like this. It's been a great month for albums from artists I love. I have been looking forward to these for a while. Hiatt puts out an album a year these days & rarely lets me down. the most consistant songwrighter of the last 20 years in my view. Cooder, sorry played it twice & that will do. As you say great reviews but it really is Cooder lite. I,Flathead I think is up there with his beat early work but this..no. Now, Nick this is tricky. I am a huge Nick fan & have been since I saw Brinsley Schwarz in 1970something. The albums from Impossible Bird on have been on constant play from whenever they come out. But there is a but, whilst I think his songs are as strong as ever the crooning style & arrangements he as adopted on At My Age & the new one don't really do it for me. When I heard Nick sing the new songs live on Danny Baker with just his guitar they sounded better to me than on the record. Still it's a new Nick Lowe album & that is still a rear & glorious thing.
P.S the new Tom Russell album is really good, but he's someone who never gets reviewed.

Into the Purple Valley
Borderline
Chávez Ravine

3 Nick albums to cherish:

The Impossible Bird
The Convincer
At My Age

3 Hiatt albums to cherish:

Slow Turning
Walk On
Crossing Muddy Waters

I have to say I think the Little Village album is disappointing. On paper it should be an absolute killer, but to my (cloth?) ears it's not.
There's a bootleg doing the rounds of a Little Village gig, performed around the time the album was recorded, which really kicks arse. Somehow it seems they failed to create that energy in the studio.

Haven't heard their new solo albums yet but all 3 will get a listen before long.

My first impression was pretty muted, as the opening track sets out his protest stall and is a bit of a chug by numbers. However, after a week or two in the car it's my favourite of the three truly excellent releases I've been caning just recently; Cooder's Dust along with Dave Alvin's brilliant Eleven Eleven and Mr Hiatt's monstrously fine effort.

from his 1st album.
I have all his albums up to and including Get Rhythm.I have most of his soundtracks and many albums where he made a major contribution.
I even have a bootleg (very poor quality).
I've seen him live 3 times (each one bloody brilliant!).
But.
After Get Rhythm something changed. It may well have been me.I've got Chavez Ravine (somewhere) and I've heard a fair amount of his more recent stuff with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Nothing's got me heading to Amazon.
I always thought we'd grow old together but it wasn't to be.I think maybe the body of his work that I have is enough.
That's not to say I don't still look out for him. There's a Warren Zevon track - Prison Grove where his guitar work is awesome.
And live? I recently posted this on another thread. It's fantastic.

The Ry Cooder - Absolutely love it - probably my favourite album this year apart from the Thin Lizzy re-issues obviously!

The Nick Lowe - Not sure. Like Pedr0 I'm a big Nick Lowe fan but didnt like it on the first listen. I'm getting a bit more into it after a few airings so hopefully it'll grow on me. I didnt like 'At My Age' much either. I feel as though I'm swimming against the critical tide as At My Age and the new one both got rave reviews across the board.

John Hiatt - haven't headr it yet so will give it a listen on Spotify.

....life's much more than cars and girls as someone famously sang.

Cooder obviously has a conscience(sp?) and as an artist, he's expressing himself through his chosen art. I know nothing about the record industry but all this stuff costs money to make and Cooder isn't looking for top 40 radio play...I wonder if he breaks even on his records these days.

Anyway....I like these protest songs...somehow he finds many witty ways of saying more or less the same thing. I like his idea of Jesse James being known as a bank robber, yet the real bankers are not. Isn't it sad when the soldier is told 'don't worry....if you get killed in action you keep getting paid'. I like this record very much...and it's always a pleasure to hear Flaco Jiminez. I think it IS good music...maybe not music to dance to, or for seduction purposes, but with headphones, it works for me.

"What's So Funny About Peace Love And Understanding?" is a protest song don't you think? "Perfectly Good Guitar" is too I'd say...just not political protest.

'surprisingly good given recent activity' is your quote about Hiatt's latest effort. I wonder what you mean?? As far as this record and his last two go, I think he's really at the top of his game. Like Cooder, he's been in the game a long, long time and no matter what they do, they're going to find it hard to get a totally different sound. After about 40 years, John Hiatt sounds like John Hiatt and that's fine by me. The track 'All The Way Under' is my new favourite for my acoustic bedroom concerts. If I'm looking for a fault on this record, I'd go for 'New York Had Her Heart Broke'. I like the idea but a 2 and a half minute intro on a 5 minute song is a bit much...I forgive him though.

Can't comment on Nick Lowe CD as I don't have it.....I don't know if I will get it. "At My Age" is good but I much prefer the best of compilation "Quiet Please". That's the only Nick I have but I do have at least a dozen each of Cooder and Hiatt.