Grin

Guitarist Nils Lofgren assembled the trio Grin during 1969, well ahead of Neil Young taking him under his wing and well before issuing a series of underappreciated solo albums, with the group committed to simple, basic rock & roll. Grin's releases earned only favorable reviews without any commercial traction, yet each one revealed a promising, dynamic group. The band ultimately failed to reach its potential, though its strongest albums contained some terse, brilliant guitar from Lofgren that ranks with the best of his later work, selections later gathered on the 1999 retrospective The Very Best of Grin Featuring Nils Lofgren.