New song from Neil Young and it's fantastic!

[Lars68]

Lars

[E-minor7]

It's a fine and touching tune - fragile and frail.

[jt]

Thanks, Lars! It's a lovely song. Can't wait to listen to the album.

[kelly campbell]

Classic NY

[SteveFord]

I've never seen him and I would like to fix that.

Does he still tour?

[Sgt. Pepper]

1 hour ago, SteveFord said:

I've never seen him and I would like to fix that.

Does he still tour?

I saw him in Detroit on the This Notes For You Tour. He was not bad. That album is silly. His old stuff made the show. After The Gold Rush was killer live.

Edited October 16, 2021 by Sgt. Pepper

[Lars68]

I like this kind of music and recording because it's real and human. No click track, no autotune, never seeking ”perfection”. 

Lars

P.S. I traveled to Gothenburg to see him in 2013. About 45 minutes before the show was planned to start, an announcement came across the speakers that the show was cancelled. Pancho Sampredo had injured his hand in a car door. The long ride home was tough.  I got to see him and Crazy Horse a year later in Copenhagen. I loved it!

[Sgt. Pepper]

35 minutes ago, Lars68 said:

I like this kind of music and recording because it's real and human. No click track, no autotune, never seeking ”perfection”. 

Lars

P.S. I traveled to Gothenburg to see him in 2013. About 45 minutes before the show was planned to start, an announcement came across the speakers that the show was cancelled. Pancho Sampredo had injured his hand in a car door. The long ride home was tough.  I got to see him and Crazy Horse a year later in Copenhagen. I loved it!

Doesn’t Neil know the show must go on. Grab your D-45 and make it an acoustic show.

[QuestionMark]

I guess, I’m in the minority on the new Neil Young song.  While the song certainly has the Neil Young sound and feel to it, and it is a nice song…this particular song itself seems to go nowhere to me.   Just my impression.

This new Robert Plant/Allison Kraus song seems to hit the mark much better from an old rocker  (although Allison Kraus seems to kinda be missing in it.)

 

QM aka “ Jazzman” Jeff 

 

 

Edited October 16, 2021 by QuestionMark

[BoSoxBiker]

Thanks, Lars!

I was pleasantly surprised that I liked it. Not been much into his later career releases.  No much nice to say about the pickup & sound on the guitar on the right side (from within my headphones).

I saw Neil in 1993-1994 IIRC.  Blind Melon opened. I went into the concert hoping it would be much more acoustic than electric. Nope. Had Booker T & the MG's in tow and rocked the house. Nice mix of stuff, but "Down By the River", "Powderfinger" and "All Along the Watchtower" towards the end of the show was as fine of a performance as I've ever seen.

[Raul Rehlmann]

4 hours ago, QuestionMark said:

I guess, I’m in the minority on the new Neil Young song.  While the song certainly has the Neil Young sound and feel to it, and it is a nice song…this particular song itself seems to go nowhere to me.   Just my impression.

Points for daring to comment on the emperor's new clothes.

[Jinder]

The weary, fragile folkie side of NY’s output has always been my favourite of his modes. 
 

This is as good a song as he’s written since the ‘Prairie Wind’ era, which must be 16yrs ago now. 
 

The thing that strikes me most is how old Neil sounds now. His voice is shakey (pardon the pun-I know some of you guys will understand!), his playing hesitant. I love the hyperrealism of recordings like this, but I also worry about him, I really do hope he’s okay and his advancing years are being kind to him. 

[Lars68]

I know the song is not a future Neil Young classic, but it touched me. I agree with Jinder, Neil sounds old and fragile and surely knows it. It reminded me of some of the American recordings with Johnny Cash. I hope Neil is well and taking care of himself.

For you who prefer early Neil in exceptionally strong voice, this one was released in 2021 too and is something else. 

Lars

[BoSoxBiker]

I wonder if it's the key that he's struggling with? This isn't the first time we've heard Neil have some vocal difficulties fragile vocals in recent years.

[Sgt. Pepper]

Its like any artist still around with a career that long. Their best work (of course my opinion) is years if not decades behind them.

Edited October 18, 2021 by Sgt. Pepper

[jt]

I quite like the song.

I've had a love-hate relationship with Neil's music for more than 5 decades. I love his studio acoustic catalog, but hate his studio electric catalog. Who has recorded more out of tune electric guitar solos? There's a funny recorded bit somewhere in which George Harrison recalls his and Eric Clapton's response to Neil's guitar playing at 1992's concert at Madison Square Garden.

But I love Neil's electric guitar performances that I've witnessed in person and have not, well, loved his acoustic guitar performances that I've witnessed in person.

Bottom line: Neil live with an electric band is life changing. HIs visceral connection to the music and his guitar playing is beyond powerful.

I last saw Neil live at "Desert Trip," a several day concert in California that featured the Stones, Dylan, Paul McCartney, The Who, Roger Waters, and Neil. Yeah, it was cool.

A highlight was Neil and Paul McCartney performing "Why Don't We Do It in the Road," "A Day in the Life," and "Give Peace a Chance." What a privilege to have been there.

 

 

[scriv58]

here is the clip JT referenced in his above post

-comments starts at 13:50

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYUglwhHpuw&t=12s

[scriv58]

sorry I don't know how to embed youtube videos here and I really don't post often enough for it to matter

[Sgt. Pepper]

Here ya go.

[jt]

4 hours ago, Sgt. Pepper said:

Here ya go.

That's it! Thanks. I couldn't agree more ... unless I'm in the audience at the time. 🙂

[E-minor7]

1 hour ago, jt said:

That's it! Thanks. I couldn't agree more ... unless I'm in the audience at the time. 🙂

Sorry, but I saw that clip when it emerged and found it double depressing. 

I felt kind of sorry for Neil, who (besides admiring The Fabs) puts so much into his electric guitar playing and pleases so many people that way.

I felt sorry for George for not understanding Neil's 'ism' and cheap-chatting about it, , , at a Geldof-session for krists sake. . 

Here's a tremendous version of Cortez the Killer from the early 90s. It was recently recommend to me by the drummer himself. 
 

 

[jt]

5 minutes ago, E-minor7 said:

Sorry, but I saw that clip when it emerged and found it double depressing. 

I felt kind of sorry for Neil, who (besides admiring The Fabs) puts so much into his electric guitar playing and pleases so many people that way.

I felt sorry for George for not understanding Neil's 'ism' and cheap-chatting about it, , , at a Geldof-session for krists sake. . 

Here's a tremendous version of Cortez the Killer from the early 90s. It was recently recommend to me by the drummer himself. 
 

 

Thanks for posting this!

As I've written, I think that Neil's visceral electric playing doesn't work out of the live performance context.  The power and passion translate live, but not, imvho, in the studio.

Again, thanks!

[olie]

The version of "My Back Pages " of which they speak featured two guitar solos-one from Eric Clapton and the second by Neil and , in my opinion, the Clapton one is note-perfect but sterile while the Young one has much more emotion and feeling and suits the song better, especially with Dylan's vocals. I've always admired Clapton's talent but he found his way to being a sort of lounge singer compared to his earlier stuff, less engaging. Listen to the famous solo on the live recording of "Crossroads" to hear some rawness as opposed to his later controlled work to see the way he has become  a money-making machine appealing to just about everyone. Neil Young couldn't care less if the world adores him- his biggest hit, "Heart of Gold" almost embarrasses him now (except for the royalty cheques). Horses for courses as they say. Just another 2 cents added to the rock music kitty.

[E-minor7]

39 minutes ago, olie said:

The version of "My Back Pages " of which they speak featured two guitar solos-one from Eric Clapton and the second by Neil and , in my opinion, the Clapton one is note-perfect but sterile while the Young one has much more emotion and feeling and suits the song better, especially with Dylan's vocals. I've always admired Clapton's talent but he found his way to being a sort of lounge singer compared to his earlier stuff, less engaging. Listen to the famous solo on the live recording of "Crossroads" to hear some rawness as opposed to his later controlled work to see the way he has become  a money-making machine appealing to just about everyone. Neil Young couldn't care less if the world adores him- his biggest hit, "Heart of Gold" almost embarrasses him now (except for the royalty cheques). Horses for courses as they say. Just another 2 cents added to the rock music kitty.

Kind of agree regarding the turn Clapton took many many years ago. But that said I think the particular moment  - the Back Pages performance - is a historic peek of golden age rock.                                  So many icons on the stage sharing precisely that tune was and still is an absolute high in my lens. And I recall lying with my girlfriend in her double-bed watching it.                                                                    Believe it should be cherished with harmony and not ripped apart - "George, what the f... went wrong for you, , , and were you able to lift a solo yourself at that point. ."

Regarding Heart of Gold it has of course become a symbol. And the last time I saw Young in 2016 or something, the only 2 acoustic tunes he did were H of G and Blowing in The Wind.                                             The big universal anthem by Bob and his own manifest of the inner world/quest. The pair made a lot of sense that glorious evening. . 

 

[BoSoxBiker]

OK, so what the heck? They listen to Bob Dylan's "Ballad of a Thin Man" song to get the groove, then repeat the groove and call it a new song? Is this really something big name cats like them guys did back then? There was even a bit of a riff used from "All Along the Watchtower".

I was wicked self-conscience to do something similar on a song that had the "Tangled Up in Blue" groove going and it was a total learning tool for myself.