Album: Lowe Country: The Songs of Nick Lowe (Fiesta Red)

"Well, do you remember Rick Astley?/ He had a big hit. It was ghastly." Mordant, witty, deft, metrically alert… The songs of Nick Lowe owe a longstanding debt to the spirit of the honky-tonk.

So it is fitting that this compilation of his (mostly elderly) songs should be voiced by the outer stars of the indie-country galaxy – Caitlin Rose, Hayes Carll, Lori McKenna. Plus Ron Sexsmith. Not bad, and nice for Nick. But for every good 'un, there's a dull 'un too.