Shepard Fairey and Neil Young: The 'Americana' Collaboration

Shepard Fairey and Neil Young
Photo by The Daily Details: Blog
(Click photo to enlarge)

One of the other interesting backstories on Neil Young & Crazy Horse's 'Americana' album is the artwork which accompanies each song. Unfortunately, the artwork is not included in the CD since it appears to have been completed after album production was finished. Maybe the Blu-Ray version? (See Gallery.)

Nevertheless, each song is illustrated and the paintings add to the 'Americana' experience. From Neil Young and Shepard Fairey Talk "Americana": The Daily Details: Blog : Details by Susan Michals"

"When I was first told about the concept, I thought it sounded like a cool idea, but I'm not a huge fan of the original versions of those songs, so I was eager to hear how Neil translated them," Fairey says.

"Then when he sent me the lyrics and some of the backstories on the songs, I was even more excited about the project—especially because of what's going on right now in the United States with the economy and a lot people feeling like the promise of the American Dream is not a reality for them.

A lot of the original ideas behind songs like 'High Flying Bird' are about a man that works so hard in a mine that when he comes out into the light of day he can't enjoy the world because he's blinded by the light—in essence, the fruits of his labor.

So I think there's a lot of parallels between the aspirations and failings of the American Dream, whether it was 1880 or 2012."

Oh Susannah, by Shepard Fairey - 2012
Mixed media (stencil, silkscreen, and collage) on canvas
(Click photo to enlarge)

From an interview with Shepard Fairey and Neil Young in Rolling Stone by Steve Baltin:

"We discovered a lot of depth in these songs and the visuals of these are just amazing," Young told us. "'Clementine' is so deep with its original verses and this art, you really get a feeling for the tenseness and desperation of the situation, the unresolved death and longing."

Fairey's work brought out a lot in the songs that Young believes he might not have seen otherwise. "Almost every one of them had a view that was unique to me," he said. "I wouldn’t have thought of it."

For Fairey, the project was a labor of love. "I’m just really excited I got to do this because I love Neil’s music and I love the way that music affects people viscerally and inspires them to look deeper into the meaning of the songs," Fairey said.

"We had to bring back the original words. Everybody’s forgotten what the songs are about in the first place in their kind of rabid celebration of the beauty of the songs and the lightness of some of the verses," Young said. "They took away the counterpoints the songs were a house for, and so the songs weren’t as strong. And now with the original verses back in and the art that reflects the tension of the original message, we’ve worked on it and made a different thing out of it."

Those words were music to Fairey's ears. "I’m so glad to hear that from Neil. We discussed some of that, but I almost didn’t want to press on all my political views just in case we disagreed," Fairey said, eliciting strong laughter from both himself and Young at that last part. "But my reading into a lot of the songs was it was very relevant to the struggle reflected in [John] Steinbeck’s The Grapes Of Wrath, which people are saying this recession is the most serious thing since the Great Depression and a lot of the same dynamics are at play, so I felt like it was very relevant."

Shepard Fairey and Neil Young
Photo by Claire Marie Voge | Rolling Stone
(Click photo to enlarge)

From AMERICANA PROJECT - OBEY GIANT:

Fairey states, “Neil really liked the art and I was thrilled he asked me to collaborate by making paintings inspired by the songs on his “Americana” album. I’m a huge fan of Neil’s music in general, but when I heard the album I realized how much the subject matter of several songs reflected the aspirations and tragedies of those pursuing the American dream tied into issues relevant to the 99% movement which I have been supporting.”

Fairey says he listened to the music and lyrics to come up with concepts for visual representations of the songs. Then for each song, Fairey presented Young with ideas about a visual image that would best capture the meaning and/or protagonist/s in each song. The artist enjoyed hearing how Neil interpreted aspects of the songs that moved him the most musically and lyrically. Fairey states, “I showed Neil sketches, and then we discussed the ideas and refined them. He was very open to my ideas and encouraged me to go with what inspired me the most. Latitude for interpretation is something that Neil utilizes and seems to value as an important way for the listener/viewer to personalize their interaction with art and music.

I also was excited about this project because the concept of re-interpreting pre-existing songs filtered through Neil’s unique sensibility parallels what I have often tried to do as a visual artist by building upon iconic images that are an accessible part of the cultural dialogue.”

From Neil Young and Shepard Fairey Talk "Americana": The Daily Details: Blog : Details by Susan Michals:

DETAILS: Do you think the American Dream has become a fallacy?

Shepard Fairey: I do.

Neil Young: Wow. That's a big one. All I can say is, everyone has a different idea, but this truly represents a lot of those things and touches on a lot of the core beliefs in the American Dream and questions them and makes you think about them.

And questions whether it's that different from what everybody else's dreams are everywhere else.

It turns out we may not be so perfect.

AMERICANA PROJECT
Poster by Shepard Fairey
(Click photo to enlarge)

Also, see The Americana-ness of Neil Young & Crazy Horse's Americana

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