Nils Lofgren Band - Live
Bruce Springsteenhas frequently introduced Nils Lofgren as the "greatest, most overqualified" second guitarist in rock & roll. And Lofgren will certainly be remembered as one of the great team players, first as second chair toNeil Young, more recently with the E Street Band. The fact that theRolling Stoneswanted him to replace Mick Taylor and those early tours leadingRingo Starr's band blurs the fact that Lofgren has created some terrific music of his own. This 2003 release is his fifth official live album, and while not quite the raucous affair that 1977'sNight After Night, it still proves Lofgren to be a formidable talent as a guitarist, singer, songwriter, and bandleader. The set list touches on more obscure moments from his career, dating back to four tunes from his early trioGrin, one from his debut LP, and a touching tribute to long-deceased Crazy Horse co-guitarist Danny Whitten via the latter's "I Don't Want To Talk About It." Lofgren produces a wonderful guitar sound--and covers of "The Star Spangled Banner" andRoberta Flack's "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" (a studio bonus track) reveal that he still possesses one of the more beautiful and soothing voices in all of rock music.--Bill Holdship