I Knew the Bride

"I Knew the Bride"
(When She Used to Rock 'n' Roll)
Written by Nick Lowe
Original artist Dave Edmunds (1977)
Recorded by Nick Lowe (1985), Status Quo, The Knack, Eleanor McEvoy (2008)
Performed by Nick Lowe's Last Chicken in the Shop, Trent Summar & the New Row Mob (2002)[1]

"I Knew the Bride (When She Used to Rock 'n' Roll)" is a song written by Nick Lowe and first popularized by Dave Edmunds. It was released on Edmunds's 1977 album Get It and a year later in a live version by Nick Lowe's Last Chicken in the Shop for a compilation released by Stiff Records.

Lowe performed the song during a Stiff Records European tour with Elvis Costello, Ian Dury, Wreckless Eric, and Larry Wallis; the tour was filmed for the 1981 documentary If It Ain't Stiff, It Ain't Worth a Fuck.[2] In 1985, Nick Lowe and his Cowboy Outfit recorded a studio version for The Rose of England.

A live version is also part of the bootleg album They Call It Rock from the late 1970s.[3] The song was a 2006 bonus track on the re-release of the 1999 album Under the Influence by Status Quo.[4]

Hunter S. Thompson's Songs of the Doomed: More Notes on the Death of the American Dream, a 1990 anthology of essays and works of new journalism, has a chapter named after the song.[5] The song is part of the Sounds of the Seventies: Punk and New Wave from Time-Life Records.

Contents

Critical reception

Robert Christgau, upon the release of Live Stiffs Live, characterized the song as "Lowe's answer to "You Never Can Tell",[6] a 1964 song by Chuck Berry. Decades later, Austin City Limits called it a "cheeky roots/pop tune."[7]

Cover versions

Cover versions of the songs have been released on various albums, including:

References

  1. ^ Horowitz, Hal. "Live at 12th and Porter". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/live-at-12th-and-porter-r629657/review. Retrieved 2011-04-27. 
  2. ^ "If It Ain't Stiff, It Ain't Worth a Fuck". All Movie Guide. The New York Times. http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/157108/If-It-Ain-t-Stiff-It-Ain-t-Worth-a-Fuck/overview. Retrieved 2011-04-27. 
  3. ^ "They Call It Rock". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/they-call-it-rock-r522249. Retrieved 2011-04-27. 
  4. ^ Schnee, Steve. "Under the Influence (bonus tracks)". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/under-the-influence-bonus-tracks-r1235988/review. Retrieved 2011-04-27. 
  5. ^ Thompson, Hunter S. (1990). Songs of the Doomed: More Notes on the Death of the American Dream. Gonzo Papers. 3. Summit Books. ISBN 0671420186. 
  6. ^ Christgau, Robert. "Consumer Guide Album". http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=7897. Retrieved 2011-04-27. 
  7. ^ "Archives · Artists · Nick Lowe". Austin City Limits. 2008. http://austincitylimits.org/archives-artistspages/artists/item/root/nicklowe. Retrieved 2011-04-27. 
  8. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Very Best of the Knack". Review. Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/very-best-of-the-knack-r348286/review. Retrieved 2011-04-27. 

External links