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Nils Lofgren — 358



ALBUM: Nils Lofgren (1975)

MVC Rating: 4.0/$$

This guitarist has a prolific resume. Founder of the band Grin, they put out some solid rock albums. He was in Neil Young’s Crazy Horse and later Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band.

Meanwhile he put out a number of solo albums like this one in 1975.

When you have close to 700 albums, it’s hard to play all of them consistently. I don’t come home from work and say, gosh I really have to hear some Lofgren. But I should, you should too.. There’s a reason Neil and Bruce like him. He’s a rock and roll guitar player who has fun, plays loose and his music on this album and my two Grin albums sounds like the best bar band you just stumbled onto.

Highlights include Keith Don’t Go, fun homage to Keith Richards complete with Stones’ riffs. “Going Back,” a Goffin/King song shows off his piano skills which I didn’g even know he had.

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Grin — 442, 441

ALBUMS: All Out (1972); Gone Crazy (1973) 

MVC Rating: All Out 4.0/$$; Gone Crazy 3.5/$$$

Hey folks. Grin is not a household name but you vinyl record aficionados ought to seek it out.

It’s a band fronted by Nils Lofgren in the 1970s. Nils is not exactly a household name either but after his youthful foray in Grin, he became a member of  bands formed  by some major household names: Bruce Springsteen’s E-Street Band and Neil y Young’s  Crazy Horse. Not bad. Two of the best rock singer-songwriters of our era. (Actually Grin happened while he was in Crazy Horse.)

Lofgren is an excellent guitarist. But don’t come to Grin expecting life-changing music, like you might have found when you first heard Neil Young or Bruce Springsteen.

I think  those two saw a musicality from Lofgren that covered a lot of ground. I think they also must have seen some bright rock and roll fun spirit in his music. Lofgren is a classically trained musician (classical accordion, according to his Wikipedia page –is that a joke?). Glad he ventured into rock and roll as I  doubt I would ever be  blessed with his music if he was 2nd chair accordion in the Los Angeles symphony.

Anyway Grin is a fun garage band styled group from  Lofgren’s early life. The album covers are wild and they alone may be worth the $10 or so you may have to pay for a used copy.

What is a ‘household name’ anyway?

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