IT may well be that Nils Lofgren, whose set drew a standing ovation from a packed Malvern Forum Theatre audience on Saturday, is fated to be remembered as a sidesman.

 

And there would be no disgrace in that – to be a key member of the bands of two giants of rock music, Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen, is no small achievement.

 

But Saturday gave us a full reminder, if anyway was really necessary, that the multi-talented musician and songwriter from Chicago deserves fully to be remembered in his own right.

 

With support from just one other musician, the prodigiously gifted multi-instrumentalist Greg Varlotta, Lofgren brought some snapshots of a long career that now encompasses 47 years on the road.

 

From the early days of Grin, through a first solo phase with nods to the associations with Young and Springsteen, Lofgren led us through some of the songs that have made his name.

 

My first recollections of him date back to the mid-1970s when he was a regular guest on The Old Grey Whistle Test, prescribed viewing in those days for anyone with any real musical interest.

 

And some of the songs fondly recalled from 40 or so years ago still, deservedly, make their way into this set.

 

The Goffin/King classic Going Back, his own ‘ode to a Glimmer Twin’ Keith Don’t Go – now no longer imploring his hero not to head for Toronto, but simply not to depart – and, most memorably of all, I Came to Dance.

 

And dance he did, although giving best to Varlotta, who showed off some notable tap-dancing skills, before joining in himself.

 

It’s not the phrase many in the audience would have expected to hear beforehand – “Excuse me while I take off my tap shoes…”

 

Dancing aside – and that no mean achievement for a 64-year-old with two replacement hips – it was the musicianship which stood out.

 

The smooth, melodic voice, given depth and expression with age, keyboards, even harp.

 

And above all, that remarkable and distinctive guitar style, mostly played on an amplified acoustic but, for a memorable encore, on a soaring Stratocaster on Springsteen’s Because the Night and his own Shine Silently.

 

Nils Lofgren is playing a variety of dates up and down the UK until the end of the month – catch him while he’s here.