|
|
|
All songs written by Nils Lofgren except
Driftin' Man (Nils & Lou Reed), All I Have To Do Is Dream (Boudleaux
Bryant) Nils: Vocals., guitars,
keyboards, dobro, harmonica, percussion
Art Work by Ralph Steadman
Review This album has been on it's way for a long time - six years! Was it worth the wait? Oh! Yes. I bought the CD at the first gig of the UK tour (Colne, Lancashire) and listened to it on the way home in the car. It was a surprise. I couldn't fathom out why Nils had produced such a mellow and, with first impressions, such a weak album. Half way back to Scarborough and it had played through. I put it on again and with the second half of the journey I saw through my disappointment. It was gripping stuff. It was very, very good! How could I have been so wrong? The opener, Puttin' Out Fires, is a true classic in the making and sticks out above the rest. I Found You and Seize Love also stand out but don't be put off. You are allowed to have favourites. The other 11 tracks are all great recordings - different genres, different moods and differently wonderful. As a collection of songs spanning three or four years, I think it's one of his best albums. I haven't stopped playing it yet - that's six weeks solid so far. Seize Love plays as I type! TL
AMG EXPERT REVIEW: Breakaway Angel is the first Nils Lofgren studio album in six years. Although he is famous for his excellent guitar work, most of the tracks here showcase his use of the classical harp. He still continues to play the guitar, although most of his work here is acoustic. Featuring 13 self-penned originals and one more written with Lou Reed, Breakaway Angel is a return to form for the underrated songwriter. — Bradley Torreano
A Review: If the more tender, thought-provoking aspects of Nils Lofgren's canon are the elements that appeal most to you, rather than the cock-sure gunslinger of his early days, then Breakaway Angel could be fluttering its wings in your direction. The majority of the album's new songs - and one cover - highlight the gentler side of the Lofgren character with lyrics touching on the multi-faceted jewel of love and guitar-playing flitting effortlessly from electric to acoustic. I found you shows the best of Lofgren with a distinct edge to the song's message of a new love giving meaning to a life. Some feisty lead guitar breaks are tempered with girlie backing vocals repeating the title's chorus. Over it, Lofgren sings: "I was crazy, nerves all distorted, guts like a brush fire gone unreported" - rhyming couplet of the album. I can't fly boasts one of the most haunting melody lines before tangentially drifting into a strangely effective faux-Hawaiian sub-theme, and Love you most is quite breathtaking with its gently loping bass, courtesy of ace session man Leland Sklar, and the gently plucked harp of Christine Vivona. Two of Breakaway Angel's tracks are not all the work of Lofgren's own hand. A run-through of All I have to is dream stays fairly true to the Everly Brothers' original and that's followed by the acoustic guitar-dominated Driftin' man, co-written by Lofgren and Lou Reed, which benefits from some atmospheric tom-tom work from drummer Timm Biery. The uptempo rhythm and perky guitar breaks belie the sadness of Cryin' tonight which sees the collapse of love's young dream when a chap's girl tells him they should see other people in order to test their feelings for each other. Lofgren sits down at the piano - it's easy to forget he's just as talented with a keyboard as a fretboard - for the slower-paced Heaven's answer to blue, a heart-breaking accounting of the emotional collateral of the reunion of an estranged father and his long-lost child. And he slips into classic singer/song-writer mode, with only his voice, acoustic and harmonica for company as he goes looking for love and answers along the Open road. But it ain't all love and hearts 'n' flowers - Breakaway Angel kicks off the sort of punchy, intelligent rocker for which Lofgren is, probably, most revered. Puttin' out fires boogievates along on a demon bass line, from Lee Sklar, which gives more than a nod in the direction of Hall & Oates' Maneater and boasts a couple of Lofgren's delicious trademark, cascading notes solos on acoustic guitar. It's a fantastic album-opener. And his social conscience is given free rein on Tears ain't enough - a peek into the plight of America's homeless. How's this for angry? "Got my belly for a pillow, and the rain to wash her clothes, cement mattress, walls of cardboard. We ain't helpless, we're homeless and it shows." It's sung over a western swing backing enlivened by some cracking fiddle by Rickie Simpkins. Breakaway Angel may not boast a Keith don't do, nor a Cry tough but it's a fine addition to body of work by a man whom too many people regard as no more than a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. He's much, much more that "just" that. Fred Hall
|
|
Home Page
Nils'
Albums
Nils'
Singles
Crested China |
The studio pose at Chaton . From left to right are:Lee Sklar, Jamison Weddle
(sitting),
Michael Botts, Nils Lofgren, Christine Vivona and Otto D'Agnolo.
Otto D'Agnolo at the mixing desk with Nils