Nick Lowe is a musical veteran of 40 years. He led the pub rock band Brinsley Schwarz, produced records for seminal punk artists such as The Damned and Elvis Costello, and has carved out a respectable solo career.

He may never be truly famous. But he is wealthy, thanks to the success of his 1974 song "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding," sung by Costello in 1979 on Armed Forces (which Lowe produced). The song — covered this time by Curtis Stigers — made the soundtrack of the 1992 movie The Bodyguard.

"I am very aware that there is a sort of handmade quality about my records that will ensure that I will never be a household name," Lowe says. "But also it's because I really make my living with other people doing my songs. And there's nothing that an artist or an producer likes better than hearing an underdone song."

Six years since his last album, The Convincer, Lowe returns with At My Age — songs exquisite in their own right, yet ripe for picking.

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