Artist of the Week 04/18/11 - Neil Young

[Vincent]

Lots of seats still available for both Philly shows. You have to go through Neil Young Archives though. They are not available to general public yet.

Thanks for the tip. 275$ for FOH, ouch. Settled for loge at $110.

[chuckrh]

i've been listening to tapes of the current European tour from Neil & POTR. they are doing some amazing shows. Neil is on fire & POTR are up to the task at hand. listened to Antwerp last night. maybe the best non Horse "F'n Up" leading right into a killer "Cortez". oh, he also did "On the Beach"! i would've given my left nut to hear that in seattle. fortunately (or not) the equipment is still intact. short tour, all of the shows minus Hyde Park (so far) are out there on the net. Berlin & Mannheim are stunning, too.

[scotto]

i've been listening to tapes of the current European tour from Neil & POTR. they are doing some amazing shows. Neil is on fire & POTR are up to the task at hand. listened to Antwerp last night. maybe the best non Horse "F'n Up" leading right into a killer "Cortez". oh, he also did "On the Beach"! i would've given my left nut to hear that in seattle. fortunately (or not) the equipment is still intact. short tour, all of the shows minus Hyde Park (so far) are out there on the net. Berlin & Mannheim are stunning, too.

I watched a video of "On the Beach" and it was pretty cool. There's a livestream of the Kilkenny, Ireland, show tomorrow. Dude's still for real.

[Swamp]

New Crazy Horse album today!

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

New Crazy Horse album today!

Mine just arrived!

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

[ramonz]

Any thoughts on the new album? RS gave it 4 stars, but seems like a stretch to me. Certainly isn't as good as Psychedelic Pill to my rears (yet).....hopefully it is a grower.

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

Any thoughts on the new album? RS gave it 4 stars, but seems like a stretch to me. Certainly isn't as good as Psychedelic Pill to my rears (yet).....hopefully it is a grower.

Meh. Production is great, as his guitar work, but I think the songwriting is subpar for him. I love Psychedelic Pill, but every studio album since has been just flat out bad. I am still a huge, huge fan, but at this point I don’t plan on buying albums with new material unless something major changes. Hopefully he’ll just stick to archive and live releases

I know I likely stand alone on this. In the Neil Young community Worldwide and I belong to I have pretty much been written off as a heretic or hater

[scotto]

^^^ I agree.
I bought it because Neil so of course. And first few listens were exciting due to the playing and the album's overall sonics and the fact that it was new Neil/Horse. But the lyrics/vocals drag it down the more I listen.
And I'm with you on the heretic bit: I love Neil and still consider him my favorite artist and listen to him probably more than anyone else, including DBT, but haven't found the new stuff that compelling. I even found Psychedellic Pill a bit difficult to fully embrace. I haven't been truly thrilled with anything new since Chrome Dreams II (if that truly counts as "new").

[cortez the killer]

Any thoughts on the new album?

Colorado/Neil Young & Crazy Horse (2019)

Time to get the band back together again! Well, most of the band. Neil summoned Ralph Molina, Billy Talbot and Nils Lofgren to join him just outside Telluride, Colorado to make the first Crazy Horse record since 2012’s Psychedelic Pill. For whatever reason, longtime Crazy Horse guitarist, Frank “Poncho” Sampedro, was not part of Colorado. Starting on an April 20 full moon, Neil and the band laid down 10 tracks in just under 2 weeks in the Rocky Mountains studio. The proceedings were captured for a documentary, Mountaintop Sessions, which saw a limited-release in approximately 100 theaters the week after Colorado dropped. Colorado is dedicated to Neil's longtime manager and friend, Elliot Roberts, who passed away in June. The original working title for the record was Pink Moon, before Neil finally settled on Colorado. Following the completion of the recording sessions, Neil stated, “We believe we have a great Crazy Horse album, one to stand alongside ‘Everybody Knows this is Nowhere’, ‘Rust Never Sleeps’, Sleeps With Angels’, ‘Psychedelic Pill’ and all the others.” Excusing the enthusiastic hyperbole from Shakey, it is good to have another Neil Young & Crazy Horse album in our lives. Long may he run.

1. Think of Me – Interesting choice for an album opener. Not what one would expect from the first Crazy Horse album in seven years. Sounds like a Prairie Wind outtake both musically and lyrically. (6)
2. She Showed Me Love – Neil takes another shot at a long, plodding Crazy Horse epic. Riff from When You Dance I Can Really Love weaves in and out the song. Doesn’t quite reach the heights of Psychedelic Pill’s Ramada Inn or Walk Like a Giant, but it’s nice to hear Neil still cranking out these quintessential Crazy Horse lumbering jams. Some cringe-worthy lyrics knock this one down a tad. (8)
3. Olden Days – One of the cornerstones of Neil’s songwriting is nostalgia. There aren’t too many musicians out there that like singing about long lost friends more than Neil Young. “Where have you been, my long-lost friend? We haven't talked since way back when. And how is life with your new love. I hope she's something from above.” Falsetto Neil on full display here. (7)
4. Help Me Lose My Mind – Grunge Neil returns. Neil’s vocal delivery and guitar tone carry some extra snarl. Seems to be a song about coping with the absurdity of the current times. He needs to lose his mind to cope. (7)
5. Green is Blue – Sort of a generic, paint-by-numbers Neil piano ballad. Doesn’t do much for me. (4.5)
6. Shut It Down – Distorted guitar. Hints of Sleeps With Angels. Neil railing against how post-industrial society has accelerated the demise of our planet. And the only viable solution, as he sees it, is to “shut the whole system down.” Got some ranting and raving that reminds me of Greendale and Living With War. (7)
7. Milky Way – This was released as a single before the album dropped. I thought it was solid. For whatever reason, it hits harder within the context of the whole album. Musically, it’s sort of a Sleeps With Angels meets Are You Passionate hybrid. The more I listen to it, the more I like it. I also like when Neil moves into more dreamlike, impressionistic lyrics than his ripped-from-the-headlines political rants. Easily one of the better tracks on the album. (8.5)
8. Eternity – Back to another piano ballad. The Horse providing some nice backing vox. “Click-clack-clickety-clack.” Somewhat sappy and goofy, but so is Neil. (5)
9. Rainbow of Colors – Sounds very much like something off Living With War. Neil’s response to the climate of hate and exclusion fostered by the Trump Administration. Neil doing his best to carry on Pete Seeger’s torch. (5)
10. I Do – So much for this being a Crazy Horse record. About half the songs sound like acoustic, solo productions. Neil using that whisper-sing thing that pushed songs like Music Arcade and Bandit to a whole other level. It’s not as effective here. (5)

Overall Score – 6.5

[ramonz]

Neil leaving FB. I'm not really on it, so don't know if this is a big deal or not (never seen his page), but sounds somewhat interesting: https://ultimateclassicrock.com/neil-young-facebook/

[tinnitus photography]

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/musi ... 20-916492/

[Zip City]

https://www.jambase.com/article/wilco-n ... ow-st-paul

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

Any thoughts on the new album?

Overall Score – 6.5

is that out of 20?

[cortez the killer]

AN OPEN LETTER TO DONALD J TRUMP

2-18-20

You are a disgrace to my country. Bragging about the US economy does not disguise the fact that the numbers today are what you inherited almost 4 years ago.

Your mindless destruction of our shared natural resources, our environment and our relationships with friends around the world is unforgivable.

Your policies, decisions and short term thinking continue to exacerbate the Climate Crisis.

Our first black president was a better man than you are.

The United States of America, my country, is not a green on one of your branded golf courses that you can ride around on and damage so that other players cannot shoot straight.

“Keep on Rockin’ in the Free World” is not a song you can trot out at one of your rallies. Perhaps you could have been a bass player and played in a rock and roll band. That way you could be on stage at a rally every night in front of your fans, if you were any good, and you might be. . .

Every time “Keep on Rockin’ in the Free World” or one of my songs is played at your rallies, I hope you hear my voice. Remember it is the voice of a tax-paying US citizen who does not support you. Me.

I don’t blame the people who voted for you. I support their right to express themselves, although they have been lied to, and in many cases believed the lies, they are true Americans. I have their back.

US justice is ours-not yours.

One of your opponents has the answers I like. He is aiming at preserving our children’s future directly. He is not popular with the democratic establishment because unlike all the other candidates, he is not pandering to the industries accelerating Earth’s Climate Disaster, the end of the world as we know it. He is truly fighting for the USA.
His initials are BS. Not his policies.

We are going to vote you out and
Make America Great Again.

[Clams]

^^^ while I appreciate the sentiment, that letter poses questions on a lot of different fronts. I had to google it just to confirm that it's legit

[chuckrh]

Neil is letting the Horse out of the barn again:

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/musi ... se-956928/

[Flea]

Neil is letting the Horse out of the barn again:

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/musi ... se-956928/

[LBRod]

[cortez the killer]

Neil is letting the Horse out of the barn again:

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/musi ... se-956928/

Giddy Fuckin' Up!

[Jack Flash]

I contributed to this list of the 25 Greatest Neil Young songs:

https://www.slantmagazine.com/features/ ... ung-songs/

So how badly did we fuck it up?

[cortez the killer]

So how badly did we fuck it up?

Opinions and assholes and all that, you did ask...

- No "Like a Hurricane"???????????????

- "Cortez the Killer" is #1. Can't be any other way. Ever. Not up for debate.

- "Round & Round (It Won't Be Long)"???????????????

- Considering the number of Tonight's the Night tracks that made the list, the inclusion of "Borrowed Tune" and exclusion of "Roll Another Number (For the Road)" is puzzling. I'm not fond of the title track, either, but I know I'm in the minority there.

- I get the rationale for including "Harvest", but "Out on the Weekend" is the far superior track that satisfies all the reasons why "Harvest" made the list.

- Excellent job including "Change Your Mind". That song is a BEAST!

- Love seeing "Albuquerque" and "Tired Eyes" on there and that high - Top 5.

- Rusties will quibble and nitpick EVERY "Best of Neil" list, but this is a nice job, JF! (except for the egregious "Hurricane" exclusion)

[scotto]

I contributed to this list of the 25 Greatest Neil Young songs:

https://www.slantmagazine.com/features/ ... ung-songs/

So how badly did we fuck it up?

Pretty good. Also think "Cortez the Killer" is maybe not the, but definitely a "greatest." Also, "Helpless" is one of Neil's best, but maybe excluded because it's on a CSN&Y album? Still, one of Neil's best.
But pretty good.

[Flea]

Has Homegrown been released yet?

[chuckrh]

Has Homegrown been released yet?

It's being released in June.


Unless Neil changes his mind again. I know, will never happen haha.

[Jack Flash]

So how badly did we fuck it up?

- No "Like a Hurricane"???????????????
- "Round & Round (It Won't Be Long)"???????????????]

I’m as baffled as you are. Like a Hurricane was near the top of my personal list and Round & Round was nowhere near it.

I’ve heard Homegrown, before it got delayed. It’s worth the wait!

[tinnitus photography]

I contributed to this list of the 25 Greatest Neil Young songs:

https://www.slantmagazine.com/features/ ... ung-songs/

So how badly did we fuck it up?

"On The Beach" absolutely should be on there. I agree w/ Cortez that the song his mamma named him after should be #1.

"The Loner" and "Captain Kennedy" or "Campaigner" should be there too.. i would axe "Round and Round" and i would be fine if i never heard "Cinnamon Girl" again.

dark horse pick - "Danger Bird"

[cortez the killer]

dark horse pick - "Danger Bird"

Could stay with the same album for another dark horse pick - "Barstool Blues"