Nick Lowe & Los Straight Jackets
In-door Safari (Yep Rock)
Released September 13th, 2024
Reviewed November 30th, 2024, by Jack Brown
A bit of a well-kept secret is Nick Lowe. Aside from a couple of late-70s New Wave Hits in I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass & Cruel To Be Kind, the pop-world has more or less forgotten Nick. Yet he is one of our greatest & most clever songwriters, who knows more than most how to craft perfect music to suit his age & time of life. No more Punk & harder Rockin these days, Nick goes for a softer more mellow sound, but still with the spirit & influence of RnR, classic RnB & Soul, as well as vintage Country. He did count Johnny Cash as a step-father-in-law after all. Cash of course would record Nick’s The Beast In Me for his American Recordings sessions. Nick has actually been making great records for almost 60 years. Starting in 1967 with Psych Pop outfit Kippington Lodge, who morphed into Country-Rock outfit Brinsley Schwarz. He also balanced a solo career, whilst making records as part of Rockpile with Dave Edmunds. He was an in-house producer for Stiff Records, producing the first album by Punk Pioneers the Dammed. He wrote classics in I Knew the Bride for Dave Edmunds, What’s So Funny About Piece Love & Understanding, best remembered by the other Elvis, Costello, & Milk & Alcohol for Dr Feelgood. Now he makes lovely singer-songwriter albums, Untouched Takeaway, The Convincer etc. now he’s teamed up with instrumental outfit Las Straight Jackets. A great choice for Lowe as they can pretty much adapt to any style & sound as is desired. They’ve collaborated before, but this is their first full-length LP together. So let’s see what we have here.
Members
Nick Lowe: vocal & acoustic guitar
Eddie Angel: guitar & vocal
Pete Curry: bass
Chris Sprague: drums & vocal
Greg Townson: guitar
Produced by Nick Lowe
Mixed by Alex Hall & Nick Lowe at Reliable Recorders, Chicago, IL
Mastered by J.J. Golden at Golden Mastering, Ventura, CA
Photography: Dan Burn-Forti
Models: Natasha Hall & Sebastian Dykes at Laylow, Golborne Rd, London
Track by track
Went To A Party.
A great opener. Nick’s gone to a party, possibly not expecting much, but has had rather a fun time. Saying that by the end it’s time to go, he’s had fun but it’s time he was leaving. It’s a great mid-paced number with some great lead guitar playing. It’s a mid-paced number with great lead guitar playing. The playing is fantastic throughout the whole LP.
Love Starvation.
I can detect some Buddy Holly influence in this catch pop number with very clever lyrics. Already I’m reminded why I admire Nick Lowe so much & we’re only on track two.
Crying Inside.
Another Buddy Holly inspired track here, again with masterful playing & clever lyrics we’ve come to expect. I particularly like the bit before the instrumental break where Nick says ‘here come the tears’ pure class.
A Quiet Place.
A change of pace here as we have a cover of a Garnet Mimms Soul track, fun fact this was chosen by Punk-Poet John Cooper Clarke as one of his desert island discs. This track & the arrangement really suit Nick’s older voice, & it’s an unexpected highlight.
Blue On Blue.
Alas not a cover of the Bobby Vinton hit, which I’d quite like to have heard, this is a totally different song. In both the playing & vocal, I can detect a bit of Richard Hawley, now there’s a collaboration waiting to happen. Whether the influence is intentional or coincidental who knows, but it’s a lovely mellow number. Nick’s world-weary voice is perfect for this sort of material.
Jet pack Boomerang.
Another change of pace. Here we have a Beat number that could have come out of Liverpool C1963. It’s a typical tale influenced by classic 1960s songwriting. Guy treated badly by girl but can’t say goodbye. He asks if she only treats him badly as she knows he’ll never leave her. It’s both fresh & vintage at the same time. Speaking of Liverpool, I love the end where he sneaks a line of, Please Please Me into the track. You’ll have to listen to find out which line.
Tokyo Bay.
The most Rockin track on the album. Another typical story treated wrong but this time he’s had enough. He’s packing his bags & shipping off to Tokyo Bay. Lyrics are all turned-up collars & being all dressed up. This would have fitted perfectly into any Rockpile album of the mid-to-late 70s.
Trombone.
Some great playing on this one. This is pure 1960s. shades of Buddy Holly can be heard in parts of the playing & backing during the verses. It has a catchy chorus that could prove to be a sing-along in live performances. Nick’s sad, so he wants the trombone to play their song, providing it’s the one about good love gone wrong. Sadly I can’t hear a trombone on this one, effective guitar-picking though.
Different Kind of Blue.
Another Richard Hawley type record. A beautiful sad slow number. The guitar works effortlessly complimenting Nick’s voice, knowing when & where to play. Again, with his world-weary voice, it’s all rather touching. This could be a sister-song to Blue on Blue. Actually, it should probably be the other way around as this track has come out before. A more acoustic version was featured on his classic album The Convincer.
Raincoat In the River.
Another cover. This time a track I know through Sammy turner. Finally, Nick’s having a bit of good luck, the coat’s being chucked in the river as his baby has come home to him. Well, it’s about time his tide turned isn’t it. Again, this works surprisingly well. They’ve adapted the RnB number & made a great guitar-lead cover.
Lay It on Me Baby.
This track has been released previously on a single, along with the final track to come. Again, another great 60s Pop inspired tune. He wears his influences on his sleeve, but it still comes out sounding fresh & witty. He’s just that good.
Don’t Be Nice to Me.
Similar to the last track, the lyrics to this manage to be both sad & witty at the same time. Nick’s back to sadness, he wants a rock to crawl under. There is a bit of the Richard Hawley Melancholia in this one. Not the happiest way to end an LP, but still a lovely way to end what has been a truly fantastic album. The only sadness is their fab cover of Brenda Lee’s Here Comes That Feeling, included on the single along with the two previous tracks, is not on here.
Conclusions
This has to be one of my albums of the year. I love the lyrics, the vocals, the playing. There’s not a bad or filler track on the whole LP. It did take me a couple listens to really get into it, I had to get used to Nick’s older sounding voice as I’d not listened to him in a while. But I adore it.
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