Grin - Grin (1971) torrent

eac secure cue log scans

2005 - Acadia / 8090 / Remastered, Bonus Tracks / CD

Tracklist:
01 Like Rain 3:39
02 See What Love Can Do 5:02
03 Everybody's Missin' the Sun 2:44
04 18 Faced Lover 3:28
05 Outlaw 4:03
06 We All Sung Together 3:45
07 If I Were a Song 3:11
08 Take You to the Movies Tonight 1:48
09 Direction 4:12
10 Pioneer Mary 3:46
11 Open Wide 3:03
12 I Had Too Much (Miss Dazi) 3:24
13 Nobody [bonus] 2:58
14 Sing for Happiness [bonus] 3:14

Grin:
*Nils Lofgren (guitar, keyboards, vocals)
*Bob Berberich (drums, vocals)
*Bob Gordon (bass, vocals)

Jerry Willians: scat vocals on track 2

Harmony vocals on tracks 2, 5 & 10 by:
*Danny Whitten
*Neil Young
*Ralph Molina

Nils Lofgren has been a critics' favorite for half a decade. Some learned about him in 1970 when word that he was one of the true rockers dribbled out of his Maryland stomping grounds. He picked up more points when Neil Young met him at Washington's Cellar Door and asked him to play on what became Young's finest moment, After the Goldrush. He recorded with Crazy Horse and then made several albums with his own group, Grin, on his own label, Spindizzy. But because the records were never quite right and because he was never the subject of an organized media campaign and major tour, he has remained a cult figure in search of a mass audience.

Review (Amazone)
I haven't heard the two "bonus tracks", but this first GRIN album set the tone for the three that followed: ballads and rockers, guitars and pianos over bass and drums, Nils and Bob switching off the lead vocals. My personal favorites may differ from yours, but their staying power is testified by the later appearances in Lofgren's set lists of "Take You to the Movies"and "Like Rain". "See What A Love Can Do" is further notable for Nils' harmonized guitar lead, where every other note is a pinched harmonic -- making for a uniquely thrilling sound.

Nils had plenty to do here, overdubbing *all* the guitars and keyboards; brother Tommy had yet to join the band. GRIN differs from the later albums in being mostly thoughtful and sensitive songs -- only "I Had Too Much" and "18 Faced Lover" suggest their more raucous side. This is not a bad thing: the songwriting is marvelously strong for such a young songwriter, and the production is right on: "Like Rain", for example, is nicely filled out with organ and piano, and "Everybody's Missin' the Sun " and "We All Sung Together" are produced as singalongs, which job they do rather well.

My overall favorite for the "play-it-loud" category would have to be the guitar-heavy "18 Faced Lover", which nicely displays both Bob Berberich's lusty singing and Nils' soulful guitar, all over a leaden beat that hasn't aged a day since they recorded it.
Final word: all four Grin albums are important pieces of the whole; this one is no exception. The essential tracks may all appear on the various compilations, but the lesser tracks are worth at least a spin or three. Definitely recommended.