Artist of the Week 04/18/11 - Neil Young
Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2011 12:17 am
MEMORY
Brings back the time when I was eight or nine
I was watchin’ my mama’s T.V.,
It was that great Grand Canyon rescue episode.
I remember the first time I heard Neil Young’s music. I was eight or nine (actually I know I was nine), riding the bus to school in Dunwoody, GA. I heard a song on the radio that stuck with me for a long time. It was not until years later that I knew it was Neil. The song was “Lotta Love” from the Comes A Time record. It seems apropos that I remembered a Neil song before I knew it was him. It feels like his music has been part of my life nearly as long as I can remember. It also makes sense because memory is a theme that Neil revisits time and again throughout his career.
“Journey Through The Past”
“Don’t Be Denied”
“Helpless”
“It’s A Dream”
Neil Young was born in Toronto on November 12, 1945, the son of Scott and Rassy Young. Scott was a sportswriter and novelist who is enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. The couple split in the 1950s, whereupon Neil and his mother moved to Winnipeg. Neil became involved in the local music scene and became friendly with Randy Bachman, later of The Guess Who and BTO. Neil and Randy would work together decades later. Neil’s first released music came via the surf 45 “Sultan”/”Aurora” by The Squires. He later was in a band called The Mynah Birds with Rick James that was signed by Motown. The group broke up when James was found to have been AWOL from the military.
Neil decided that he would go to the USA to try to make it big in the music business. He drove a hearse from Ontario to Los Angeles. He then caught up with Stephen Stills, with whom he was familiar from the coffeehouse circuit. They formed a band called Buffalo Springfield with Dewey Martin, Richie Furay, and Bruce Palmer.
“Mr. Soul”
“On The Way Home”
Buffalo Springfield was a hugely talented group and the egos involved led to numerous conflicts. Neil left and returned a number of times before the group broke up for good in 1968.
LOVE
Love is a major theme for musicians so it’s no surprise that it can be found in Neil’s songs. He is clearly fascinated by the topic as the word is mentioned in 158 of his songs. He approaches it from many different perspectives: tender to cynical, hopeful to despairing, in-the-moment to nostalgic.
“Silver And Gold”
“Look Out For My Love”
“Love And Only Love”
“Will To Love”
“Drive Back”
“Hold Back The Tears”
“Give Me Strength”
After Buffalo Springfield, Neil would develop a few different outlets for his music. The two primary ones were acoustic and with Crazy Horse. The other one was as a member of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. This is exemplary of a central aspect of Neil’s art. It’s restless (a word he would use to name one of his backing bands in the late 80s). When Neil thinks it’s time to move on from one phase of his career to the next, he will not hesitate (this was especially evident in the 80s, when he frequently hopped from style to style). That said, solo and Crazy Horse (the latter until March 2004…perhaps never to return) would be recurring modes of expression for decades to come. Neil was voted Artist of the Decade for the 1970s by the Village Voice, a major honor considering how much great music that decade produced. He was highly productive in the 70s, releasing such noted albums as After the Gold Rush, Déjà Vu (with CSNY), Harvest, Time Fades Away, On the Beach, Tonight’s the Night, Zuma, American Stars ‘n’ Bars, Comes a Time, and Rust Never Sleeps.
“Last Dance”
“Revolution Blues”
“Albuquerque”
A LITTLE BIT HERE, A LITTLE BIT THERE: Neil Young in the Eighties
The Eighties found Neil hopping from style to style, whether it was synth rock on Trans, rockabilly on Everybody’s Rockin’, country on Old Ways, or r&b on This Note’s For You.
“Computer Age”
“Cry, Cry, Cry”
“Grey Riders”
“Ordinary People”
Neil stopped this genre-hopping with his last album of the 80s, entitled Freedom. It featured both acoustic and electric Neil to great effect.
“Rockin’ In The Free World”
“No More”
Neil started the 90s by reuniting with Crazy Horse for the Ragged Glory album, one of his best (and loudest) albums. It was on the “Smell The Horse” tour in February 1991 when I first saw Neil live. My ears were never the same.
“Over And Over”
“Country Home”
“Mansion On The Hill”
NEIL YOUNG: INFLUENCE AND INSPIRATION
Among Neil’s legions of fans are counted many fellow musicians. Some of the artists I’ve seen cover Neil include DBT, Pearl Jam, Bob Dylan, Thom Yorke, Bettye LaVette, Yo La Tengo, Bob Mould, Widespread Panic, The Duke & the King, Los Lobos, Slobberbone, and Patti Smith. There are too many covers of his songs to mention even a fraction of them here. I highly recommend the studio version of “On The Beach” by The Walkabouts and the live version of the same song by Radiohead (linked below).
In 1992, Neil released Harvest Moon, a mellow album which included many of the same musicians who had worked with him on Harvest two decades before.
“Harvest Moon”
“From Hank To Hendrix”
The next year, Neil released Unplugged and toured with Booker T & the MGs as his backing band.
“Sittin’ On The Dock Of The Bay”
“Separate Ways”
In 1994, Neil made Sleeps With Angels with Crazy Horse. This is considered by many to be one of his classic albums.
“Sleeps With Angels”
“Change Your Mind”
Neil then went on to make Mirrorball with Pearl Jam as his backing band. The album was released in 1995 and he toured Europe with Pearl Jam as his band that year.
“I’m The Ocean”
“Scenery”
“Act Of Love”
In the last 15 plus years, Neil has continued to work with various musicians and has also worked on film and environmental projects.
There have been many books written about Neil and his work. The following are a few of my favorites.
Jimmy McDonough – Shakey
Scott Young – Neil And Me
Pete Long – Ghosts On The Road
There is also the long-running fanzine Broken Arrow which is published quarterly in Scotland and is of very high quality.
At the age of 65, Neil Young continues to be a vital and relevant creative force. The story of his life and career will likely remain unfinished for years to come.
Brings back the time when I was eight or nine
I was watchin’ my mama’s T.V.,
It was that great Grand Canyon rescue episode.
I remember the first time I heard Neil Young’s music. I was eight or nine (actually I know I was nine), riding the bus to school in Dunwoody, GA. I heard a song on the radio that stuck with me for a long time. It was not until years later that I knew it was Neil. The song was “Lotta Love” from the Comes A Time record. It seems apropos that I remembered a Neil song before I knew it was him. It feels like his music has been part of my life nearly as long as I can remember. It also makes sense because memory is a theme that Neil revisits time and again throughout his career.
“Journey Through The Past”
“Don’t Be Denied”
“Helpless”
“It’s A Dream”
Neil Young was born in Toronto on November 12, 1945, the son of Scott and Rassy Young. Scott was a sportswriter and novelist who is enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. The couple split in the 1950s, whereupon Neil and his mother moved to Winnipeg. Neil became involved in the local music scene and became friendly with Randy Bachman, later of The Guess Who and BTO. Neil and Randy would work together decades later. Neil’s first released music came via the surf 45 “Sultan”/”Aurora” by The Squires. He later was in a band called The Mynah Birds with Rick James that was signed by Motown. The group broke up when James was found to have been AWOL from the military.
Neil decided that he would go to the USA to try to make it big in the music business. He drove a hearse from Ontario to Los Angeles. He then caught up with Stephen Stills, with whom he was familiar from the coffeehouse circuit. They formed a band called Buffalo Springfield with Dewey Martin, Richie Furay, and Bruce Palmer.
“Mr. Soul”
“On The Way Home”
Buffalo Springfield was a hugely talented group and the egos involved led to numerous conflicts. Neil left and returned a number of times before the group broke up for good in 1968.
LOVE
Love is a major theme for musicians so it’s no surprise that it can be found in Neil’s songs. He is clearly fascinated by the topic as the word is mentioned in 158 of his songs. He approaches it from many different perspectives: tender to cynical, hopeful to despairing, in-the-moment to nostalgic.
“Silver And Gold”
“Look Out For My Love”
“Love And Only Love”
“Will To Love”
“Drive Back”
“Hold Back The Tears”
“Give Me Strength”
After Buffalo Springfield, Neil would develop a few different outlets for his music. The two primary ones were acoustic and with Crazy Horse. The other one was as a member of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. This is exemplary of a central aspect of Neil’s art. It’s restless (a word he would use to name one of his backing bands in the late 80s). When Neil thinks it’s time to move on from one phase of his career to the next, he will not hesitate (this was especially evident in the 80s, when he frequently hopped from style to style). That said, solo and Crazy Horse (the latter until March 2004…perhaps never to return) would be recurring modes of expression for decades to come. Neil was voted Artist of the Decade for the 1970s by the Village Voice, a major honor considering how much great music that decade produced. He was highly productive in the 70s, releasing such noted albums as After the Gold Rush, Déjà Vu (with CSNY), Harvest, Time Fades Away, On the Beach, Tonight’s the Night, Zuma, American Stars ‘n’ Bars, Comes a Time, and Rust Never Sleeps.
“Last Dance”
“Revolution Blues”
“Albuquerque”
A LITTLE BIT HERE, A LITTLE BIT THERE: Neil Young in the Eighties
The Eighties found Neil hopping from style to style, whether it was synth rock on Trans, rockabilly on Everybody’s Rockin’, country on Old Ways, or r&b on This Note’s For You.
“Computer Age”
“Cry, Cry, Cry”
“Grey Riders”
“Ordinary People”
Neil stopped this genre-hopping with his last album of the 80s, entitled Freedom. It featured both acoustic and electric Neil to great effect.
“Rockin’ In The Free World”
“No More”
Neil started the 90s by reuniting with Crazy Horse for the Ragged Glory album, one of his best (and loudest) albums. It was on the “Smell The Horse” tour in February 1991 when I first saw Neil live. My ears were never the same.
“Over And Over”
“Country Home”
“Mansion On The Hill”
NEIL YOUNG: INFLUENCE AND INSPIRATION
Among Neil’s legions of fans are counted many fellow musicians. Some of the artists I’ve seen cover Neil include DBT, Pearl Jam, Bob Dylan, Thom Yorke, Bettye LaVette, Yo La Tengo, Bob Mould, Widespread Panic, The Duke & the King, Los Lobos, Slobberbone, and Patti Smith. There are too many covers of his songs to mention even a fraction of them here. I highly recommend the studio version of “On The Beach” by The Walkabouts and the live version of the same song by Radiohead (linked below).
In 1992, Neil released Harvest Moon, a mellow album which included many of the same musicians who had worked with him on Harvest two decades before.
“Harvest Moon”
“From Hank To Hendrix”
The next year, Neil released Unplugged and toured with Booker T & the MGs as his backing band.
“Sittin’ On The Dock Of The Bay”
“Separate Ways”
In 1994, Neil made Sleeps With Angels with Crazy Horse. This is considered by many to be one of his classic albums.
“Sleeps With Angels”
“Change Your Mind”
Neil then went on to make Mirrorball with Pearl Jam as his backing band. The album was released in 1995 and he toured Europe with Pearl Jam as his band that year.
“I’m The Ocean”
“Scenery”
“Act Of Love”
In the last 15 plus years, Neil has continued to work with various musicians and has also worked on film and environmental projects.
There have been many books written about Neil and his work. The following are a few of my favorites.
Jimmy McDonough – Shakey
Scott Young – Neil And Me
Pete Long – Ghosts On The Road
There is also the long-running fanzine Broken Arrow which is published quarterly in Scotland and is of very high quality.
At the age of 65, Neil Young continues to be a vital and relevant creative force. The story of his life and career will likely remain unfinished for years to come.