Best of Nils Lofgren & Grin: The A&M Years CD

Best of Nils Lofgren & Grin: The A&M Years buy CD music Between 1970 and 1972, Stephen Stills was busy playing with Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, and working on a series of solo albums. In addition to all this activity he led the supergroup that appears on this stunning release. Originally a double album of four distinct sides, MANASSAS finds Stills and company (which includes friends and session musicians Chris Hillman, Dallas Taylor, and Al Perkins, among others) at the intersection of rock, folk, country, blues, and Latin flavors. Distinctive styles are noticeable song by song, yet the whole is a hodge-podge, and it is the strength and credibility of the mixture that makes MANASSAS such a great experience. The first fourth of the album focuses on '60s rock with Afro-Cuban overtones (imagine Buffalo Springfield sitting in with Santana), followed by a batch of country and bluegrass-oriented material (with Chris Hillman's influence more strongly felt). The dreamy, swaying "It Doesn't Matter" kicks off the third section, which has a folk-rock feel, replete with multi-part harmonies and chiming guitars. The final section brings things back to amped-up rock, wrapping up the set with the rootsy groove of "Blues Man," a tribute to Jimi Hendrix. A rich and varied collection that is as sophisticated and complex as it is earthy and easy to listen to, MANASSAS is considered by many to be one of the great overlooked gems of the '70s rock. Manassas/Stephen Stills: Stephen Stills (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar, bottleneck guitar, piano, electric piano, Clavinet, organ, Moog synthesizer); Al Perkins (vocals, guitar, steel guitar); Chris Hillman (vocals, guitar, mandolin); Joe Lala (vocals, congas, timbales, percussion); Paul Harris (piano, tack piano, electric piano, Clavinet, organ); Fuzzy Samuels (bass instrument); Dallas Taylor (drums). Additional personnel: Byron Berline (fiddle); Sydney George (harmonica); Jerry Aiello (piano, electric piano, Clavinet, ...

Best of Nils Lofgren & Grin: The A&M Years CD music A solid follow-up to 2005's SOLO ACOUSTIC VOLUME 1, this sequel was recorded at various concerts across several continents in the last few years, providing a wide overview of Jackson Browne's career as both a songwriter and a performer. Ranging across the breadth of Browne's lengthy career, from 1972's "Something Fine" to a handful of songs from 2002's THE NAKED RIDE HOME, SOLO ACOUSTIC VOLUME 2 is lighter on the instantly recognizable radio hits, although "Somebody's Baby" and "In the Shape of a Heart" are both accounted for. Even more appealing for longtime fans, over half of the 12 songs feature lengthy, at times rambling, but always entertaining introductions about the songs themselves or the circumstances of their writing. Photographers: Andrea Blackwelder; Nels Israelson; Alan Kozlowski . Personnel: Jackson Browne (vocals, guitar). Audio Mixer: Paul Dieter.

Best of Nils Lofgren & Grin: The A&M Years album for sale When David Geffen convinced Richie Furay, Chris Hillman, and J.D. Souther to join forces to form a country-rock supergroup, it seemed like an inspired suggestion. Crosby, Stills & Nash's folk-rock had scored big with a similar idea, while bands such as the Eagles, who recorded for Geffen's Asylum Records, had made some waves commercially in recent years. But despite high expectations along with the history of their members, the Souther-Hillman-Furay Band's 1974 eponymous debut never quite lived up to its promise. The trio, along with steel guitarist Al Perkins, drummer Jim Gordon, and Paul Harris on piano, delivers a collection of ten pleasant, if overall unremarkable tunes in the singer/songwriter, country-rock vein. There are glimmers of past glories by each, but only Furay really connects solidly. His "Fallin' in Love," which opens the record, is a winning, Poco-like rocker, while "Believe Me" is by far its most beautiful track. On the other hand, with the exception of a pair of modest successes, including the lightly funky "Border Town" and the straightforward rock & roll of "Safe at Home," Souther and Hillman's contributions are fairly lightweight. Even "Heavenly Fire," Hillman's heartfelt tribute to former bandmate Gram Parsons, who had died a few months earlier, is a bit lackluster and pales in comparison to the Eagles' "My Man" from the same year. Still, there should be enough here -- thanks especially to the Furay tracks -- that will at least be of moderate interest to most fans. Originally released by Asylum in 1974, The Souther-Hillman-Furay Band was reissued domestically on CD by the Wounded Bird label in 2002. ~ Brett Hartenbach The Souther, Hillman, Furay Band was one of those supergroup creations of the 70's. Chris Hillman was an original member of The Byrds, Richie Furay was one of the founders of Poco and J.D. Souther worked with Glen Frey of the Eagles. In 1974 they formed this unique group and recorded two albums. The Souther, Hillman, Furay Band went all the way to # 11 on the Billboard charts and features the top 40 hit Fallin' In Love. Wounded Bird Records. 2002. Recorded at American Recorders, Los Angeles, California. Souther, Hillman, Furay Band: J.D. Souther (vocals, guitar); Chris Hillman (guitar, mandolin, bass, background vocals); Richie Furay (guitar, background vocals); Al Perkins (guitar, steel guitar, dobro, bass); Paul Harris (keyboards); Jim Gordon (drums, percussion); Joe Lala (percussion). Personnel: Chris Hillman (vocals, guitar, mandolin); J.D. Souther, Richie Furay (vocals, guitar); Al Perkins (guitar, steel guitar, dobro, bass guitar); Paul Harris (keyboards); Jim Gordon (drums, percussion); Ron Grinel (drums); Joe Lala (percussion). Audio Mixers: Richard Podolor; Bill Cooper. Recording information: American Recorders, Los Angeles, CA. Photographer: Lorrie Sullivan.

Best of Nils Lofgren & Grin: The A&M Years songs Steppenwolf is best known primarily for its party-hearty rock & roll anthems. But with 1969's MONSTER, the band's fourth release, Steppenwolf showed a political side. While the album didn't contain any radio-ready top-40 hits, the album as a whole remains an impressive accomplishment. John Kay and company voice their opinions on the then-raging Vietnam War and the dark side of the judicial system and politics. "Monster/Suicide/America," a nearly ten-minute album-opening epic, is a good example of this new direction, as is the self-explanatory "Draft Resister." Recording information: American Recording Company, Calabasas, CA. Unknown Contributor Role: Steppenwolf.

Best of Nils Lofgren & Grin: The A&M Years album for sale Since Crazy Horse first came to public attention as the backing band for Neil Young in concert and on his albums Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere and After the Gold Rush, it makes sense to expect that the band on its own would play something similar to the hard guitar rock and country-rock heard on those albums, albeit without Young's distinctively quirky singing and songwriting, and that is what one hears to a large extent on the debut album Crazy Horse. (Although this is their first recording under that name, core members Danny Whitten, Billy Talbot, and Ralph Molina have appeared previously on record as part of the doo wop group Danny & the Memories and the rock band the Rockets.) But there is more going on than that. Also joining in, as singers and songwriters as well as sidemen, are veteran arranger/producer Jack Nitzsche and guitarist Nils Lofgren, while Ry Cooder adds slide guitar to a number of tracks. The result is a varied group of songs that range in style from rock and country to blues and folk. The overall quality of those songs is quite high, starting with Nitzsche and Russ Titelman's "Gone Dead Train," previously heard being sung by Randy Newman on the soundtrack to Performance. (Nitzsche and Titelman also contribute the pop-ish "Carolay.") The country hoedown "Dance, Dance, Dance" is a good Young cast-off, while the driving "Beggars Day" and "Nobody" were penned by Lofgren. These contributions serve as the supporting material for Whitten's songs, however, as his five numbers are among the album's best, whether he's rocking out on the ominous "Downtown" (which appears to be about scoring dope) or sadly crooning the heartbreaking ballad "I Don't Want to Talk About It." (After being revived by Rod Stewart on Atlantic Crossing in 1975, the song was a chart single for him and went on to become a minor standard with covers by Rita Coolidge, Everything But the Girl, and Ian Matthews, among others.) Crazy Horse made the case for Whitten as a major talent and for the band as a strong act apart from Young. ~ William Ruhlmann Dylan had the Band; Neil had Crazy Horse. And while they never attained the commercial success of the Band, Crazy Horse was a force to be reckoned with, as this long-out-of-print debut album reveals. Nils Lofgren, Jack Nitzsche and Ry Cooder join the late Danny Whitten (heard performing the original version of Downtown from Tonight's the Night ) for this early-'70s classic. Recorded at Wally Heiders Studio D, San Francisco, California and Sunset Sound Studio #1, Los Angeles, California. Personnel: Danny Whitten, Nils Lofgren (vocals, guitar, background vocals); Jack Nitzsche (vocals, piano, keyboards, background vocals); Ralph Molina (vocals, drums, background vocals); Ry Cooder (guitar, slide guitar, steel guitar); Gib Guilbeau (violin, fiddle); Billy Talbot (background vocals). Audio Mixer: Henry Lewy. Recording information: Sunset Sound Studio #1, Los Angeles, CA; Wally Heiders Studio D, San Francisco, CA. Photographer: Joel Bernstein. Arranger: Crazy Horse. Crazy Horse: Danny Whitten (vocals, guitar); Nils Lofgren (guitar, background vocals); Jack Nitzsche (piano, background vocals); Billy Talbot (bass, background vocals); Ralph Molina (drums, background vocals). Additional personnel: Ry Cooder (slide guitar); Gib Gilbeau (fiddle).

Best of Nils Lofgren & Grin: The A&M Years CD music As of 2002 this generous, 20-track, multi-label career overview was the only Nils Lofgren compilation -- and one of his few albums -- in print. Although it's not bad and hits many of the singer/songwriter/guitarist's career highlights, there are glaring omissions, such as excluding anything from his band Grin (especially odd since their last A&M album is owned by Universal), which will frustrate fans and newcomers. Almost half the songs are pulled from Lofgren's first few solo releases, making this a lopsided retrospective at best. While these may be his finest overall works, tunes such as "Like Rain," "Back It Up," and Grin's "Beggar's Day" are absolutely essential to any Lofgren collection, yet are MIA here. Instead listeners get "Two by Two," "Can't Get Closer (WCGC)," and "Mud in Your Eye," all fine songs, but few fans would choose them over the missing cuts. Additionally, entire albums like 1985's Flip and the live Night After Night are ignored, and the studio version of "No Mercy" -- undoubtedly one of his best overall productions -- is replaced by an adequate live acoustic version that doesn't shimmer with the rawness of the original. Since Lofgren had input in choosing the selections, this is a representation of what he wanted as opposed to what a knowledgeable fan might have constructed. That said, there's lots of great music here. A few obscure gems -- like "Empty Heart," "Across the Tracks," the sublime "Girl in Motion," and the Lou Reed collaboration "Life," one of his jazziest songs which features sax from Branford Marsalis -- get much-needed exposure. The melodic rock from his earliest solo albums remains crucial and invigorating in a timeless fashion. It's an adequate place to start a Lofgren collection and, barring a major reissue of his individual discs, the only way to obtain most of these songs on CD. But it's nowhere near as ultimate as the title states. ~ Hal Horowitz Includes liner notes by Dave Marsh.