Neil Young Charts His 50th Album with "A Letter Home" | Billboard

Neil Young
Dolby Theatre, Los Angeles, CA, 04/02/2014
Photo by Jeff Allen
(Click photo to enlarge)
Congratulations to Neil Young on his 50th Billboard charting album.

From Chart Moves: Neil Young's 50th Album | Billboard:

-- Neil Young, "A Letter Home" - No. 13 - The rock veteran's 50th chart entry starts at No. 13 with 15,000 sold. His first charting album was "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere" (with Crazy Horse), which made its chart debut 45 years ago this month (June 21, 1969-dated chart).

OK, so who else has 50 Billboard charting albums in their catalog?

Anyone? Dylan?

In the meantime, here's a review Everybody's Dummy: Neil Young 50: A Letter Home to ponder. (Thanks Ward!)

More Neil Young news tonight, Saturday, June 7 at 9:00 PM EST, the Thrasher's Wheat Radio Hour from WBKM.org will be streaming.

Tonight's edition will feature some highlights from Europe 2013 tour, the latest Neil Young music and news.

Tune in details and podcast info @ Thrashers Wheat Radio Hour.



Thrasher's Wheat Radio
Tune in on WBKM.org, Saturdays @ 9P EST

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STREAM: Norah Jones’ Covers Neil Young’s ‘Down by the River’

Norah Jones covers Neil Young’s ‘Down by the River’ on here upcoming album ‘No Fools, No Fun,’. Jones' new band is called Puss n Boots and their new album is scheduled for release on July 15.

The track is recorded live from The Bell House, Brooklyn, NY in 2013 and is now available for download. Also, pre-orders now available via Amazon.com:



Norah Jones performs "Tell Me Why"
MusiCares Person Of The Year Tribute To Neil Young at the Los Angeles Convention Center on January 29, 2010 in Los Angeles, California

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"There's A Hole In The Sky" by Neil Young & Crazy Horse @ Sydney 10 Mar 2013 on YouTube

From last year and in anticipation of Europe tour this summer.

"There's A Hole In The Sky" by Neil Young & Crazy Horse @ Sydney, Australia, 10 Mar 2013.

And, Yes, There's Definitely A Hole in The Sky ... As the Big Shift inexorably moves towards us all ...

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Ben Harper & A "Young" Fan Play Tribute to Neil Young

Well, with yesterday's announcement of 2014 Bridge School Benefit Concert Dates , this little video seems quite appropriate.

While as corny as this might seem, stick with us here for a very heart warming story.

From TW reader Bryan:

Dear Thrasher's Wheat,

This is a neat story that Neil Young fans might enjoy. I was able to find this video of the event on youtube after the fact, but the video does not belong to me.

The brief background info:

At the 31st Claremont Folk Festival in Claremont, California last Saturday an audience gathered to hear Ben Harper and his mother Ellen perform. Ben walked out onto stage with a Neil Young hoodie and in between songs proclaimed his love for Neil Young music. This resulted in a young boy getting a very special opportunity to sing some Neil Young with Ben Harper (to the surprise of both Ben Harper and the audience). This is how it happened.

A few songs after the Neil Young conversation, a young boy named Joseph walked up to the stage and caught Ben's attention. Joseph asked Ben if he could play Heart of Gold for him because that was his favorite song. Ben proceeded to call the kid up on stage, gave him his own chair, and they both gave Claremont California a version of Heart of Gold they will never forget. After the song Ben asked Joseph if in 20 years he would please request him to be an opening act for a show.

Three generations of Neil Young influence was seen on stage that night. I just thought I would pass this along for other Neil fans to see. Thanks for all the work you do Thrasher's Wheat.

Best,
Bryan C.
Claremont, CA

Thanks Bryan! Wonderful. Really touching.

The whole scene says a lot about what it's really all about. This is for folks who "get Neil".

peace

More on the musical relationship of Ben Harper and Neil Young.

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UPDATE: 6/7/14

From Young Ben Harper fan makes great first impression | claremont-courier.com by Angela Bailey:

What they didn’t anticipate, however, was Mr. Harper’s darling duet with another Claremont native, 4-year-old Josef Luevano who ended up stealing the show.

Claremont resident Karla Ramos, who was attending the festival with her husband and two sons, had been enjoying the Harpers’ performance from the back row of the audience when Josef turned to her and said, “Mom, he’s talking about Neil Young!”

Knowing her son’s love for the singer, Ms. Ramos took Josef by the hand and led him to the front of the crowd so he could get a VIP experience. That’s when the pint-sized performer made up his mind about what to do next, telling his mom, “He likes Neil Young. I want to tell him I like Neil Young too!”

Both Josef and his 2-year-old brother Atticus have been listening to the soft rocker’s music since they were infants, so it was no surprise that he would want to share his favorite song with another Neil Young fan.

When the Harpers’ finished their performance, Josef marched right up to the front of the stage and after a brief exchange between the two, Mr. Harper lifted the boy onstage and the duo broke into their rendition of “Heart of Gold.”

To the delight of the crowd, the Claremont United Methodist Nursery School student held his own next to Mr. Harper, giving a “thumbs up” mid-song and garnering applause from the audience when he nailed the lyrics to the Young classic.

“My favorite part was singing and smiling. I felt the music in my heart,” Josef told the COURIER. “It was like being on a ride.”

The performance ended with a standing ovation from the audience and Mr. Harper giving Josef a guitar slide, telling the tot, “Josef, in like 20 years, just give me the opening gig, would ya? They’re hard to come by!”

Mr. Harper’s mom followed that comment up with her own suggestion. “Yeah, Josef get your mom up there with you in 20 years!”

With the audience still laughing, the youngster left the stage, “high-fiving” fans as he made his way back to his family.

For Josef’s mom, the kindness shown by Mr. Harper and the joy he brought to her son in that moment is something she’ll forever cherish.

“Thank you for making him happy, Ben” says Ms. Ramos. “He was so excited, it made my heart explode.”

Joseph intends on thanking the singer himself by sending him an autographed photo of the two of them singing onstage. He hopes Mr. Harper will reciprocate the gesture with a signature of his own.

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2014 Bridge School Benefit Concert Dates Announced

Dates have been announced for the Annual Bridge School Benefit Concert, on Saturday and Sunday, October 25th and 26th. (Thanks bh @ BNB!)

For up-to-date information on lineup, ticket sales, special announcements, go to: Annual Bridge School Benefit Concert.

Here's a look back at HIGHLIGHTS: 2013 Bridge School Benefit Concerts...

"What Are Their Names"
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
The Bridge School Benefit - 10.26.13
(Click photo to enlarge)
Many, many highlights from the 2013 Bridge School Benefit Concerts in what will go down as another wonderfully memorable weekend.

For most, this was another triumphant weekend of great music and fun people coming together for a worthy benefit concert. Others -- as we'll come to later -- saw and heard things differently, naturally.

In the Neil department you could not have been disappointed this weekend whatsoever. You had Jack Johnson and Neil Young on "Out On The Weekend", My Morning Jacket and Neil Young on "Harvest Moon", Arcade Fire and Neil Young on "I Dreamed A Neil Young Song", Heart and Neil Young on "War Of Man", and Velvet Underground/Lou Reed tribute “Oh! Sweet Nuthin’” with Neil Young, Elvis Costello, Jenny Lewis, and My Morning Jacket. Plus the solo songs that opened each day and the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young headline reunion.

Neil Young
Photo by John Green/Bay Area News Group
Lots of the little magical delights that make the Bridge School Benefit Concerts so special. Like Arcade Fire introducing a new song inspired by a Neil Young dream. See @ 06:07:00 YouTube below for "I Dreamed A Neil Young Song":

“I had a dream … We’re playing the song at soundcheck and I remembered, I woke up and remembered everything. I was half asleep and I started playing it and wrote down the lyrics and listened back to my tape recorder and it was basically a Neil Young. So this song is called ‘I Dreamed A Neil Young Song’ and Neil’s gonna come sing it with us. So this song is by Neil Young in my head.”

(Other highlights to check out include Neil Young joining My Morning Jacket for “Harvest Moon” at 5:10:00 and CSNY’s reunion at 7:45:10.

And the concert reacted to the news of the passing of the hugely influential Lou Reed. In tribute to Reed, My Morning Jacket covered the Velvet Underground’s “Oh! Sweet Nuthin’” with Neil Young, Elvis Costello, Jenny Lewis, and more.



As we indicated above, not all were sufficiently impressed.

In a review in San Jose Mercury News headlined "Bridge School Benefit disappoints at Shoreline" by Jim Harrington:

It was an eight-hour acoustic concert that felt much longer, with very few of the expected highlights translating to lasting memories. Indeed, it may have been the least memorable of the roughly two dozen Bridge concerts that I've attended.
...
One of the most troubling issues with the Bridge concerts is that there are just too many acts. That means short sets, usually around 20-30 minutes, and accompanying set changes that last nearly as long as the performances. It's a poor use of everybody's time, unless, of course, you dig watching stagehands setting up instruments.
...
Then came the hipster-approved portion of the night, as My Morning Jacket, Arcade Fire and Queens of the Stone Age filled the next three slots on the bill. Regardless of the quality of the offering -- and Arcade Fire did deliver the set of the night -- it was still too much new music grouped together. In retrospect, organizers should've mixed it up a bit, and given Heart and Johnson later starts, so that the majority of the crowd didn't have to go so long without hearing a song that it recognized.

It is sad that a veteran music critic like Jim Harrington seems to miss the entire point of the exercise, i.e., it's a benefit concert to help disabled kids. An acoustic concert for the kids and their parents who are literally sitting on the stage. About celebrating the miracle school known as "The Bridge" and what Neil and Pegi Young have achieved. About all the school staff, volunteers, and supporters.

Bridge Kids, Parents and Neil Young
Critic Harrington approaches the review with a perspective of wanting to be impressed and entertained. Which is OK but misses the point and is like saying Woodstock really wasn't that great because of the crappy sound and weak lighting.

Besides all of the once in lifetime combinations cited at top, where else in mainstream music will you encounter the following scene mid-point of the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young set?

David Crosby introduces the song "What Are Their Names" by saying that "We're political." Next, Neil Young pulls up his hoodie and begins to stalk the stage (see top photo) -- all in clear reference to the whole Trayvon Martin saga.

Again, the weekend allows one to experience many, many hours of music, an incredible diversity of artists, and some one-off combinations that often work out splendid.

So don't be a doubter. Be a believer. Take a chance on love.

"War Of Man"
Heart and Neil Young
Photo by Mario Di Sandro

Tom Waits "Raised Right Men" Live Acoustic @ Bridge School Benefit, Shoreline 10-27-2013

Lastly, a shoutout for the webcast. Our stream seemed glitch free and there were very few audio/video problems during the webcast -- a pretty flawless experience as these things go. So if haven't already, go to Bridge School: Donate to the Bridge School.

Also, see Photo of the Moment: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Bridge School Benefit - 10.26.13 and more highlights from 2013 Bridge School Benefit Concert Webcast and re-broadcast/re-stream info.

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Also, see The Triumphant Reunion of The Buffalo Springfield, Pearl Jam and Neil Young @ 2010 Bridge School Benefit Concerts.

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STREAM: New Chrissie Hynde Tracks with Neil Young on Stockholm

Chrissie Hynde & Neil Young
The Pretenders Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
(Click photo to enlarge)
Chrissie Hynde's new album Stockholm features tracks with Neil Young on guitar.

The album is now streaming at Chrissie Hynde – Stockholm: album stream | Music | theguardian.com.

We hear Neil Young on at least the track "Down The Wrong Way" - a very jammy tune, if we say so. Anybody catch other tracks featuring Neil?

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Comment of the Moment: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - 1974 Live

David Crosby, Graham Nash, Neil Young and Stephen Stills
Oakland Coliseum, July 14, 1974
Photo by David Zimmer
(Click photo to enlarge)
Lots and lots of commentary on the upcoming Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's Live 1974 Box Set.

Although unreleased, unheard and more than a month away, opinions already seem to be forming based on 40 years of memories -- both good and bad, it would seem.

The Comment of the Moment on Neil Young News: Photo: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young 1974-08-23, Tampa, Florida from Raincheck:

We should remember that AT THE TIME these shows were mostly received and reviewed very very well. They were long, varied, had a lot of new material from all four. Bootlegs, while often in sketchy quality, sound like good shows.

Later CSNY trashed the shows. But that had a lot to do with where they were in their lives, excesses offstage, strained relationships in the band, trying to play huge venues for the first time, etc.

I expect that a well curated and mixed set from these shows will be better than the reputation of this tour. If they had followed it up with a great album, it would be remembered differently. Instead it is remembered as a sort of failed reunion. In fact, it was musically very interesting. They all stopped pissing in the wind for a while and showed what CSNY could have been in the seventies.

Thanks Raincheck!

As for us? Well, we'll reserve our opinion until we actual listen to a few times. In the meantime, we're anticipating greatly and really looking forward to reliving the memories of that Summer of '74. We were there at the Virginia concert on August 17 at Forman Field.

And -- obviously (or maybe not?) -- it left quite an impression upon our young, delicate little mind. 40 years. 40 songs.

Believe us when we say that no matter what memories the box set brings back from 40 long years ago, nothing will ever change the impression that that day made upon us and the music that Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young delivered on that very long, hot sunny summer day.

It's been a long time comin',
It's goin' to be a long time gone.

Thoughts?

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