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...