DC47 wrote: But one that I do recall is the touching little ditty "Mr. Tender." That's a fine one
Wow, that is a deep cut. I don't even know the words to that one, I've probably only heard it three or four times. This is in contrast to about 70% of his catalogue, I could sing every word and play (badly) the bass or rhythm line
DC47 wrote:I'm becoming a mild fan of Nick Lowe, as I have an 80s Anglophile friend who's off his head for him and so I go to shows. I hear some Parker in Lowe and vice versa. Did they know each other back in their English days?
Oh yes, they are connected. Nick played in a band called
Brinsley Schwartz, named after the lead guitarist. Schwartz and Bob Andrews were the core of
The Rumour who backed GP in the glory days, and in the reunion period two years ago. Schwartz and Parker are playing about a dozen dates in England next month as a duo. And Lowe produced the first two GP and the Rumour albums,
Howling Wind and
Heat Treatment. Lowe did a couple of tunes penned by GP,
Crawling From The Wreckage and
Back to Schooldays.
The five studio albums by GP & The Rumour are very different from so many later records that are just GP, a guitar and a microphone. And he also has plenty of later records with a rock and roll band backing him. His stuff is varied, yet all distinctly him.
I don't think you can go wrong with random exploration. I tend toward the rocking stuff, and my favs list tends that way, but the singer-songwriter stuff is just wonderful. The album that
Mr. Tender comes from,
Burning Questions, GP says is his favorite; yet I rarely listen to it.
Anyway,
Squeezing Out Sparks is considered the masterpiece GP&tR album;
Passion Is No Ordinary Word the masterpiece cut, although if you heard
Discovering Japan blasting onto the streets of Isla Vista in 1979, that meant the party at Howard's has begun; and
You Can't Be To Strong is his most famous singer-songwriter cut of them all. Best abortion song evah.
An album called
Acid Bubblegum (1996) has a nice range of styles of songs; a live album from the same period,
The Last Rock and Roll Tour includes a wider range.
Obsessed with Arethra is a cut I particularly love; as well
Sharpening Axes and
Impenetrable also great tunes, and all three tunes are on the studio and the live albums listed above.
Deepcut To Nowhere (2001) is another wonderful album;
I'll Never Play Jacksonville Again a wonderful rocker chronicling the end of the line for an aged rock singer.
Another Gray Area (1982) and
Mona Lisa's Sister (1988) are also wonderful albums.
Many songs he does on records with a full band, large or small, he does all alone on stage as well. Even a rocker like
Crawling From the Wreckage. He has two live albums of just him,
Live! Alone in America (1989) and
Live Alone! Discovering Japan (1993) that highlight the man with a mic and guitar.
Who knows? Maybe, you were kidnapped, tied up, taken away and held for ransom.
Those days are gone forever
Over a long time ago
Oh yeah…