The Impossible Bird
Studio album by Nick Lowe
Released November 29, 1994
Recorded 1994
Genre Pop
Length 40:12
Label Yep Roc
Producers Nick Lowe, Neil Brockbank
The Impossible Bird is the ninth album by Nick Lowe.
Professional ratings
allmusic 5/5 stars
Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine on allmusic:
Nick Lowe's best records have always been full of clever lyrics and undeniable pop craftsmanship; the exception is The Impossible Bird. For most of the 1980s, Lowe had been appropriating country and R&B influences, but The Impossible Bird is where he fully incorporates those styles into his songwriting. Lowe doesn't abandon his gift for melody; "Soulful Wind" and "12-Step Program (To Quit You Babe)" are as catchy as anything he's ever written. The difference is haunting songs like "The Beast in Me" and "Withered on the Vine," two rich, sad, introspective numbers that Lowe would never have put on previous albums. And that's what makes The Impossible Bird his best album since Labour of Lust -- it's the most focused, mature, personal music of his career, without a single throwaway.
Review on amazon:
This album is incredibly articulate and inventive, offering 13 melodic gems without a single filler track.
Hooks abound, but this is not just simple pop or country, as every song is infused with great emotional and musical substance to lure the listener back again and again.
My favorites include Lowe's own compositions The Beast In Me, Where's My Everything?, Lover Don't Go, Withered On The Vine and 14 Days, but the covers of True Love Travels On A Gravel Road, Trail Of Tears and I'll Be There are superb too.
If you like poetic lyrics set to beautiful melodies, you'll love this album. I do not even miss the absence of punk-influenced rockers at all, although I still love his first album "Pure Pop For Now People."
Another review on amazon:
I'd been a Nick Lowe fan ever since his Brinsley Schwarz days. Lowe's songwriting ability was clearly discernible way back then. I bought The Impossible Bird on faith, without having heard a single track before. And boy, no disappointment! Lowe combines woeful, deep lyrics with cleverly crafted, often bouncy melodies which make him sound like Paul McCartney's musical soul mate. Only Lowe's lyrics seem much more personal. The trauma the man must have gone through becomes depressingly clear, yet somehow his spirit and good humour seem to carry him through. This is an album, which people who had had a painful break-up/divorce etc. can easily relate to, and that's probably a large chunk of the world's population. With his excellent sense for melody, Old Nick even sounds great when he goes into Country. Geez, I despise C&W, but the way he delivers it, taking out most of the corniness that usually sticks to the genre, almost makes me a believer in C&W. Well, almost. Anyhow, The Impossible Bird has become one of my all-time favorites
LP track listing
All songs written by Nick Lowe except where noted.
Side One
1. "Soulful Wind" - 3:01
2. "The Beast in Me" - 2:27
3. "True Love Travels on a Gravel Road" (Dallas Frazier, A.L. Owens) - 3:35
4. "Trail of Tears" (Roger Cook, Allen Reynolds) - 3:25
5. "Shelley My Love" - 3:12
6. "Where's My Everything?" - 2:40
Side Two
7. "12-Step Program (To Quit You Babe)" - 3:11
8. "Lover Don't Go" - 4:03
9. "Drive-Thru Man" - 2:42
10. "Withered on the Vine" - 3:22
11. "I Live on a Battlefield" (Paul Carrack, Nick Lowe) - 3:23
12. "14 Days" - 2:58
13. "I'll Be There" (Ray Price, Rusty Gabbard) - 2:13
Personnel:
* Nick Lowe Ð bass guitar, rhythm guitar
* Gary Grainger Ð guitar
* Bill Kirchen Ð trombone, electric guitar
* Paul Riley Ð bass guitar
* Robert Treherne Ð drums
* Geraint Watkins Ð organ, electric guitar