"Horse Back": New Crazy Horse & Neil Young Video Electrifies Fans
"Horse Back".
So, just like most of us, early Saturday morning we clicked thru a link to the Official Neil Young page and after about 20 seconds, went "Holy @#$!%&^*()_+!!!!".
The reaction to the new Crazy Horse & Neil Young video has been definitively and massively positive.
Likewise, the CH&NY video preview prompted almost as many questions as it answered.
It seems much of the ecstatic reaction is simply based on the proof positive that Crazy Horse & Neil Young have reunited in the studio after a long hiatus. Many fans feared that they might never experience a Crazy Horse concert, so their hopes and dreams have been rekindled.
A quick rundown of what we know from the massive 37+ minute video.
Video credits now added:
- TITLE: "Horse Back"
- Engineered and mixed by John Hanlon at Audio Casa Blanca Jan 6, 2012, assisted by Mark Humphreys and John Hausman
- Video by Ben Johnson
- Music by Crazy Horse
Obviously -- or maybe not -- this isn't a stream of a new album. It seems to be a mashup-alternative "ARC-like" collage of sonic snippets and a lengthy jam of old songs, primarily "Fuckin' Up" and "Cortez The Killer", with other bits and pieces here and there.
Footage includes lyric sheets for:
- "Gallows Pole",
- "Clementine",
- "This Land",
- "Oh Susanna!",
- "She'll Be Coming Around The Mountain", &
- "Gotta Travel On (Done Laid Around)".
Also, lyric sheets reference "Ontario" and "Love and Wall". (Thanks The Zuma Band!)
This is definitely NOT Toast, (an unreleased Crazy Horse Album. Toast, named after a defunct recording studio, "Toast" is "perhaps one of the most under-estimated and deceptive Crazy Horse records of all time, with many songs originally discarded, and then re-recorded with Booker T. and the MGs.")
Mixer board labels include the late producer David Briggs and "Dave", which may be Dave Matthews, since he sang with Neil at Bridge on "Oh Susanna".
Also, lots of chatter over on rust and Facebook | ThrashersWheatNeverSleeps, naturally.
Quite a weekend.
So will 2012 be another The Year of The Horse??!!
Something tells us this is only the beginning of what promises to be an interesting next few days, weeks, months and year (s).
More on New Crazy Horse Album Recorded.
Also, see News of New Crazy Horse Album Gallops Around the World.
Smell the Horse!
Original Crazy Horse, ~1970
Labels: album, crazy horse, neil young, video
by thrasher@PermaLink: 1/30/2012 04:37:00 AM
68 comments
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68 Comments:
Thank you thrasher. I am very grateful for all that you do. I set up an old vintage tape deck with right and left channel microphones and recorded the video to cassette tape. It made for a very enjoyable drive through heavy lake effect snow last night. Like most of us, I am hoping for a 2012 tour. Doug S. Warsaw N.Y.
Thrasher:
Now I know what it means to "feel the Horse"! This is absolutely beautiful!
WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!
The albums I find I play the most always are with the Horse!
A special "thank you" to everone involved, and a special "thank you" goes to you, Thrasher, for letting us know!
Marian M.
I wonder if that is the tracklisting for the new LP and this is some kind of covers record.
That video is loads of fun, and a nice tour thru the inner-sanctum of where it get's made. Fresh from the stables
These are all old folks songs and pretty easy to do. I do remember the the very old version of Gallows Pole(Leadbelly's version?) from the 30s. He used a 12 string guitar.
Found it under Gallis Pole!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsgGNWlNAfA
Saw Robert Plant and Band of Joy around this time last year. Went with a friend and I told him I was certain the one "Zeppelin song" we're sure to hear is Gallows Pole...hadn't seen any set list, just felt like the perfect song for that group. Of course they did play it and it was incredible, with Buddy Miller supporting and soloing in equal measure.
Leadbelly is an endless source of learning and inspiration. Some of our greatest artists have covered his songs; favorites of mine include Death Letter (White Stripes) and In The Pines (many artists but mainly Nirvana and The Stanley Brothers). Can't wait to hear and see what Crazy Horse does with Gallows Pole and everything else.
In addition to the public domain Americana covers there are basic chord charts for what appear to be two new originals - "Ontario" and "Love and Wall," unless they're from some other source or are something previously recorded but unrealized?
I am excited and confused. (really excited and kinda confused).
Why so much effort to set up the board with labels for the video (not to mention everything else)? Goldie on bench getting loving care, Black on the stand, the red foot box engaged. Man, this was considerable effort. You don't go and re-lable a board on a whim. For an archives release? What the hell is going on? I am confused - are we seeing something new or a packaging of something old. "Ontario"? I wanna hear that!
Anyone else notice - that's a new Maggie next to the Deluxe (a 1960 280a I think, tipped on its side)?
Have you seen the Portlandia episode where Carrie and Fred discover Battlestar Gallactica? "We'll just watch one episode" turns into a full show box set marathon that goes on for days. Maybe I'll just set Horse Back on infinite loop....
Okay Mr. Henry, maybe you & I will have this discussion all to ourselves because I do think you "get it." But do you find it a bit odd for a band bearing the great Crazy Horse name, the great man who courageously fought against injustice & encroachment, to be doing traditional Americana folk made popular by the same culture that set out to wipe the indigenous groups off the face of the Earth? These aren't exactly protest songs.
Please understand, I bear no disrepect to the either the band or the heritage of Crazy Horse. It's a cool name for a band and a great homage to the heritage of the person who bears the name.
But isn't that like the Minstrel groups in blackface doing songs about the good old plantation days?
Please don't turn this discussion into "oh, I hate all you PC nutcases." This is not about doing what is or isn't "politically correct."
This land is your land, this land is my land ...uh ...except for those few folks we stuck on a reservation because we took ALL oftheir land & gave them whiskey because it was the right thing to do.
By the same argument, which would be worthy of a "Portlandia" sketch, we shouldn't be doing rock-n-roll, because Elvis took black musical culture and sanitized it for whites, and Led Zeppelin ripped off black blues artists. The culture that is is built on the culture that was, for better and worse.
How about if they go by "The Band Formerly Known As Crazy Horse"?
or the Clinically Insane Equestrians
The tradition of rock'n'roll Elvis is what pulls a lot of us into it. Rock'n'roll pulled black and white people together. It was at this time in our history when people began questioning why we have segregation. So I don't get what you mean Zuma Band.
"The way I see it, Crazy Horse has been a perfect victim for exploitation by whites. He was killed by them [missing line] any other leader among our people. During his lifetime he allowed no photographic likenesses of him to be taken, no paintings, no drawings. He refused to go to Washington, D. C. Neither did he, despite claims to the contrary, have any friends among the invading whites. Of all the Indians throughout history, he has, therefore, become their obsession. He has become a steak house in California and his name is used profanely to sell everything from beer to poetry magazines and third-rate novels. And now they blow up a mountain to invent his image in the stone that he knew as sacred. They do it because they must possess what they can not. It is why our language has always called them "fat takers.") -- from "A A 'desecration tour'
now awaits travelers who
visit the sacred Black Hills" by Elizabeth Cook-Lynn
Oh, here is the article:
http://www.hanksville.org/storytellers/cooklynn/ElizICT.htmls
IT'S ALL ONE (glorious) SONG !
Saddle up the Palomino!
I don't go on the internet during weekends & I'm almost speechless after just viewing the video...
Crazy Horse is the ONLY band that I would listen to a 20 minute jam in D and never for a second be bored...
It's like a welcome back video of sorts to the fans...
Briggs would have wanted them to continue...L.A. as well...Ben Keith as well...
wow...
Perhaps an acoustic/electric mix of an album akin to 'Comes a Time'?...
wow...
But as a fan who absolutely loves the name Crazy Horse and knowing Neil's long history of various killer songs about the plight of native Americans, I'm baffled by the discussion going on...change the name? Really?
I'm not saying get rid of the band's name. Just give the name some respect, that's all.
Mother Nature On The Run - every time I go on this wonderful site I am confronted with your killjoy attitude about virtually every single article Thrasher puts up. Stop trying to guiltrip people who are watching a video of Neil Young promoting a charity (two days ago) or people who are getting excited about their favourite band re-uniting (today), and so on.
Get a life mate.
Respect! It's not a duty, it's an honor to have this particular band named after you!!
I believe that's the best Cortez I've ever had the pleasure of hearing. Amazing!!!!
Steven James
Yes Jonathan, twenty minutes in D and it could almost go on forever. Vintage Ornette Coleman Prime Time meets 21st Century Sonic Youth.
The '96 tour is what comes closest to mind, when Neil would set the groove and just ride and ride to the land of No Wave and back. Plus add in Twisted Road wisdom with a dash of the clock is ticking so let's make time stand still for awhile...these go to eleven!
My favorite song on Year of the Horse is Bar Stool Blues. The point where Neil sings "...before I have to go" and then the Horse launches into the great beyond by staying within the tightest of corrals. That's what this is like, especially around the 11 minute mark...sublime!
elliot says it's up to $ 500 on the tickets. keep up the good work.
For a complimentary appetizer, check the link below for Too Kind, the last song on new album The Leaving of London by The Bevis Frond (first in almost 8 years). Two extended guitar solo runs total almost five minutes with the unique musical genius of Nick Saloman...and it's free to listen!
http://bevisfrond.bandcamp.com/track/too-kind
hi folks! i think that length of video (37 min.) is very symbolic: 37 years ago, back to 1975, is exactly when both TNT and ZUMA were published. I got the impression that Neil is advising us that the double album will be a sort of tonight's the night + Zuma!!!! can't wait. the quality of the sound is great and Frank is aging well like a good burgundy red wine!!!! have a toast!!! ah ah
Cool analysis about the time element! And if/when Horse Back comes trotting out, the tickets might somehow hit 500 for select seats and that will distract someone. I'm going and won't be paying anywhere near that...like Chris Rock advises "stay outta the Champagne Room". Keep on the sunny side....
Just as a side note to the good news of Neil and Crazy Horse working together again, I think the cultural issue is an interesting one. I’m not familiar with "Portlandia", so I might be missing something here, but I can see both sides of the question. It’s a fine line to tread to know whether or not it’s appropriate to invoke the spirit of someone or something. I personally have never read anything on the subject of how or why Neil came to use the name Crazy Horse, but I doubt it is a derogatory use in any way (not saying anyone is saying this.) It could be a name that just sounded good, I don’t know. I think it’s hard to paint any era in black and white terms, tho. Like everything in life, culture is a double edge sword. It is always an expression of the worst and best of humanity. The era that produced the genocide of native Americans is also the era that produced the abolition of slavery, the coining of Amazing Grace- written by a white slaver, as well as the era that threw off monarchy and reintroduced democracy to the world. You can find these anomalies in any generation. I don’t know the origin of these traditional songs, but it wouldn’t shock me to discover that they were developed by people of good faith, even less than perfect people who were in some way, shape or form products of their times, with all the subtle prejudices associated with those times, just as even people today of good faith are colored by prejudice, despite themselves.
I think Anon 11:43 makes a fair statement: “The culture that is is built on the culture that was, for better and worse.” We’re all the product of the mix that comes of being thrown together. If white record companies produced white stars performing black music, for social expediencies, it doesn’t take away from the fact that white audiences saw the genius in it, and propelled things forward to give us all the music that came after it. Hopefully history will fully record this historical truth, but even if it doesn’t are we going to throw the baby out with the bath water?
However, as it is too easy to forget the ugly aspects of our history, especially where something “good” serves to crowd out the memory, it is also fair to raise the cultural question, as in the example given of minstrels in black face. I don’t believe Al Jolson, and other song and dance performers were necessarily bigots, but even were that so it still grew to be insensitive and inadvertently continued racial stereotypes. As far as the historical Crazy Horse goes, even given the nature of the stances he took, and his personal ethic, the real question is the intent of the thing that invokes that spirit. Does it seek to emulate, or trivialize and exploit? What is the nature of other elements applied to the usage, e.g. traditional music?
These are all good questions, and I don’t know what all the answers are, just that I think that good and bad can exist side by side, regardless of the era. I think it’s possible to reach back and use or misuse both good and bad, again depending on intent and motivation. It’s also very easy to confuse the morality and ethics of one era with another, the starting points just aren’t the same.
Maybe a good topic Thrasher, where did Neil come up with the name Crazy Horse anyways?
A Friend Of Yours
I hear you MNOTR. When you "borrow" someone elses name, there is bound to be a contradiction or two, on some level, down the road.
Soooo exciting to listen and watch whats unfolding.
Thank you Thrasher(s) for all you(s) do!!
All I can do is put the headphones on, listen, watch and drool...
PEACE & LOVE
-- Eric
There is a movie called "Reel Injun" that gives background about the shift in how first nation are portrayed on screen & television. Remember "Little Big Man?" Gave a completely different view of what happend on the Big Horn. I'm sure Neil's respect for the heritage of Crazy Horse goes as far as the respect he has for the music.
Personally, I really liked Talbot's "Living in the Spirit World" and Crazy Horse (the band) has lived up to honor this great historical figure through the music they play.
I guess I just got thrown by the choice of music -- sort of like a that curve ball.
Sorry! Didn't mean to guilt trip anyone or be a killjoy.
Hey Mother Nature on the Run, ya got any Buffalo stories?! God, I crack myself up. And speaking of Buffalo's, after listening to Horse Back, is anyone still going to whine about Richie and Stephen? I'm sure not.
Interesting insight into the name origin of Crazy horse (formerly the rockets). Being from down under my knowledge or awareness on American Indian history other than in movies is very limited. It sought of parallels our situation with the aborigines and their dreamtime. In any event, I 'm sure Neil hasn't taken use of the name showing any disrespect for the American Indian or its origin.
Just enjoying the whole buzz of Crazy horse reunited and playing!
doc
From "Shakey", p 299, "Young named the new band Crazy Horse, although he couldn't remember when or why."
Upon further listening and playing along with "Horse Back," I think it is one continuous jam. Around 18:47, when the "F**kin" Up" segment comes to an end, Poncho decides to continue with the rhythm from "Cortez," and then Billy and Ralph follow, with NY coming in around a minute later. The drums and bass are distinctly continuous- there isn't a difference in their tone as you might hear from one recording to another. If anything, it sounds like Billy is somewhat startled into what Poncho is doing- his bass initially jumps out, then relaxes a bit. I hear it as a demonstration that they can still work together, and for that I am grateful and happy.
hmm...the jam SOUNDS like F**KIN' UP, but *I* don't think it was...
as for anonymously slamming MNOTR,what's the point of that?
and *I* for one I'm sorry that the Springfield re-union went South...
Neil Young played a benefit concert (He Sapa Concert) in the late 80's or early 90's in support of Lakota First Nations, Crazy Horse's people.
One of Neil's buffalo (was it the one named Cody or the one called Mammoth?) featured in "Dances with Wolves" , because that one used to be a cracker addict and started to roll on the ground when you shook a cracker box, just what the animal wrangler needed for these shots of the buffalo hunt in that movie. (The late Floyd Westerman
told me that story back in the day.) And there are very many aboriginal people in the US and Canada who very much appreciate Neil Young's music. So this is a rather vain debate.
This just in....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhikk8KHBR4
cuts out at the end, but hey....while we are on the subject of cool video
I find it a bit unsettling that the lyrics "Mother nature on the run" are being used by someone on the internet to discuss the societal ramifications of Neil Young & Crazy Horse when they originally stood for the environmental degradation happening in the world.
Sony, that is classic! Neil in all his goofiness and camp! I always loved the Shocking Pinks, never understood where all the criticism came from. Good music with attitude! I saw two Shocking Pink shows in Detroit- the first one at Cobo Hall, with live remote interviews on a big TV screen inside the arena coming from outside the arena, like the show on the video. No one knew what was going on, it was hysterical. I've never seen this footage, thanks!
A Friend Of Yours
I hadn't seen it before either. Get Gone might be the cut on Lucky 13. I'm about 99% on that. I missed the Pinks on their run, I was on the wrong coast at the time.
Dear Anonypuss 11:14, I imagine it is unsettling if your view of Mother Nature is limited to what Neil wrote in song about her. Actually, I'm on the run about a lot things these days. So please don't lose any sleep over societal ramifications of any kind. Your mother always has your back.
Sony, I think this Get Gone is definitely the cut from Lucky Thirteen, at least the intro is identical- I always play that back a couple times, that and the intro to Don't Take Your Love Away, Neils unmistakable Canadian phrasing at its best.
A Friend Of Yours
Beautiful tone and texture on the guitar, and I love the full sound of the kick drum. I hope this is current sound and that the record is recorded in this great way. I think these sound deeper than previous records in some way. I'm looking forward to whatever unfolds this year from Neil and his good friends. Make this time matter, let the magical muse flow freely. I have no doubt they're on the right track if this video truly represents the recent or current recording efforts. The video is nicely shot too. Great job on that Ben!
Hi SONY, checked out your link and it`s “no longer available due to a copyright claim by Shakey Pictures”, shame about that, I`d have loved to have seen it!
Love the vid for `Wonderin`, it really cracks me up every time I watch it. I never saw the Pinks either, but have heard them on Rust Radio. Don`t you just love the way Neil gets so totally into whatever he`s doing, he could easily have been an actor or comedian. But luckily for us he went with the music, and actually, over the years he`s combined that with so many of his creative talents and inspirations. He has that ability and focus to totally immerse himself into whatever he`s doing at the time, for whatever length of time he still `feels` it.
And then he`s on to the next thing…
I concur with your comments Jill.
You could never say Neil is bored hey! there's always a new tangent for him to take off on. Sorry I missed you in London Jill. We went there in September ,stayed at county Hall ,right behind the London Eye,unfortunately we were only there for 6 days. Maybe next time hey?A really busy City that's for sure!
doc
Greg, as always loving your comments in a Novel length lol
doc (a friend of yours)
Just listened to Horse back and Cortez for the umpteeth time. Neil's voice sounds good on the lyrics to Cortez but I noticed he seems to cut back on the high notes or upper register.... not that it makes much of a difference,
just an observation.
doc
@anon, I never heard that story about "Neils" buffalo. Love it. Especially since I really like that movie a lot. Thanks.
I also seem to hear some "Devil's Sidewalk" around 9:40ish ... could just be my lover of Greendale :)
Just had a tenth listen to the new
neil young & crazy horse jam on neils site and i think the beginning is not only F..kin up but also a Link Wray tune mixed in
anyone else agree??
never seen neil with the horse and
this would be amazing if we get new
record or two and a tour,please make this happen mr young we all love your music.
link wray (rumble) maybe...but f**kin' up ? BILLY may have thought it was, but I still don't...
Oh ya, "Rumble." Definitely. Good point.
Asg, that's gotta be Pancho doing that steady 3 chord wang wang wang in the background.
Right! Link Wray's Rumble, that's the theme…
Apart from the first 4 or 5 seconds I don't hear F#in Up at all… this theme stands on its own.
It's the horse let out of the stable for the first time in years. Makes a rough ride but it sure feels good!
peter
Hey doc, yes that would be fun - let me know when you`re coming over next time! I love London but don`t get up there much - so hectic! Last time I was there was in Oct when I saw our friends Crosby and Nash at the Royal Albert Hall..what a brilliant show that was!
Yes I noticed that too, Neil dropping down on the high notes, but actually I`d say he`s been doing that for quite a while. Certainly on his older songs, written when he could reach those very high notes. And actually I love the sound of his `mature` voice, he still gets so much feeling into it, maybe more than ever.
"Horse Back" seems to start at the tail end of something else. At first there's a suggestion of the D of "Cortez," but NY starts hitting that very big C-D theme, with Ralph almost simultaneously going into the very distinct "Fuckin' Up" beat, followed by Billy, who is hitting the DD-C-D notes of the same song, followed then by Poncho doing the same. Poncho eventually morphs his rhythm part into the big C-D theme as well. They all go off from there, but Ralph and Billy essentially hold onto that structural base for that segment of the jam, before they return back to "Cortez" at about 19 minutes.
Zuma, does it sound like the background (backbeat of rock'n'roll power chords & bassline) was toned down a little? mix? Just curious. Neil is in the foreground naturally phrasing a pretty cool melody like he did with LaNoise.
MNOTR-
It depends on what you listen to it through. On my crappy computer speakers the drums and bass seemed muted - the bass especially. But through better external speakers, with ability to EQ, the rhythm section is quite powerful. On headphones Poncho is mixed left, NY is bigger on right/middle. I agree, there are some "La Noise" touches, especially at the end. That's why I think it was just recorded, even though they are playing with a fluidity and power that I would associate with them from the 90s. They haven't lost anything- if anything they may be hitting some kind of peak maturity. The vibe I get is a band getting back together after a long hiatus and just really getting back in their groove, hence the jam. They just couldn't let it go.
I'm in love with this jam. It's the perfect length to jam to. I've been plugging in my guitar and jamming to it. Really helps me work on my leads, and if I turn the volume up, it sounds like I'm jammin' with a band! Yayyy! Nothin' like usin' the latest Neil jam as a practice tool.
Thanks, Neil, for jammin' with me!
I played this while I gave my 3-year old Grandson a bath. He got out at the tail end of Cortez and we danced around the bathroom. When it went to feedback at the end, he said "let's stomp some more!!" so we backed it up a bit and stomped some more!! Wow!! Thanks Neil so much wherever you are!! We just love it. Even a 3 year old felt it in his soul!! I was there and he did I swear!!
Steven James
MNOTR--*I* thought Neil was doing the wang wang wang and Poncho was noodling around...but I dunno for sure...
The entire presentation oozed of genuine warmth and we continue to be in awe even after so many years.
Certainly has me going back for more, for sure.
Steven,great to see your grandson hooked on the horse at such an early age..might have to get him a gibson or fender for his next birthday!
doc
I think that Neil's take on Crazy Horse, as a concept, can be gleaned from Jarmusch's "Dead Man". The crazy white men on the western "frontier" juxtaposed with a stoic Indian who can't be caught or tamed. Crazy Horse evokes defiance in the face of real craziness...
Gateway of Love
Oh, and don't forget "Human Highway" and the dream sequence. That puts it into the perspective of longing to feel human again.
doc
Thanks for that. It was pretty special! And he came up with the word "stomp", not me. Don't recall ever saying stomp to him. I found that rather interesting. I find the Horse playing live a week from Friday rather interesting as well! Hopefully, the tour news is up next!!
God Bless Neil Young - you too Thrasher
Steven James
Psychedelic Pill Blu Ray arrived today from Amazon. The entire Horse Back track we enjoyed back in January is included as a bonus along with a couple alt versions of the title track. Horse back is just incredible in high quality audio format. Folks, that would be 85 minutes of the album release, plus two alt versions of the song Psychedelic Pill, plus what is it, 27 minutes of Horse Back? I'm assuming Blu Ray is getting me a little better than 5% of the sound too. I'm so happy I'm going out to get me a Hip Hop Haircut!!!
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