Old School (Nils Lofgren album)
| Old School | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | December 6, 2011 | |||
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| Genre | ||||
| Length | 44:31 | |||
| Label | Vision | |||
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| Nils Lofgren chronology | ||||
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Old School is an album by Nils Lofgren, released on December 6, 2011, through Vision Records. The album received mixed reviews.
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | [1] |
| Classic Rock | [2] |
| PopMatters | 3/10[3] |
Hal Horowitz, reviewing the album for AllMusic, stated that "to his credit, Lofgren doesn't modernize his style to endear himself for a younger audience, but has written 11 out of these dozen selections in the same melodic rock format that he's adhered to since his days in Grin".[1] Classic Rock's Terry Staunton found "Lofgren is sprightly enough to play most of the instruments himself" and noted he "show[s] the whippersnapers how it's done".[2] Allison Stewart of The Washington Post summarized the album as "alternately rueful and upbeat" with "midlife crisis anthems ('60 Is the New 18'), get-off-my-lawn rockers (the title track) and graceful, just short of gloomy ballads ('Miss You Ray')".[4]
Brice Ezell of PopMatters wrote that the album is "likely to appeal to die-hard fans of Lofgren and maybe some fans of bluesy guitar solos, but to those unfamiliar with Lofgren's career the album will sound aged in both sonic and lyric".[3] Rob Tannenbaum of Rolling Stone described it as a "weird, funny, crabby LP about seemingly everything that annoys [Lofgren]: Congress, yoga, lattes, sexting, any teen 'dressed like a whore.' Lofgren switches from acoustic ballads to Stones–ish rock, where his voice turns craggy and stubbly".[5] Shawn Donohue of Glide Magazine stated, "Grumpy-Old-Pissed-Off-Man might have been a more apt title" for the album and concluded, "sure Nils may be decidedly Old School, but if you are looking for a new school way of hearing him in 2012, wait for the next E-Street tour as his sideman guitar work is still his best asset".[6]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Nils Lofgren, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Old School" | 3:12 | |
| 2. | "60 Is the New 18" | 3:03 | |
| 3. | "Miss You Ray" | 2:39 | |
| 4. | "Love Stumbles On" | 3:52 | |
| 5. | "Amy Joan Blues" | 2:43 | |
| 6. | "Irish Angel" | Bruce McCabe | 5:12 |
| 7. | "Ain't Too Many of Us Left" | 4:42 | |
| 8. | "When You Were Mine" | 4:33 | |
| 9. | "Just Because You Love Me" | 2:32 | |
| 10. | "Dream Big" | 4:30 | |
| 11. | "Let Her Get Away" | Lofgren, Root Boy Slim | 3:09 |
| 12. | "Why Me" | 4:24 | |
| Total length: | 44:31 | ||
Personnel
- Nils Lofgren – vocals, keyboards, guitars, other instruments
- Mike Smith – pedal steel guitar (9), vocals (9)
- Mike King – bass (9), vocals (9)
- Gary Bruzzese – drums (1, 7), handclaps
- Todd Chuba – drums (9), vocals (9)
- John Ramirez – additional handclaps (9), vocals (9)
- Jamison Weddle – additional handclaps (9), vocals (9)
- Jerry Donato – saxophones (1, 10)
- Greg Varlotta – trombone (1, 10), trumpet (1, 10), tap percussion (2)
- Lou Gramm – vocals (1)
- Paul Rodgers – vocals (5)
- Sam Moore – vocals (7)
Production
- Nils Lofgren – producer (1-11)
- Bruce Christian – producer (12), recording (12), mixing (12)
- Jamison Weddle – recording (1-11), mixing (1-11), additional recording (1-11), transfer engineer (1-11)
- John Ramirez – additional recording (1-11), transfer engineer (1-11)
- Andy Knoll – vocal recording for Lou Gramm (1)
- Pat Glover – vocal recording for Paul Rodgers (5)
- Otto D'Agnolo – vocal recording for Sam Moore (7)
- Billy Wolf – mastering at Wolf Productions (Arlington, Virginia)
- Omar Ojeda – front and back cover photography, inside right and booklet cover photography, lyric page photo for Track 7
- Mark Hendrickson – inside left photo illustration, lyric page photo for Track 8
- Dylan Covington – metal sculptures on lyric pages for Tracks 1 & 8
- Dick Bangham – package design, cover photo illustration
- Linda Bangham – package design, cover photo illustration
- Jill Kimura – coordinator
- Verna Van Wert – coordinator
- Anson Smith – management
Charts
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[7] | 60 |
References
- ^ a b Horowitz, Hal. "Nils Lofgren – Old School Album Review". AllMusic. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
- ^ a b Staunton, Terry (February 2, 2012). "Nils Lofgren: Old School". Classic Rock. Retrieved July 19, 2023 – via Louder Sound.
- ^ a b Ezell, Brice (February 1, 2012). "Nils Lofgren: Old School". PopMatters. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
- ^ Stewart, Allison (December 2, 2011). "Music review of Nils Lofgren's Old School". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
- ^ Tannenbaum, Rob (May 23, 2012). "Old School". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
- ^ Donohue, Shawn (January 2, 2012). "Nils Lofgren: Old School". Glide Magazine. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Nils Lofgren – Old School". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 19, 2023.