I Came To DancebyNils Lofgren

Released on 01-01-1977 by Hip-O Select
Main artists: Nils Lofgren Band
Genre: Rock

Available in

16-Bit/44.1 kHz

I produced Nils on Feb 19, 1987 in Boston for the Buddy Guy project, and Ed DerKazerian drove us to the Rhode Island gig in his limo. I got to talk about Lou Reed's work with Nils in the limo. His first wife was there and I handed her a cassette of Nils at the Orpheum Boston for the Grin tour. I said "This isn't the first time I produced Nils." She loved it and said "That was the one tour that he didn't tape." Glad I could be of service. He put one of my reviews on his website and just "liked" a comment of mine on Twitter Review: Nils Lofgren - I Came To Dance
"I'm not Bob Dylan, but I never miss a beat" sings Nils Lofgren on 1977's I Came to Dance, a very polished collection of nine songs produced by the guitar virtuoso and drummer Andy Newmark. There are lots of backing vocalists. including Patti Austin on the title track. and three others, five years before she would hit number one with James Ingram; Luther Van Dross (with the last name Van Dross separated on the inner sleeve) does the backing vocal arrangements and sings with a different crew on the five remaining titles, including on a cover of the Rolling Stones' "Happy," as well as Lofgren's own "Code of the Road" and "Happy Ending Kids." "Happy Ending Kids" and "Goin' South" are both so quirky they could've fit on an album by Boston '70s act Orchestra Luna, and as adventurous as that sounds on the surface, it is that innovation which holds the LP back. The music here is not as accessible as that on 1979's Nils -- the Bob Ezrin produced album -- or Flip from 1985. Everything is in tune, played to perfection, and without a bum note, but therein lies the problem. It's all too perfect when rock & roll needs a little mayhem. "To Be a Dreamer" is very studied progressive pop, not as ostentatious as the group Yes, but too borderline Toto for a guy who splashed brilliant guitar on music by rough-around-the-edges personalities like Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen. Lofgren's personality gets lost in the "tried to take it serious" approach he writes about in "To Be a Dreamer." There's just not enough dreaming in that title, rather it goes with the flow of the other tracks here; the solid playing and color-by-numbers production making for songs that don't take hold. However, the re-working of Jagger/Richards' "Happy" does inject some excitement into the grooves, a plodding, funky, and very cool rendition with Lofgren's best vocal on the record, surrounded by other singers who take a cue from Jimmy Miller's party atmosphere on "Tumblin' Dice." This final track is where the assembled cast finally gets it -- they cut loose and have fun with Mick and Keith's lyrics (probably more Keith's, come to think of it) never sounding so direct. This arrangement is even more appealing than Randy California's fun and esoteric romp on the Spirit of '76 album cut two years before I Came to Dance. It's not just that this is a cover on an album of OK material, it's that it is a superior look at a Rolling Stones classic with Nils Lofgren being the performer he needed to be on the eight previous compositions. The entire album would have come to life if all involved stopped being so precise and just let it rip.
https://www.qobuz.com/nl-nl/album/i-came-to-dance-nils-lofgren/0060252740353
© Joe Viglione /TiVo

https://youtu.be/xW2lzk5_JWM?list=RDxW2lzk5_JWM #2 The Brains - Money Changes Everything (Mercury Records, 1980) She said, I'm sorry, baby, I'm leaving you tonight
I found someone new, he's waitin' in the car outside
Ah honey, how could you do it
We swore each other everlasting love
She said, well yeah, I know, but when we did
There was one thing we weren't really thinking of and that's money
Money changes everything
I said money, money changes everything
We think we know what we're doin'
That don't mean a thing
It's all in the past now
Money changes everything
They shake your hand and they smile
And they buy you a drink
They say, we'll be your friends
We'll stick with you till the end
Ah, but everybody's only looking out for themselves
And you say, well, who can you trust
I'll tell you, it's just nobody else's money
Money changes everything
I said money, money changes everything
Ya think ya know what ya doin'
We don't hold the strings
It's all in the past now
Money changes everything
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Money, Money changes everything
I said money, money changes everything
We think we know what we're doing
We don't know a thing
It's all in the past now
Money changes everything
Hey, yeah, yeah
Money changes everything
Money changes everything now
Money changes everything
Money changes everything
Money changes everything
Money

https://youtu.be/zLWbp3w2eqM?list=RDxW2lzk5_JWM