the song. | "He might spend ages on a solo overdub to get it right. But it won't be anything that's unnecessary. It'll be something that he knows is absolutely right for the song. | ||
'"He's not interested in studio techniques for their own sake. It's always the song he's interested in. Getting | '"He's not interested in studio techniques for their own sake. It's always the song he's interested in. Getting that down as economically as possible. He's really into the idea of stripping everything down to the bones. | ||
"At the same time, if one of the bands gets an idea, he'll try it out. He's not afraid to experiment, but he's got no time for anything that's just an effect. It has to add in some way to the actual song." | "At the same time, if one of the bands gets an idea, he'll try it out. He's not afraid to experiment, but he's got no time for anything that's just an effect. It has to add in some way to the actual song." | ||
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"And I'll often hear that before the musicians. But really, in the end, it's all down to the musicians. If they've got it then it makes it easier for me. I'll just groove on what they're doing. | "And I'll often hear that before the musicians. But really, in the end, it's all down to the musicians. If they've got it then it makes it easier for me. I'll just groove on what they're doing. | ||
"But if they haven't got it I can't give them anything. It's when | "But if they haven't got it I can't give them anything. It's when they haven't got any idea of what they want to do that we all start to struggle." | ||
Nick Lowe says it has be his policy never to work more than once with the same artist. It is, of course, a policy that he allowed to lapse recently, when he was brought in to re-record GP's new album:"That," he reflects, "was a special case. An emergency. I was just helping them out. | Nick Lowe says it <!-- has be --> has been his policy never to work more than once with the same artist. It is, of course, a policy that he allowed to lapse recently, when he was brought in to re-record GP's new album: "That," he reflects, "was a special case. An emergency. I was just helping them out. | ||
"It's the same, | "It's the same, in a way, with Elvis. He's changed so much since the first album and he's got a band now. So it's a different game, and I think I can still contribute something. We won't be repeating ourselves ... | ||
"It was different with the Damned. I don't know if they wanted to work with me again, but I didn't really want to get involved. They're a bit out of favour with me at the moment. | "It was different with the Damned. I don't know if they wanted to work with me again, but I didn't really want to get involved. They're a bit out of favour with me at the moment. | ||
"I shouldn't really say that, I suppose ... but I did that first album with them because it was a challenge. At first I didn't want | "I shouldn't really say that, I suppose ... but I did that first album with them because it was a challenge. At first I didn't want to know about it. I didn't want a thing to do with' them. That coach trip to Mont de Marsan, you know, really put me off. | ||
"Then I thought, 'Hold on. Let's see what's going on here.' And | "Then I thought, 'Hold on. Let's see what's going on here.' And I did that album and I really grooved on them, on their cheek ... they had so much nerve. I loved it. | ||
"But the new album, I think, is a bit dodgy. Like, it took Brian James something like five years to get all the songs together for the first album. And they were good songs, man. | "But the new album, I think, is a bit dodgy. Like, it took Brian James something like five years to get all the songs together for the first album. And they were good songs, man. | ||
"But this time don't think he had strong enough songs. And he wasn't man enough to admit it. So the songs aren't up to it. | "But this time I don't think he had strong enough songs. And he wasn't man enough to admit it. So the songs aren't up to it. | ||
"And the production isn't right for them. They're great geezers, but the Damned aren't the greatest musicians in the world. So on the first album I purposely went for a kind of dense sound to disguise the individual instruments and | "And the production isn't right for them. They're great geezers, but the Damned aren't the greatest musicians in the world. So on the first album I purposely went for a kind of dense sound to disguise the individual instruments and brought the voice right out front. I wanted to focus on the voice and have everything else as a kind of blur. It was more exciting than musical. And I think that worked. | ||
"Nick Mason's done the new album, and it's so clear that you can hear every instrument. And the Damned just aren't up to that kind of scrutiny. It works for the Pistols. Chris Thomas gets that kind of clarity and separation, and it works because the Sex Pistols have really got it. They can get away with it. | "Nick Mason's done the new album, and it's so clear that you can hear every instrument. And the Damned just aren't up to that kind of scrutiny. It works for the Pistols. Chris Thomas gets that kind of clarity and separation, and it works because the Sex Pistols have really got it. They can get away with it. | ||
"I mean, 'Anarchy' has to be one of the best-ever singles. When you hear that being played, everyone stops and listens. It's like at parties or discos when someone put on a Stones' track — everyone stopped and listened. | "I mean, 'Anarchy' has to be one of the best-ever singles. When you hear that being played, everyone stops and listens. It's like at parties or discos when someone put on a Stones' track — everyone stopped and listened. | ||
"The Stones had that kind of quality. The Pistols have it | |||
"The Stones had that kind of quality. The Pistols have it, too. They demand your attention. | |||
"I'm not sure about the Damned at the moment. Actually, I suggested that since they didn't have the songs they should have recorded a 'Damned Play The Old Wave' album. | "I'm not sure about the Damned at the moment. Actually, I suggested that since they didn't have the songs they should have recorded a ''Damned Play The Old Wave'' album. | ||
"Can you imagine the Damned playing all Deep Purple and Black Sabbath songs? It'd be an absolute gas, man. And it'd be straight up the chart. | "Can you imagine the Damned playing all Deep Purple and Black Sabbath songs? It'd be an absolute gas, man. And it'd be straight up the chart. | ||
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"Style," he says, "is everything. If you haven't got style, as far as I'm concerned you're out of the game. I'm not interested in people who haven't got style. | "Style," he says, "is everything. If you haven't got style, as far as I'm concerned you're out of the game. I'm not interested in people who haven't got style. | ||
"That's why I'm so bored with the safety-pin brigade. They've got | "That's why I'm so bored with the safety-pin brigade. They've got fuck all style, apart from the Pistols. I look around and see all these bands ... Generation X and little wankers like that ... and they've got no style. It's just a fashion. I'm not interested in being a part of any fashion at all. | ||
"I want to be on the side, creating fashions." | "I want to be on the side, creating fashions." | ||
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"The next day he'll go back in, with maybe only a few harmonies and overdubs to put on it but he'll have written a new song and he'll be impatient to get to work on that. | "The next day he'll go back in, with maybe only a few harmonies and overdubs to put on it but he'll have written a new song and he'll be impatient to get to work on that. | ||
"So he ends up with all these half-finished tracks that are more than demos, but aren't quite complete enough to put out. He's a | "So he ends up with all these half-finished tracks that are more than demos, but aren't quite complete enough to put out. He's a <!-- b---- --> bastard. I just wish I could stop him writing until he's finished his album. At the rate he writes we could be hanging about forever." | ||
Nick Lowe allows himself a sly grin. He tosses down another vodka and tonic. The station bar in Liverpool is oblivious to his confession: "It's true, I'm afraid," he smiles like a precocious schoolboy. | Nick Lowe allows himself a sly grin. He tosses down another vodka and tonic. The station bar in Liverpool is oblivious to his confession: "It's true, I'm afraid," he smiles like a precocious schoolboy. | ||
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"No, I don't feel any particular pressure. I don't care whether people are going to be disappointed in the album when it finally comes out. Those will be the people with different ideas to me about what I should be doing. They can say what they like about it when they hear it. | "No, I don't feel any particular pressure. I don't care whether people are going to be disappointed in the album when it finally comes out. Those will be the people with different ideas to me about what I should be doing. They can say what they like about it when they hear it. | ||
" | "Fuck them. As long as I'm satisfied with it, that's all that counts. And I won't release it until I am satisfied that it's an absolute killer. And I don't care how long that takes." | ||
Jake Riviera (again): "If Nick Lowe decided to write a John Lennon song it would be | Jake Riviera (again): "If Nick Lowe decided to write a John Lennon song it would be the best song that John Lennon ever wrote." | ||
To which Nick Lowe replies: "I haven't written a Nick Lowe song for years. I don't think there will be any more Nick Lowe songs." | To which Nick Lowe replies: "I haven't written a Nick Lowe song for years. I don't think there will be any more Nick Lowe songs." | ||
Nick Lowe, in the company of Brinsley Schwarz, used to write songs so precisely crafted that it | Nick Lowe, in the company of Brinsley Schwarz, used to write songs so precisely crafted that it often seemed that he had a direct line to heaven's immaculate juke-box. | ||
The vintage romance of those BS classics ("Nightingale," "Country Girl," "Don't Lose Your Grip On Love," " The Look In Your Eyes Tonight | The vintage romance of those BS classics ("Nightingale," "Country Girl," "Don't Lose Your Grip On Love," "The Look In Your Eyes Tonight" and, of course, the star-spangled "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding") has, over the last two years been surrendered — as has been elsewhere observed — to a more overtly cynical approach that ultimately reflects the years of neglect Lowe suffered. | ||
The songs that have appeared to date on Stiff — "So It Goes," "Heart Of The City," "I Love My Label," "Mary Provost"and "Endless Sleep" — have assured us that his grasp of diverse pop structures is as firm as ever, but there has been an encroaching cynicism about them that separates them emphatically from say, the celebration (admittedly wry) of the likes of "Happy Doing What We're Doing" or the glorious "Surrender To The Rhythm." | The songs that have appeared to date on Stiff — "So It Goes," "Heart Of The City," "I Love My Label," "Mary Provost" and "Endless Sleep" — have assured us that his grasp of diverse pop structures is as firm as ever, but there has been an encroaching cynicism about them that separates them emphatically from say, the celebration (admittedly wry) of the likes of "Happy Doing What We're Doing" or the glorious "Surrender To The Rhythm." | ||
This cynicism has elsewhere been exaggerated, and it has not yet flirted with any entirely misanthropic inclinations, but its presence in these recent songs has still enhanced Nick Lowe's public image as a Machiavellian manipulator: there is the breath of conspiracy about his actions sometimes that provokes a certain suspicion of his motives. | This cynicism has elsewhere been exaggerated, and it has not yet flirted with any entirely misanthropic inclinations, but its presence in these recent songs has still enhanced Nick Lowe's public image as a Machiavellian manipulator: there is the breath of conspiracy about his actions sometimes that provokes a certain suspicion of his motives. | ||
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"But I'm probably more sceptical than I am cynical. It would be too easy to be deliberately cynical about everything. I'd score too many easy points. That's not the final answer. | "But I'm probably more sceptical than I am cynical. It would be too easy to be deliberately cynical about everything. I'd score too many easy points. That's not the final answer. | ||
"There's still a lot to do and I don't honestly feel I've really, started yet " | "There's still a lot to do and I don't honestly feel I've really, started yet." | ||
{{cx}} | |||
{{tags}}[[Nick Lowe]] {{-}} [[Jake Riviera]] {{-}} [[:Category:Stiff's Greatest Stiffs Live|Stiffs Greatest Stiffs Tour]] {{-}} [[Stiff Records]] {{-}} [[ABBA]] {{-}} [[32 Alexander St.|Alexander St.]] {{-}} [[Bowi]] {{-}} [[Pure Pop For Now People]] {{-}} [[Nashville Rooms]] {{-}} [[Dave Edmunds]] {{-}} [[Rockpile]] {{-}} [[Billy Bremner]] {{-}} [[Terry Williams]] {{-}} [[Hope And Anchor]] {{-}} [[Brinsley Schwarz]] {{-}} [[Dr. Feelgood]] {{-}} [[Graham Parker]] {{-}} [[Apollo Theatre]] {{-}} [[Pathway Studios]] {{-}} [[Islington]] {{-}} [[The Damned]] {{-}} [[My Aim Is True]] {{-}} [[A Bunch Of Stiff Records]] {{-}} [[Wreckless Eric]] {{-}} [[Whole Wide World]] {{-}} [[Watching The Detectives]] {{-}} [[This Year's Model]] {{-}} [[Brian James]] {{-}} [[Chris Thomas]] {{-}} [[The Sex Pistols]] {{-}} [[The Rolling Stones]] {{-}} [[Generation X]] {{-}} [[John Lennon]] {{-}} [[Don't Lose Your Grip On Love]] {{-}} [[(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding?]] {{-}} [[Heart Of The City]] {{-}} [[Endless Sleep]] {{-}} [[Surrender To The Rhythm]] {{-}} [[Shake And Pop]] {{-}} [[Music For Money]] {{-}} [[The Attractions]] {{-}} [[Blame It On Cain]] {{-}} [[Mystery Dance]] {{-}} [[Larry Wallis]] | |||
{{cx}} | {{cx}} | ||
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[[Allan Jones]] interviews [[Nick Lowe]]. | [[Allan Jones]] interviews [[Nick Lowe]]. | ||
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[[Ian Birch]] reviews | [[Ian Birch]] reviews "[[Watching The Detectives]]"; an ad for the [[Watching The Detectives (single)|single]] runs on page [[:image:1977-10-22 Melody Maker page 26 advertisement.jpg|26]]. | ||
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''Melody Maker'' reports on the [[:Category:Stiff's Greatest Stiffs Live|Stiff's Greatest Stiffs]] tour. | ''Melody Maker'' reports on the [[:Category:Stiff's Greatest Stiffs Live|Stiff's Greatest Stiffs]] tour. | ||
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An ad for the tour runs on page [[:image:1977-10-22 Melody Maker page 04 advertisement.jpg|4]] | An ad for the tour runs on page [[:image:1977-10-22 Melody Maker page 04 advertisement.jpg|4]]; the gig guide (page [[:image:1977-10-22 Melody Maker page 35.jpg|35]]) lists five tour dates. | ||
{{Bibliography images}} | {{Bibliography images}} | ||
[[image:1977-10-22 Melody Maker pages 08-09 clipping 01.jpg| | [[image:1977-10-22 Melody Maker pages 08-09 clipping 01.jpg|x165px]]{{t}} | ||
<br><small> | [[image:1977-10-22 Melody Maker page 24 clipping 01.jpg|x165px]] | ||
<br><small>Clippings.</small> | |||
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{{Bibliography box}} | {{Bibliography box}} | ||
<center><h3> Cinematic Elvis </h3></center> | <center><h3> Cinematic Elvis </h3></center> | ||
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<center> Ian Birch </center> | <center> Ian Birch </center> | ||
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''' Elvis Costello & the Attractions <br> | |||
Watching The Detectives <br> | |||
Blame It On Cain / Mystery Dance | |||
{{Bibliography text}} | {{Bibliography text}} | ||
Many will rush to hail "Detectives" as a masterpiece and, unquestionably, it is a superior record especially when set aside the unnerving mountain of dross currently on release. | Many will rush to hail "Detectives" as a masterpiece and, unquestionably, it is a superior record especially when set aside the unnerving mountain of dross currently on release. | ||
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{{cx}} | {{cx}} | ||
[[image:1977-10-22 Melody Maker page 26 advertisement.jpg|320px|center|border]] | [[image:1977-10-22 Melody Maker page 26 advertisement.jpg|320px|center|border|½-page ad for Watching The Detectives]] | ||
{{cx}} | {{cx}} | ||
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<br><br> | <br><br> | ||
[[image:1977-10-22 Melody Maker page 04 advertisement.jpg|380px| | [[image:1977-10-22 Melody Maker page 04 advertisement.jpg|380px|page 4 advertisement]] | ||
<br><small>Advertisement.</small> | <br><small>Advertisement.</small> | ||
<small>Page scans.</small><br> | |||
[[image:1977-10-22 Melody Maker page 08.jpg|x247px|border|page 8]][[image:1977-10-22 Melody Maker page 09.jpg|x247px|border|page 9]] | |||
<small>Cover, clipping and page scans.</small><br> | |||
<small>Cover and page scans.</small><br> | |||
[[image:1977-10-22 Melody Maker cover.jpg|x120px|border]] | [[image:1977-10-22 Melody Maker cover.jpg|x120px|border]] | ||
[[image:1977-10-22 Melody Maker page 04 clipping 01.jpg|x120px|border]] | [[image:1977-10-22 Melody Maker page 04 clipping 01.jpg|x120px|border|page 4 clipping - tour ad]] | ||
[[image:1977-10-22 Melody Maker page 26.jpg|x120px|border]] | [[image:1977-10-22 Melody Maker page 26.jpg|x120px|border|page 26 - Watching The Detectives ½-page ad]] | ||
[[image:1977-10-22 Melody Maker page 53.jpg|x120px|border|page 53 - The Last Pop Writer, continued]] | |||
{{Bibliography notes footer}} | {{Bibliography notes footer}} |
Latest revision as of 11:52, 3 September 2023
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