Customer Reviews

The Loner: Nils Sings Neil

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Loner - Nils Sings Neil is as beautiful an album that lovers of acoustic folk will hear. Nils Lofgren, whose big break came in 1970 when Neil Young recruited him to participate in the making of the After The Gold Rush album, knows these songs well. And the love of Neil Young's sonic style is clear as Nils offers up sparse and compelling versions accompanied only by an acoustic guitar or baby grand piano. The highlights are the majestic Birds, romantic power of Like A Hurricane and confessional I Am A Child. This is clearly one of the best albums of Nils' career and one of the best releases of 2008.

cant say enough about this cd nils has captured the spirit of neil. i always thought they were kindred spirits. i have been a big fan of both and find this to be a great tribute to neil. nils contribution to goldrush was outstanding.his admiration shines through on each and every track. hes the right guy to be doing neil young songs. like to see the two of them do something together in the future.check out any of the othernils cds hes high energy. even his early work with grin is worth the listen.

Another album heard frequently on XM Deep Tracks 40. Love the stripped down Neil Young covers, and the liner notes make the whole experience all the more intimate. Ordered on Amazon - shipped from UK within the week.

I have to be honest....I don't own a single Neil Young album! While I've always respected him as an artist, there was just something about his voice that I couldn't get into. That was one of the reasons I held off buying this disc...even as a decades-long Nils Lofgren fan (going all the way back to the A&M days!), I was worried that there might somehow be more Young on the album than Lofgren.
Well, nothing could be further from the truth! Unlike, say, Steve Earle's new TOWNES album, THE LONER does everything a good tribute album is supposed to do...it A) briliantly showcases the artist being celebrated, while B) allowing the artist doing the celebrating to remain true to themselves and "speak" in their own voice. This album honors the power of lyrics more than almost any album in the last 40 years, and Lofgren does it brilliantly by backing himself solely with either only acoustic guitar or piano. This minimalist approach allows Lofgren to soar, resulting in an effort that's just nakedly beautiful and honest.
In honor of that honesty and beauty, I'm going to do something a little different...rather than "review" each song, I'm going to comment on my favorite thing about each cut. Here goes!
I've loved "Birds" ever since I heard Valerie Carter's lovely version. Here, the muted piano and Lofgren's plaintive statement of "It's over" are both heartbreaking and captivating. A great way to kick things off!
"Long May You Run" has an easy-going, folksy vibe to it. Lofgren takes an iconic track and strips it down to it's core, turning it into a universal wish/tribute to and for good times and good luck, no matter which way the roads have forked. Gorgeous!
"Flying On The Ground" is one of my favorite cuts...Lofgren's vocal is just killer, but it's the power of the lyrics here that really got me: "But if crying and holding on/And flying on the ground is wrong/Than I'm sorry to let you down/But you're from my side of town/And I miss you."
There's something about Lofgren's lead vocal on "I Am A Child" that just slays me...sweet, innocent, honest, it just anchors the track in a way that's absolutely breath-taking. And, once again, the lyrics are particularly poignant. Another gem!
Lofgren's piano playing takes center stage on "Only Love Can Break Your Heart"...it transports you to another time and place (picture a pub or saloon around the turn of the 20th century). Toss is an angelic vocal, and you have a real beauty.
There's no denying "Harvest Moon" is an absolute classic, but, once again, Lofgren manages to make it his own while still honoring it. His guitar playing is simple, yet elegant, while his vocal has a relaxed lilt to it. And I LOVE the line "Because I'm still in love with you/I want to see you dance again!"
"Like A Hurricane" is sheer poetry: "Once I thought I saw you/In a crowded, hazy bar/Dancing on the light/From star to star/Far across the moonbeam/I know that's who you are/I saw your brown eyes turning once to fire." Doesn't get much better than that!
The disc's title track has a bit more of an edge to it...Lofgren's vocal has a bit more grit to it, while his playing seems a tad...harder. All of this adds up to a nice balance, with "The Loner" being one of the disc's centerpieces.
"Don't Be Denied" is probably the album's most linear story/song, but it's the cut's early lyrics that are the most powerful: "When we got to Winnipeg/I checked into school/I wore white bucks on my feet/When I learned the Golden Rule/The punches came fast and hard/Laying on my back in the school yard." Powerful stuff.
There's a bluesy, boozy quality to "World On A String." Lofgren's guitar just tumbles out of the speakers, in a way that seems both effortless and other-worldly. He is, without a doubt, one of the most gifted ~ and important ~ guitarists in the history of rock.
"Mr. Soul" has a nice sinister groove to it. The vocals snake in and out, with a touch of a growl to them. They're layered over a sparse arrangement in a way that really complements both. The saying "Less is more" comes to mind here.
Things take a 180 degree turn with "Winterlong", a delicate piano ballad. A heartfelt vocal, lovely piano runs and strong lyrics ("I've waited for you Winterlong/You seem to be where I belong") all come together in an understated, yet dazzling, rush.
"On The Way Home" has a nice, earthy vibe to it. In an almost conversational manner, Lofgren let's the song just spill out. The chords chug along, the words paint a vivid picture: "When the dream came/I held my breath with my eyes closed." Another winner!
"Wonderin'" showcases the many sides and facets of Young's work...you have a spirited, almost jolly, barroom piano arrangement, coupled with darkly somber lyrics ("I been walkin' all night long/My footsteps made me crazy")....and it all works! That's true artistry!
Things end on a strong note with "Don't Cry No Tears." Lofgren delivers a stellar lead vocal, while his finger-picking is sharp, precise and fluid. Once again, the track just flows, sort of like musical mercury. VERY nice!
But that's just par for the course as far as this album goes. Extending SO far beyond my expectations, this is, without a doubt, one of the best albums of the year thus far, as well as one of the best tribute/covers albums EVER. Not only do we get to experience/appreciate the sheer poetry of Neil Young's work, but, with THE LONER, we also get treated to the absolute artistry and talents of Nils Lofgren. And that's a one/two punch that can't be beat!
(As with all my reviews, I am docking the disc half a star for not including the lyrics, a MAJOR misstep here!).

Longtime Lofgren fan and Neil Young fan. Without doing anything radical with arrangments or delivery, Nils delivers simple stripped down versions of some classic NY. No frills or guitar histronics. Works especially well on "Like A Hurricane" and "Long May You Run". The songs are allowed to speak for themselves and Nils Lofgrens' honest love of music alone shines through.

As a long time Nils AND Neil fan, picking up this collection was a no-brainer, and it more than exceeded my expectations. A great selection of Neil's work, covered simply and beautifully by one of the least known but most talented performers out there. Highly recommended.

As a long time Neil Young fan, I was interested to hear this CD after finding out that Nils performed on the classic Harvest album. After listening to it, ts quite evident that Nils wanted to honor Mr. Young with this complilation. It is a first rate recording and a worthy addition to any Neil Young fans collection. Thank God XM Deep Tracks is out there promoting projects like this these days. The crap programming on the free radio is severly lacking when albums like this cannot get any air play due to demographics. This album is worth a listen by any real RR fan.

This is a really beautiful album. Intimate, but with Nils great lightness of touch and barely noticable (in the good sense) virtuoso guitar work. Happily surprising mix of songs that hang together as a complete performance. Nils understands what is special and unique about neil's music and he plays each song in his own interpretation, making it personal, but also also stays true to the song. He just lays bare exactly how each song has touched him. Some he does on the piano - an unexpected piano version of Only Love can break your heart fits to the song perfectly.

Currently "Don't be Denied" is not on any NY cd (Time Fades Away still hasn't been released), so it's great to see a version of it here. It's one of Neil's most personal songs, and Nils's version does it justice.
In fact it's probably a bit more "approachable" than some of Neil's renderings of the song (ok, than ALL of them!) but Nils somehow doesn't lose the rough edge that makes Neil's work so wonderfully real.

There's some great guitar work on here too - The Loner and Mr Soul shine. This is probably an album to play for your girlfriend who never really knew what your saw in Neil Young. It's a beautiful album in its own right. Someone even quite familiar with Neil's work would probably not pick up that they are all Neil's songs.

I was looking forward to hearing this. Unfortunately, though pleasant, none of the songs is as good as the Neil version. It's sort of like Neil on valium, if that can be imagined.

A friend told me about this album and I downloaded that night and haven't stopped listening to it since. Nils' voice works perfectly for this collection of songs from one of the Master Songwriters of our generation. "Like a Hurricane" is the highlight of the album but each song carries it's own integrity.