Cattle Track Arts Compound in Scottsdale, Arizona, has united many creative people over the years, with the most recent example coming from Arizona painter Ed Mell, who connected with musician Nils Lofgren, who’s been a member of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band since 1984. The encounter eventually led to a unique pairing of art and music after Lofgren asked to use Mell’s paintings on the cover and inside liner notes of his newest album, Mountains, which was released on July 21.
“I was introduced to Ed’s incredible art by my wife, Amy, who has a great eye for special art of all kinds and was already an admirer of Ed…We became friends and remain great admirers of his work, some of which Amy has displayed on the walls in our home,” Lofgren says. “I was drawn to Ed’s art immediately. There’s an earthy elegance and a welcoming soul in his paintings that always pulls me in. To me, Ed’s paintings open you up to a wide range of feelings, from dark to light, stormy to hopeful, with a common humanity that makes you feel like we’re all in this together.”
Nils Lofgren’s new solo album, Mountains, with Ed Mell’s images on the cover and interior.
Tony Nolan, Western Art Collector’s art director, designed the cover and interior liner notes, all with Mell’s paintings. “Ed’s art would be a visual balm to encourage and validate what they were feeling through the music…Fairly early in my writing process, I’d decided to call the album Mountains. Well, Ed Mell is Mr. Mountains, or King of Mountains, if you like,” the musician says. “Ed came over during the recording process, and I played him some rough mixes to give him a feel for where the album was heading. He then sent Amy and I dozens of brilliant paintings as potential art for the entire album package. Amy and I lived with them all, bounced ideas off each other and Ed, and he kept sending more brilliant art! It took a while to sort it all out, because every painting was gorgeous!”
Mell—who is no stranger to having his work appear on album covers, whiskey bottles and even in stage plays—was enthusiastic about the collaboration. “I’ve known him for a few years, and it’s always been a relationship of mutual respect,” Mell says. “He’s also an incredibly nice guy.” —
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