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Nils Lofgren Old School Review by Gary Hill I remember Nils Lofgren from the 1970s, and it’s a safe bet that if you are reading this review, so do you. The quick review here is to say that if you liked him then, you’ll like him now. Lofgren has created an album of individual tracks that fit together well while maintaining a sense of uniqueness from one to the next. Overall, it fits into classic rock territory with the boundaries varying from folk driven to bluesy, rocking and singer songwriter styled. It’s a cool disc. This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2012 Volume 1 at lulu.com/strangesound.

Track by Track Review

Old School There’s a killer bluesy rock sound here. This is classic rock at its best.

Is the New 18 We get a lot of energy and just a good classic rock sound for this one. A cool mid-section jam brings in some nearly progressive rock sounds.

Miss You Ray More of a folk rock sound is heard here. It’s got a real shuffling rhythm and it’s a cool tune.

Love Stumbles On An energized classic rock arrangement creates the sound for this tasty tune.

Amy Joan Blues As the title suggests, we get some killer blues here with some great slide guitar. It’s a highlight of the set.

Irish Angel Appropriately there’s a bit of a Celtic element to this. It’s a pretty ballad that is among the high points of the set.

Ain't Too Many Of Us Left We get some killer hard rock here that’s dominated by tasty guitar playing. The chorus is cool with a very 1970s styled sound. Somehow this song reminds me of something that Crosby Stills Nash and Young might have done. It’s a killer piece that’s quite probably my favorite tune here.

When You Were Mine An acoustic driven balladic motif makes up the music for this piece. The lyrics are nostalgic and very “slice of life” like.

Just Because You Love Me There’s a lot more rock built into this one. It’s a tasty tune that’s very much “classic rock.”

Dream Big There’s a more atmospheric sound to this one. It’s mellower, but there’s almost a symphonic air to the arrangement. In fact, there are strings involved. As the rhythm drives it later it becomes a bit more energized, but it’s got an almost ELO kind of feel to it there. We get a smoking hot guitar solo built into this one.

Let Her Get Away Here’s another that’s quite folky in nature. It’s mellow and pretty.

Why Me While this also has plenty of folk music built into it, there’s a driving guitar line.

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