Nils Lofgren
Sacred Weapon
(Vision Music)
First Appeared in The Music Box, November 2006, Volume 13, #11
Written by John Metzger
Best known as a sideman for Neil Young and, more recently, Bruce Springsteen,
guitarist Nils Lofgren has managed, over the course of the past 31 years, to
amass a rather sizeable body of his own work. Unfortunately, his output, much
like that of other guns for hire, has been, at best, spotty and inconsistent. In
recent years, Lofgren has distanced himself from any sort of label affiliation,
and although he now has the freedom to pursue a more eclectic agenda, the paths
he traverses still don’t always bear fruit. His latest effort Sacred Weapon
— which features guest appearances by Willie Nelson, Martin Sexton, Mary Ann
Redmond, David Crosby, and Graham Nash — is the 17th solo album of
his career, and while it undeniably is flawed, it does fare better than many of
his endeavors. Generally speaking, Lofgren runs into trouble whenever he relies
too heavily upon his quirky sense of humor, and not surprisingly, both the
dated, ’80s-style rock of Fat Girls Dance and the gospel-blues work song
Pay Your Woman are little more than pedestrian filler. Elsewhere, he
effectively uses his guitar to add a muscular bite to both Mr. Hardcore
and You’re Not There, while Come a Day obtains its grand stance
from its ebullient, Springsteen-ian arrangement. Nevertheless, it’s the stripped
down tracks — such as the effortless, Texas-brewed folk of In Your Hands;
the delicate, twinkling beauty of Comfort Your Love Brings; and the
mournful yearning of Whiskey Holler — that succeed not only in sustaining
the affair but also in transforming it into something more than just a passing
curiosity. 
Sacred Weapon is available from Barnes & Noble.
To order, Click Here!
Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2006 The Music Box