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┌────────┐
────┤ Info ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
└────────┘
Artist | Nils Lofgren
Title | Old School
Genre | Rock Format | Album
Source | CDDA Time | 44:32
Label | Vision Music Store | 2011
Catalog | VMCD 1016 Rip | 2016
Bitrate | 239 kbps Size | 79.82 MB
Freq | 44.1 kHz Encoder | Lame 3.98.4
┌────────┐
────┤ Tracks ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
└────────┘
01. Old School 3:12
02. 60 Is The New 18 3:03
03. Miss You Ray 2:39
04. Love Stumbles On 3:52
05. Amy Joan Blues 2:44
06. Irish Angel 5:12
07. Ain't Too Many Of Us Left 4:42
08. When You Were Mine 4:33
09. Just Because You Love Me 2:32
10. Dream Big 4:30
11. Let Her Get Away 3:09
12. Why Me 4:24
┌────────┐
────┤ Notes ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
└────────┘
For much of his professional rock & roll career, Nils Lofgren has been
known as the lead guitarist for Bruce Springsteen's E-Street Band - the guy
who replaced Steven Van Zandt in 1984 and stayed on after Little Steven
returned to the fold. Prior to the E-Street Band, Lofgren was a member of
Neil Young's backing band Crazy Horse, and these associations have tended
to dominate any mention of the guitarist's career, as any support for two
legendary singer/songwriters would. But take away Bruce and Neil from
Lofgren's resume and he has an impressive, idiosyncratic cache in his own
right, starting with the records he made with Grin, an acclaimed but
underappreciated band from the late 60s, running through his own
compositions with Crazy Horse and then on a series of solo recordings that
started with 1975's eponymous debut.
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" and its 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.
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────┤ Group ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
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