Between a Rockpile and Country Music comes Carlene Carter with Musical Shapes

Carlene Carter : Too Bad About Sandy

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In July of 1980 Carlene Carter released Musical Shapes, an album she recorded with her husband Nick Lowe's band Rockpile, and released in the UK on Elvis Costello's F Beat label.  Carlene wrote most of the songs but the highlight may be Johnny Cash's step daughter's duet with Dave Edmunds on "Baby Ride Easy". 

Robert Christgau gave the album, which finished #35 in the Village Voice Pazz and Jop Poll, a solid B, writing:

Touted as the next Marshall Chapman since she surfaced in 1978, Mother Maybelle (Carter) 's most famous granddaughter and Nick Lowe's most famous wife comes up with enough nasty, compassionate songs to make believers out of Marshall's followers, all seven hundred of 'em. Dave Edmunds cameos as a chow-sucking trucker, Nick has the synth to light up "Ring of Fire," and Carlene has the balls for "They got the balls and I got the bat." But she can't muster the insouciance one would expect from the Mary Magdalene of Cool.

Two bits of advice would be remembered by  Carlene Carter throughout her career. From Dolly Parton: "Keep on smiling, no matter what!" And from "Big John himself,"All music is good if you're being yourself", to which he added, "Don't let labels of being country or rock ever hold you back! Just be yourself. Then you are unique and can't be held in a box musically."  

Some critics though Musical Shapes , with its blend of country and rock, would have profound effects on both:

John Rockwell of the New York Times wrote

"..she has blended Carter Family country traditionalism with the energy and intelligence of British new-wave rock. The results are just delightful. Miss Carter does what she does with enormous charm, and one wishes that radio and the mass public would catch on quickly.”

At My Wit's End

Nick Lowe : Cruel To Be Kind

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In the Summer of 1979, Nick Lowe's "Cruel To Be Kind"  perked up the ears of radio listeners all over the world, peaking at #12 in the United States, the U.K. and in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The version we heard is the one Lowe later made this entertaining video for, a reenactment of his August 1979 wedding to Carlene Carter , with Dave Edmunds playing the limo driver. 

It's not the only version on record.

Lowe originally wrote the song with Ian Gomm for the final Brinsley Schwarz album, It’s All Over Now, which was never officially released.

“Initially... the inspiration was a song I loved by Harold Melvin + the Blue Notes called, 'The Love I Lost', and the bass line was the same... we loved that Philly disco stuff from the 70's, The O'Jays, all that stuff, we loved that," recalled Lowe.

This version was eventually released as a B side to Lowe's "Little Hitler" single.

Lowe's solo version of the song calls back his original Philly soul inspiration.

"And I love doing it," he told GQ. " I really love it. It cheers people up. How I do it now sounds quite different. In fact, it was on the radio the other day and I was quite amazed how differently I do it now. If they’re good songs, they really will stand the test of time.".