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?