About five years ago, Paste magazine asked 50 music industry professionals to name their favorite living songwriters and compiled the responses into a “Top 100” list.  Of course, any list of the Top 100 living songwriters is bound to generate controversy (Leonard Cohen at number 6?  Tom Waits above Paul McCartney??), but in my opinion the omission of one name – Nick Lowe – is close to unforgivable.

Lowe recorded two quirky but classic albums in the late 70s (Jesus of Cool and Labor of Lust), penned most of the songs of the first “supergroup” (the short-lived Rockpile), and continued to record smart, country-influenced pop through the 80s.  He was also one of the most prolific producers of the mid 70s to early 80s who left his fingerprints on nearly every pop music trend of that musically fertile era.  Lowe also wrote at least one undeniable masterpiece – “The Beast in Me” – specifically for ex-father-in-law Johnny Cash, which paints a vivid picture of the Man in Black’s brilliant but troubled life.

In the mid-90s, Lowe deliberately refashioned himself as a mellow crooner of sophisticated, “age appropriate” pop songs, most of which he writes.  It’s led to an improbable second act in his career, which includes being heralded as a master and major influence by critical darlings like Neko Case and Wilco (who Lowe has also been touring with).

Lowe recently released a CD called The Old Magic, and it’s his best from this second act.  The name is appropriate, because there is an agreeable retro vibe throughout the disc.  Lowe’s knowledge of rock, country, jazz and pop is doubtlessly encyclopedic, and these influences are effortlessly blended together to create a set of worldly, knowing ballads and gentle, uptempo love songs.

The first song off the album is “Stoplight Roses,” and it’s my personal favorite.  Spare and arresting, it sounds (and reads) like something Cole Porter might have written in his moodier moments.  “House for Sale” and “I Read a Lot” have a similar effect, although they are more classically stoic songs about love lost.  All three could easily be part of an American “songbook” CD like the ones that Ella Fitzgerald used to make.

“Checkout Time” is another standout track, where Lowe contemplates his own mortality (“I’m 61 years old now, Lord I never thought I’d see 30.”) behind a chug-a-lug, countrypolitan beat.  He also worries about the ramifications of leading a flawed life:  “I’m fearful my chances of crossing over Jordan into glory/May be compromised by the pies I’ve had my fingers in/Must I be condemned, forever damned for some long-forgotten crime?/Or singing rock of ages with the angels soon after checkout time?”

“Restless Feeling” has a gently swaying, bossa nova beat, and “Somebody Cares for Me” a Carribbean-influenced, loungy kind of feel.  Along with “You Don’t Know Me at All,” they provide welcome up notes which prevent the CD from slipping into a relentlessly, downbeat mode.

If you’re new to Nick Lowe, or if you remember his name vaguely but fondly from several decades ago, you should check out The Old Magic.  Both the man and his music have aged well.