Nils+lofgren

Nils Lofgren has a story unlike any other in rock & roll. Something of a teenage rock & roll prodigy, he first made waves when he played on Neil Young's After the Gold Rush at the tender age of 17, just around the time his D.C.-based band Grin relocated to Los Angeles in hopes of hitting the big time. Grin never became stars, but Lofgren did. His association with Young provided a launch pad for a solo career that was acclaimed and fitfully commercially successful, with the late-'70s albums Cry Tough, I Came to Dance, and Night After Night all making waves in album rock…

When Nils Lofgren released his first solo album in 1975, most fans were expecting a set confirming his guitar hero status, and more than a few listeners were vocally disappointed with the more laid-back and song-oriented disc Lofgren delivered. However, with the passage of time Nils Lofgren has come to be regarded as an overlooked classic, and with good reason – Lofgren has rarely been in better form on record as a songwriter, vocalist, musician, and bandleader…

Finally available on wide release 32 years after it was a limited-edition, and much coveted, vinyl release sent to 1,000 radio stations and critics (each one with a sticker hand-glued to the cover), this 44-minute live radio station concert is half as long and more than twice as exciting as Nils Lofgren's official live concert souvenir, 1977's disappointing and bloated Night After Night. Al Kooper, who was then doing pre-production on Lofgren's second solo effort, sits in on keyboards and the stripped-down band also featuring Nils' brother Tommy on second guitar and a bassist and drummer keeps the sound lean and mean. There are only seven tracks, with five grabbed from Lofgren's then recently released debut, along with two tunes from Grin, the band he recorded four albums with that also included his brother…

"No Mercy," with special effects recorded at Madison Square Garden, has the sentiment of Simon & Garfunkel's "The Boxer." The double entendre being the rock musician oftentimes works on the same stage as the fighter, of course, punching away in the ring of life. Nils Lofgren is a veteran who has performed with Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, and so many others, working here with producer Bob Ezrin who helped create Pink Floyd's The Wall. As with any great artist, Ezrin brings in his various contacts which color the recordings he makes, insuring a product that is as much the producer's as it is Nils Lofgren's. Dick Wagner co-wrote the hits "Only Women Bleed" and "You And Me" with Alice Cooper…

"I'm not Bob Dylan, but I never miss a beat" sings Nils Lofgren on 1977's I Came to Dance, a very polished collection of nine songs produced by the guitar virtuoso and drummer Andy Newmark…

Though not an inspired effort, this double-live album does have its moments. Lofgren's muscular guitar playing is particularly evident on tracks such as "Keith Don't Go" (an ode to Rolling Stone Keith Richards) and "Cry Tough." Lofgren has long been underrated as a guitar player and songwriter, and although this album does not have the dynamic energy that some of his live shows of the '70s had, it does catch the former E Street guitarist playing some fine lead guitar.

After releasing a solo debut that made a great case for his talent but didn't deliver the rock & roll goods as expected, Nils Lofgren turned up the guitar heroics on his 1976 album Cry Tough and the results were a lot closer to what fans had hoped for from the whiz kid from Grin…

Gone Crazy is a 1973 album by Grin. The original album was a gatefold. The outside front and back covers feature a colorful drawing, by Lanny Tupper, of animals, dishes, and musical instruments going crazy. A photo of Nils Lofgren doing a flip is also on the front cover…

Before he was under the wing of Neil Young and before he made a series of underappreciated solo albums, guitarist Nils Lofgren formed Grin, a trio that was devoted to simple, basic rock & roll, in 1969…

Ringo Starr went back to work in the summer of 1989 fronting a tour of rock stars who, like him, had become golden oldies. Ringo sang hits like "It Don't Come Easy" and "Photograph," Dr. John sang "Iko Iko," Levon Helm of the Band sang "The Weight," his bandmate Rick Danko sang "Raining in My Heart," an old Buddy Holly tune, Billy Preston sang "Will It Go Round Iin Circles," and Joe Walsh sang the Eagles' "Life in the Fast Lane."…