| 'Carlene Carter: New Wave Country' (Conclusion) |
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| Not a constrained experiment, mind you, since Carlene utilized the services of English rocker Graham Parker's band, The Rumour, on the LP. It was an odd sort of mix; the tight, seasoned rock and roll band and the young green singer. If she didn't really know what her concept was, it would reason, neither would anybody else. Which was the case. The LP was not well received. The second time around, after a failed debut, Carlene felt some pressure to come up with a more cohesive sound, something that would sell. But again, the chemistry was just not right. "The second one was trying to sound too commercial," Carlene says. "They didn't have a clue what I was about. 'Do It In A Heartbeat,' (the single) they thought was a country song and it sounded like this old Mowtown thing. I did rock and roll, but it was slick, which I don't even think is rock and roll. It was just this fast stuff where I sang really loud." Part of the problem with her second effort was a last minute shuffling of producers and still an inability to firmly get a handle on her individual style. Hanging out with and finally marrying Nick Lowe rectified that. In Lowe, Carlene Carter not only found a soul mate ("I knew all along we would always be together," she says) but a musical confederate. Lowe has produced several of new wave pioneer Elvis Costello's albums and along with Dave Edmunds, Lowe formed the nucleus of the popular English rock band Rockpile. Both Lowe and Edmunds played on "Musical Shapes" and Edmunds sings with Carlene on the single, "Baby Ride Easy." "It was sort of a rockpile album with Carlene," she says. "This album was the easiest to make. I didn't make it until I was ready. "It was great working with Nick," Carlene says. "When we got in the studio we didn't hardly see anything different. We both had the same goal in mind. When it comes down to it I hired him as my producer so I listened to what he had to say. He has the final say as producer but not necessarily as husband," she laughs. |