Indoor Safari by Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets.

I thought today I would tell you about an album I have been enjoying for the past ten days or so. It is Indoor Safari by Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets. Nick has written some great songs in the past which have been covered by other singers, such as (What’s So Funny ‘bout) Peace Love And Understanding which Elvis Costello recorded, The Beast In Me for Johnny Cash, and I Knew The Bride (When She Used To Rock And Roll) for Dave Edmunds. I first realised how good Nick was when a neighbour friend gave me a copy of his The Impossible Bird album, and later I bought Dig My Mood. I rate this new collection of songs as being at least as good as any work of Nick’s long career. I have seen him perform several times, usually as a solo act, but in 2019 I saw him perform with Los Straitjackets at Glastonbury. It was the same night that The Mavericks also played on the Acoustic Stage. 

What a great night that was. Los Straitjackets were amazing, they wore suits, but also Aztec medallions and hid their faces behind Mexican wrestling masks. They might be the best guitar band I’ve ever seen. They are Eddie Angel and Greg Townson on guitars, Pete Curry on bass, and Chris Sprague on drums. You could describe their sound as retro rockabilly surf guitar music. They were founded in Nashville in 1988 and have released about 20 instrumental albums. I think they must have met Nick in 2017 when they recorded a tribute album of Nick’s songs. Nick has said of them, "Apart from being a fantastic rock ‘n’ roll band, they know how to play tons of different styles really well. They can knock you out a version of Bacharach and David's "The Look of Love" with no trouble at all”. Their sound is the perfect accompaniment to Nick’s songs which have always had a retro feel to them. Nick has never worried about trying to sound fashionable or modern. 

Nick is 75 now. When a lot of his contemporaries in music are just recycling past glories it is refreshing to hear Nick come up with a collection of brand new songs with intelligent, often humorous lyrics, even if it is his first new album in about ten years. Nick wrote all but two of the songs here. The album’s title comes from the first track Went To A Party where Nick goes to a crazy party and gets mistaken for Robin Hitchcock. Love Starvation follows a familiar theme in Nick’s songs, namely lack of love in his life. I love the driving beat of Crying Inside which could be said to be a Nick Lowe style answer to Tears Of A Clown by Smokey Robinson.  A Quiet Place begins with a lady shouting “Hey Eddie, Eddie Angel”. It is a sad, but funny tale of someone who can’t get any sleep with cats meowing, neighbours fighting, and drunks singing Sweet Caroline. It was originally a hit, with slightly different words in 1963 for Garnet Mimms (still alive aged 90) and has also been recorded by many reggae bands. Blue On Blue is a poignant ballad sung as only Nick knows how. Jet Pac Boomerang is a lively song of good love gone bad where Nick quotes The Beatles, “Last night I said these words to my girl”. Tokyo Bay is a short and sweet rockabilly romp on a nautical theme. Trombone is the longest track and ironically there is no trombone to be heard. 

Different Kind Of Blue is another sad ballad of lost love set in the cold grey light of dawn. I have shared this song below if you want to hear it. If I had to choose a favourite track, I think it might be that one. Raincoat In The River is an obscure song originally recorded by Rick Nelson in 1965. Lay It On Me Baby is a jaunty optimistic song of love without a cloud in the sky, for a change. The mood doesn’t last though because the final song is Don’t Be Nice To Me which is pessimistic in mood, but that doesn’t matter because it’s only a song, many of Nick’s songs are tongue in cheek and shouldn’t be taken too seriously. I highly recommend this collection of songs by the great Nick Lowe and the amazing Los Straitjackets.