neil young - a letter home

Neil Young has a 'new' album out. Sort of. There's been a lot of comment about this one, A Letter Home, as it's one of the oddest records Neil has ever put out.

Neil visited Jack White's record store in Nashville where White has a refurbished 1940s recording booth. This immediately presses the recording onto vinyl and many vintage folk and blues records were recorded in this way, back in the day. Neil apparently loved it - not so much low-fi as no-fi whatsoever - and, contrary old goat that he is, he's recorded his whole album via the booth!

Of course this means that the record is smothered in masses of surface noise, pops, crackles and clicks, and at times you can hear the wobbly nature of the vinyl, as the songs warble and flutter. It does really sound like an old 1940s record, thin, reedy, crackly, like a voice from beyond the grave. However, I'm not sure that this is such a good thing. Recording technology has moved on for a reason.

A Letter Home contains just covers of old folk / rock tracks (Dylan, Springsteen, Jansch, Lightfoot, Willie Nelson, the Everly Brothers are all represented) and all are lovely performances, first takes, just Neil the guitar and harmonica (and on a couple of songs, Jack White also pounding away on a piano). And whilst the old fashioned recording does have an undeniable, though weird, charm, I have a feeling that the antique sound will get very annoying after a couple of listens. Which is a shame, as Neil is on fine form and is clearly having a ball, and there's a jaunty, fun mood to many of the tracks. I'd argue that all of these songs deserve to be heard in a better recording.

But this is Neil Young. Inexplicable swerves are his speciality. He's been banging on recently about PONO - a new full fat, totally non-lossless, portable, digital music format. He wants it to rival iTunes, and reckons that the quality it delivers is second to none. Apparently, the next volume of The Archives will not include Blu-Ray (like the last set) but to get the really high-end stuff you'll have to get PONO. Then, just as he's pushing PONO and top sound quality as hard as he can, he releases the lowest-fi album made by anyone in the last 60 years!

Apparently there's also a box set version (though what on earth that includes is anyone's guess - a wax cylinder? An old banjo and a rocking chair so you can create your own version?)

Gotta love Neil, but out of all the weird things he's done (and that's not a short list either!) this has to be one the weirdest ever!

it's all one song

Whilst I've often heard Neil Young's semi-ironic comment about his music - "it's all one song" - today I had this proved to me once and for all.

With the iPod switched to shuffle it decided to treat me to three Neil Young and Crazy Horse songs in a row.

 

First up - "Love To Burn" from 1991's cracking live album Weld. 10 minutes of grunging Horse magic.

Then "Ramada Inn" live at the O2 when I was there last summer. Nearly 20 minutes of grunging Horse magic.

Finally, "Powderfinger" from 1978's Live Rust. 6 minutes of grunging Horse magic.

 

All three tracks are carved from the same massive Rock, all three tracks were clearly rehearsed in the same dusty ol' barn, all have the same old fashioned approach to songwriting, keeping it simple, getting some cool harmonies in there and letting the song rock itself out.

And all three could easily have come from the same concert, despite 35 years separating the earliest and the latest. There is frankly no difference in sound, in instrumentation, even in Neil's voice. Some singers lose a lot of their range as the get older, but, marvellously, Neil Young's voice remains exactly the same. And the Horse are a wonderfully consistent band. They know their sound, no-one else plays like them, so they'll doggedly stick to what they know and keep on playing. And playing. 

 

And playing.

 

It's all one song...

neil young & crazy horse - london o2 17th june 2013

You can spot a Neil Young audience a mile off – lots of check shirts or old Neil Young t-shirts, lots of bald heads, lots of facial hair (mainly white). I felt very youthful…

Los Lobos were the support act – really good too. They were much heavier than I was expecting, playing some excellent bluesy rock with a Tex/Mex twist, and yes they did play "La Bamba", but a very slow pounding version.

No sooner had they left the stage, at about 8.25, then Neil’s roadies appeared. Dressed in white lab coats and wearing Einstein wigs they scurried about the stage gesticulating wildly and generally being very entertaining. The stage set was the traditional Crazy Horse set – the giant speakers (which at this point were covered by giant packing cases) and a giant microphone centre stage. As the lights went down the Beatles’ "A Day In The Life" was pumped over the PA and other roadies wearing hi-viz jackets and hard hats began winching the cases off the giant speakers.

As that monumental final chord rolled across the O2 Neil and the band lined up on stage with all the road crew and the national anthem played out. Neil took his hat off and put his hand on his heart. They’ve been doing this all tour, with the national anthem of the relevant country. Much of the O2 actually sang along, and it was oddly rather moving.

Then Neil strapped on Old Black and hit a super massive chord. It was simply a HUGE wave of sound. And we were off with "Love And Only Love".

For most of the songs Neil, Frank (Poncho) Sampedro and Billy Talbot just huddled together in from of Ralph Molina’s drum riser. Heads down, playing like their lives depended on it. Sometimes Neil would wander across the stage, seeming to follow his guitar, sometimes he’d stomp hard on his various pedals and create even more distortion, sometimes Poncho would do a little jumping up and down, which at his age (and with his rather bulky size) may not have been too wise. Poncho in fact has a mane of snow white hair and a white beard and if you stuck him in a red suit he’d make a great Father Christmas! Billy Talbot’s wild curly hair is rather more tamed these days too, and he wears little half moon glasses which gives him the air of an elderly professor, but he still plays the biggest bass. I couldn’t really see Ralph Molina very well but his drumming was spot on all night, simple, basic even, but perfect for Crazy Horse. Neil, in his black hat, black shirt and black jeans seemed to be glowering at first, but as the show went on he seemed to loosen up and during a number of songs he had a huge grin on his face – it seemed like he was sharing jokes with Poncho and Billy, usually mid song. And the solos went on forever. There’s something magical about Neil’s soloing. Technically it’s probably all the place but the way he uses volume and distortion and someone creates pure music from it, is astonishing.

"Powderfinger" was second – what a song. Then two from the new album – the title track followed by "Walk Like A Giant" which was simply incredible. The song itself is long, but the ending must have taken up nearly ten minutes, Neil and Poncho and Billy huddled down and wave upon wave of feedback and noise rolled out. The scientist / roadies set up fans and threw leaves and litter which blew across the stage – this created a genuinely apocalyptic atmosphere. The noise got lower, punctuated by stray drum shots and it felt like we were in middle of some terrible devastation. A final monumental blast from Old Black triggered a rainstorm on the big screen at the side of the stage over which we got the ‘No Rain’ chant from Woodstock. Eventually it faded to quiet and Neil was alone on the stage with an acoustic, and his harmonica rack. 

We then had a handful of acoustic songs as Neil wandered around the stage singing "Comes A Time", "Blowin’ In The Wind", the first live outing since 1999 for the beautiful "Red Sun" (from Silver And Gold) and two lovely new songs - "Hole In The Sky had some great harmonies from Billy, and for "Singer Without A Song" Neil sat at an upright piano as Poncho added some acoustic guitar. This song is a really lovely ballad which is about a girl who’s lost her way, and as the song progressed a girl walked across the stage dragging a guitar case, pausing and sighing theatrically and looking forlorn. It all seemed very filmic. She had lots of tattoos and her hair was done in a way that made me realise that the song just had to have been inspired by Amy Winehouse.

Then it was electric guitars again for a stunningly good "Ramada Inn". Followed by "Cinnamon Girl and "F*!%in' Up" which was fantastic – that riff was enormous! Then the song broke down half way through to allow Poncho his bluesy call and response bit as we all had to chant "you’re a f*!% up" over and over while Neil just grinned his head off. It was oddly cheesy, but huge fun and after a while of doing this Neil just ground out that riff again and we finished off the song. A cracking "Mr Soul" lead into "Hey Hey My My" which was another incredible performance and another very long ending. And that was it. They’d been onstage for just over two hours. And we’d had just 14 songs!

The cases began to be lowered over the giant stacks, but then the scientists waved their arms about and the winches went back up. Down from the rafters came a small keyboard (it had little wings on it…) and I knew that they’d be playing "Like A Hurricane" as Crazy Horse use a keyboard for no other song! Sure enough it was "Hurricane" time. I was so delighted – just what I’d come to see – Neil Young and Crazy Horse playing "Like A Hurricane" – it doesn’t get much better than this! Knowing how strict they are with time keeping in London I was surprised though – I was expecting the show to finish at 11 and they began "Hurricane" at five to… After about 10 minutes a scientist roadie ran out and held a bit of paper in front of Neil. It must have said ‘wrap it up NOW’ as Neil turned to the band and played a huge downward chord which brought the song to a rather sudden ending. Then he thanked us all and wished us all a good ride home and then launched into "Roll Another Number (For The Road)". After that he spoke again and said that, as we were such a good looking audience (!) we deserved another song! So we had a rare outing of "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere"! Just as they started the song he had a funny grin on his face and said something like ‘I can hear managers and officials getting their calculators out now…’ so I guess he was going to be fined for running over, but it meant we had one of the longest and most varied sets of the tour so far.

As you may have guessed, I loved every second of the show – but there were quite a few who left before the end and I’ve read reports of people complaining about other shows. If you get a chance look up the reviews of the Dublin show – loads people there moaning about the self indulgent guitaring and the lack of ‘nice’ songs like "Heart Of Gold"… I reckon that the grumpy old buzzard would be very happy with comments like that… This was a Neil Young And Crazy Horse show – self indulgent guitaring and long drawn out feedback drenched noisefest endings is what they’ve been doing since 1969, and it’s what I came for! Complaining about that is like going to see Motorhead and then complaining that they were a wee bit loud… Still I can’t imagine that Neil cares one little bit – indeed the whole show seemed to me to be about Neil enjoying himself with his buddies – he doesn’t really care what the audience thinks, and half the time he seemed unaware that there was an audience at all, he was so lost in his own world. I get the strong impression that this tour may well be a last hurrah for the Horse. They are all getting on and to play this music at their age must be so tiring. Neil did say to us - ‘it’d be nice to see you again some time, if you’re still around, and if we’re still around…’ But if it is the last time they tour, then what a tour to go out on. Not resting on their laurels, not playing a snoozefest ‘hits’ show, not doing what people expect and still provoking enough of a reaction and irritating enough of the audience to make some of them walk out! Gotta love the Horse.

Long may they run.

neil young & crazy horse live

I've downloaded a few recent gigs from Neil and the Horse but none are as good as the superb show they played I've downloaded a few recent gigs from Neil and the Horse but none are as good as the superb show they played just three nights ago at the Borgata Hotel in Atlantic City. It was part of a Hurricane Sandy benefit, but they didn’t change their regular set at all, so it’s just 13 songs... however, as some of these run for more than 20 minutes each you still get a gig lasting more than two hours. 

And, although I’m not sure it’s entirely appropriate, they encore with a 25 minute “Like A Hurricane” which does what Sandy couldn’t, and blows the roof off the Hotel. It's surely one of the best “Hurricane”s I’ve ever heard. The energy from the Horse is incredible throughout the whole show, and Neil is on fire, singing his socks off, and coaxing the most amazing sounds out of Old Black – how the hell that guitar is still going, after all the abuse it’s had over the past 40 years, is something that only Neil can explain, but I’m so glad that it is still functioning, as no other guitar sounds quite like it.

There are so many highlights - “Ramada Inn” is the best I’ve ever heard; lovely new song “Singer Without A Song” finds Neil at the piano with the Horse clustered round him helping out on harmonies. The show heads for the home straight by cranking up the Crazy Horse Time Machine - the always brilliant “Cinnamon Girl” is followed by the even older “Mr Soul” and then it's straight into a spirited but rather ragged “Rockin’ In The Free World” (rarely played on this tour) and then a stompingly good “Hey Hey, My My”. The encore is the aforementioned amazing encore of “Hurricane”. 

No UK dates so far, but Neil has just announced Australian dates for next March so he and the Horse are obviously planning on continuing this tour next year. I would LOVE to see them live, especially playing as well as they are right now.

neil young & crazy horse - psychedelic pill

The new album from Neil and the Horse is an odd one - loads of electronic wizardry, synths galore, lots of rapping, and beat box stuff, it’s like Neil has gone all Doctor Dre on us.

Actually no. Of course not.

It’s EXACTLY like you’d expect a Neil Young and Crazy Horse album to be, only just a bit bigger and longer than usual. This music really, genuinely, is timeless. It really could have been recorded at any point in the last 40 years or so.

The opening song "Driftin’ Back" kind of makes this point. It starts with Neil and his acoustic, strummin’ away, singin’ his ol’ song and then the Horse are faded in, rumbling along at full speed (which for the Horse isn’t actually that fast these days) – the effect is exactly that of remembering an old Crazy Horse song and it popping up in your mind, quite literally driftin’ back. Neil starts riffing on how MP3's only give you a tiny percentage of the actual music when you used get it all - the lyrics seem like random thoughts that pop into Neil's head - by the end he starts wondering if he should get himself a Hip Hop Haircut, but frankly it's not the words that really matter. The wistful, things used to be better, vibe is carried by the laid back but still urgent guitar work. The track lasts for nearly 28 minutes! That’s actually longer than the whole Neil Young and the Shocking Pinks album. By the 3 minute mark you know precisely how "Driftin’ Back" goes, and you’ve got another 25 minutes still to come. Yet it doesn’t get boring, at all. In fact I was really quite disappointed when it ended.

The album mixes a handful of really lengthy songs with a number of shorter tracks – such as the title song, which is swathed in phasing to an almost comical degree, or the jaunty "Born In Ontario", or "Twisted Road" with it’s namechecks for Dylan and the Dead. These slighter, shorter songs are terrific, and are arguably more directly emotional ("For The Love Of Man" is the most tender, being a delightful song for his son) but it’s the long ones which will, quite rightly gain most of the attention, and these are really what we all came for.

The bitter sweet "Ramada Inn" is a bit like an update of "Love And Only Love". Neil tosses out the lyrics like murmured asides, but he stil manages to paint an extraordinarily vivid picture (with such few words), of a couple in their twilight years. Once he's had a few drinks she barely recognizes her husband anymore, but they still, somehow, love each other.

"She's Always Dancing" has another classic Horse tune and a lovely chorus with some cracking harmonies from the four of them. In fact, one of the best parts about this album is the slightly wonky singing. The harmonies are just about there, the lead vocals are just about on track, but it's all a bit ramshackle and has a wry well worn feeling about it. The implication is that these guys still have it, but only just, but they are still gonna give you everything they've got.

The epic "Walk Like A Giant" carries on the album's main theme - a wistful look back at the past, when, as younger men, they were convinced that they could change the world. The cheery whistling that pops up at various stages is at odds with the sad sense of the words, that perhaps the optimism of youth doesn't actually change things after all.

Perhaps the only minus point on the album is the inclusion of the second, un-phased version of "Psychedelic Pill". It’s not that it’s bad or anything, far from it, but it seems wrong being tacked on the end after the massively drawn out ending of "Walk Like A Giant" which is the perfect conclusion to the album. So to stick a short track after that seems very out of place. And, what's more, the alternative version of "Psychedelic Pill" bizarrely fades out just before the end of the song, which makes it an even more inappropriate way to close the record. But that’s Neil for you. Even when you think you've got the measure of him and of this album he goes and does his own thing. Just when you don't expect it. Just because he can.

This album is very worthy successor to all the other Neil / Horse albums. It’s just like the very best of them, yet it’s still different, still fresh, still engaging and engrossing and I could listen to this sort of stuff for ever.

neil young & crazy horse - americana

Giving Neil Young and Crazy Horses’s Americana another blast today and perhaps I’ve been a little hasty to dismiss it as a throwaway record. 

This is the Great American Folk songbook as thrashed out by curmudgeonly old men in denim and flannel shirts, standing in a draughty old barn trying to avoid the horse poo. Then the contrary old git has had the gall to overdub choirs and backing vocals as if these songs were actually substantial enough to warrant such treatment. Most of the tunes have been Horsed and so don’t really sound like the more familiar folk songs / nursery rhymes that many of these songs became. Most contain surprisingly dark lyrics that were lost as the songs became sanitized over the long years. Neil has put them back. So lots of death and hangin’ and shootin’ as befits songs written a century and half ago.

I'd say that about the half the record is very very good indeed. Solid Horse. The record works best on the less familiar songs – six minutes of "She’ll Be Coming Round The Mountain" blasted out Horse-style is not really my cup of tea, but a song like "High Flying Bird" sounds exactly like the sorts of Neil / Horse tracks that found their homes on Zuma or Ragged Glory. Some of the songs are perhaps too long – at 8 minutes "Tom Dula" is maybe twice as long as it needs to be – but others work well at their lengths. For example, "Travel On" is nearly 7 minutes but doesn’t seem like it.

The oldest songs are from the 1800s, "Oh Susannah" (which was later reworked in the 1960s as "Venus" – you know, ‘she’s got it, oh baby she’s got it…’) and "Clementine" both sound great as done by the Horse. If those good ol’ frontiersmen back then had had access to whacking great Marshall stacks, Billy Talbot’s monstrous bass, Poncho’s growling guitar, Ralph’s thudding drums and Neil’s faithful Old Black guitar, then these good ol’ folk songs would have sounded exactly like this.

Still not sure what to make of the Horses’s electric doowop attack on "Get A Job" (a relative newie from the 1950s) although it’s worth noting that Billy and Ralph started their careers singing doowop on street corners with Danny Whitten as Danny and the Memories in the early 1960s. "God Save The Queen" still completely baffles me, however. What on earth were they thinking? But on the whole the album is growing on me and it certainly blows the cobwebs away.