Night Fades Away is the fifth solo studio album by Nils Lofgren, released in September 1981 through Backstreet and MCA Records. It was produced by Jeffrey Baxter and reached the top 50 in Sweden and the UK, also charting in the top 100 in Australia and the US.
The Boston Globe wrote that "the high voice is familiar and warming, the themes are familiar and cogent, the guitar playing is familiar, fluid and tasteful, but the songwriting is not up to [Lofgren's] early, wondrous standard."[3]
Joe Vigilone of AllMusic wrote that "the LP is more about exploring styles and experimenting than a fully realized musical statement" and "Nils' disheveled five o'clock shadow and torn, stained shirt on the front and back covers give a glimpse of the musical image", finding that "the best moments here are the covers" of Del Shannon's "I Go to Pieces" and the Beatles' "Any Time at All". Vigilone concluded that "the material and production keep Night Fades Away in the shadows, a dilemma for an artist as creative as Nils Lofgren. If only the music inside were as ragged as the cover photo of a star as enigmatic as he is handsome."[1]
^The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 432.
^Sullivan, Jim (January 11, 1982). "Review". Arts. The Boston Globe. p. 1.
^Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992: 23 years of hit singles & albums from the top 100 charts. St Ives, N.S.W, Australia: Australian Chart Book. p. 180. ISBN0-646-11917-6.