Search - Grin :: Gone Crazy

The fourth release in the cycle of albums recorded by Grin, the quartet led by guitarist Nils Lofgren, was their first for A&M. With somewhat of a tongue-in-cheek album title, Gone Crazy was hardly out of the ordinary for the burgeoning group. And as you can tell, the last part of their founder's surname had been providing for the band's full name. Yes, it pictured Lofgren on the front cover doing a somersault, and yes, it featured colorful Beardsley-like sketches and doodles all over it. But the music inside is what mattered. Featuring the production and recording skills of keyboardist David Briggs who worked on their prior records (for it was Briggs who helped recruit Lofgren as a short-term member of Neil Young's backup group Crazy Horse--the foundation block for their long-term studio arrangement), the album yielded two of Lofgren's early classics which became perennial radio and concert favorites: "You're The Weight" and "Beggar's Day." Accompanied by his brother Tom on rhythm guitar, Bob Gordon on bass, and Bob Berberich on drums and vocals--it's Berberich's vocal work on "Nightmare" (with Nils on barrelhouse style piano) and again on the bluesy closer "Ain't For Free"--the songwriting was all created by the gifted Nils. He wrote them as he saw them, felt them and experienced them. In the mournful pleading of "One More Time," he channels a soulful delivery as a man whose heart can't take the pain. And in the mellow, solo piano-driven ballad "Believe" you can hear the fragile emotions of a young man in love. Today, as it has been the case for several decades, you can find Lofgren providing solos, accents and interplay on records and onstage with fellow singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen. But at the heart of this long, fruitful career have always been his solid musicianship and his way with words. When you hear the songs, it kind of makes it easy to just Grin. Nils Lofgren - Guitars, keyboards, lead vocals Tom Lofgren - Guitar, background vocals Bob Berberich - Drums, lead vocals Bob Gordon - Bass, background vocals