Nils Lofgren - Old School

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:23
Size: 101.6 MB
Styles: Heartland rock
Year: 2011
Art: Front

[3:11] 1. Old School
[3:01] 2. 60 Is The New 18
[2:38] 3. Miss You Ray
[3:51] 4. Love Stumbles On
[2:44] 5. Amy Joan Blues
[5:10] 6. Irish Angel
[4:40] 7. Ain't Too Many Of Us Left
[4:32] 8. When You Were Mine
[2:31] 9. Just Because You Love Me
[4:30] 10. Dream Big
[3:09] 11. Let Her Get Away
[4:22] 12. Why Me

As its title implies, getting older is on Nils Lofgren's mind for his first album of new material since 2006. Besides the title track, "60 Is the New 18," "Miss You Ray" (dedicated to Ray Charles), and "Ain't Too Many of Us Left" speak to the frustrations facing an aging rocker in a young man's game. To his credit, Lofgren doesn't modernize his style to endear himself for a younger audience, but has written 11 out of these dozen selections in the same melodic rock format that he's adhered to since his days in Grin. He's never been a great singer, but his voice has lost much of its high end, which makes him sound more grizzled than usual. Still, that generally works to his advantage since his veteran status allows him to comment on everything from the maturing of love to teens and their annoying habits. The distinctive electric guitar sound that made Lofgren so invaluable as a backing soloist to Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen is tamped down for the most part, although it weaves throughout songs that rely more on melody, lyrics, and singing than hotshot six-string work. Guest vocals from Paul Rodgers and Lou Gramm minimally enhance a few tracks, but Sam & Dave's Sam Moore shines on his duet for the chorus for "Ain't Too Many of Us Left," a song that also gives Lofgren a chance to unwind on guitar. Heartfelt ballads such as the lovely "When You Were Mine," the haunted memories of the closing "Why Me," the acoustic "Let Her Get Away," "Love Stumbles On"'s wistful recollection, and especially "Irish Angel" (the disc's only cover) work particularly well with Lofgren's grainy, somewhat compromised voice. Perhaps his advancing years have shifted Lofgren's focus from the rockers that used to dominate his albums to the slower, more reflective compositions here. Regardless, he's in good form; spirited on the rockers and appropriately melancholy on the softer material. He knows his shot at solo stardom is behind him but that doesn't stop him from writing solid, at times exemplary, songs and performing them with the verve and panache he has always exhibited in his work. This isn't his best hour but it's far from his worst. It's a workmanlike effort from a veteran rocker who is too driven, vital, and talented to seriously consider retiring. That should sit just fine with fans who have stuck with him this long, and they especially will be rewarded with a solid, credible, and honest project that plays to Lofgren's still considerable strengths. ~Hal Horowitz

Old School mc
Old School zippy

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Nils Lofgren - The Loner: Nils Sings Neil

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:42
Size: 129.8 MB
Styles: Heartland rock, Roots
Year: 2008
Art: Front

[3:48] 1. Birds
[3:18] 2. Long May You Run
[3:18] 3. Flying On The Ground
[3:11] 4. I Am A Child
[3:39] 5. Only Love Can Break Your Heart
[5:32] 6. Harvest Moon
[3:56] 7. Like A Hurricane
[4:19] 8. The Loner
[6:05] 9. Don't Be Denied
[3:15] 10. World On A String
[4:20] 11. Mr. Soul
[3:18] 12. Winterlong
[3:47] 13. On The Way Home
[2:12] 14. Wonderin'
[2:37] 15. Don't Cry No Tears

Nils Lofgren is a guitar hero who does great work in the employ of others and is wildly inconsistent as a solo artist and vocalist. Lofgren is at his best when he can strut his stuff on electric guitar, so why would anyone want to listen to an album of him performing Neil Young tunes on acoustic guitar and piano? The Loner: Nils Sings Neil sounds like a truly misguided idea for an album, but against the odds it turns out to be a sweet and heartfelt surprise, a moving interpretive album and one of Lofgren's best solo efforts to date. Lofgren can't bring the same kind of fire to his acoustic guitar work that he does on electric, and his voice is a wavering tenor that doesn't carry a lot of weight, but Lofgren has the advantage of recording and touring with Young in the past, and it's clear that these songs speak to something in his heart -- he knows this music, and when he sings he hits a clear and unaffected emotional bull's-eye. At first, it's hard not to wish that Lofgren had overdubbed a bit of accompaniment on these tracks, but let the album sink in and the spare, minimal recording and arrangements work in favor of the songs; the nakedness of these performances brings the emotional core of the material front and center, and Lofgren sings "Only Love Can Break Your Heart," "Don't Be Denied," and "Don't Cry No Tears" with sincere clarity, allowing each word to carry its full message. Of course, it doesn't hurt that Neil Young is one of rock's finest songwriters and Lofgren has chosen 15 superb selections from his catalog, but there's more to cutting a good cover than simply picking a good song. The Loner: Nils Sings Neil demonstrates that Lofgren knows what makes these songs so powerful, and he doesn't cover up the essentials with these spare but soulfully direct interpretations; the result is a small and simple triumph. ~Mark Deming

The Loner: Nils Sings Neil

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