Some musicians are born to run. And never stop. Nils Lofgren is that long-distance hero. Starting in the late 1960s, Lofgren staked out the rock & roll territory in Bethesda, Maryland. He was looking for the sparks to fully light his musical fuse. Coming from Chicago, where he began playing accordion at age 5. But that was just a step in the right direction, and like so very many young Americans, when the Beatles came ashore it was all over but the screaming. If ever a band kick-started a new way of life, it was the four pioneers from Liverpool. One listen to their “Love Me Do” and the world changed. Forever. Rock & roll became a team sport open to everyone, and like so many others, Nils Lofgren got the call and took up the flag. When that happens, truly happens in a way that can’t be stopped, it’s a given that music is the only way forward. For those whose spirit is supercharged with rock & roll, there is no alternative.
Luckily for Nils Lofgren, he had an innate inner gyroscope which let him pick up a guitar and intuitively know what to do with it. Of course, he had to practice and play live for thousands and thousands of hours, but that has always been the price of moving forward in music. It takes the kind of dedication of a marathon swimmer or long-distance runner to even get in the game, much less succeed. But that’s the kind of obsession Lofgren had. He knew it was his way forward, and once the young player formed the group Grin in 1968 life took the kind of turn that is the kind which changes everything. It’s like a spirit is watching and opens a door for those showing the dedication that lasts a lifetime. There really is nothing like music to take over everything, day and night, in testing the spirit of those who see that passion and path as their own.
In the 1970s Nils Lofgren recorded four Grin albums, but also joined Neil Young in recording AFTER THE GOLD RUSH and TONIGHT’S THE NIGHT. He was living in two worlds and staying at the top of both. Lofgren also joined Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band in the ’70s, and recorded in the studio with them beginning in 1987. It’s the kind of work schedule that might seem crazy on paper, but the man was such a dedicated player he showed up with whatever it took to make the music the very best it could be, and developed a reputation as someone who always made sure to add his best to whatever he was doing. In rock & roll there is a list of people who can be counted on completely, and to get on that list and stay there is one of the artist’s grandest achievements. It’s a small list and not really getting any longer.
Today, after the decades of twisting and turning, awards and successes, Nils Lofgren has accomplished one of the hardest high points to achieve: record a new album that stands as one of the very best of a 50-plus year career. It’s not that veterans don’t write great songs now. They do. But to have a full album of them collected together today like they are on Lofgren’s new album MOUNTAINS is really nothing less than stunning. It doesn’t happen that often, and not with the undeniable certainty of these ten songs. Except for a overwhelming cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Back In Your Arms,” the other nine songs are Lofgren originals, and range from undeniable rock & roll anthems to heartbreaking ballads. In 2023, it’s like the man born in Chicago and raised in Maryland has discovered a golden place to glow from, and spread into the world the kind of songs that not only lift the spirit but really lift the world.
To make one of the best albums of such a long and successful career is almost miraculous. But in many ways, MOUNTAINS is exactly that. Produced by Nils and wife Amy Lofgren, the feeling throughout the album feels like everyone involved knew this was a chance to really offer a feeling of permanence. As if the stars had lined up to give Nils Lofgren a sliver of eternity to say and sing exactly what he meant, and do it in a way that listeners could feel that strength instantly. So many recordings start out with that intention but are easily distracted down dead-end streets for slightly skewed results. That doesn’t happen here. Not once.
As a statement of purpose, there aren’t many other album openers that equal “Ain’t the Truth Enough.” And just to make sure the momentum of the song isn’t missed Ringo Starr plays the drums in the way he did in the Beatles: the beat is hammered home and never wavers. Cindy Mizelle adds backing vocals in a way that makes sure it’s known she’s there, and the song itself is like a promise laid down. There won’t be any wishy-washy words on this ride. Nils Lofgren is playing for keeps.
“Only Ticket Out” is another statement of promise. Andy Newmark steps in on drums, and like he’s been showing for 50 years in the studio, he does not pull any punches. Lofgren’s lead vocal is pure power, and when he cranks the guitar a couple of notches it’s like it’s 1970 again and Grin is blowing listeners back. This is the reason bandleaders enlist Lofgren’s talents. Turned up to 10.
Bruce Springsteen has written some of the most joyously romantic songs since the day he started in the early 1970s, and surely “Back In Your Arms” is one of his most memorable. Nothing is a chillbumper like a song about revived love, because when it leaves life’s hope usually leaves with it. This song is a blueprint of how hope is at the heart of the human tightrope, and when it’s love on the line there is nothing more important. Here’s how hard it can be, and in the end it’s obvious that it is all that matters. Just to make sure none of the emotions are lost, the Howard Gospel Choir–all ten of them–have Lofgren’s back, and they deliver.
Every album needs a boogie-based chugger, and “Won’t Cry No More” is exactly that. It almost feels like ZZ Top’s Billy F Gibbons will walk from the curtains and join in on the lowdown fun. That the song is dedicated to recently deceased Rolling Stones drum king Charlie Watts, the sadness escaping into the ozone from the song becomes like a posthumous prayer for not only Watts but all of us struggling in the mortal coil. There is a hopefulness being born throughout the song, against all odds, and maybe missing Charlie Watts is a call for his strength to get everyone through.
Dedicated to Amy Lofgren, “Nothin’s Easy” is the chillbumper of the collection. It is a full-tilt dedication to how true love can come to the rescue and save a soul from a world heading for the cliff. There is no other explanation on how to live through such challenges except holding a pure love. As Lofgren sings lead and Neil Young adds vocals, the chorus, “As I walk the hurt in this world, nothin’s easy except you” becomes a cosmic mantra that feels best lived by being tattooed on the heart. Lofgren has found the only way through, and his voice captures that overwhelming realization. This is it. It will never be forgotten. There is no other answer. Bless them all.
“Dream Killer” is like the novel NAKED LUNCH’s definition, where, as writer William Burroughs offered, it is “seen what is on the end of every fork.” With the kind of knocked-out guitar leads that helped Nils Lofgren carve out an illustrious career in his beginning, this song has an undeniable feeling of timelessness, and even if not everything gets learned in the end, the musical ride is effortlessly effervescent with the kind of subtle power which Lofgren has always excelled at.
For an incredibly gorgeous left turn, “Only Your Smile” features string bass guru Ron Carter in a totally intimate movement through the kind of love song that doesn’t get written that much any more. Lofgren’s always stunning piano playing is right there with Carter for the whole song. If such a thing as new American standards exist, this song would slip right into the top of that list. Maybe someday soon.
“I Remember Her Name” is one of the last recording sessions David Crosby participated on, and as a puzzle of lost and found love it is almost equal to a mystery novel. Lofgren’s vocal weaves in and out of a story that has a chilling power to it, as he seeks to find the lover who got away. Luckily, love wins out in the end.
“We Better Find It,” recorded with the gorgeous Phoenix’s Children’s Choir, is an overwhelming vocal excursion into ecstasy. Nils Lofgren takes off in looking for answers to the questions at hand, he shows a strength that seems to be at his core
“Angel Blues” feels like the perfect album ender. It is a summation of the journey of life in all its splendor and soul-searching efforts. It arrives at the end of a long adventure, and while there are no final answers, the feeling of love and labor blend into an answer of sorts that says the world that we all live in has a way of offering what is needed if we are open enough to let it in. It is really all that can be asked, and the angels that live around to aid us are not going away. Peace and love is here to stay, and just maybe it can be ours.
With MOUNTAINS Nils Lofgren has once again reached the pinnacle. What’s most thrilling of all is the songs that he offers us to go with him. Amen to that.
Bill Bentley