Neil Young News: OFFICIAL VIDEO: "Oh Susannah" by Neil Young & Crazy Horse

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Tuesday, May 01, 2012

OFFICIAL VIDEO: "Oh Susannah" by Neil Young & Crazy Horse

The official video release of "Oh Susannah" by Neil Young & Crazy Horse.

More on "Oh! Susanna": The Story Behind The Song

Set for a June 5th release, you can now pre-Order "Americana" on Amazon.com (Thanks! You'll be helping to support us.)

Labels: americana, crazy horse, neil young, offficial, oh susannah, video

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44 Comments:

At 5/01/2012 09:20:00 AM, Silver Digger said...: Wow! That is amazing, I love it! :)
At 5/01/2012 09:28:00 AM, Dan said...: Awesome great version of this song. Keep on rockin' you guys.
At 5/01/2012 09:32:00 AM, Darth Malt said...: Does anyone recognize where this footage is from? Some fllm classic? Doesn't look like a home video from Omemee...
At 5/01/2012 09:49:00 AM, Old Black said...: Happy (and relieved!) It's gonna be really good.
At 5/01/2012 09:49:00 AM, rustedbugs said...: no anti-smoking message there, eh?
At 5/01/2012 10:00:00 AM, punkdavid said...: I'd guess that the film is one of those WPA films made by the government in the 1930's. There are some wonderful films and photographs of rural Americans from that time that were commissioned by the government to both document the less seen parts of the country, and employ out of work photographers.

We could use a similar program today.
At 5/01/2012 10:08:00 AM, Thrasher Wheat said...: @punkdavid - we believe you are correct.

Agree, the reality of life in Americana has not changed for the better, for all.

Which, we believe is the point of the video.

There's the fantasy. And then there's the reality.
At 5/01/2012 10:24:00 AM, Carolina Rust said...: Once again, Neil follows his own muse. This sounds amazing. I cannot wait for Americana to come out. Neil - please tour behind this one and come to Charlotte! We have a barhall queen here you would like!
At 5/01/2012 11:34:00 AM, Matthew Lintzenich said...: This is awesome! The kid smoking is at once adorable and creepy... which fits in perfectly with Neil Young's dichotomous nature.

@punkdavid - We certainly could use a program like that right about now. Very interesting, I had never heard of that before.

@Thrash - good assessment on the meaning of the video. Kind of fits with Neil and the band putting their own faces on the concept of Americana. The troubles and struggles of life continue unabated, and, as Americana in general tends to reflect the less glamorous realities of everyday life in early American history, it projects very well right on top of today's realities. A lot of the iconography has changed, but many of the basic struggles of living continue. We focus so much on glamour, that we miss the reality around us. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
At 5/01/2012 12:33:00 PM, WBKM.org said...: B-A-N-J-O on my knee...oh crap, this sounds so good!!! Giddy-up! I'll sell the car if I have to, to do this tour.
At 5/01/2012 12:46:00 PM, Raincheck said...: Wow. Cool. Did not expect the '60's style hook of a chorus. This is just a great, fun Neil Young song.

Great film too, love the dancing, smoking kid. Died of lung cancer at 19, but what the hell.

I do a lot of historical research. As this film shows, even though we need to do a lot better now, life in the 1930s was a hell of a lot harder than life today. If you have no expectation of anything better, hell, let the kid smoke.
At 5/01/2012 01:50:00 PM, Anonymous said...: Good Stuff, man I missed the horse. Its about time. Sounds like neil is back in another ditch.
Dug
At 5/01/2012 03:26:00 PM, Muddy said...: It sounds an awful lot like this version. Did Neil ever have any connection with Tim Rose? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOVv43DJdrQ
At 5/01/2012 03:34:00 PM, Thrasher Wheat said...: @Muddy - See http://neilyoungnews.thrasherswheat.org/2012/04/oh-susanna-story-behind-song-continues.html

and

http://neilyoungnews.thrasherswheat.org/2011/11/oh-susanna-story-behind-song.html
At 5/01/2012 04:51:00 PM, Jonathan said...: Yes - Neil mentions Tim Rose and his arrangements of traditional folk songs in 'Shakey'...I think around page 118 or so...
At 5/01/2012 05:23:00 PM, Muddy said...: Thanks Thrasher and Jonathan. I should have been following this thread more closely.

Now, has anyone found the source for the video? I looked around some on the Library Of Congress site, but haven't found anything yet.
At 5/01/2012 06:03:00 PM, Anonymous said...: Far f****ing out!!! Man did we all judge a book (record) quite literally by it's cover. All us doubters should hang our heads and be made to listen to 'Trans' until we get it. Neil goes his own way, but I'll follow him. It's always so interesting.
Andrew Kerr
Sydney, Australia
At 5/01/2012 09:56:00 PM, mark said...: >> All us doubters should hang our heads and be made to listen to 'Trans' until we get it.

...... listening to 'Trans' is no punishment.
... That record was so good I was actually disappointed when the title on the tour tix read 'a solo, acoustic, evening with Neil Young..... thinking that he'd already moved on and wasn't going to play the new stuff as recorded.
..... oh my, was I ever wrong.

... i'd really liked the Bridge School take on Oh Susannah, and wondered how a CHNY version would come across ....... now i'm thinkin' this record will make for a VERY interesting live show.
At 5/02/2012 12:55:00 AM, Unknown said...: Neil's latest release makes me smile! That electric guitar sound is hypnotic, as usual... Like a jet engine in a hurricane, indeed. The godfather of grunge is back, new and old all at the same time. For all of you idiots who pre-judged his next release and got negative: Get used it it! He doesn't care what you think. And his true fans give him room to let it flow out of him. Most of his work is tremendously good. Some of it is just good. A low ratio of less-inspired songs. I got on board in 1988. I guess some of you still aren't on board! Your loss! Alan from Seattle
At 5/02/2012 04:27:00 AM, Anonymous said...: Having eaten, slept, drank, smoked,etc The Horse for forty years, I can say without equivocation that....

This is hokey and embarrassing.
At 5/02/2012 05:48:00 AM, K. Burris said...: Agree with Alan of Seattle

Many thanks to Thrasher for all you do
At 5/02/2012 07:27:00 AM, Anonymous said...: "For all of you idiots who pre-judged his next release and got negative: "

Well, I guess this is coming from an idiot buying whatever comes from Neil's ass...
I am sure he does not care about what people think, but I am also sure as hell he hates lobotomized fans and ass lickers as you.
I think that if this the best of it, this album will be mediocre at most as anything else he did in his last years from Mirrorball. Sorry.
At 5/02/2012 07:54:00 AM, no one said...: Read it again, numb nuts. He said "for all you idiots who PRE-JUDGED..." Comment is valid however the album turns out.
How's that lobotomy healing?
At 5/02/2012 08:32:00 AM, dickie said...: Great clip, sloppy tune - somehow they work well, together, though.
To be frank, I stopped liking Neil and the Horse years ago, I felt they were becoming too selfconscious about their priml 'rawness' and 'feeling', which, to mmy taste anyway, too often boiled down to longwinded and dull playing of riffs.
I think their zenith with Neil was Zuma and Tour '76 (yeah, I'm a nostalgic hack). They were really hot back then, high on energy and mercifully low on distortion. Live Rust was loud and still great, but also the beginning of Crazy Horse in overdrive modus.
Years on, Sleeps with Angels was a nice surprise. Ragged Glory is good, but I think overrated.
Greeendale with the Horse pales in comparison to Neil's solo version.
And that's about enough CH for me.
I'd rather see Neil release Homegrown or Chrome Dreams, or other great work from the Archives, than what seems to be him having a good time acting out with the Horse on songs like Oh Susannah. Sure, the muse goes where it must go, and Neil is right not to bury himself in the past - but isn't this sloppy sound something from the, well, not so great, past?
I think he just sounds better with a tighter band.
At 5/02/2012 09:09:00 AM, Matthew Lintzenich said...: Gee, Anonymous... angry much? Hate anyone who disagrees with you? Kind of illiterate too, it seems. What's with these angry anonymous people?

You don't have to like something, but vehemently attacking people who do is just juvenile and boring. It makes you seem like an angry fool.
At 5/02/2012 11:54:00 AM, La Johnson said...: Gee such venom for what is a mediocre cover version, I'm not going to pre-judge the record but even allowing for this rather catchy re-working some of the anticipation seems over the top - was Broken Arrow the last record with CH? Let's be honest that was not a great record. Neil is a song writer and a covers record is no good for me - I want to hear new songs and I've waited about 20 years for the next great Neil record.
At 5/02/2012 12:24:00 PM, Jill said...: I love it, song and video, and I`m just so glad to hear the Horse back in action. Thanks Thrasher for your interpretation of the video, makes very good sense. When I first watched it my initial reaction when the little boy lit up his cigarette was to shout “no, don`t let him smoke it!!” But that`s how it was, and Neil has never been one to shy away from the truth or from controversy.

I think there`s also a message here that even when times are hard, especially when times are hard maybe, making music is always there as a comfort and an inspiration, that`s where these old songs came from and what links us together.

I loved the version Neil did with Dave Matthews at Bridge last year, but I think this rocks even more, and the beautiful vocals of the children`s choir give the song a lift at just the right time. Brilliant stuff as always, and I`m looking forward to hearing the rest of the album.
At 5/02/2012 01:19:00 PM, Thrasher Wheat said...: @Anonymous 5/02/2012 04:27:00 AM - "This is hokey and embarrassing."

Can you elaborate? Why?

Are you suggesting that old Americana classic folk songs are "hokey and embarrassing"?

Also, no need to call folks "idiots" that you don't agree with.

@dickie - "I'd rather see Neil release Homegrown or Chrome Dreams".

Well, sure, we'd love him to release old stuff too. But that can be done anytime. And in a way, Americana is like releasing old material. Now is the time for the new, old songs more than ever.

Ask yourself: What would Woody do?

@Jill - Thanks.

"I think there`s also a message here that even when times are hard, especially when times are hard maybe, making music is always there as a comfort and an inspiration, that`s where these old songs came from and what links us together."

We agree. It seems puzzling that many seem to be missing the entire point of Americana. The video itself drives the point home quite clearly with a Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath/dustbowl depression era harsh reality. Sadly, there are many in America and around the world living in some very harsh, brutal conditions.

Now, what are we going to do about that?
At 5/02/2012 03:07:00 PM, Jonathan said...: @dickie - opinions are like assholes...everyone has one and they all stink...

Greendale is a masterpiece - with or without the Horse...I happen to think the album with CH is genius...even without Poncho playing...

By the way, Neil has been releasing a ton of great stuff since the new century began...just because he didn't use CH again until now doesn't mean the material isn't fantastic...Chrome Dreams, Prairie Wind, LeNoise are wonderful...and the musicians are "tight"...

FITR...I've tried...not for me
At 5/02/2012 03:45:00 PM, Jill said...: Absolutely Thrasher, and I wish I had the answer. Well, Neil has already got a lot of us thinking and talking, which I have no doubt was his intention, and the release of this video really demonstrates the relevance of this album.

Also, we know he`s been examining his own past in recent times (`Journeys`, `Waging Heavy Peace`), and the songs on this album tie in with his own childhood musical memories as well as his early Squires experiences. It`s not just a `throw away` album he made because he couldn`t think of anything else to do, that`s just not what Neil does.
At 5/02/2012 04:21:00 PM, Dirty Young Man said...: Like someone said before about his meaning of the video, i also think it's about music (and the smoke of the kid...) relieving problems.
And that's exactly what it brings: joy.

Although i'm not gonna say this is a lyrics as great as most of his own songs, and therefore the entire song ain't (imho) not among his best songs.
BUT that Crazy horse vibe, oooh it makes anything great!!! It made even the lyrics of t-bone sound unboring.

So for me these good but not great lyrics + an awesome jamming Horse = a great result!!!
I'm a happy dirty young man thanks to Neil.
At 5/02/2012 04:24:00 PM, Archives Guy said...: One of the purposes of art is to evoke emotions and feelings.
Looks like this track and video are doing just that.

enjoy,
Archives Guy
At 5/02/2012 08:29:00 PM, Unknown said...: I love it! Long live Neil & The Horse!
At 5/02/2012 09:16:00 PM, Dan1 said...: looks like a few 4% ers are back once again as anons ... seems like every time something good happens they jump out of the bushes and start spewing and ranting things that are mean but don't make any sense ... if you can't find a Neil album you've loved since Mirror Ball Neil's passed you by ... but don't blame it on him, he's been putting out gems regularly .... listened to Le Noise lately? Chrome Dreams? Prarie Wind? the list goes on and on ... I think these folks just like to get a good rise out of the hard core fans and call them hypnotized or something ... I'll be the first to say I don't love everything Neil puts out just 96% or so ...
At 5/02/2012 10:14:00 PM, Magog said...: Oh well... people now call art a crappy release of an old song with a creepy video of an inbred family... LOL
At 5/02/2012 10:21:00 PM, SONY said...: To me this takes sounds as though it initially came out of a jam session of the song based on the elongated intro which then morphs into Neil running thru the verses a bit out of order. But the vibe is so good, and the instrumentation so loose, but on, that he decided to use it. The live feel is all over it. It's even more that I thought it could be, the Horse really bringing it all together. Here's to anticipating a whole album like this.
At 5/03/2012 03:47:00 AM, Yonder stands the sinner said...: Sounds grungy and whets the appetite but it reminds me of "I'm your Venus". Anyone else?
At 5/03/2012 08:39:00 AM, Matthew Lintzenich said...: @ La Johnson - Man, I really dig Broken Arrow. IMO, it's a vastly under-regarded masterpiece. But that's just my opinion.

Normally I'd agree with you on covers. Generally I'm much more interested in original works, but these seem like they're going to be some really crazy, re-worked and inspired covers, and there seems to be a lot of meaning behind the project, so I'm down with them. Generally Neil doesn't do covers, at least he hasn't done more than a smattering his entire career if I'm not mistaken, so hey, maybe now's his chance to really pay homage to his roots.

Speaking of originals, weren't Neil and the Horse working on two albums in tandem? One being Americana, and the other an original album, which we've received no further news about since the initial discovery that there were two in the works?

Obviously I am jumping the gun a little, but I'm interested in finding out about that mysterious "second" album.
At 5/03/2012 09:21:00 AM, Thrasher Wheat said...: Yo Yonder - why yes. See:
http://neilyoungnews.thrasherswheat.org/2012/04/oh-susannah-riffs-keep-coming-shocking.html
At 5/03/2012 09:53:00 AM, asg said...: wow...I think it's OK to NOT like Neil...but to go to a Neil Young website to NOT like Neil is pretty efffin' weird if ya ask me...
At 5/03/2012 11:17:00 AM, BecauseSoundMatters said...: Broken Arrow is the album that got the most airplay from my turntable in the last 6 months! So, I was still in a Crazy Horse mood when this new experiment came to my ears.

On that second album: Neil did say they were recording another one but he didn't get into details. Maybe we get Americana 2 or Chrome Dreams 3. Maybe he is working on an old fashioned rock opera?

Welcome back Billy, Ralph and Poncho!!!!
It's a pleasure to hear you guys again!
At 5/03/2012 05:51:00 PM, Matthew Lintzenich said...: @asg - It's become painfully obvious at this point that the haters are gonna just keep on hating. It's weird to me too that they keep coming around if they have such loathing in their hearts, I mean you'd think they'd be able to find something they like to type away on the internet about instead, but whatever. I guess there's not much one can do about them.
At 5/04/2012 11:51:00 AM, Sandy Horne said...: @magog. I don't agree, but I have to admit I nearly spit out my coffee from laughing after reading your post..... lol
At 5/04/2012 04:14:00 PM, Mr Henry said...: I'm listening to Year of the Horse lately while driving down the long and winding mountain roads...Bar Stool Blues makes for a great ride. Can't wait for next month to see Neil spring into action!

RIP Adam Yauch

"We are all in this together. May each of us, as a member of the human family, respond to the moral obligation to make this collaboration possible. This is my heartfelt plea."
--His Holiness The Dalai Lama

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