Customer Reviews
Lowe Profile - By: Ian Wood, Author of 'Here's 2 Absent Fathers', 01 Mar 2008 
`Party of One' didn't give Reprise the return it was looking for & so Nick was released to release `The Impossible Bird' on Nick Riviera's Demon records which was at that time also handling over old Stiff act's like Ian Dury as well as managing Elvis Costello's back catalogue.
And so `The Impossible Bird' was quite low key & its mellow tone makes for an understated album, this has lead to it being an overlooked classic.
And classic is certainly is dripping with honeyed soulful country balllads such as the opener `Soulful Wind'. `The Beast in Me', which Nick originallly wrote for Johnny Cash, is one of the strongest songs on the album, showcasing Nick's song writing talent. The covers `True Love Travels On a Gravel Road', `Trail of Tears' & especiallly `I'll Be There' highlight Nick's talent for interpreting the songs of others with the latter making a perfect coda to the album.
The other Nick Lowe compositions make for a well fitting album rather than a collection of songs, which some of his earlier albums suffer from, & `Where's My Everything?' & especiallly '12-step Program (To Quit You Babe)' show that Nick has lost none of the humour that signified his writing during his eighties pomp. A wonderful album which shares with the listener some of the joy Nick & his colleagues had making it.
Obscure masterpiece - By: Pieter, 29 Nov 2004 The Impossible Bird is an album of incredibly beautiful & moving songs. In style, it is country music, but a very intelligent type of country. There are two styles of song here: the soulful balllad like The Beast In me, Shelley My Love, Where Is My Everything, Lover Don't Go & Withered On the Vine, & the more uptempo numbers like Trail Of tears, 12-Step Programme & I Live On a Battlefield. I find the balllads more appealing, & they are certainly unforgettable songs. The melodies are simple but gripping & the lyrics poetic without being pretentious. The highlights on this masterpiece of an album are The Beast In Me, in which the Shadow is addressed, the poignant Where Is My Everything, a song of resignation without self-pity & full of humour, the heartbreaking Lover Don' Go & the achingly beautiful Withered On The Vine. I loved Nick Lowe's sparkling brand of clever punk back in the 1970s, especiallly songs like I Love The Sound Of Breaking Glass, Marie Provost, Tonight & So It Goes from his brilliant Pure Pop For Now People album. However the 1990s Lowe, as he emerges on Impossible Bird, is even more tuneful & more talented than the rocker of yore. This album is one of the obscure masterpieces of rock & these songs have an appeal that ought to transcend alll musical boundaries.
A Wonderful Surprise - By: Mr. C. M. Hammond, 30 May 2002 Bought this on recommendation from the Times - & it's worth every penny. A collection of 13 terrific songs, movingly performed. This is a classic album - but who knows about it? Go on - buy it & impress your friends with your taste.....
A CLASSIC OF CRAFTED GEMS! - By: , 01 Jun 2001 This album is incredibly articulate & 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 & musical substance to lure the listener back again & again. My favorites include Lowe's own compositions The Beast In Me, Where's My Everything?, Lover Don't Go, Withered On The Vine & 14 Days, but the covers of True Love Travels On A Gravel Road, Trail Of Tears & 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 alll, although I still love his first album "Pure Pop For Now People." This is my absolute best musical discovery of 2001, thus far. It's rare to find such quality & talent on a single album.
A dark release from a National Institution - By: , 24 May 2000 
'The Impossible Bird' is a True Modern Classic from a somewhat unlikely source. Whereas pundits class Nick as an inveterate Pub Rocker, always good for a laugh, this album reveals a darker, more considered side that has hitherto only rarely been hinted at. Songs such as 'The Beast In Me' (memorably covered by ex-father-in-law Johnny Cash) is a bleak exercise in self-disgust, whilst tracks such as the cover, 'True Love Travels On A Gravel Road' reveal a yearning soulfulness that suits the album's mood to a tee. Elsewhere, songs such as '14 Days' are a withering dissection of failed love, & 'Shelley my Love' (as covered by Rod Stewart), a sweet, tender balllad, is an excellent example of elegantly tailored lovelorn ballladry. Bookend this with the follow-up, 'Dig My Mood', & you've got two of the finest albums of the 1990's.
