The Old Magic

"I'm sixty-one years old now, Lord I never thought I'd see 30", Nick Lowe sings on "Checkout Time" a song from his first new studio album in over four years, 'The Old Magic'.

The line cuts right to the quick. He was very busy in his 20's spending time "not fitting into three successive movements: pub rock, punk and new wave" according to the New York Times. But Lowe has mined fertile new creative ground in recent years and the eleven tracks on 'The Old Magic' dig deeper still. As National Public Radio in the US observed, "Few musicians get better with age. Nick Lowe is an exception."

'The Old Magic' was recorded in London with Lowe's crack backing band anchored by Geraint Watkins (keyboards), Steve Donnelly (guitar), and Robert Treherne (a.k.a. Bobby Irwin, drums). Additional musicians include Ron Sexsmith, Paul Carrack, and Jimmie Vaughan among others. The album was co-produced by Lowe, Neil Brockbank, and Treherne.

Amidst urbanely insistent grooves ("Sensitive Man"), and spare-yet-imposing shuffles (the aforementioned "Checkout Time"), 'The Old Magic' features three exceptional, recently road-tested Lowe ballads - album opener "Stoplight Roses," "House for Sale" and "I Read A Lot".

Then there's "Restless Feeling", a shimmering dance tune worthy of the roller rink that Lowe wrote for a fictional band he calls Coastline. As is his custom, Lowe also peppers 'The Old Magic' with three covers - by Elvis Costello, Tom T. Hall and Jeff West - that fit seamlessly with his originals.