Neil Young

[A Lark Ascending]

Nice one hour documentary just aired on the BBC called 'Don't Be Denied'.

Neil talking interspersed with songs, footage etc. Also interviewed are C, S + N, James Taylor, Nils Lofgrin. Stills looks much better than he appears in photos though his speech seems slurred - has he had a stroke?

Very enjoyable - worth looking out for, especially if you're an old hippy looking back on the old folky days (though Neil would damn you for it!).

http://www.bbc.co.uk/musictv/neilyoung/

Edited October 31, 2008 by Bev Stapleton

[Adam]

Nice one hour documentary just aired on the BBC called 'Don't Be Denied'.

Neil talking interspersed with songs, footage etc. Also interviewed are C, S + N, James Taylor, Nils Lofgrin. Stills looks much better than he appears in photos though his speech seems slurred - has he had a stroke?

Very enjoyable - worth looking out for, especially if you're an old hippy looking back on the old folky days (though Neil would damn you for it!).

http://www.bbc.co.uk/musictv/neilyoung/

He had some sort of hemorrhage or stroke and brain surgery a couple of years ago.

[sal]

Neil Young is one of my favourite artist of all time and shares the top spot with The Fall for out and out consistently interesting music.

Any takers for the new album? Although I am a little over familiar with Ordinary People from the bootlegs years ago it stands up as a brilliant epic.

I think it's his best since the mid-90s. I'd rank it up there just below his classics, actually. It's a great album. No Hidden Path, the other long song on it, is one of his trademark minor-key guitar epics, something like Change Your Mind

Funny, I bought Chrome Dreams II when it came out last year, but have been listening to it again over the last week. I don't care much for it, but I must say that "Boxcar" and "No Hidden Path" are two absolute classic songs.

[A Lark Ascending]

This forthcoming disc gets a rave review in this month's Mojo:

Neil caught live after Buffalo Springfield but before his first solo album.

1. Emcee Introduction - Various Artists

2. On The Way Home

3. Songwriting Rap

4. Mr Soul

5. Recording Rap

6. Expecting To Fly

7. Last Trip To Tulsa

8. Bookstore Rap

9. Loner

10. I Used To Rap

11. Birds

12. Winterlong/Out Of My Mind

13. Out Of My Mind

14. If I Could Have Her Tonight

15. Classical Gas Rap

16. Sugar Mountain

17. Sugar Mountain

18. I've Been Waiting For You

19. Songs Rap

20. Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing

21. Tuning Rap/The Old Laughing Lady

22. Old Laughing Lady

23. Broken Arrow

[7/4]

Nice one hour documentary just aired on the BBC called 'Don't Be Denied'.

Neil talking interspersed with songs, footage etc. Also interviewed are C, S + N, James Taylor, Nils Lofgrin. Stills looks much better than he appears in photos though his speech seems slurred - has he had a stroke?

Very enjoyable - worth looking out for, especially if you're an old hippy looking back on the old folky days (though Neil would damn you for it!).

http://www.bbc.co.uk/musictv/neilyoung/

He had some sort of hemorrhage or stroke and brain surgery a couple of years ago.

brain aneurysm.

[A Lark Ascending]

Nice one hour documentary just aired on the BBC called 'Don't Be Denied'.

Neil talking interspersed with songs, footage etc. Also interviewed are C, S + N, James Taylor, Nils Lofgrin. Stills looks much better than he appears in photos though his speech seems slurred - has he had a stroke?

Very enjoyable - worth looking out for, especially if you're an old hippy looking back on the old folky days (though Neil would damn you for it!).

http://www.bbc.co.uk/musictv/neilyoung/

He had some sort of hemorrhage or stroke and brain surgery a couple of years ago.

brain aneurysm.

I know about Neil's illness. It was Stephen Stills who had the slurred speech on the film.

[ghost of miles]

Been on a bit of a Neil kick lately and just picked up the 2009 remastered edition of AFTER THE GOLD RUSH. Been years since I listened to this album, and it still sounds amazing to me.

[six string]

I recently picked up the Massey Hall live album and I'm really loving it. I've been a fan since 1969 so I've heard it all and this is one of his best solo shows available.

[mikeweil]

I never quite liked Neil Young because I think he kind of killed Buffalo Springfield with his big ego - Richie Furay had the better voice, Stephen Stills was the better and more creative guitarist and songwriter ... he's pretty overrated. His voice is awful. The only occasion where I thought he was appropriate was his playing on Jim Jarmusch's film, Dead Man ... but, OTOH there's a lot of guitar players who would have been able to do that.

[A Lark Ascending]

His voice is awful.

One of those very personal reactions. I've always loved Neil's voice - vulnerable, very, very distinctive.

Though I can also see why he sounds like fingernails on a blackboard to some. A bit like Dylan or Robert Wyatt who just sound like bad singers to many people, yet are deeply affecting singers to others (Wyatt is one of my all-time favourites).

I think Neil maintained his songwriting skills and took them down unusual routes for a much longer period than Stills. Stills was writing some great things up to the early 70s but seemed to completely lose his touch. Neil was also more prolific (and there were a fair few dull songs but a bounty of good ones). Perhaps Neil's style was a bit simpler, closer to country or blues standards. [a sideline, but I always thought David Crosby was the most original of all three - but he wrote even less! You really hear the jazz in Crosby's songs).

Equally, his guitar sound was highly distinctive and, again if you are attuned, highly emotional. I love listening to chorus after chorus of him on 'Cortez the Killer'. He never struck me as that flash but he could build a solo up and take it down beautifully.

Can't say I've cared for much by him since the early 90s; but in the period from the late 60s to mid-70s he is one of my touchstones.

Edited March 3, 2010 by Bev Stapleton

[jazzbo]

The last few years through the influence of a friend I've been listening to Young and collecting the work. I haven't followed Crosby or Stills or Nahs since their supergroup status, but man I have always had a finger on Young's work and I really admire his singing, voice, writing and guitar playing. He plays guitar the way I would love to. I love the tweed amp turned up to eleven sound he gets on electric, and he has the most beautiful acoustic guitar sound that I have heard. I love the sound of his piano as well. He gas quite an ear and can bring out the intrinsic beauty of a specific instrument.

I actually think Young hit a new peak in this century. I think hes among the best political writers and performers in rock. Greendale and Living with War are just wonderful in my opinion. And he has done some beautiful rootsy work; Prairie Wind is an astonishingly good album with gorgeous sound.

I think there's a good chance that Neil is completely insane, but functioning. I'm so glad he is.

Long may you run Neil.

[marcello]

You might be interested to know that on Joe Locke's new cd 'For The Love Of You", his does Neil Young's "Birds".

Kenny Washington sings.

You can hear a small sample here: For The Love of You

[Chuck Nessa]

You kids be silly.

[John L]

Take him or leave him, Neil Young is unique, very unique.

I like him quite a bit in small doses a few times a year.

[Brad]

Don't have enough of his stuff but his work in Springfield is excellent as is the Fillmore East Cd. He has a very distinctive voice that has managed to survive after all these years.

[Dave James]

There's a pretty nice retrospective of Young's work between 1966-1976 called Decade. Entries from Buffalo Springfield, Crazy Horse and all the solo stuff. I DL'ed it from eMusic just this week. At present, my collection is painfully short of Young. I do have a DVD I highly recommend. It's called Neil Young in Berlin. It includes a hair-raising version of Like A Hurricane and a largely unknown tune called Back to Berlin that is rock solid.

[king ubu]

I listened to some young back in high school, but only in the last few months I've been getting deeper into his music, having bought most of his early albums by now. The sort of decisive moment was me seeing "The Last Waltz", after which I went out and re-familiarised myself with some of the guests (and getting on a major Band trip, first!). I don't yet have Young's debut album, but "Everybody Thinks...", "On the Beach", "After the Goldrush", "Harvest", "Tonight's the Night", "Zuma"... what an great run of albums! I also dig "American Stars'n'Bars" a lot!

How many volumes are there so far in the live archive series? I only have the Fillmore disc with Danny Whitten - another great one... what others are there and how are they?

[fent99]

I listened to some young back in high school, but only in the last few months I've been getting deeper into his music, having bought most of his early albums by now. The sort of decisive moment was me seeing "The Last Waltz", after which I went out and re-familiarised myself with some of the guests (and getting on a major Band trip, first!). I don't yet have Young's debut album, but "Everybody Thinks...", "On the Beach", "After the Goldrush", "Harvest", "Tonight's the Night", "Zuma"... what an great run of albums! I also dig "American Stars'n'Bars" a lot!

How many volumes are there so far in the live archive series? I only have the Fillmore disc with Danny Whitten - another great one... what others are there and how are they?

I think all of the live archives are worth hearing and enjoy the Sugar Mountain and Massey Hall sets particularly. Just got the Dreamin Man set (for my birthday, from Mrs F!) and enjoying that though its a bit of a flawed concept with live versions of a whole album rather than a gig and no unreleased songs...

Not sure the Archives box would be worth it mind and of course there is a ton of live stuff out there. Let me know if you'd like some recs etc.

[king ubu]

Not right now... I bought so much lately, Neil Young is just one of the bunch (others include The Band, Joni Mitchell, Talking Head, Velvet Underground, Patti Smith, Kevin Ayers, Emmylou Harris, Devendra Banhart, Cat Power... in no particular order). But I'll keep my eyes open in case I stumble over any other of the live Archives discs for a good price!

[ghost of miles]

You might be interested to know that on Joe Locke's new cd 'For The Love Of You", his does Neil Young's "Birds".

Kenny Washington sings.

You can hear a small sample here: For The Love of You

Tom, that's actually what ignited my most recent Neil Young kick. I taped an Afterglow recently that will air in a month or so and used two tracks off the new Locke; one of them was "Birds." I gave the CD to our weekday afternoon jazz DJ and he played that track too, just the other day.

Any other jazz/popular-song-artist covers of Neil? There's Cassandra Wilson's "Harvest Moon," but I can't think of any others off the top of my head.

[GregK]

it's all good. especially the recent stuff. Young gets better with age.

[marcello]

You might be interested to know that on Joe Locke's new cd 'For The Love Of You", his does Neil Young's "Birds".

Kenny Washington sings.

You can hear a small sample here: For The Love of You

Tom, that's actually what ignited my most recent Neil Young kick. I taped an Afterglow recently that will air in a month or so and used two tracks off the new Locke; one of them was "Birds." I gave the CD to our weekday afternoon jazz DJ and he played that track too, just the other day.

Any other jazz/popular-song-artist covers of Neil? There's Cassandra Wilson's "Harvest Moon," but I can't think of any others off the top of my head.

Actually David, Joe Locke also did "Don't Let it Bring You Down" On his "Storytelling" cd.

Mark Ledford sings on that one, along with Tain, Paul Bollenback, Henry Hey, Tim Garland and Eric Revis.

[Dave James]

it's all good. especially the recent stuff. Young gets better with age.

Or, to slightly tweak the phrase, Young is better old. I like it.

[EKE BBB]

 

Long-lost Neil Young album "Hitchhiker" reportedly coming out this summer:

 

Long-Lost Neil Young Album Hitchhiker Reportedly Coming This Summer Hitchhiker, a long-lost Neil Young album originally recorded in 1976, is reportedly coming out this summer. Neil Young fansite Thrasher's Wheat found a listing on Diverse Vinyl that says the album will be available on 7/14, and they also recently dis