Lofgren Honors His Friends on New Album
By GARY GRAFF, BILLBOARD.COM
What: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
When: 7:30 tonight, Monday and Thursday.
Where: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford.
How much: $65, $95.
For more information: brucespringsteen.net.
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There’s an odd co-production credit on Nils Lofgren’s new album, “The Loner Nils Sings Neil” for David Briggs, the famed Neil Young cohort who passed away 1995.
“I kind of produced the record through David’s eyes that’s why I gave him production credit,” says Lofgren. “I’ve never done anything live in the studio from start to finish and left every rough edge on it. And I needed David’s spirit to do that, just like when we made ‘After the Goldrush’ and ‘Tonight’s the Night’ with Neil.”
Lofgren met Young and Briggs when he was a teenager and last worked with the latter on Young’s 1993 “Unplugged” session. He recorded “The Loner” in late 2007 during a break from touring with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band based on a suggestion from his manager, Anson Smith.
“He pointed out that the two most popular items on my Web site in the last decade have been the acoustic live CD and the live acoustic DVD,” Lofgren recalls. “He suggested I consider doing an acoustic album of my favorite Neil Young songs, and I didn’t know about that ’cause I’m a big fan of Neil’s and figured he’s done a great job of producing these songs already.”
Nevertheless, Lofgren tried his hand at stripped-down versions of 30 of Young’s songs, separating what sounded “like good karaoke” from those that felt “honest and sincere” including takes on “Long May You Run,”"Harvest Moon,”"Like Hurricane,”"Mr. Soul” and the title track.
“I was hoping for 10 or 12, but we got 15,” says Lofgren, who made the album at home in Scottsdale, Ariz., using the Martin D-18 acoustic guitar that Young gave him as a gift following the “Goldrush” sessions. “I figured if it felt special, just share it that’s kind of in the spirit of David Briggs, too,” he says.
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