By Ken Paulson
It’s not unusual for a first solo album to be among an artist’s best. After all, most singer-songwriters have a young lifetime of work from which to select those first 10 or 12 tracks. But that wasn’t the case with Nils Lofgren, just reissued by Real Gone Music.
Lofgren had already put out several albums with his band Grin and toured with Neil Young. The material for this 1975 collection had to be fresh and striking, and Lofgren delivered on both counts.
It’s remarkable to see how many beloved Lofgren tracks show up on this first record, from the blistering “Back It Up” to the wistful “Can’t Buy a Break” and the inventive cover of Carole King’s “Goin’ Back.”
The highlight may well be “Keith Don’t Go,” the celebration of his “main inspirer” Keith Richards. That plea to Keith to stay in the Rolling Stones must have worked; Keith is still on board four decades later.
Nils Lofgren offers a portrait of an absolutely confident young musician. Teamed with Wornell Jones on bass and Aynsley Dunbar on drums, Lofgren aced his debut with consistently strong songs and stellar work on guitar and piano.