Neil Young on Jack White, Archives II and His Special Message to Mom | Rolling Stone
Fairly significant coverage and reaction to Neil Young's performance on The Tonight Show this week.
There were the usual detractors claiming it was all a "stunt", a "gimmick" -- just to try and sell some cover songs on vinyl. Not really sure how something is a "gimmick" that has never been before (cutting a record before a live audience on national TV)?
But could A Letter Home be more than just a quaint "covers albums" of old songs?
As we discussed this past weekend on TW Radio ( podcast), we find the exercise remarkable.
And we see it as an exercise like ARC or Dead Man or Shocking Pinks or any of his other many experiments. Some work, some don't. Sometimes it takes awhile for an evaluation to stabilize. Exhibit A being Tonight's The Night or TRANS, for example, which were very misunderstood upon release.
Also, see the new Rolling Stone interview with David Fricke where he refers to ALH as a "covers album" and Neil gets nearly angry and says : "I resent the album being labeled a covers album".
The guy is on journey through the past and he's just gone somewhere we've never been.
relax. enjoy the ride. it's just a ride, you know that, right?
Afterall, here's a comment from Dan1:
For my money Neil has earned the right to do whatever he pleases ...Thanks Dan1!
that said, the coolest thing I've read here on TW was that the process of making this album caused some of the masters to rub off on him and he's writing new material ... someone in thread alluded to this and it reminds me a little of Americana ... there were all these doubters complaining about it and then PP showed up on the back end ...
same thing here, I haven't had the time to focus on listening to it (was it ever streaming on NPR?) or buying it (although I listen to 'Changes' and Needle of Death' from Carnegie Hall incessantly) but if you end up with new material on the back end its pure gold ...
anyhow, I thought Americana would be a throw away and granted I only listened to it a few times but it was excellent and as with most things Neil these albums age beautifully and in time they somehow make total sense ... one of the things I love about Neil is that the whole trip around the music is art too ... and he's saying lots of things ... too easy to be negative and dismiss it as a gimmick ...
Neil's too busy to do gimmicks and he ain't doing it to just sell records ...
From Neil Young on Jack White, Archives II and His Special Message to Mom | David Fricke | Rolling Stone:
What is the status of your next memoir?Full interview at Neil Young on Jack White, Archives II and His Special Message to Mom | David Fricke | Rolling Stone.
Neil Young: It's finished. I'm painting art for it now. They're very simple paintings, based on tracings of things that I love. And I water-color them, put my own little thing on them. I've never done that before. I find it relaxing and gratifying.
It's not the same kind of book [as Waging Heavy Peace]. It's about my history with cars. I told the story of what happened in every car that I got, how my life changed as I drove these cars around. I would discover these different things that I saw while I was in them. And each chapter is about the next car I got, the experiences I had until that car was done.
What is the state of Archives: Volume II? I've heard that it could be out by the end of this year.
Neil Young:It'll be finished this summer. All of the music will be done. It goes just past [1979's] Rust Never Sleeps. It's full of albums that weren't there before – stuff I did that I never put out. [Already confirmed for the set by Young: material from the unissued LPs Chrome Dreams and Homegrown and an alternate edition of the 1973 live album, Time Fades Away.]
The rest will come out pretty quickly. While we've been working on Volume II, we've been working on the other Volumes. [Young has said that there will be five Volumes, the last covering the 2000s.]
Labels: interview, neil young
by thrasher@PermaLink: 5/14/2014 07:58:00 AM
46 comments
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46 Comments:
"It's full of albums that weren't there before – stuff I did that I never put out."
!!!!!
Question is, will Archives II only geta release on PONO, or will Neil make it available on Blu-Ray/DVD?
Yes it was a gimmick. Neil's
turning into a snake oil salesman.
Spending more time promoting the album than he did making it.
for some people their musical gods can do no wrong but for most people its part of being human
All right all right all right, I give!
I used "gimmick" in an earlier post in referencing the use of the Voice-O-Graph. However, after reading the interview, I can see how it worked for him. I had been viewing it as like relicing a guitar, or furniture, which seems to be an attempt to confer the authority of time through a false patina. Perhaps in its way the technique is more in line with the real character provided by his 60 year old Les Paul and the similar aged Tweed Deluxe amp.
The guy is a genius at being able to harness the wild contradictions of his impulses.
BTW, to answer Anonymous, I think he has always spent way more time promoting (concerts, appearance) his work than the actual, initial making of it.
I think you stepped into the wrong joke here. Pitchfork is that-a-way.
@anon - where's the snake oil for sale? Where is ALH represented as something that it isn't?
@Zuma - thanks for taking another crack at it! Takes more bravery than some appear to have.
But rather than go thru our own convuluted justification for ALH, here's Neil:
"NY: I have deviated now and then on different projects, but for me, it's mostly about the feeling and the performance. If you're talking about the performance of the song and getting the feeling out, there's no reason to even listen to it after you're done if you felt it when you sang it. If I feel it when I sing it and I go, "I did it, that's it, that's how I feel, that's what I did and that's what the song meant to me, I got the message out," then I don't even have to hear it. I don't care what it sounds like because I'll never be able to do it as good as that again, so it doesn't matter. I just move on. The whole idea of a singer-songwriter singing the song from the heart, singing a song that means something to them and actually singing a song that's good enough to stand up on its own without any accoutrements, without any production, without any machines supporting it, without any formulated beats, without any computer making sure that all the rhythms are justified so that everything is perfect, you take all those things away and put a great song there with a great performance, even if it's not by the greatest vocalists in the world or the greatest guitar player or instrumentalist in the world, if that person is believing what they're singing and it's truly there and the song is great and the song is written from a real place, then the song's going to resonate with anybody who wants to listen to it."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ragogna/a-letter-home-a-conversat_b_5320605.html
@PunkDavid - not following? Did Pitchfork call ALH a gimmick?
I recorded "Little Green Man" on one of those machines when I was 10 or 11. Wish I still had it.
I think I might just be too young to fully appreciate this record and it's nostalgic sound quality. Neil's a lot older than I, and though I know he appreciates his younger fans, he probably didn't make this record with us in mind. I guess all you guys in your 60s/70s+ who are into that looking back and reflecting stage are probably more in the target audience for this one.
The FS.
It's also interesting to hear Dylan's brand new recording of "Full Moon and Empty Arms" (with an album to follow later this year).
In complete contrast to Neil, Dylan has chosen a more skeletal "basic" song, but recorded it very clearly with the vocal up front. Almost like Bob is singing from inside your head. It has that spooky sound. Also in contrast to Neil, there is no info on how it was recorded, with who etc.
Speaking for myself, had Neil recorded his own album in this more straightforward manner, it would have been a more substantial release.
Flying Scotsman
Making recordings of old song on an old instadisc recorder is pretty cool.
"So all you critics sit alone, you're no better than me for what you've shown." Coulda shoulda woulda...c'mon folks! Give me a break. I'm just happy to keep hearing what Neil has to say.
Fair enough Rod, nobody is telling you what to do or what to say. Now please extend the same courtesy to the rest of us.
The Flying Scotsman.
So all you critics crack me up!! I don't know how many times I have to write this. I wonder how many times Neil has said this... He doesn't care what you think!! He did the album cause HE wanted to do the album. He don't care what you think about it. He wanted to do ART, remember that?? It came over him while he was with Jack. He explained it if you watched the interview. Good God! If you don't like it, so what , who fucking cares? Neil doesn't. It's not like the fucking oceans are depleted cause you don't like the album! It was a message home, not to you anyway. Maybe his mama likes it!! As far as a gimmick; give me a break. We are talking NY here. Jack had the booth, not Neil. Neil is an artist, when will people accept this. If you can't, move on. if you don't understand what that means, please stop speaking and showing your complete ignorance. it really is quite embarrassing on so many levels and I know nothing about art!!
For someone who doesn't care, Terri, you're sure getting worked up into a state about it. You come across as very insecure.
Rest assured that these "critics" probably don't take themselves as seriously as you apparently do.
Anything but a gimmick
Very heartfelt
Personally, I hope there will be a live record of the solo tour NY just finished
But Letter Home is real and real NY
Anony just doesn't get it
Why spend energy on bitterness and blindness?
When CSN were working on their covers album with rick Rubin a couple years ago they were crucified on this list as being irelevant not being able to create new songs ect
Even neil was critical. Two cover albums later of his own Neil doesnt like them,Americana and A letter home being called cover albums but thats what they are. If Dylan Bruce or anybody in the rock upper echelon did a record of these songsthey would be called a covers album.ATTEMPTING TO CALL THIS RECORD ANYTHING BUT A COVERS RECORD IS A TRUE SNAKE OIL SALESMAN AT WORK
Anon - Neil hinted at one of the shows last year that he wasn't that impressed by Americana. And I know Poncho wasn't keen on it either. Personally though I liked it a lot, at least 4 or 5 really good performances on there. The strongest record since Greendale, by a mile. It was a great opening act for Psych Pill.
On a different subject, it's interesting to see how absurdly worked-up some people get on here about other people's opinions.
The Flying Scotsman.
Comparing TTN and Trans with this bullshit record is frankly hilarious... ahahah!
@Flying Scotsman - yes, it is interesting that Dylan is doing a covers. And it'll be interesting to hear how Dylan approaches and the inevitable comparisons. Wonder what that will be like?
@Terri - we admire your passion. No, wait. we love your passion.
@anon 06:37:00 - Ok, how about adventures in lo-fi with master singer-songwriters as interpreted by NY? better?
@08:14:00 - haha. Or...
If our opinion is triggering pain and upset feelings within you, perhaps you need to expend your energies elsewhere? While dissent is respected -- as is agreement -- if there are specifics to provide rebuttal that actually adds to the conversation, your comments will be appreciated. Otherwise, it is clearly evident your condescending responses are reactionary from a wounded ego that is both angry and fearful – and they are far from being honored.
May you re-discover the peace and love within that is who you truly are.
namaste
Hey people! Lets talk Archives 2. Maybe if you get distracted you will stop arguing.
"You're all just pissin in the wind..."
I'll say this. For the first time since I was a teenager, a new Neil album came out that I didn't listen to all the way through on release day. Hell, I still haven't listened to it all the way through. Don't know if I ever will unless it's as background music while I'm drifting off to sleep.
I think I'll build a card board booth around my recliner, hang one of those old drive-in movie speakers in it and give this baby a spin. Wait, I'll hook my new Pono player up to the drive-in speaker for this one cause it won't even matter! I'll put some lighting in it so when I doze off, I'll look like one of those old fortune telling machines. That should put me on the fast track to spirit road in a hurry!
manassas
Old Neg
First of all I was unimpressed with the poor quality, thin vinyl which had some marks on. Then I decided to play it. I had it on in the house and was trying my hardest to obtain some enjoyment out of it. See as much value as possible, when my wife happened to walk in the room and said in a genuine, puzzled voice, 'Is your record player broke?'. Then my four year old son came in clutching his ears trying his hardest to block out the piercing noise. Now usually he comes in the room dancing like a maniac when Neil is on. Two unbiased opinions. Leave the bias behind you get a nice objective perspective.
After that I managed to get to the end but whilst I listened to the remaining tracks I went on amazon and cancelled my pre order of the $100 version. I am a completist, I have every official vinyl release of Neil's but I decided I do not need that. They are beautiful songs but the recording of them does not work for me one bit. Following that I put the vinyl back in the sleeve and placed it on the shelf where I feel it will remain forever (along with my FITR). Don't hit on people hard for saying the record is a piece of crap and lets not hit on Neil for releasing it. Each to their own.
Audiophile version in the box set will be better - question is whether it's worth $100 for that and the book/DVD/etc.
Calling it an audiophile version is a joke, by the way, thought up by Neil's marketing guys (yes, they do exist) who are probably having a good time laughing about this.
It's easy to think everything Neil does is good, just because he's Neil and we love him. So, imagine instead that Justin Bieber has just recorded and released a set of Neil Young songs in a phone box, with terrible sound. He also releases an "audiophile" version that has mildly less-atrocious sound, still far worse than any mp3.
Why? Well, Justin doesn't have much of a mainstream audience anymore, so his management have to get as much money out of his hardcore fans as possible, to make up for tanking sales. This is standard practise in the music industry nowadays.
So, Justin sells his 'Beliebers' a 100-dollar box set with about 5 different versions of his new hastily-recorded-from-jail album, all of which have the same poor sound due to the recording method. It's essentially the same thing as the 10-dollar version, and not worth buying at even half-price. But it really doesn't matter: Justin knows the hardcore fans will buy anything he releases, and as they are the only ones still buying his records, he needs as much of their money as possible. Otherwise he will have to sell off more of his ranch.
Thrasher - I'm actually really looking forward to the Dylan album, the one track we've heard shows some promise. Bob has been singing quite well over the last year, and he always makes an effort to do justice to people's songs.
Had Neil recorded A Letter Home in a similar style (clearly, and with the vocal high in the mix) I do feel it could have been an exceptional record. The raw materials are there, good songs and performances. So I'm not criticising the whole idea. But I do feel the use of the booth puts a layer of sludge over the songs and completely buries their potential.
It's still an interesting side project, I guess, a novelty item. Kind of like Jimmy McDonough said Dead Man was a good accompaniment to the film, but not worth turning into a album. "This was the trouble with some of Neil's projects in the nineties....Every little thing became a big, big deal".
This is where I feel that David Briggs has been so much missed, keeping Neil on the straight and narrow, a form of artistic quality control.
Scotsman
@06:48:00 - really? The Justin Bieber analogies just don't work and make our head hurt. Please stop.
@Scotsman - Didn't realize there was this info on the Dylan release? I thought no one had heard it yet?
Anyways, a good point n the Dead Man soundtrack. But while it was an interesting "exercise", we're glad it was given a proper release and find it to still be remarkably atmospheric.
As for Briggs, well, at this point, we don't really see how bringing him into a conversation about today's recordings is relevant. Briggs ain't here and ain't coming back. Just like there will never be another Danny or Ben, there will never be another David.
Thrasher - the Dylan release is expected to be out later this summer, but only one track has been heard so far. It's expected to be all cover songs, possibly all Sinatra - that might be a red herring though. Bob's shows have been strong recently, so hopefully the new record will equally as good.
Briggs might be gone, but I think it's only natural to wonder what it would be be like if he were still here. And various people have done their bit to "carry the torch", I think, so he's not yet completely out of the equation. The members of Crazy Horse all are deeply imbued with Briggs's spirit, particularly Poncho, who still pushes Neil a bit. I just heard a minor example on Americana: "we've got to work on these song endings".
Can't wait to hear what they conjure up on the Euro tour!
Scotsman
Thanks for update Scotsman.
But back on topic... what about NYA#2 news?? "It'll be finished this summer."
....he's been saying that every year since 1988!
¨‘A Letter Home’ is pure; there’s very little show biz involved. Maybe the most important thing the record communicates is that with a little practice, we could all learn to play these songs. Most of them don’t have more than three chords, and almost every Canadian of a certain generation could sing them – maybe even just as well - off the top of their heads with a little reminding and encouragement. And, maybe that’s part of the point. ‘A Letter Home’ dials down the mystique of the rock star culture and puts music back where it belongs – as an expression of life, joy in a shared experience, the simple pleasures of coming together with friends and family to sing. It’s so radical that it’s simple.
To paraphrase something Young once said about another album, ‘A Letter Home’ is so archaic, it’s cutting edge. The point he’s making is not complicated. The world is out of control and part of the reason is that people won’t put away their screens and talk to each other. Embedded in its simple grooves, ‘A Letter Home’ encourages us to throw out a lot of our useless shit, get the guitar out of the attic, tune it, start humming, sing, think of all the good things in life and send a letter home.
Thanks Neil!¨
http://restlessandreal.blogspot.ca/2014/05/a-letter-home.html
I haven't heard "A Letter Home" enough, just heard it once really on the Thrasher's Wheat radio hour. I do find it difficult, however, to understand the concept of supposedly great quality control under David Briggs compared to now. For me, "Life" and "Old Ways" have some of the worst filler on any album Neil has ever done, whereas for me "Living With War" and "Le Noise," and not just "Greendale" and "Psych Pill," are tremendous recent albums filled pretty much throughout with that raw emotion I love about Neil. But hey, this is all just opinion anyway so I'm certainly not going to get worked up over the fact I know a lot of music and Neil lovers don't agree with me.
It's true that Life and Old Ways aren't that great, but I think you are cherry picking examples, David. Pretty much every other Briggs-production is top class, which implies those particular records are more the exceptions than the rule.
Zuma, Sleeps With Angels, Ragged Glory, the Weld video, Neil Young (the album), Tonights The Night, Rust, Goldrush....all classic projects where Briggs has been enthusiastically credited as being a key participant.
I feel the impact of Briggs's death is amply demonstrated by the album made immediately after his departure, Broken Arrow. It's not a bad album at all, but most agree that it sounds underdeveloped and lacks focus. It's good...but could easily have been so much better. Briggs wouldn't settle for that. He was only interested in 'great' ("Be great, or be gone" was his motto).
"David Briggs told me what was wrong with my performance at Bob-Fest.
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 halfway through...no one'll notice but...it's not usable'.
And I always listen to what he has to say and take note of it."
-Neil Young
Americana is a good record and Ive been saying that since its release. I was disappointed we only got 1 track from it live when I saw them. Saying its his best record since Greendale is accurate in my eyes and ears. PP I still don't have and will never buy its so bad. Ramada Inn being the only track listenable. I liked the vocals in the booth performance but the guitar was like nails on a chalkboard for me. Im not buying ALH but look forward to hearing it elsewhere.
Mama Stay
Hmm, I'm not in a big hurry to get the CD, but I am curious as to how this music feels, meaning audio as a physical experience. I understand that the emotion is there, but my concern is to what extent there was control, either in the actual making or in post production, over the inherently harsh characteristics of the device. Has Jack White tinkered with the operational mechanism to i, or is it an as is deal?
So, Elliott has said that Archives2 would span 1973-1982. But deep down I always knew it had to end after the Rust Never Sleeps tour. To me that was the end of an Era. And I don't the Archives Box sets fit into 10 year packages well. They fit into eras. When RNS finished, Neil went into a sort of hybernation. Not touring for a while, turning inwards to his family and then taking excursions into alien territory. These are the eras as I see them.
Volume1: 1963-1972 Rise to Stardom.
Volume2: 1972-1979 Genius Era.
Volume3: 1980-1987 Alien Territory. Some think this should end with Freedom and there is a good argument for it. But there is enough material to end just before bluenotes/reprise.
Volume4: 1987-1997. Resurgence. Grunge God. Ends at the 1998 break.
Volume5: 1998-2009. Friends and Family Era. Ends with passing of LA+Ben.
Volume6: 2010-2019. Not sure what to call this one. Back to his roots?
I can see why Neil doesn't like the album being called a covers album. The songs are obviously very dear to him and he really connects with them. Along with the letters to his mother it's a journey through his past. And the old Neil has more of that characteristic folkvibe than he did in 1968.
So A Letter Home is much more personal than your usual covers album. No masterpiece, but it's an enjoyable album with a couple of stinkers.
Mama Stay - Americana is indeed a lot stronger than many people have realised. It's focused, and it means business in a way that so few of Neil's modern albums have done.
Neil's lack of familiarity with the lyrics does let some of the songs down, which weakens the album as a whole (listen to him reading the words on Oh Susannah with little care for phrasing or feeling). But the "trilogy" of Clementine, Tom Dula and Gallows Pole is very strong, as is High Flyin' Bird. Who cares Neil didn't write these songs, when he performs them with such vigour and urgency?
It's true that Psych Pill has some weak tracks, but there is some greatness in it as well. Ramada Inn has the spook to it, and a sincere depth of feeling largely lacking in Neil's recorded music since Greendale.
But just listen to the last verse of Walk Like A Giant! "Whenever I see that big fire coming". Listen to the desperation and urgency in his voice, and the way the guitar accompaniment crashes around in your head, as though it's fighting to stay live. That is scarily real music; I talked earlier about Briggs's influence, and for a few minutes there, he was back with Neil at the helm. If only for that reason, I consider Psych Pill a true success, despite it's inconsistency.
The Flying Scotsman.
nice to see some comments on Archives II
Thanks Thrasher
Zejt
I agree there were great albums made with Briggs, but then again it seems only normal that the so-called greatest Neil albums would come in the first half of his career. Isn't that the norm? I mean which were the classic Zeppelin albums, Metallica albums, Rolling Stone albums? Surely there comes a point where artists find it harder and harder to come up with something truly great, but yet I feel Neil did that "Greendale."
Getting back to Neil's 80s output, I think you're right about Briggs (and Neil) not settling for mediocre and so that's what's disappointing to me about "Old Ways" and "Life." For me, those are the albums that could have been great. And to me that's due to some filler that, to me, seems just thrown in to finish the record. Personally, by comparison, I think "Landing on Water" is much better than either one of them. It's weird, completely different than anything he's ever done, but for me the whole thing is well thought-out and it all works.
David - Yep, all very fair points. Not a big fan of Landing On Water, but I don't hate it as much as some do!
I suppose the question is: were Neil's early albums great because of Briggs, or in spite of him? A bit of both, I guess, but I think he really did contribute a lot in terms of focus and quality that hasn't been achieved so much since. Not just on the early albums: for example, Sleeps With Angels was made only a year before his death, but is also really thoughtfully produced and arranged. A lot of subtleties on that record that are David's work.
Agreed that Greendale is a quality album. It's probably not a coincidence that the only 3 Neil albums I like from the last 14 years were made with Crazy Horse. Not because I'm prejudiced against bands (there have been some fantastic performances recently without Crazy Horse), but because Crazy Horse really do bring out the creativity in Neil. Passively or not, they push him to get down to business and deliver the goods!
The Flying Scotsman.
Take my advice, don't listen to me. Hippie Dream is a good song. When I miss it I look to Youtube. I really like the deliberate drum beat.
Life and Landing on Water are very good records, the live show (cow palace) is one of the best liveshows i know. Old Ways is a piece of crap. Thx!
I have the Garage show Cow Palace on VHS and was there. Sam Kinison as the angry neighbor. on the floor pretty close up. I took shrooms and I go to puke and a 10' radius cleared around me lol. I was so friggin high. but some nice fans brought me down and they were right. nothing to worry about. its one of his shows where theres camera boom and professionally shot and of course you look forward to it and he shelves it.
I own all of Neil Young's official recordings and have cherished his twists and turns on the road of his career. I must say, though, I am unimpressed with the shitty quality of this recording. The songs did sound way better in concert on his solo tour of 2014. He offered up half of the songs along the way and they were moving and inspiring. This recording medium for this release, however, was not a good decision, in my opinion. After rallying his hardcore fans to buy expensive Blu-ray home entertainment systems for his Archives project (Vol. 2 out "this year") to get FULL SOUND RESOLUTION, and then getting more rabid fans to buy into his new PONO device, he turns around and serves up a plate of crap (in terms of audio quality) for us all. Its a huge departure from "Highest Resolution Sound"… it is the absolute opposite of great sound. Its not just the cracks, pops, and hiss, the sound of a man in a box recording (which it is), but the pitch is off… the speed of the recording literally ebbs and flows, never quite approaching what it SHOULD sound like. I don't think I'll buy this one, unless he releases a "Clean version" (which apparently DOES EXIST). I have my live recordings from his recent shows, and they are superior, even in mp3 format. Regarding the material, half of it is great, half of it.. not so much. The Willie Nelson covers probably should not have been attempted. Changes is really good. My personal favorite is the Ivory Joe Turner song, Since I Met You Baby, a classic slow dance love song on piano. I always want more Neil, I just want some good sound RES on my Blu Ray audio system. -Alan in Seattle
Best comment below the Rolling Stone interview:
We love you Neil. Maybe next tour, you could go back in time to when concerts were affordable.
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