Nick Lowe |
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Wed. June 10.1998 3:00 AM EDT |
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Cult Figures Nick Lowe, Dan Penn Rock Record StorePop legends performed in an intimate venue as Huey Lewis watched from the audience. by SonicNet's Nick Tangborn |
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It's clear that Lowe is finished with rock 'n' roll in favor of a more classic-styled mellow pop. ( ) |
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MILL VALLEY, Calif. -- Onstage was the man who co-wrote such classic American pop and soul songs as "Do Right Woman -- Do Right Man" (recorded by Aretha Franklin): Dan Penn, a cult legend in his own time. In the crowd at Village Music,
"[Penn] said it's his first time in California," said Lewis, a broad smile cast across his long, familiar face. "We only hope it's not his last." Earlier in the afternoon, Lewis had watched his buddy, songwriter/producer Nick Lowe -- who once broke into the top 20 with his semi-hit, "Cruel To Be Kind," and who as a producer helped Elvis Costello turn bitter sarcasm into three-minute-pop history -- deliver a set of pop gems. It was an unusual performance in an unusual setting that found Lowe and Penn surrounded by glowing admirers, perfect for the two men to deliver music made on their own terms again. In Lowe's case, at least, it appears that the man once known as "Basher" -- more for his scathing lyrics than for rock histrionics -- is finished with rock 'n' roll in favor of a more classic-styled mellow pop. And he'll be the first to tell you. "I've done enough screaming over a 4/4 beat," Lowe said, just before taking the mic. "I don't like doing it. I'm not interested in seeing it. I don't like that thumping sort of stuff." For the 100-plus fans gathered at Village Music -- an incredible, overloaded sanctuary of hard-to-find vinyl and memorabilia; a music-lover's paradise -- seeing Nashville, Tenn.-based soul songwriter Penn, accompanied by longtime songwriting partner Spooner Oldham on keyboards, and British pub-rock architect Lowe performing in the cozy confines of their favorite record store was one they wouldn't let get away. Lowe and Penn and Oldham are currently touring together. Lowe, cutting an imposing figure with his familiar, hawk-nosed profile and white shock of hair, opened the acoustic afternoon with a quick set that included a few numbers from recent records, such as "Soulful Wind" from Impossible Bird. He also fitted in a couple of tunes from his latest CD, Dig My Mood, including the jaunty, cowboyish "Man That I've Become" (RealAudio excerpt) and "You Inspire Me," a classy ballad that's soft and slow -- you could easily imagine Nat King Cole singing it. Dressed in a country-ish brown sport coat and '70s-cop sunglasses, he was every bit the cool, laconic, dare-we-say-mature songwriter these songs reflect. Aging gracefully is definitely a concern for Lowe. "I had to figure out a way to deal with getting older in a business that's youth-orientated," he said. "I didn't want to be the old guy jumping around, singing his old songs. I wanted to use my age in a way that's not a hindrance." Response to Lowe's latest, Dig My Mood, has focused on its sedate, genteel tone. "I've seen a few reviews here in the States and people think I'm doing a lounge sort of thing," Lowe said. "I don't have time for trends. I just do my music and I hope people like it." Neither Lowe nor Penn has ever been considered cutting-edge anyway. But if the two artists have one thing in common, it's that they've seen some of their best songs become hits for other people. A native of the late '70s British pub-rock scene, Lowe's classic, ironic rocker "What's So Funny (About Peace, Love & Understanding)" is more commonly identified as an Elvis Costello tune; Lowe wrote it and recorded it -- Costello defined it. Penn, meanwhile, saw "Do Right Woman -- Do Right Man" recorded by Aretha Franklin, "I Hate You" roaringly interpreted by blues legend Bobby "Blue" Bland and "The Dark End Of The Street," a bitter ballad about infidelity, memorably performed by the Commitments in Neil Jordan's film of the same name. And that's just for starters. "I like the way Huey does this one," Penn said, introducing "You Left The Water Running," a tune that Lewis -- who was hanging around the back of the crowd and mouthing lyrics along with Penn -- covered on 1994's Four Chords And Several Years Ago. "I do it like [soul great] Otis [Redding]." "Most people have never heard [Penn] sing," Lewis said after the show. "He writes great songs but he also has a great voice." The devoted fans hanging around the record bins were familiar with Penn's work, though, requesting tune after tune, with Penn obliging as many as he could. A thick notebook sat on a music stand in front of him, another opened before Oldham. "We carry these words around -- we can't remember the songs!" Penn joked. Still, when it came time to play the soulful, catchy "Nobody's Fool" (RealAudio excerpt), a signature Penn tune that power-pop cult icon Alex Chilton recorded for High Priest, he had to search frantically for the lyrics. "Don't tell me I'll have to remember that one," Penn said. Oldham sat quietly, his bearded face the definition of hangdog, concentrating on his keyboard, occasionally breaking into a wide smile at the way Penn would deliver a line, or at a familiar lyric. He sang the jokey "Lonely Women Make Good Lovers," his voice thin and airy, complemented by Penn's deep-throated soul on the chorus. After each song, whether it was the brooding "Dark End Of The Street" or "I Met Her In Church," a rousing version of one of the tunes that he wrote for Chilton's famed '60s soul-pop group the Box Tops, the audience applauded with sincere affection. "In this format, you can hear the songs laid bare, y'know, without a lot of drums getting in the way," Lewis beamed. "When the song was king!" |
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