Nils Lofgren's Old School (Vision Records) might be among the best albums he's ever done. The multi-instrumentalist, singer and writer, who played on Neil Young's After the Gold Rush as teenager, has uncorked a great set of new tunes, recalling a time when rock artists could sustain passion and substance for 40 minutes on a platter or disc without any lapse in quality. In Nils' case, classic rock is not a dinosaur term.
Old School uses Lofgren's upper rank guitar skills to its advantage; aggressive songs like "60 Is the New 18" are counterbalanced by the heartbreaking "Irish Angel," and there's a successful middle ground between them--wistful, energetic and flat out lovely. Many of the songs deal with the passage of time, but without tears, excess sentiment or trivial statements. It's the opposite of what I saw on a guy's T-shirt at the library yesterday: "Grandpa Gone Wild."
It's almost a shame that Old School has been released at this time, because when Lofgren starts a huge tour next month as a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, will the album simply be forgotten, as so many records are?
Old School uses Lofgren's upper rank guitar skills to its advantage; aggressive songs like "60 Is the New 18" are counterbalanced by the heartbreaking "Irish Angel," and there's a successful middle ground between them--wistful, energetic and flat out lovely. Many of the songs deal with the passage of time, but without tears, excess sentiment or trivial statements. It's the opposite of what I saw on a guy's T-shirt at the library yesterday: "Grandpa Gone Wild."
It's almost a shame that Old School has been released at this time, because when Lofgren starts a huge tour next month as a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, will the album simply be forgotten, as so many records are?
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