Back It Up ! Live An Authorized Bootleg

Finally available on wide release 32 years after it was a limited-edition, and much coveted, vinyl release sent to 1,000 radio stations and critics (each one with a sticker hand-glued to the cover), this 44-minute live radio station concert is half as long and more than twice as exciting as Nils Lofgren's official live concert souvenir, 1977's disappointing and bloated Night After Night. Al Kooper, who was then doing pre-production on Lofgren's second solo effort, sits in on keyboards and the stripped-down band also featuring Nils' brother Tommy on second guitar and a bassist and drummer keeps the sound lean and mean. There are only seven tracks, with five grabbed from Lofgren's then recently released debut, along with two tunes from Grin, the band he recorded four albums with that also included his brother. In retrospect, the sound is a little dry and the 2007 CD reissue doesn't remix it or add any additional tracks (there may not have been any), but this is nevertheless a classic album, arguably Lofgren's finest, whose belated presence on CD is most welcome. The singer and guitarist also plays decent piano on a stunning version of the Goffin & King nugget "Goin' Back," rearranged substantially from the Byrds' more popular cover. The only real rockers are the opening title track and the closing "Beggar's Day"; the latter tune, dedicated to Crazy Horse's Danny Whitten (Lofgren was a member of that band for a brief period), is a highlight of Lofgren's catalog. The rest display his pop roots that are often obscured on later discs where he flirted with R&B, disco, and hard rock to various degrees of success. Any Nils collection is unthinkable without this, so its appearance, even three decades after its original release, should be greeted with enthusiasm by anyone even vaguely interested in Lofgren's career. ~ Hal Horowitz