| November 11th, 2005 10:53 AM |
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| Ten Thousand Motels |
Forever Young
Nov 12, 2005
www.theage.com.au
Young's sustained output, and the quality, depth and variety of his music is unequalled, except possibly by Bob Dylan.
Neil Young enters his sixth decade today. Warwick McFadyen looks back on Young's life, musical career and influence.
NEIL YOUNG TURNS 60 today. The man of two personalities, the hayseed yin and the tempest yang, the man who wrote 26 years ago that it's better to burn out than it is to rust, is still humming along the highway. Still touring, still recording.
Album No. 38, Prairie Wind, has just blown on to the shelves, taking the number of songs on his solo records alone to about 300. There are rumours of an Australian tour in the new year.
For more than half his life, and more than three-quarters of mine, he has been an important part of the musical backdrop to dramas, comedies, passions and pursuits. Many of my generation, I suspect, have had a similar experience. We have grown up with him.
In 1972, Young's only big hit, Heart of Gold, from Harvest, loped into my life. I was 14. The world outside was much bigger, and the world within much smaller. Radio and records were the only link to that mysterious out-thereness. A booklet for sale at the time contained a key to the universe: the lyrics to the songs on the radio. One issue had the words to Heart of Gold. Eureka! A fellow searcher. I was hooked.
And then I heard Sugar Mountain on a cafe jukebox at the beach one day. It was both magical and mystical. The hook was planted deeper. It has stayed in the flesh ever since.
Harvest was Young's fourth solo album. It came only two years after he had enjoyed, though enjoyed is used advisedly, enormous success as the fourth member of the volatile union of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. Their only studio album, Deja Vu, topped the charts, after which they toured, brought out the aptly titled live album Four Way Street, and split up.
Young really didn't have any reason to stay in the group, his couplet of Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (1969) and After the Goldrush (1970) were hailed as two of his best, after which came the commercial success of Harvest.
He was carving out a career that would overshadow his erstwhile band mates'. (The four later teamed up for the disappointing American Dream in 1988, then the more assured Looking Forward 11 years later.)
While they have moved into the background, Young has powered along, hardly taking a break as he swishes from one side of the musical road to the next. A brain aneurysm, which required surgery, momentarily laid him low this year, but was not enough to stop him from writing the songs for Prairie Wind.
And his father, Scott, died. In the book Neil and Me his father goes to the heart of his son's art. After watching him perform his first concert, aged 25, at Carnegie Hall, New York, in December, 1970, Scott says: "He sings in a way that twists my heart."
In those early years, Young's voice was so high and lonesome, it seemed as though it came down to earth with ice on it; so fragile it seemed it could break. Listen to Helpless.
It is as perfect a marriage of subject, instrumentation, melody and harmony as you could wish to hear. And it sounds simple. Young once joked that he couldn't play fast, like other guitar-slingers out there, but he could play real slow.
Young's sustained output and the quality, depth and variety of his music is unequalled, except possibly by Bob Dylan. Indeed, 20 years ago, Time magazine weighed in with an article comparing tours by the pair of them with the heading, "The master gets drubbed with a disciple's reputation."
In 1997, Dylan threw Neil Young into his song Highlands from the album Time out of Mind. "I'm listening to Neil Young, I gotta turn up the sound/Someone's always yelling turn it down."
Young has shown, most recently with his environmental concept album Greendale, that the sounds inside his head are still as loud as ever.
Nor has his playing diminished. He can stomp, thrash and wail with the best youngsters, then pick up an acoustic guitar and play the sweetest melody. On the back of a T-shirt available from his website for his recent Greatest Hits is the slogan under the titles of the album's songs: Sound Matters.
There's an element of transcendence in those two simple words. How else to explain the succession of the two '90s albums by the one artist: Arc Weld (1991), followed the next year by Harvest Moon.
Weld was amplified guitar feedback, a melange of distortion like a swarm of giant bees humming and hovering over your head.
Moon was a stroll through a green rippling field of grass on a sunny day. Not a bee in sight. You could hear yourself whistle.
These two inner cogs working with each other, clicking the muse into gear one way and then the other, plays a large part in the attraction and fascination of Young. He is slave to no one, which makes him master to himself and of his own destiny. It comes down to principle and art.
Whether you like the music or not, you have to admire the man's attitude. How many other musical artists have been, as Young was by Geffen, sued by their label for making "unrepresentative" records?
Did he let advertisers buy his songs for millions to sell lingerie, shoes, electronic gimmickry, soft drinks or beer? No. Instead, he wrote This Note's for You. A part of the lyrics are: Ain't singin' for Coke/I don't sing for nobody/Makes me look like a joke/This note's for you.
This single-minded devotion to the song has led Young to assemble and dissemble, join and leave bands with regularity. There have been the Mynah Birds, Buffalo Springfield, CSN&Y, the Stray Gators, Crazy Horse, the International Harvesters, the Shocking Pinks, Booker T. and the MGs and, of course, not forgetting the Ducks.
Whatever it takes to make the song. It's not personal. It's just that a certain sound enters his head, and it needs a certain treatment. In a recent interview with The Tennessean newspaper, Young said of his two musical sides: "It's part of my make-up. I don't know why. Every once in a while I wake up and all I can hear is thundering, abrasive, noisy rock 'n' roll. And then I do that. Hasn't happened in a while, but it's a recurring dream and I've got to deal with it. I think the musicians know how I feel."
Undoubtedly, the most enduring relationship - almost 40 years on and off - is with Crazy Horse, the garage band of grunge before there was a name for grunge.
And Young is Old Man Grunge. Such was Gramps' standing among younger groups that even punks couldn't spew up invective against him, especially not after he put Johnny Rotten into one of his songs.
He teamed up with Pearl Jam to record Mirror Ball, and put them in the shade through sheer power of personality.
More notoriously, Kurt Cobain, the force behind grunge supernova Nirvana, in his suicide note quoted Young's dictum that it's better to burn out than it is to rust. Young has never spoken publicly about this.
Crazy Horse's Billy Talbot, Frank (Poncho) Sampedro and Ralph Molina, (and earlier Danny Whitten, the guitarist who overdosed and sparked the album Tonight's the Night), have been the rock-solid, raucous and ever-reliable backdrop to Young's wild, sometimes anarchic, power surges.
There was a time in the late '80s when Young had a black box on stage that, with the press of a pedal, turned the guitar into a cannon that sent volleys of explosions into the audience.
He used it at the Rod Laver Arena when he was in his scaffolding-on-stage-isn't-feedback-an-art-form stage. But then, as we all would say, that's Neil. Mr Unpredictable. And he ripped all the strings off the guitar at the end, too, as if it were the machine and not the man that was responsible for all the racket.
Then, here's his latest effort, Prairie Wind, an intimate rending of the soul that is Young's most autobiographical set, with his trademark buzz-and-slap of steel string against wood, the keening voice, nasal and a little lower in parts - a hollow reed worn smooth by time.
He still tries for the Helpless register on several songs and misses by a country mile. Yet, we forgive him. Our lives, our memories are bound up in the songs. We forgive because we love.
In a recent article in The New York Times, Young said: "When you're in your 20s, then you and your world are the biggest thing, and everything revolves around what you're doing.
"Now I realise I'm a leaf floating along on the water on top of some river."
Long may the river run.
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| November 11th, 2005 10:59 AM |
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| Jair |
Long Live Neil Young!!!
The man is a real god to me!
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| November 11th, 2005 11:01 AM |
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| mac_daddy |
except it is tomorrow 
neil rocks!
10km - you are the walter kronkite of stones message boards. |
| November 11th, 2005 11:08 AM |
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| Ten Thousand Motels |
quote:
mac_daddy wrote:
except it is tomorrow
Yes. I don't even think it's the 12th in OZ yet where this was written. If I'm not mistaken though, it's about 12 hours ahead of EST time in OZ. |
| November 11th, 2005 11:18 AM |
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| Ten Thousand Motels |
quote:
Ten Thousand Motels wrote:
Yes. I don't even think it's the 12th in OZ yet where this was written. If I'm not mistaken though, it's about 12 hours ahead of EST time in OZ.
Wait, maybe it is Sat morning in OZ right now???? |
| November 11th, 2005 11:21 AM |
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| mac_daddy |
it is 3:20am on the 12th in sydney right now...
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| November 11th, 2005 01:37 PM |
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| Child of the Moon |
Well, when it rolls around, happy birthday to Neil. He's still my favorite solo artist that ever was, followed by Dylan and Bowie.
Although I still have yet to warm up to Prairie Wind, Ronnie! |
| November 11th, 2005 01:40 PM |
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| MRD8 |
I just got a DVD of Neil's musical guest appearances on Conan O'Brien a couple of weeks ago...while I haven't got into Prairie Wind yet the songs sounded very good live...Emmylou Harris joined him on one night...he had a great, dry sense of humor when he talked to Conan... |
| November 11th, 2005 09:52 PM |
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| Gazza |
Just watched these as well - actually she's on backing vocals on most of the Conan shows..but she duets on "This old guitar"
Truly stunning stuff.
"Prairie Wind" is a great record. For me, the best thing he's done since "Ragged Glory"
I love this guy. A true maverick. Only the Stones, Dylan, Bruce and Elvis can touch him in my book.
Happy birthday Shakey
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| November 12th, 2005 03:53 AM |
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| Ronnie Richards |
Yeah,he's one of a kind.
Long may he run.
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| November 12th, 2005 04:35 AM |
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| Prodigal Son |
I love Neil more than anything except the Stones, Beatles and Dylan. Happy 60th to him. Still, I wish I could like Prairie Wind. It seems to be a retread of every acoustic album he's ever done and I can't stand several songs. He needs to make a hard-rocking grungey album again. It's been a good decade since he truly made a rocking album and that ain't right. Prairie Wind seems well-liked but it's my least fave of his since Landing on Water (I give it **, C+, 5/10 if you will). I personally prefer Neil duds like Life, This Note's for You, Trans and Re-ac-tor (Everybody's Rockin', Journey Through the Past and Old Ways positvely blow though). |
| November 12th, 2005 05:03 AM |
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| Ten Thousand Motels |
Missing parrot is Neil fan
(online Sun, Nov 12, 2005)
A PARROT that speaks with a Scottish accent, supports Glasgow Rangers and sings Neil Young songs has gone missing.
Eric, a 12-year-old African grey, was last seen flying out of the back door of owner Liz Fagan’s house in Tooting, South London.
Liz, 43, has owned Eric for 11 years and he picked up his Scots accent from her partner Graham Fyfe, 47 — originally from Dundee.
She said: “Eric is very fussy and loves to have a cup of tea every day.
“He’d be very recognisable as he sings Keep on Rockin’ In The Free World by Neil Young and cheers Rangers when they’re on the telly.
“He loves his rock music — especially Neil Young. We just want him home with us.”
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| November 12th, 2005 06:13 AM |
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| corgi37 |
Well, at least 1 part of that article is complete and utter bullshit. Neil Young never played the Rod Laver Arena. Earlier this year he played at the Melbourne Blues Fesitval, doing Greendale. Prior to that, he hasnt toured here since 1989. Toured with some band called the Stray Dogs. Had a bad encounter with the press, got shitty reviews, and never set foot in this country for nigh on 16 years (a feat i might add broken by the Stones who had a 22 year gap, but the Who take all comers by being 37 years between tours).
Neil Young in 89 played Festival Hall. This journo is full of shit. Oh, and BTW, i doubt there is a "rumour here's touring Oz in the new year" either.
In my opinion, Ragged Glory is a masterpiece. And Like a Hurrican one of the most incredible "love" songs ever written. But, the feeling conveyed in his wailing solos more than "Moon, spoon, June" type lyrics. |
| November 12th, 2005 08:45 PM |
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| Gazza |
quote:
Ten Thousand Motels wrote:
Missing parrot is Neil fan
(online Sun, Nov 12, 2005)
A PARROT that speaks with a Scottish accent, supports Glasgow Rangers and sings Neil Young songs has gone missing.
Eric, a 12-year-old African grey, was last seen flying out of the back door of owner Liz Fagan’s house in Tooting, South London.
Liz, 43, has owned Eric for 11 years and he picked up his Scots accent from her partner Graham Fyfe, 47 — originally from Dundee.
She said: “Eric is very fussy and loves to have a cup of tea every day.
“He’d be very recognisable as he sings Keep on Rockin’ In The Free World by Neil Young and cheers Rangers when they’re on the telly.
“He loves his rock music — especially Neil Young. We just want him home with us.”
The fact that Rangers are having their shittiest season in about 20 years may be a contributing factor |
| November 12th, 2005 08:47 PM |
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| Gazza |
quote:
Prodigal Son wrote:
I love Neil more than anything except the Stones, Beatles and Dylan. Happy 60th to him. Still, I wish I could like Prairie Wind. It seems to be a retread of every acoustic album he's ever done and I can't stand several songs. He needs to make a hard-rocking grungey album again. It's been a good decade since he truly made a rocking album and that ain't right. Prairie Wind seems well-liked but it's my least fave of his since Landing on Water (I give it **, C+, 5/10 if you will). I personally prefer Neil duds like Life, This Note's for You, Trans and Re-ac-tor (Everybody's Rockin', Journey Through the Past and Old Ways positvely blow though).
I've always loved Trans. Its good to see someone else does.
This Notes for You is a gem of a record, and Life is pretty good too
Old Ways is patchy, but its worth getting for 'Misfits' alone |
| November 12th, 2005 09:07 PM |
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| Lazy Bones |
Only the Stones rank higher than Neil in my world. Dylan rounds off the trio.
I've yet to see the Conan appearances, but the shows Neil did in August at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, debuting Prairie Wind, are simply incredible.
Happy Birthday, Neil!
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| November 12th, 2005 09:27 PM |
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| time is on my side |
quote:
Jair wrote:
Long Live Neil Young!!!
The man is a real god to me!
You know I was just about to write something that would express similiar sentiments (my handle is Ambulance Blues from the On The Beach album) but if someone else has already stated what you were about ready to say what's the point of restating it????
Just joking, Jair (solo bromeo).
Happy Birthday, Neil!!!!
[Edited by time is on my side] |
| November 12th, 2005 11:33 PM |
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| Gazza |
quote:
Lazy Bones wrote:
Only the Stones rank higher than Neil in my world. Dylan rounds off the trio.
I've yet to see the Conan appearances, but the shows Neil did in August at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, debuting Prairie Wind, are simply incredible.
Happy Birthday, Neil!
the Ryman shows were filmed by Jonathan Demme for a forthcoming movie
Were these on TV or is there just audience recordings of them?
Check your mail! |
| November 13th, 2005 07:33 AM |
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| Rutger |
When you see Neil playing alone on his old martin D-45 with a harmonica, it's hard to think of anybody else that can match him. This man has written so many gems that he can play for hours without ever boring anyone. Neil has never tried to be more than what he really is. What you see is what you get. Just a regular guy who loves to strum those strings and I think we all agree he's pretty damn good at it. |
| November 14th, 2005 07:38 AM |
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| corgi37 |
He's the only guy i like accoustically. |
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