Inside Broken Arrow Ranch's Redwood Studios with John Nowland

John Nowland
Broken Arrow Ranch's Redwood Studios
Photo by Audio Technology
Earlier this year, we linked over to an article on Producer John Hanlon On Recording Neil Young's two latest albums, Americana and Psychedelic Pill. If you enjoyed that posting, you'll definitely enjoy this one.

Here's an inside tour of Neil Young's Broken Arrow Ranch's Redwood Studios with Engineer John Nowland on Audio Technology (.PDF) by Andy Stewart.

Here's a clip on The Neil Young Archives:

John Nowland: When we first embarked on this huge project we collected every tape we could get our hands on and put it up in the tape barn. The best thing about the barn is its proximity and privacy. Getting to the master tapes easily is critical for us because Neil might come in at any minute and go, ‘Hey, you know, I was remembering this song… could you go and see if you can pull the track sheet for it?’

Because of its proximity to my office I can just wander over, and in one minute, I have the master he’s referring to.

So print this one out, pull up a chair, pour a favorite beverage and enjoy Meanwhile back at the ranch (.PDF) by Andy Stewart.

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What's It's Like To Be The Opening Band for Neil Young and Crazy Horse? Ask Everest

Everest
Photos: Dominic DiSaia Photographs
(Click photo to enlarge)
Ever wondered what it's like to be the opening band for Neil Young and Crazy Horse?

Anyone remember those crazy stories of Sonic Youth opening for the 1991 Ragged Glory Tour? (If not, see here and here.)

Or, just ask the band Everest. From The Vinyl District "Everest Ascending: Ambition, self-doubt, and on the road with Neil Young" by Jennifer Carney:

Russ Pollard, lead singer and principal songwriter for the band - “[Neil Young and Crazy Horse] have seen everything for the last forty years. They’ve seen it all and done it all, so the fact that we’re even sharing a stage with them is an accolade. Sometimes you’ve gotta remind yourself of that. Any band would put themselves in this position to open for them.

“When we go onstage and play three-and-a-half songs in Madison Square Garden, it’s the most empowering thing I can ever feel in my life.”

...

Elliot Roberts, Neil Young’s long-time manager - “Ultimately, the songs are what drive a band and touch an audience. I think eventually, if Everest just keeps hanging tough and stay in it, ultimately their songs and their sound will be recognized. It’s very hard—there’s so much out there. You really have to be very patient.”

“You know, an image to me is something that comes very naturally. You don’t go, ‘You guys need a few tattoos and some piercings and it’s all gonna be great.’ You really work with what you have and the people who you have and you hope that you can guide them to where they at least have the best chance to succeed. And that’s really all you can do; from then on, it’s up to the fates whether your music touches somebody or doesn’t touch them. All you can give them is the best possible chance to succeed. That’s it.”

Everest with Neil Young and Crazy Horse
Photos: Dominic DiSaia Photographs
(Click photo to enlarge)
More from The Vinyl District "Everest Ascending: Ambition, self-doubt, and on the road with Neil Young" by Jennifer Carney.

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Time Never Fades Away for Johny Barbata

Crosby Stills Nash and Young - 1970
Johny Barbata, drums & Greg Reeves, bass
(Click photo to enlarge)
Yesterday, we posted on Vinyl Giveaway: Time Fades Away by Neil Young and some of the memories back in 1973. Here's another memory from the Ditch Years.

In an exclusive interview with Human Highway, drummer Johny Barbata talks about his career and drumming with CSNY and other bands.

From Time Never Fades Away for Johny Barbata:

For a while Barbata lived with Neil Young on his ranch. He recalls the trip there.

“I left LA with Neil in a funky old jeep and he was pulling a trailer with some personal belongings. LA was burning so we left,” he said.

In the three weeks he was there Barbata, who is a health nut, turned Young on to a protein drink that he thinks Young still drinks to this day.

“He had this great rocking chair and this dog and he was happy. He always slapped his leg when he was happy, like a hillbilly,” he said. “We’d walk all over his ranch. Crosby, Stills and Nash would stop in and it would turn into a great party.”

More of exclusive interview on Time Never Fades Away for Johny Barbata.

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Vinyl Giveaway: Time Fades Away by Neil Young

"Time Fades Away" by Neil Young
Interested in a vinyl copy of "Time Fades Away" by Neil Young?

Well here's your chance thanks to the generosity of a TW reader. We probably don't need to go into all the reasons why this album is considered to be the "Missing Link" in the Ditch Trilogy. (But if you're interested, you can find out why "Time Fades Away", "On The Beach" and "Tonight's The Night" are considered by many fans to be the Rosetta Stone to understanding Neil Young's entire body of work.)

Thanks to Mike Beauchamp, a rare vinyl copy of "Time Fades Away" will be bestowed to a lucky winner.

All the details are on Giveaway: Time Fades Away.

One last thought here. Last time we pulled our vinyl copy of TFA out, we absolutely marveled at the large lyrics poster. How nice to be able to read the lyrics without a magnifying glass. To read the lyrics in Neil's handwriting.

Sure was nice back in the old folkie days..

Don't Be Denied!

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Interview with The Arkansas Girls Who (HEART) Crazy Horse - A Roadtrip Tale

Arkansas Girls (HEART) Crazy Horse
Morrison, CO – Red Rocks, 8/5/12
Tulsa, OK – Tulsa Convention Center, 10/14/12
Seattle, WA – Key Arena, 11/10/12
Fairfax, VA - Patriot Center, 11/30/12
(Click photo to enlarge)
The road always produces adventures.

Last year, we brought you the story of the Arkansas Girls who love Crazy Horse.

This coming weekend on Thrasher's Wheat Radio on WBKM.org we'll have an exclusive interview with Arkansas Girls who will share their remarkable roadtrip tale of attending multiple Neil Young and Crazy Horse concert's last Fall.

There are four distinct chapters of the adventure beginning in Red Rocks in August, onto Tulsa, OK in October , then Seattle, WA in November and concluding in Fairfax, VA's Patriot Center.

And it was the final stop in Fairfax where all the magic of the Arkansas Girls came together perfectly that night -- right before an audience of 10,000.

In a very, very rare moment, Neil Young stopped the concert to directly acknowledge the Arkansas Girls and to say "We love you, too." You can see this in the first two minutes below during the "Analog Time Machine" dialog and just before launching into "Cinnamon Girl".



After listening to hundreds and hundreds of Neil Young concert recordings over the years, we know that what happened that night was startling and special. We tried to recall when Neil ever spoke directly to specific audience members with anything comparable -- no other examples come to mind. Neil has called out specific audience members for rude behavior or acknowledged a shouted request. But he has never told anyone that Crazy Horse loves them too.

So tune in next weekend, Saturday February 2 at 9P EST on Thrasher's Wheat Radio on WBKM.org for our exclusive interview with the Arkansas Cowgirls. Many, many thanks Tami & Sandy. Long may you both run.



Thrasher's Wheat Radio
Tune in on WBKM.org, Saturdays @ 9P EST
Logo design by
Geoff Moore - Silver Moon Graphics
Podcasts of previous broadcasts of Thrasher's Wheat Radio Hour are available to download here.

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Thanks To Neil Young For Still Being Gloriously Weird

Neil Young
Chrome Dreams II Tour - 2007
(Click photo to enlarge)
Generally blogging, we tend to disagree with the many "labels" applied to Neil Young and his music.

For example, labels like "crazy", "weird", and "inexplicable" -- to randomly pick a handful -- tend to be shorthand brushoffs by some bloggers who fail to penetrate the complex simplicity of the man we call Neil. We actually prefer to use phrases like "artist", "passionate", "dreamer", "conscious", or "individualistic truth teller".

Or, as we sometimes blog, there are two types of people in the world: those who "get" Neil and those that don't.

From buffaBLOG - The Buffalo music blog "Thanks To Neil Young For Still Being Gloriously Weird" by John Hugar in a review of Psychedelic Pill:

There are plenty of musicians who make great albums well into their 60s, but how many make stuff as groundbreaking as this?

I loved Springsteen's Wrecking Ball, and if we're going purely on enjoy-ability it might even be a stronger record than Young's Psychedelic Pill, but at heart, it's a Bruce Springsteen album. It features the same music styles, and lyrical tendencies that have been featured in Springsteen's work for years. While I applaud Springsteen for still making entertaining relevant work, the album is completely in his wheelhouse, and doesn't really break any new ground.

Young should be applauded for taking his music to new places when he doesn't really have to anymore. Most of his fans would be happy with a clone of Harvest every few years, but he wants to do more than that. Indeed, he might be the most ambitious person in music today, with the possible exception of Kanye West.

Well, we're not too sure about the Kanye West comparison? And we definitely disagree about needing a "clone of Harvest every few years". But we'll agree on the "most ambitious person in music today" part.

And here's just one more way to view the world...

I don't trust people who don't like Neil Young.

— Coll (@thr3epointone4) January 20, 2013

(Note the volume of re-tweets. This is not a fringe opinion of the "Gloriously Weird".)

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Producer David Briggs and Neil Young

Neil Young and Producer David Briggs, 1995
Photo by Pegi Young
(Click photo to enlarge)
Neil Young's erstwhile Producer David Briggs -- who passed away in 1995 -- was integral to the recording of most of Young's most acclaimed albums beginning with "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere," in 1970.

Here's a photo of Neil Young and Producer David Briggs, en route to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ceremony in 1995. The photo is by Pegi Young.

From a Neil Young Interview in MOJO Magazine on David Briggs influence:

Neil: "He told me what was wrong with my performance at Bob-Aid (1992 Tribute Concert to Bob Dylan). Everyone else was telling me how great it was. He didn't belabour the fact that it was great. His opinion was: 'Yeah, it was great, OK. It was great BUT forget about that because what was wrong was... this, this and this. You sang it in the wrong key, your voice was too low, the drums weren't tight enough 'til half-way through... No-one'll probably notice but... It's not usable.' (Laughs) And I always listen to what he has to say and take note of it. "

"There certainly weren't any recordings of Neil Young and Crazy Horse that David Briggs wasn't involved in," Joel Bernstein recalled.

Artist James Mazzeo, longtime Neil collaborator said of Briggs:

David Briggs had the capacity to make you feel like an integral part of the whole picture no more or no less than any other part of that picture (or song or Album) than even Neil himself.....Neil (and myself) respected David on the highest of levels when we all were working alongside his illuminations.....David was a brilliant light for all of us to work in.....he could take from us our self doubts and shadows and devour them gone....he was like a black light and the best of us came forth and glowed in his presence ....i miss David and i send 'Thank you's' to his spirit with every new piece i create.

Also, see:

• David Briggs in Memorium
• David Briggs Obituary - NY Times, 12/3/95
• Also, see interview with Elliot Roberts on working with David Briggs.

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Photo of the Moment: Rusted Out Garage Tour 1986 - Neil Young & Crazy Horse

Neil Young & Poncho
1986
Photo by DAVID PLASTIK
(Click photo to enlarge)
A very cool photo gallery from the Rusted Out Garage tour era by photographer DAVID PLASTIK.

Check out the crazy shots.

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Interview: Stephen Stills Talks Guitars, CSN, Jimi Hendrix, Buffalo Springfield, & more

Stephen Stills
27 June 2012, Short Hills, New Jersey
Photo by Joe Bosso
(Click photo to enlarge)
The recent news regarding Stephen Stills upcoming box set "Carry On" has prompted a bit of renewed well deserved interest in Stills career and legacy.

From a very detailed interview with Stephen Stills in 2012 on MusicRadar by Joe Bosso, Stills talks guitars, CSN, classic songs, Jimi Hendrix, Buffalo Springfield and many other topics.

MusicRadar: In Buffalo Springfield, how did you and Neil work out your guitar parts, your language together?

Stephen Stills: "By looking at each other and emulating each other. We'd copy each other, and by doing that we'd meet in the middle. He was much better than I was at first, although I had a better stroke for rhythm. But he was instrumental in teaching me how to play lead, showing me positions and stuff."

More on interview with Stephen Stills on MusicRadar by Joe Bosso.

Also, see Stephen Stills upcoming box set "Carry On".

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Neil Young @ Amsterdam 10-12-1989 - YouTube

Neil Young. Ben Keith. Acoustic.

What more do you need to know to play?

Neil Young with Ben Keith in Amsterdam 10-12-1989 on YouTube.

Acoustic "Heart Of Gold" and "Rockin' In The Free World".

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Neil Young 2009 Interview - Australian ABC 7:30 Report

A great video Neil Young interview from exactly fours ago -- on the eve of Obama's 1st inauguration -- during the 2009 Tour in Australia from ABC 7:30 Report on January 21, 2009.

Thanks Stringman & Dan1!

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Celebrating 10 Years of Daily Blogging: Waging Heavy Wheat

Logo design by
Geoff Moore - Silver Moon Graphics
As 2013 begins, we here at Thrasher's Wheat begin to celebrate 10 years of near daily blogging of Neil Young News. Or -- as we are quite fond of quoting -- separating the wheat from the chaff on all things Neil.

Over the past decade, we've published over 3,600 blog posts, with tens of thousands of comments, attracted over 11 million unique visitors, and logged nearly 27 million page views. And its now been 20 years since joining the Rust List - The Neil Young Community and 17 years since starting the original Thrasher's Wheat website, whose original mission was to harvest and archive postings from the Neil Young Internet Rust and Human Highway communities.

Daily blogging on Thrasher's Wheat began with the following post, in the post 9/11 era -- when paranoia was striking deep and creeping into all of our lives -- on the eve of The Iraq War v. 2.0.



Neil Young
The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer
From Fresh Wheat - Updated 3/15/03:

Neil inducted Mo Ostin into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction on March 10, 2003. From PUNK: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction 2003:

"Of anything that was said throughout the entire evening, the most important words spoken by anyone were the ones that didn't make it onto VH1. Some of those words came from Neil Young.

Young, who was on hand to give a Lifetime Achievement Award in the Nonperformer Category to Mo Ostin, said:

"'We're having a good time tonight but we're going to kill a lot of people next week.

So let's not forget about that.

I don't want to ruin this but it's too real not to mention it. And music used to be about this. And it still is about this, it's a human thing. And these are human beings over there and we're making a big mistake.

I feel like I'm riding in a giant gas guzzling SUV and the driver's drunk as a fucking skunk. He's drunk on power.'"

And with the above blog post we were off on our crazy adventure to try and blog all things Neil and Greendale.

For us, Greendale was like a sledgehammer to the anvil of truth and consciousnesses which awakened this blog from it's post-9/11 dormancy into something that we're not even sure what its evolved into being.

So, after a few months of blogging, we promised Thrashette that we'd stop blogging when Neil stopped playing Greendale.

But a funny thing happened. Neil kept playing Greendale. Around the world. Europe. North America. Japan. Australia. New Zealand. Into 2004, Neil brought Greendale back to Canada and the U.S.

And Neil kept churning out the Greendale message in song, on stage, on film and even in a graphic novel.

Greendale by Neil Young
The Concert, Stage Play, Musical, Film & Graphic Novel
There was so much going on with Greendale that we just had to soak it all in and capture as much of the magic as we possibly could.

Simply put, there had never before been anything like it before coming from the always surprising Neil Young, so that was saying something right there.

From the moment we heard Sun Green pickup that red megaphone and speak the truth to power, we knew.

We knew that oh-so little inconvenient truth of Greendale was that Sun Green was right. More so now, than ever before.


Neil Young & Sun Green
Greendale at Radio City Music Hall, New York City - March 18, 2004
photo by TW
So, Thank You for Supporting Thrasher's Wheat. We couldn't do this without you -- our beloved dear, loyal readers.

Be the rain.
Wage heavy wheat.
Stay shakey.
peace & love,
thrasher & thrashette

"Keep on bloggin'
`Til the power goes out
The batteries dead
Twist and shout"
- "Fork In the Road"

ps - it keeps us searchin' for a vista and a muse.

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Music is Love - A Singer-Songwriters' Tribute to the Music of Crosby Stills Nash & Young

Music is Love - A Singer-Songwriters' Tribute to the Music of Crosby Stills Nash & Young
We're just now getting a chance to catch up on some of our listening.

Right now, we've been enjoying Music is Love - A Singer-Songwriters' Tribute to the Music of Crosby Stills Nash & Young, a two disc set featuring 27 new recordings by artists interpreting the songs of David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash and Neil Young.

The CSNY tribute package is actually quite nice with a 36 page booklet that you can actually read without a magnifying glass. Each song has its own page with recording notes and the artists insights and inspirations surrounding both CSN&Y and their songs.

And the tribute also benefits the Equestrian Therapy Co-Op in Brandeis, CA, which provides horseback riding to children and adults who can personally benefit from a natural encounter with horses.

Equestrian Therapy Co-Op
Here are some thoughts by Dave Zimmer (author of "Crosby, Stills & Nash: The Biography"):

More than 40 years ago, CSN&Y were looking inward, speaking out and writing songs that helped define a generation.

Well, that generation grew up, as did the artists, but this connection and bond continued; then new generations discovered them, and much of the music ripened and gained fresh meaning with new causes and the passage of time.

The strength of these newly recorded versions is a testament to the artistry of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young as well as the special nature of their songs, which hold up beautifully when interpreted and reimagined by a varied roster of artists
that range across decades, musical genres and different parts of the globe: from California, Texas and New York to Dublin, Liverpool and Australia; from traditional folkies and alternative rockers to gifted guitarists and bluegrass pickers; as well as wonderfully amazing vocalists, from yesterday and today.

~ Dave Zimmer (author of "Crosby, Stills & Nash: The Biography")

"They are one person / They are two alone / They are three together / They are for each other"
CSNY: (from left) Stills, Crosby, Nash and Young on stage in Seattle for their 1974 "reunion" tour. © Bettmann/CORBIS

From the liner notes on our favorite song "Thrasher" covered by Andy Hill & Renée Safier:

"Thrasher" has no chorus, no bridge, no repeating lines, no hook...

Just a mesmerizing lyric, whose images unfold against a simple chord pattern. Timeless images of ancient bending rivers are stacked against credit cards, dinosaurs against heated pools, machinery against spirit and nature. It is a story somehow about the price of independence, with no recommendations; just a personal conclusion that we are in a creative journey both without and within, and one must act with courage.

~~Andy & Renée

CD 1
01. For What It's Worth (Ron LaSalle) 02. Triad (Steve Wynn) 03. Helplessly Hoping (Judy Collins) 04. Lady Of The Island (Liam Ó Maonlaí) 05. Bluebird (Sugarcane Jane) 06. Birds (Elliott Murphy) 07. Guinnevere (Bonoff, Cowan, Szcześniak & Waldman) 08. You Don't Have To Cry (Sonny Mone) 09. Down By The River (Bocephus King) 10. Love The One You're With (Jennifer Stills) 11. After The Gold Rush (Venice) 12. Teach Your Children (Sadie Jemmett) 13. Fallen Eagle (The Coal Porters)

CD 2
01. Rockin' In The Free World (Willie Nile) 02. It Doesn't Matter (Cindy Lee Berryhill) 03. Out On The Weekend (Clarence Bucaro) 04. Hey You (Looking At The Moon) (Neal Casal) 05. Cortez The Killer (Carrie Rodriguez) 06. Bittersweet (Marcus Eaton) 07. Just A Song Before I Go (Eileen Rose & The Legendary Rich Gilbert) 08. Long May You Run (Nick Barker) 09. Southern Cross (Michael McDermott & Heather Horton) 10. Thrasher (Andy Hill & Renée Safier) 11. Wasted On The Way (Louis Ledford) 12. Tracks In The Dust (Mary Lee's Corvette) 13. I'll Be There For You (Jenai Huff) 14. Music Is Love (Ian McNabb)



As Mike Davies on Net Rhythms puts it: "If music is love, this album is an affair to remember."

Indeed.

Preview tracks and more details at Music is Love - A Singer-Songwriters' Tribute to the Music of Crosby Stills Nash & Young.

Note to US/Canada CSNY fans, Village Records will save you on postage on VARIOUS-MUSIC IS LOVE: TRIBUTE TO CSNY SONGS (2CD) @ Village Records.

Venerdì 18: "MUSIC IS LOVE" tributo a CSN&Y al Crossroads Live Club

Nice job Francesco!

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Neil Young: Where Do We Go Now?

Neil Young: "Where Do We Go Now"
Charles Theater, Baltimore, MD
December 2012
(Note: Photo not Photoshopped)
Here's the marquee at the Charles Theater in Baltimore, MD recently when the Neil Young film Journeys was playing. Another film being featured is titled "Where Do We Go Now". (Thanks Stacey B.!)

It is "Relevant". And a good question.

Here's where we think we're going in 2013 with Mr. Young...

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Photo of the Moment: Everest and Neil Young & Crazy Horse

Everest and Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Bridgeport, CT - 12/4/12
Photo by Dominic DiSaia
(Click photo to enlarge)
A nice photo of Everest and Neil Young & Crazy Horse from the
Bridgeport, CT concert on 12/4/12.

More on Everest's Russell Pollard and Neil Young.

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"Carry On": Stephen Stills New Box Set Track Listing

"Carry On" Box Cover by Stephen Stills
(Click photo to enlarge)

A major announcement for Stephen Stills new box set for "Carry On".

Carry On will be a 4CD set, featuring 82 tracks, 25 of which are previously unreleased. It has been co-produced by Graham Nash and Joel Bernstein. It will also include a 113-page booklet with rare photos and extensive liner notes.

The career-spanning box set will be released on March 26, 2013. (Pre-order info below).

A track from the legendary Jimi Hendrix sessions from 1970 is included called the “No-Name Jam”. Also of note is the track “Black Coral” from the Long May You Run sessions with CSNY. It has always been thought that the vocals of Nash and Crosby were lost, but it appears not to be so -- which is more good news.

Other unreleased tracks include: “Welfare Blues” (1984), “Little Miss Bright Eyes” (1973), and “Who Ran Away?” (1968).

Track Listing (via 4waysite.com):

Disc One
1. "Travelin'" – Stephen Stills*
2. "High Flyin' Bird" – The Au Go Go Singers
3. "Sit Down I Think I Love You" – Buffalo Springfield
4. "Go And Say Goodbye" – Buffalo Springfield
5. "For What It's Worth" – Buffalo Springfield
6. "Everydays" – Buffalo Springfield*
7. "Pretty Girl Why" – Buffalo Springfield
8. "Bluebird" – Buffalo Springfield
9. "Rock 'n' Roll Woman" – Buffalo Springfield
10. "Special Care" – Buffalo Springfield
11. "Questions" – Buffalo Springfield
12. "Uno Mundo" – Buffalo Springfield
13. "Four Days Gone" – Buffalo Springfield
14. "Who Ran Away?" – Stephen Stills*
15. "Forty-Nine Reasons" – Stephen Stills*
16. "Helplessly Hoping" – Crosby, Stills & Nash
17. "You Don't Have To Cry" – Crosby, Stills & Nash
18. "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" – Crosby, Stills & Nash
19. "4+20" – Stephen Stills*
20. "So Begins The Task" – Stephen Stills*
21. "The Lee Shore" – Stephen Stills*
22. "Carry On/Questions" – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
23. "Woodstock" – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

Disc Two
1. "Love The One You're With" – Stephen Stills
2. "Old Times Good Times" – Stephen Stills
3. "Black Queen" – Stephen Stills
4. "No-Name Jam" – Stephen Stills & Jimi Hendrix*
5. "Go Back Home" – Stephen Stills
6. "Marianne" – Stephen Stills
7. "My Love Is A Gentle Thing" – Stephen Stills
8. "Fishes And Scorpions" – Stephen Stills
9. "The Treasure" – Stephen Stills*
10. "To A Flame" – Stephen Stills*
11. "Cherokee" – Stephen Stills
12. "Song Of Love" – Stephen Stills
13. "Rock 'n' Roll Crazies/Cuban Bluegrass" – Stephen Stills
14. "Jet Set (Sigh)" – Stephen Stills
15. "It Doesn't Matter" – Stephen Stills
16. "Colorado" – Stephen Stills
17. "Johnny's Garden" – Stephen Stills
18. "Change Partners" – Stephen Stills*
19. "Do For Others" – Stephen Stills and Steve Fromholz*
20. "Find The Cost Of Freedom" – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young*
21. "Little Miss Bright Eyes" – Stephen Stills*
22. "Isn't It About Time" – Stephen Stills

Disc Three
1. "Turn Back The Pages" – Stephen Stills
2. "First Things First" – Stephen Stills*
3. "My Angel" – Stephen Stills*
4. "Love Story" – Stephen Stills
5. "As I Come Of Age" – Stephen Stills
6. "Know You Got To Run" – Stephen Stills*
7. "Black Coral" – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young*
8. "I Give You Give Blind" – Crosby, Stills & Nash
9. "Crossroads/You Can't Catch Me" – Stephen Stills*
10. "See The Changes" – Crosby, Stills & Nash*
11. "Thoroughfare Gap" – Stephen Stills
12. "Lowdown" – Stephen Stills
13. "Cuba Al Fin" (edit) – Stephen Stills
14. "Dear Mr. Fantasy" – Stephen Stills & Graham Nash
15. "Spanish Suite" – Stephen Stills
16. "Feel Your Love" – Crosby, Stills & Nash
17. "Raise A Voice" – Crosby, Stills & Nash
18. "Daylight Again" – Crosby, Stills & Nash

Disc Four
1. "Southern Cross" – Crosby, Stills & Nash
2. "Dark Star" – Crosby, Stills & Nash
3. "Turn Your Back On Love" – Crosby, Stills & Nash
4. "War Games" – Crosby, Stills & Nash
5. "50/50" – Stephen Stills
6. "Welfare Blues" – Stephen Stills*
7. "Church (Part Of Someone)" – Stephen Stills*
8. "I Don't Get It" – Stephen Stills
9. "Isn't It So" – Stephen Stills
10. "Haven't We Lost Enough?" – Crosby, Stills & Nash
11. "Ballad Of Hollis Brown" – Stephen Stills
12. "Treetop Flyer" – Stephen Stills
13. "Heart's Gate" – Stephen Stills
14. "Girl From The North Country" – Crosby, Stills & Nash*
15. "Feed The People" – Stephen Stills
16. "Panama" – Crosby, Stills & Nash
17. "No Tears Left" – Crosby, Stills & Nash*
18. "Ole Man Trouble" – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young*
19. "Ain't It Always" – Stephen Stills

Here's how someone on comments below puts the many, many highlights:

“Travelin’”—a previously unreleased recording that Stills made at age 17 in Costa Rica.

CSN performing “Girl From The North Country” in New York City during a sold-out five-night run at the Beacon Theater that closed the group’s acclaimed 2012 world tour.

“No-Name Jam,” a 1970 recording of Stills in London trading guitar licks with his friend Jimi Hendrix.

“Black Coral,” a song Stills and Young released as a duo in 1976—the version here features all four members of CSNY.

“The Treasure” offers a peek into Stills’ process—originally released in 1973 on Manassas’s self-titled debut, this version was recorded by Stills three years earlier with bassist Calvin Samuels and drummer Conrad Isidore during sessions for Stephen Stills 2.

There is also a newly edited version of Stills performing “Cuba Al Fin” at the Havana Jam in 1979.

CSN singing “No Tears Left” in 1997 at the Fillmore in San Francisco, and CSNY on stage in 2002 at Madison Square Garden with Memphis Horns Booker T. Jones and Donald “Duck” Dunn covering Otis Redding’s “Ole Man Trouble.

Here's a preview track Stephen Stills Unearths 'Forty-Nine Reasons' Demo Song Premiere | Music News | Rolling Stone.

The box set will be released on March 26, 2013 and can be pre-ordered now on Amazon.com (Thanks! You'll be supporting Thrasher's Wheat.)

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Whatever happened to... “Toast” by Neil Young & Crazy Horse?

Looking Forward
Neil Young
The other day we posted a reader poll on 2013: What Will Neil Young Bring This Year?

The poll results showed some surprising and not so surprising results.

2013: What Will Neil Young Bring This Year?
Probably the only one or two we'd wager on would be the Alchemy 2012 Live tour release. Maybe we'll finally see Trunk Show?

That said, some other interesting possibilities.

Which brings us to a recent note from Mark "spook_the_horse" on the semi-legendary lost release “Toast” by Neil Young & Crazy Horse.

So. Whatever happened to…….

“Toast”?

Every once in a while, generally at times when I’m sitting at the computer, working and writing, I’ll be listening to random records and my mind will, invariably, start to wander. I’ll pull a Neil Young record off the shelf, often one that I’ve not listened to in a while and, all too often, get lost in a personal world of memories and thoughts that often relate solely to that record or just a single song.

Today, with a crisp covering of the softest snow lying on the ground, coupled with wonderful bursts of watery sunshine and with curious thoughts of lost loves playing in the back of my mind, I took a trip towards “Winterlong” ~ I’m nothing other than obvious and predictable…..

Yesterday, as I was sitting at the desk, gazing out of the window in the vain hope of some wintery inspiration, I decided to reach for “Are You Passionate”….and that, in turn, lead me to wondering (once again) about the fabled, mythical album entitled “Toast”.

As “Goin’ Home” faded away and the back sleeve of the record showed that piece of paper with “Gateway of Love” writ large upon it, I wondered, more and more, if there will ever be a time that this record, this oft-discussed yet still largely-mysterious record, will ever see the light of day….

With Crazy Horse making some incredible music in the past 12 months, on stage and also, of course, on record (I’d argue ‘til I was blue in the face, that both “Americana” and “Psychedelic Pill” rate as two of Neil Young’s very finest discs, period, with or without the Horse) it feels as though right now is perhaps the perfect opportunity by which to unleash “Toast” on the world. That’s the perfect opportunity to me of course….nothing appears to be so straightforward and simple in Neil Young World…..

On paper though, it does feel as though the timing could be ideal ~ sales of both the new Crazy Horse albums are on the wane, we still don’t know what Camp Young has in store (if anything) for the “Alchemy” shows from the North American tour of last year ~ teasing the Rust List is all very well Archives Guy but people will get tired of that pretty quickly ~ so to keep the pot bubbling along nicely, an Archive series release of a record often discussed in hushed, learned tones would seem like a good way to keep NYCH product out there.

I’ve lost count of how many years ago it was that, pre-Bridge, Neil Young was said to have been listening to the finished version of “Toast” in one of his old car outside the LincVolt garage (someone on the staff there coughed that one) ~ maybe four or five years ago? That would seem about right as Neil Young discussed the release of the record with “Rolling Stone” in 2008……

“Toast is done. It's an amazing listening experience. It was recorded in 5.1. It's a mind blowing record, and I don't think it's a commercial record, but it's great rock and roll, very moody, kind of jazzy. It was recorded in the same place where Coltrane was recorded, so there's a lot of heavy stuff in there. All of the live ambience for everything was all recorded, so the whole thing has got a massive sound about it. I want to have a premier of it that's in a large art gallery with speakers in all four corners of the room, and huge speakers and really spend some time on the acoustics of the room, so you could have two or three hundred people in there that are in the middle of the sweet spot listening to this thing all around. So you came to a real listening experience that you wouldn't be able to get in any other location than right there.”

We are all well aware that we listen to a man who’s restlessness and creative energies in recent years have meant that barely one project can be finished before he goes whizzing right along to a new one, sometimes to the detriment of all the projects concerned. But, in 2008, by Neil Young’s own admission, “Toast” was ready to go.

It must be assumed (rightly or wrongly) that what has stopped “Toast” in the five years that have followed is indeed that same restless outlook and continuing quest for something I suspect we can’t quite see in the same way that the feted musician can.

The sound and the tone, maybe they don’t fit with what Neil Young wants to hear anymore. The oft-quoted “dark” feel….is it that? Or is it the inner-self looking back once too often on previous works that may have had an impact on any potential release?

However, much retro-focus appears to have been employed with the book projects and the assorted, numerous Crazy Horse sessions that yielded those two marvellous records last year ~ “Waging Heavy Peace” and the two albums unashamedly (inevitably) look backwards rather than forwards, so retrospective thoughts and ideas aren’t too troubling it would seem.

So perhaps “Toast” was very much then and “Psychedelic Pill” is very much now.

But (there’s always a “but” right?) the majority of Crazy Horse live sets in 2012 showed a distinct and swift regression to both the early 1990’s and the late 1970’s in terms of both the set lists and, to a degree, the stage appearance (for reasons known only, once again, to Neil Young and his fellow workers ~ perhaps it actually means nothing at all, it was just for fun and its another little curveball thrown out there to make us read more in to something than is actually there).

Maybe the songs on “Toast” don’t fit with anything anymore, perhaps too downbeat and too dark for where the muse is taking their author now. But you could argue that one listen to “Ramada Inn” would suggest that, while not overtly on the dark side, the song possesses an unrestrained air and clouds of downbeat melancholy pervade every single second of the song which, from what little we know of the tracks that may feature on it, are surely the staples of “Toast”?

Who knows what Neil Young and the band have been and will be doing in the four month spell of downtime between the end of “Alchemy” in North America and picking it up again for the Australia and New Zealand shows that come along in a couple of months. There are a host of ongoing projects (not least Archives 2) to attend to (presumably after a post-tour vacation) but where does “Toast” figure in all that? Does it figure at all? Sadly, I’m inclined to wager a hefty, downbeat “no”.

The interest in the record, both through the core fan base and the media, would be high (look at how much was made of the 2008 online statements and quotes regarding the impending arrival of a “lost” Neil Young record). “Toast” would certainly shift some units and, as mentioned earlier, it would undoubtedly keep the focus of attention on this most marvellous of bands, the ultimate vehicle for conveying Neil Young’s sound and groove.

Because of the mystique that has grown and grown and which now envelops this 12-13 year old record like a darkened shroud, column inches will certainly be plentiful. However, would that bother Neil Young? Again, I’d wager a hefty “no” (though it would, presumably, be of greater interest to Reprise Records).

But is that enough to let the album loose? Honestly, again, no, of course it isn’t.

There are core reasons why, five years on from those numerous quotes to the media from Neil Young, “Toast” languishes in the vaults at Broken Arrow Ranch. Reasons that we won’t ever know. Could there be just one fundamental reason why it remains on the shelf? One that goes above and beyond even the sheer bloody-mindedness of this relentless, project-hopping musician? Maybe…..maybe…..

The guessing games will go on and on….but there seems to be every chance that another live Neil Young & Crazy Horse album will come along in the next few months ~ one that re-treads the old ground covered by “Weld” and “Live Rust”, whilst (presumably) updating things a little with the choice, killer cuts from the “Psychedelic Pill” record.

Do we need yet another live Neil Young & Crazy Horse album, even when the playing from the 2012 Alchemy shows (nee The Past, The Present & The Future tour) was as stellar as it was from time to time last year?

It could be argued that any Neil Young & Crazy Horse record is a “wanted” item for fans, but I’d contend that, right now, unless we had a third new studio album from Neil Young & Crazy Horse (one that maybe married/utilised some of the recorded material that was made before “Le Noise” ~ the Crazy Horse version of “Hitchhiker” is reported to be one of the very finest cuts they have ever laid down), I would be far happier to finally have “Toast” see the light of day, some 13 years after recording, than to see a fifth (or sixth, depending on what you count) NYCH live record.

“It's got everything that the best Crazy Horse albums have had” Neil Young said once about “Toast”.

It would be remiss not to ask for the evidence to, finally, be forthcoming…..

Thanks Mark! Never "Spook the Horse"!

Charles Theater in Baltimore, MD when Journeys was playing. The "Where do we Go Now" was another film being featured but at the time, "It was all ONE song" to me. It is "Relevant"
(Thanks Stacey B.!)

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2013: What Will Neil Young Bring This Year?

Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Philadelphia, 11/29/12
Photo by TW
(Click photo to enlarge)After looking back at Neil Young's output in 2012, we start looking forward to 2013 -- what will Neil Young bring this year?

We do know that Neil Young & Crazy Horse will tour in Australia and New Zealand this March and Europe this summer.

So what else might happen?

Based on discussions and comments, which of the following (would you think) would be most likely to see the light of day in 2013?:

1. Neil Young Archives Vol. 2: 1973-1982
2. Pono
3. An Archive Special Release Series release
4. An Archive Performance Series release
5. Archive Original Release Series releases
6. BD-Live downloads
7. Live Alchemy
8. Trunk Show Blu-Ray/DVD
9. Human Highway Blu-Ray/DVD
10.Heart Of Gold Blu-Ray
11.Rust Never Sleeps Blu-Ray
12.Early Daze
13.New Crazy Horse album
14.New solo album
15. LincVolt Film
16. LincVolt on the road
17. Another book - "Cars & Dogs I've Known"?
18. Toast
19. Time Fades Away - Blu-Ray/DVD/CD/Vinyl
20. CSNY 1974 Tour Boxset

So what do you think? (You may select multiple answers.) Vote! It's another very shakey TW poll.


We'd love to hear your comments below!

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Remembering Danny Whitten & The Memories

Danny Ray Whitten: 1943 - 1972
(via Danny Whitten - His Life - His Music)

"You only get one musician in your life who you really connect with, and for me, that musician was Danny Whitten."
~~Neil Young (From Danny's Friends)In Neil Young's book 'Waging Heavy Peace' one of the recurring themes of treasured lost travelers is the saga of the late Danny Whitten of Crazy Horse.

In remembering Danny, Neil watches the video below of "Land of The 1000 Dances" by Danny Whitten & The Memories and realizing what a great talent he was that was never fully appreciated. Danny Whitten, Ralph Molina and Billy Talbot later formed the band The Rcokets and then became Crazy Horse with Neil Young.


"Land of The 1000 Dances"
Danny Whitten & The MemoriesDanny Whitten is best known as co-lead guitarist in Neil Young's band Crazy Horse. The unquestionably classic album Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere album, Whitten's distinctive guitar interplay with Young is what makes epic tracks such as “Cinnamon Girl,” “Cowgirl in the Sand” and “Down By the River” remain staples in Young's setlists 40 years on.


Crazy HorseNeil Young said:

"Danny Whitten was the focal point of Crazy Horse, but he was also the fault line that ran through it.

Like many a troubled genius, the greatness of his art was partly a product of his own tragic life. He left us with a slice of magic in this album but also with the thought that he could have given us so much more had he given himself a chance to."

It is without a doubt that Whitten was key to Neil Young's early career success. Producer Jack Nitzche said:

"In my humble opinion, Crazy Horse is to Neil Young what The Band was to Bob Dylan. As perfect a complement as tequila and salt."

Producer David Briggs said:

"Danny Whitten was the Brian Jones of Crazy Horse."

"Come on baby let's go downtown" - Fillmore East in March 1970 "I am not a preacher, but drugs killed a lot of great men." ~~ Neil Young, from the liner notes of Decade, 1977 From interview with Neil Young reflecting on Danny in Rolling Stone ( August 14, 1975) by Cameron Crowe:

Neil Young: Somehow I feel like I've surfaced out of some kind of murk. And the proof will be in my next album. Tonight's The Night, I would say, is the final chapter of a period I went through. Rolling Stone: Why the murky period? Neil Young: Oh, I don't know. Danny's death probably tripped it off. Danny Whitten [leader of Crazy Horse and Young's rhythm guitarist/second vocalist]. It happened right before the Time Fades Away tour. He was supposed to be in the group. We [Ben Keith, steel guitar; JackN itzche, piano; Time Drummond, bass; Denny Buttrey, drums; and Young] were rehearsing with him and he just couldn't cut it. He couldn't remember anything. He was too out of it. Too far gone. I had to tell him to go back to L.A. "It's not happening, man. You're not together enough." He just said, "I've got nowhere else to go, man. How am I gonna tell my friends?" And he split. That night the coroner called me from L.A. and told me he'd ODed. That blew my mind. Fucking blew my mind. I loved Danny. I felt responsible. And from there, I had to go right out on this huge tour of huge arenas. I was very nervous and ...insecure. Tonight's The Night is like an OD letter. The whole thing is about life, dope and death. When we [Nils Lofgren, guitars and piano, Talbot, Molina and Young] played that music we were all thinking of Danny Whitten and Bruce Berry, two close members of our unit lost to junk overdoses. The Tonight's The Night sessions were the first time what was left of Crazy Horse had gotten together since Danny died. It was up to us to get the strength together among us to fill the hole he left.

Crazy Horse bassist Billy Talbot recalls Danny Whitten in an interview in THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR (October 24, 1996) BY NICK KREWEN:

"We knew it was coming, but it was a shock," says Talbot of Whitten, who left Crazy Horse in 1971 due to his problems. "But that album wasn't solely about Danny. It included some of the other good friends we lost -- Bruse Berry, who was one of our roadies. Jimi Hendrix. Janis Joplin. "Danny was the topper. That was the one that hit too close to home." Talbot says he remembers flying to Ontario and playing three gigs on the university circuit before the band embarked on a week-long European tour. "It was like an Irish wake," he recalls. "There was a lot of celebrating, a lot of drinking, and being rowdy instead of playing out the darkness."

Whiten's replacement in Crazy Horse, Frank 'Poncho' Sampedro, recalls Danny Whitten in an interview in interview with Undercover (November 2003) by Paul Cashmere:

"I never felt I could replace Danny and to this day I can't play like Danny. Every once in a while Neil will say 'you should listen to the record' or Billy will say 'just listen to what Danny did'. I try not to. Danny had what he did and I think it is very special. He was a great singer and a great songwriter and he played guitar a certain way. That's just not what I do. I play the way I play. I remember when I first met Neil. 'On The Beach' had just come out. It had 'Turnstile Blues', 'Vampire Blues' and I remember telling Neil (and I don't know how I had the balls to say it) but I said 'you know, you've got a lot of blues on your record. You should be rockin' and having fun and seeing chick's asses swaying in the audience' (laughs). So that is the kind of approach I brought."

Neil Young and Danny Whitten Fillmore East in March 1970 Photo by Joe Sia/Bill Graham ArchivesFrom RollingStone.com review of Crazy Horse album by PARKE PUTERBAUGH (RS 890 - February 28, 2002):

"Danny Whitten was a man out of time; his artful, uncluttered songs seem steeped more in the verities of early rock & roll than in the convolutions of the late Sixties. Listen to the unabashed balladic sentimentality of 'I Don't Want to Talk About It' and the grinding R&R basics of 'Dirty, Dirty' and 'Downtown.' The last of these, if you pay close attention, is a shocker -- an upbeat ode to cruising for drugs that sounds like a West Coast complement to the Velvet Underground's 'I'm Waiting for the Man.' The Eagles get all the credit for exposing the dark side of the California dream, but you can peek at the lobby of the Hotel California on Crazy Horse, too. The opening track, Nitzsche's chugging, bluesy 'Gone Dead Train,' reveals itself as an elaborate metaphor for impotence; the troubled Whitten lays his cards on the tempestuous, self-revelatory 'Look at All the Things'; and Lofgren's stormy 'Beggars Day' can been interpreted as his fatalistic view of Whitten's drug problems ('All your mercy can't save me'). Danny Whitten died at twenty-nine of a heroin overdose on November 18th, 1972. It's all documented on Tonight's the Night, Neil Young's elegy for Whitten and fellow drug casualty, roadie Bruce Berry, but it was foreshadowed on Crazy Horse."

Tonight's The Night liner notesOne of the most revealing parts of the Tonight's The Night album is the liner notes themselves which are in Dutch. A translation of the Dutch to English notes reveals some insights into Neil Young's despair during the period after Whitten's death. It certainly reveals the importance of tequila and understanding the meaning of Tonight's The Night. From the liner notes:

"The death of Neil's discovery and friend, Danny Whitten seems to have affected him deeply. Since 'The Needle & the Damage Done' most of Neil's songs about Danny's death reflect his guilt complex. Neil seemed to fall back into an even deeper depression. Then he began drinking, became sentimental and generally intolerable for anyone who had anything to do with him. It's said that those around him treated him with great caution for fear of provoking him, causing him to retreat and become a recluse. During this evening at the Rainbow, Neil makes particular reference to Miami Beach where he was safe from external influences and where a highly emotional and introverted process went its course."

Another fascinating aspect to the original vinyl album was the writing in the run out groove. On Side A the phrase "Hello Waterface" was written. And on Side B the phrase "Goodbye Waterface". There's been a great deal of speculation and rumor about what these cryptic phrases might mean. One theory is that it refers to either Danny Whitten or Bruce Berry. If this is the case, "Waterface" most likely refers to Whitten. Whitten has been described as an emotional person who was prone to bursts of sobbing. Hence, Danny's crying might be the "Waterface". The TTN liner notes refer to "BB", which is clearly Bruce Berry. The note includes the line "Tell Waterface to put it in his lung and not in his vein." This line is an anti-heroin reference and speaks to Neil's loss of Crazy Horse bandmate Danny Whitten and long time roadie Bruce Berry's heroin overdose deaths. Danny & The Memories From Neil Young's Tonight's the Night Liner Notes:

DANNY WHITTEN ------------- 'Ladies and Gentlemen. There is one member of the band for whom I feel a special affection. One day he came and knocked at my cellar door in Washington DC where the president of the U.S. lives... Impeach the president, and... eh... What a situation. WHAT A SITUATION, ladies and gentlemen... where's my cigar? I won't be seeing you again for a few years so I can do what I like! Ha ha ha'. The audience laughs. 'I'm going to try and play something now. I've got a song about a 'straight dog' who took no drugs, no hard drugs, nothing at all. Believe me...according to some rumours I'm dead already, but I'm standing here...believe in nature. I'm not Catholic but I believe in a sort of confession....here tonight, ladies and gentlemen. I want to sing a song for Danny...Whitten who can't be with us tonight. I can feel the Jose Cuervo but I think that what I want to say is getting across. I'm talking slowly about a good friend of mine and I don't want to discredit his name. This is a song for him. Perhaps I'll sing fifty songs for him this evening. You never know...' The death of Neil's discovery and friend, Danny Whitten seems to have affected him deeply. Since 'The Needle & the Damage Done' most of Neil's songs about Danny's death reflect his guilt complex. Neil seemed to fall back into an even deeper depression. Then he began drinking, became sentimental and generally intolerable for anyone who had anything to do with him. It's said that those around him treated him with great caution for fear of provoking him, causing him to retreat and become a recluse. During this evening at the Rainbow, Neil makes particular reference to Miami Beach where he was safe from external influences and where a highly emotional and introverted process went its course. 'Don't Be Denied', the song for Danny develops into a terrible, deep-reaching event. The playing is awful but the emotion is great Neil is incapable of putting any structure into his guitar-playing instead, he comes across as a man possessed, hair flying, pounding his guitar, jumping and screaming: 'Oh friend of mine, don't be denied, don't be denied, don't be denied.' Confused, he comes up to the microphone and begins to talk gently: 'You buy a newspaper on the street in the morning, and you open it at page two straightaway because you can't read page one....photos of all the people....now I'm in the desert....The Americans are there. Let's think about the desert this evening. In the desert there's a lion, some people are standing on one side on the lion and some on the other. Everybody knows what I'm talking about, so everybody can draw their own conclusions. We're going to play a song, ladies and gentlemen, to try to cheer ourselves up. It wasn't very good in the desert was it? I didn't like it much there anyway'.

This interview with Nils Lofgren was originally published in the Neil Young magazine `Broken Arrow', issue 62, January 1996:

Q: `Tonight's The Night' was recorded shortly after the deaths of Danny Whitten and Bruce Berry. Was that a traumatic time? LOFGREN: There were a lot of tough emotional feelings... Danny was the one who asked me to join Crazy Horse to make their first album which I think is just a great record. Jack Nitzsche and I both joined to make the first Crazy Horse record and Danny came back east - he was gonna try to join my band Grin. But by that point he was so sick that he just couldn't hold up. So, the `Tonight's The Night' record - at the same time there was a dark cloud over all of this we made a point of enjoying ourselves too. We had a good time. We'd do it like a show - we'd get up and really go after something and perform it and then stop, go take a break, go shoot some pool, come back, do it again, on and off until the early morning and then we'd, you know, head off and meet up again later. So, at the same time it was really sad to lose Danny and Bruce... I also remember feeling very grateful that I had these friends, that I was alive and that I was being included in such a special project. And there was a real sense of family in that sense despite the obvious sadness due to the loss of Danny and Bruce.

"Danny just wasn't happy. It just all came down on him. He was engulfed by this drug. That was too bad. Because Danny had a lot to give, boy. He was really good." - Neil Young, to his biographer, Jimmy McDonough in Shakey. Crazy Horse Danny Whitten "I Don't Want to Talk About It" Thanks to the tribute website Danny Whitten - His Life - His Music. C'mon baby, let's go downtown. "What we lose in the fire, we gain in the flood" As Melanie Y wrote: "Why do the most beautiful souls among us suffer the greatest pain? RIP, Danny"

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Neil Young: Waging Heavy Innovation - Forbes

Neil Young and “David Letterman” Show - 9/27/12
(Click photo to enlarge)
From Neil Young: Waging Heavy Innovation - Forbes by Henry Doss:

Innovation is not for the faint of heart, nor for those who lack the capacity for joy.

Leading an innovation culture means living inside of chaos, while maintaining a focus on cardinal points; operating within demanding goals and financial requirements while remaining open to diverse and contradictory points of view; sometimes “losing your way to find your way.” Above all else, though, authentic leadership is about experiencing and celebrating the joy of innovation. And if you are looking for a good role model — someone who best exemplifies all the traits of innovation leadership — you need look no further than Neil Young.

There are countless books, monographs, studies, articles and blogs addressing the issues of leadership and innovation, and more coming every day. But Neil Young’s recently released autobiography, Waging Heavy Peace, may serve as the best innovation case study out there. For those who study the “how” of innovation, and in particular the often mysterious challenge of leading innovation, Young’s life story captures it all in one compelling read.

Full article on Neil Young: Waging Heavy Innovation - Forbes.

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FULL INTERVIEW: Patti Smith Chats w/ Neil Young - June 2012

Here's the complete video of the lunch conversation at BookExpo America 2012 with Neil Young and Patti Smith , who sat down to discuss their processes for writing songs and writing a book.

Neil Young: “If a song happens, it happens.

If it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen. It doesn’t matter. That’s why I will write a lot of material, and why I’ll suddenly not write any material — because there is no reason to write it. It has to come to me — and if it doesn’t come to me, I don’t want it. I don’t want to have anything to do with it. I don’t want to see it, I don’t want to look for it.”

...

"I really hate things that people work on.

There’s nothing about music that should be working on it, nothing about lyrics that should be working on it — trying to be something that you’re not, trying to act like somebody that you think is good.”

...

“I had to avoid all Dylan records, because I am such a sponge.

If I listen to it too much, I would start being that. I knew that that would disturb what I was doing. I admired what he did so much — the lyrics, and the way he sang, and the melodies, and the groove and the band that he played with — especially (the late guitarist Mike) Bloomfield. There were all of these great musicians that supported him. I had to ignore it. I just had to stay away from it.”

More on Patti Smith Interviews Neil Young at BookExpo America in New York City.

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2005 TV Interview with Neil Young

A really great interview with Neil Young was broadcast on television in Sweden in 2005.


"My idea of perfection is imperfection."In the interview, Neil is asked to comment on his impressive discography. He calls the Ditch period album Tonight's The Night a "personal favorite -- but not a big seller".

At one point, Neil tosses his entire catalog into the air to demonstrate how ephemeral his whole career has been.

In a separate video clip, Neil discusses the Archives project and how selections were made based on ratings by valued listeners.

(Also, note the bag on the table. This looks like the same bag Neil performed with on Saturday Night Live in 2000.)

More interviews with Neil Young.

Thanks to Lou, Mike, BNB, HwyCDRrev & all else who sent the links!

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The Book On Neil Young: You Gotta Tell Your Story Boy

'Waging Heavy Peace' by Neil Young
(Click photo to enlarge)
A nice perceptive book review of 'Waging Heavy Peace' by Neil Young on LikeTheDew.com "The Book On Neil Young: You Gotta Tell Your Story Boy" by Jeff Cochran:

Some things never change
They stay the way they are
-Neil Young, from “Opera Star,” 1981

Some people never change, but don’t count Neil Young among them. To both the delight and consternation of his fans, particularly over the last three decades, there’s been much about Young’s career that has screamed change. If one liked his most recent album at any given time, it was a sure bet one wouldn’t think as fondly of his next album. Neil Young would be into something else. He has been – and is – into a lot of things.

Readers of his new memoir, Waging Heavy Peace, will learn a lot -perhaps more than they ever wanted -about what inspires and moves Neil Young. They’re also likely to feel frustrated with what they thought would be a standard autobiography. For example, he devotes more space to Pono, the audio system he’s developing (to “save the sound of music”) than he does to his brain surgery and subsequent close call with death. But despite the book’s curious passages, readers should also come away newly impressed with the storyteller.

There is nothing standard about Neil Young.

More of book review of 'Waging Heavy Peace' by Neil Young on LikeTheDew.com "The Book On Neil Young: You Gotta Tell Your Story Boy" by Jeff Cochran.

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Interview with Gary Burden of R.Twerk & Co.

Gary Burden
Apple Presentation
(Click photo to enlarge)
In an exclusive interview on Human Highway.org with Gary Burden of R.Twerk & Co., the artist, art director, and designer talks about his journey along the Human Highway.

There are many interesting items in the interview so definitely read in full. Here's an interesting snippet:

Q: Besides the archives, a favorite Neil album design of yours?

Gary Burden: My favorite album cover that I have made, ever, is Neil Young’s “On the Beach.” This cover is loaded with information! From the styles of clothing and objects to the Coors can to the headline of the newspaper of the day of the photo shoot.

My final “gift” to the viewer/consumer was printing the tacky floral designs inside the sleeve.

That one blew the mind of the record company. Not in a good way!

Complete interview on Human Highway.org with Gary Burden.

Thanks Shar!

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Stephen Stills and Neil Young: My Spectrum Memories in Photos and Words

Stephen Stills and Neil Young Band
Jerry Aiello, keyboards, Joe Lala, percussion, George "Chocolate" Perry, bass, & Joe Vitale, drums
Philadelphia Spectrum - June 29, 1976
© ROGER BARONE 1976
Just came across some nice historic photos on Shooting Stars: My Spectrum Memories in Photos and Words by Roger Barone. Definitely check out the site with behind the scenes photos and stories by Barone, a former changeover crew employee at the Philadelphia Spectrum Arena.

Above, Stephen Stills plays a Gibson Firebird while jamming with Neil Young, playing his "Ol Black" Les Paul, at the Spectrum during their all too brief concert tour in 1976. Stills & Young are pictured playing an electric version of "Black Queen." with Jerry Aiello, keyboards, Joe Lala, percussion, George "Chocolate" Perry, bass, and Joe Vitale, drums, from Stills' backup band.

Stephen Stills and Neil Young Guitars
Philadelphia Spectrum - June 29, 1976
© ROGER BARONE 1976
Also, see SPECTRUM “TECH” RIDER FOR STEPHEN STILLS/NEIL YOUNG CONCERT AT THE SPECTRUM 1976 « Shooting Stars: My Spectrum Memories in Photos and Words and STEPHEN STILLS LOOSENS UP BACKSTAGE BEFORE SPECTRUM CONCERT WITH NEIL YOUNG 1976 « Shooting Stars: My Spectrum Memories in Photos and Words.

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