On The Ditch Trilogy, Neil Young’s success collided with personal chaos | A.V. Club

Neil Young's Ditch Trilogy
"Time Fades Away", "Tonight’s the Night" & "On the Beach"

Ahh yes, Neil Young’s Ditch Trilogy. So dark, yet so rich and rewarding.

We've written about The Ditch Trilogy extensively and can even claim a little credit for maybe not coining the term so much as solidifying it as a legitimate framework label for the period in our analysis way back there in the 1990's. Since that time, the phrase Ditch Trilogy has become established in the Neil lexicon by rusties around the world.

From On The Ditch Trilogy, Neil Young’s success collided with personal chaos | A.V. Club by Corbin Reiff:

From an outsider’s perspective, it probably looked like Neil Young had it made in the shade in those early months of 1972. In the last few years he entered into serious relationship with Hollywood actress Carrie Snodgress and had a son; he’d raked in a boatload of cash with the supergroup Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; and he had just released the most commercially successful album of his entire career. It seemed like he should have been living it up on cloud nine. But Young was actually on the verge of spiraling out into a private hell that would take over his life for the next three years.

With his fourth solo record, Harvest, Neil Young hit upon the kind of success that every artist dreams of achieving. The multi-platinum best seller—with a No. 1 hit, “Heart Of Gold”—almost perfectly synthesized the popular singer-songwriter movement underway in Southern California. By the time the full scope of that album’s success became apparent, Young wanted to have nothing to do with it. Looking back on it just five years later, he wrote in the liner notes to the Decades box set that the experience “put me in the middle of the road. Traveling there soon became a bore, so I headed for the ditch. A rougher ride but I saw more interesting people there.”

It wasn’t just the newfound fame and the crushing hero worship that sent Young reeling, although that might have been enough for some. His personal life was coming off the rails as well. His relationship to Snodgress was unraveling; his newborn son Zeke was recovering from the aftereffects of a slight brain aneurysm; and he’d been suffering from near debilitating back pain. The kicker of it all, however, was the sudden death of his Crazy Horse guitar player and friend, Danny Whitten.

Whitten looms rather large in Young’s personal history, both for his contributions on Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere and After The Gold Rush and for being the figure most directly responsible for pushing Young off the rails after 1972. To coincide with the release of Harvest, Young and his managers had booked an ambitious 62-date tour of North America. Young was hoping to bring Whitten along with him.

Full article at On The Ditch Trilogy, Neil Young’s success collided with personal chaos | A.V. Club by Corbin Reiff.

Also, see The Ditch Trilogy: Albums by Neil Young | thrasherswheat.org.

Also, see The Beautiful, Enduring Gloom of Neil Young's Ditch Trilogy | PandoraMusic.

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PREVIEW NEW SONG & VIDEO: 'Rock Starbucks' by Neil Young and the Nelson Brothers

Here's a preview of "Rock Starbucks" from the upcoming album The Monsanto Years by Neil Young and the Nelson Brothers, Lukas and Micah Nelson and the band Promise of the REAL.

"If you don't like to rock Starbucks, a coffee shop
Well, you better change your station 'cause that ain't all that we got
Yeah, I want a cup of coffee, but I don't want a GMO
I like to start my day off without helping Monsanto
Monsanto
Let our farmers grow
What they want to grow"

The Monsanto Years will be released on June 16 30, 2015.

Also, tomorrow, May 23, is international March Against Monsanto Day. Find out what's taking place in your city @ http://www.march-against-monsanto.com/.

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Yet More Passion From A Neil Young Fan

Neil Young
(Click photo to enlarge)

So no sooner than we lament the decline of quality comments here at TW, than folks step up to the plate and deliver. So we say thanks to all of our dear readers and listeners and say again that we love you all -- both the passionate and dis-passionate Neil fans.

This week, we've heard from The Passion of A Neil Young Fan and The (Dis)-Passion of A Neil Young Fan where we highlighted some particularly passionate and dis-passionate opinions of long time Neil fans.

From The (Dis)-Passion of A Neil Young Fan by Greg " A Friend Of Yours" who said...

I think there are some interesting comments here, and in the end can’t argue with the fact that your “passion has waned greatly”, TopangaDaze. [see comment]

I think you have a valid perspective based on your views, I guess my perspective is just different based on my views. In line with a lot of the criticism aimed at Neil tho, the gratuitous outpouring of which has reduced me to a dispassionate observer of TW these days, I would have to disagree with the notion that Neil fears his output “will be criticized, or worse yet, ignored”, or that he “can't face his increasing irrelevance”. I think this would be totally out of character for a guy who has never cared about these things. Besides, I think an argument can be made that Neil has never been more relevant, or less ignored, and that “too much output” has more to do with the numerous things he is focused on now, as compared to a more narrow focus in earlier years.

I think it still comes down to the fact that a lot of people just don’t get Neil- and I don’t say that I do, not truly. But at the very least, I understand this: “this” (whatever music it is that people are alternately praising or disparaging) is not a function of calculation on Neil’s part (yes, Neil has done not a few calculated things), so much as it is about what is happening right now in his life, mixed together with the reality that he can’t not do it. Neil fits the mold of a troubadour, someone who “sets verse to music”, and who must perform it for others because that’s who he is. Maybe his minimalist sensibilities rule him too much for some people’s taste, and don’t mix too well with a prolific output, but “throw away albums”? That’s what critics have said about any number of segments of the discography, and I agree with Dan1 that they will stand the test of time.

I was looking for a quote from Bill Shapiro about the troubadour angle, and came across one of my own comments from a while back here on TW, and after re-reading it don’t think I can improve upon it. A little long, and you have to fill in the blanks a little differently, but I think it’s still relevant. FWIW.

“Every now and then something prompts me to go back and reread the great Cameron Crowe Rolling Stone interviews. They always seem to provide a perfect perspective for the newest flavor of the moment controversy, as in the case of this blog. People very rarely change, or change their stripes. Maybe they have their lapses, and Neil is human for sure, but I’d be shocked to find out it was ever about the money. It’s about what’s happening right now- in his head, in his life, in the world around him. Is that really so hard to understand? People don’t understand something, they don’t like something, they don’t know- they freak out and start flailing about trying to make sense of something they’re not privy to. I’m not privy to anything either, but I rest my mind in the experience of what 40 years of Neil Young have given me, and it’s all about the music and the integrity. Money motive just doesn’t wash with me.

I don’t have anything more to say about the recent music- too much has been said already- other than to say that Thrasher is probably on to something by likening GD/LWW/CDII/FITR to the “ditch trilogy”, and in that event hold onto your hat for what might be coming next. Revisionism notwithstanding, I was there when it was happening, and clearly remember the gnashing of teeth in the music world over the impending demise of Neil Young, and the dismissiveness of the people who didn’t understand, who felt the need to save Neil from himself. Beyond this, Bill Shapiro of “Cypress Avenue” said it all when he likened Neil to a troubadour, someone who is compelled to perform for people. You might find someone like this playing to a local bar like as not playing to an “ocean of shaking hands”. It’s not about the money. As one blogger pointed out somewhere, heart rending and angst ridden youth produced heart rending and angst ridden music, but now having moved beyond these things, different things are producing different music- things like the deterioration of society, the degradation of the environment, war in the middle east, and the need for energy alternatives. Laced through all of it is the need for the artist, the individual, to make sense of it all and have something to say. There’s a need, and it ain’t pretty.

I’ll let the following Crowe excerpts say the rest:

“Every one of my records, to me, is like an ongoing autobiography. I can't write the same book very time. There are artists that can. They put out three or four albums every year and everything fucking sounds the same. That's great. Somebody's trying to communicate to a lot of people and give them the kind of music that they know they want to hear. That isn't my trip. My trip is to express what's on my mind.“

“I don't want to feel like people expect me to be a certain way. Nobody expected Time Fades Away and I'm not sorry I put it out. I didn't need the money, I didn't need the fame. You gotta keep changing. Shirts, old ladies, whatever. I'd rather keep changing and lose a lot of people along the way. If that's the price, I'll pay it. I don't give a shit if my audience is a hundred or a hundred million. It doesn't make any difference to me. I'm convinced that what sells and what I do are two completely different things. If they meet, it's coincidence. I just appreciate the freedom to put out an album like Tonight's the Night if I want to.”

“One afternoon during a tour several years ago, Young sat in his manager's hotel room. The phone kept ringing, tour crew members bustled in an out... and through it all, Young sat on the bed with his son Zeke, peacefully watching the news.

The broadcast was interrupted by an emergency bulletin. Pat Nixon had suffered a stroke, an announcer said over a filmed report of the sad and beaten Richard Nixon tearily moving through the hospital's revolving doors. After a time, Young got up and disappeared into his bus in the parking lot. Onstage several hours later, Young played the song he had written…“ (Campaigner)

"People don't understand sometimes," he says, looking down at a pencil he's toying with, "how I can come in and go out so fast, how I can be there and want to do something and then when it's over, for me it's over. To other people it's just a beginning. Sometimes that's hard for people to take. I can see how that would be. I just don't like to stay in one place very long. I move around, I keep doing different things . . ." He looks up. "Just different things."

It must be difficult, I wonder, to decide which impulses to follow.

"I only follow the ones I get," says Young. "And if it makes me laugh... I know it's a good one. Basically I've had a really good time, even though my songs have mostly expressed the down side. I like that there's a lot of humor in rock & roll now. A lot of people take me so seriously. They don't know what to do with me not taking myself so seriously anymore.”

"I've got a job to do, I've got to just tear down whatever has happened to me and build something new. You can only have it for so long before you don't have it anymore. You become an old-timer... which... I could be... I don't know.

"After all, it's just me and Frank Sinatra left on Reprise Records."

Does anybody doubt that Neil is laughing and having fun right now, or that something’s getting torn down in the process? Is it just too much to handle that the same man employing the same method that in the past produced something “musically pleasing”, is now producing music that is not “melodic” enough or “lyrically complex” enough? I think it’s time for everyone to take a chill pill, and give the guy a break. After all, it has to be pretty lonely sometimes now that Frank is gone.”

A Friend Of Yours

We feel your passion A Friend Of Yours! Thanks for all of the words and we'll see what folks have to say when The Monsanto Years hits the streets. We have a hunch that the fun has only just begun and the best is still yet to come as we get behind the wheel, make that big shift and take a long, slow ride into that setting sun while the full moon rises with big birds flying across the sky.

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PREVIEW ALBUM COVER: The Monsanto Years by Neil Young and the Nelson Brothers

Last week, we posted an image from the Instagram account themonsantoyears of what might possibly be the upcoming album cover.

And here's another possible preview of the album cover for the upcoming The Monsanto Years by Neil Young and the Nelson Brothers, Lukas and Micah Nelson and the band Promise of the REAL.

This image is on the Ticketmaster site when purchasing for the “Rebel Content” summer tour. (Thanks Hounds That Howell!)

The Monsanto Years will be released on 16th June 2015.

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Comment of the Moment: The (Dis)-Passion of A Neil Young Fan

Neil Young
(Click photo to enlarge)
As with all things Neil, there must be contradictions wherever an opinion is ventured.

Just as we lamented on the decline of quality comments here at TW, no sooner than a number pop up on the Comment of the Moment: The Passion of A Neil Young Fan thread where we highlighted a particularly passionate long time Neil fan.

But of course some folks just have to disagree that a 68 year old rock veteran is still relevant and vibrant. Some see it -- but many don't, like TopangaDaze who said...

I still follow Neil and always will, but my passion has waned greatly. Neil has always been wildly inconsistent in both thought and action, but I actually think he's losing his integrity and credibility with these recent ridiculously simple, sloppy commentary concept albums.

Playing armchair psychologist, as I've said before, I think it comes down to his ever increasing fear. Not just his fear for the planet or the future, but for his relevance. For the most part he's afraid to commit to truly working on an album because he fears it will be criticized, or worse yet, ignored.

These immediate commentary throwaway albums are his way of saying how authentic he is and how sales and critics don't matter to him. In reality, I believe they now matter more to him than ever, but he can't face his increasing irrelevance. By releasing these largely one-take concepts, he's able to entirely hedge his bets. He can always say he just wants to get his thoughts out to the public as quickly as possible, but to me he's really saying he doesn't think he can do any better and doesn't want to have to face that reality.

He is still an incredible musician as his live shows attest, but on record as a creative musically poetic songwriter, those days are likely regrettably gone.

On a more positive note, he's already created a treasure trove of material for us to savor and digest as long as we all may run.

Thanks TopangaDaze for the opinion which many agree and disagree with.

It seems that the long knives are emerging even before The Monsanto Years album is released in June judging by the pre-judgements. And we've seen how these pre-judgements turn out before. Remember The Judgement Not To Pre-Judge "Americana", anyone???

Let us just say that if the Internet had been around in the 1980's, we would have read this after TRANS came out. And after Landing on Water came out. And after Life came out. Likewise, in the 1990's after Looking Forward came out. Or, in the 2000's after Are You Passionate? came out or practically every album since then.

In fact, we've tracked this rise and fall of Neil Young "fashion" over the years in articles like Peak Neil?

Or check out the Rust Never Sleeps analysis and The Greendale Challenge for more on artistic freedom and creativity vs. audience pandering.

Lastly, the most important thing to say about Neil Young is that he is a survivor. And not just any survivor but Neil Young is THE quintessential survivor.

peace & love. stay calm. no fear. use discernment. be the wheat. prepare for the big shift and keep on rockin' in the free world.

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David Crosby Apologizes to Neil Young

Neil Young & David Crosby

Well, they say it's takes a big man to admit a mistake and apologize.

Earlier this week, David Crosby was on the Howard Stern Show and apologized for comments about Neil Young's girlfriend Daryl Hannah.

From rollingstone.com by Andy Greene:

"I was completely out of line," he said. "I have screwed up massively. Daryl Hannah never wound up in a Texas prison. I'm screwed up way worse than that girl. Where do I get off criticizing her? She's making Neil happy. I love Neil and I want him happy."

Crosby said he believed the comments were off the record, but added, "That's neither here nor there." "Daryl, if you're out there, I apologize. Where do I get off criticizing you? There are people I can criticize: politicians, pond scum. Not other artists that have gone through a hard life, same as me. She hasn't had it easy either."

Stern said he thought that Crosby made the comments out of love for his bandmate, and Crosby agreed. "I was worried that he was going to be taken advantage of," he said. "But the truth is that's not my place to judge. That's the bottom line. It's not my place to judge other human beings like that. That was judgmental and stupid and careless and I regret it a lot."

Crosby said that he did call Young shortly after the comments surfaced. "He wanted me to print a retraction," he said. "I said, 'I don't know about that.' The first thing that I did was apologize right away. I said, 'Neil, I shouldn't have shot my mouth off. I'm sorry.'" He went on to say that he never spoke directly to Hannah. "But I'm doing that right now," Crosby said. "Daryl, I apologize. I was wrong. I have no place to stand to do that. I have no right. I haven't earned that right. I'm the guy that wound up in prison, not her."

Carry on...

Meanwhile, it appears that is exactly what Ms. Pegi Young is doing -- carrying on.

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Nils Lofgren Podcast Interview + Neil Young Content

Nils Lofgren and Neil Young
Vote For Change tour 2004
St. Paul, Minnesota
Photo by Joseph Quever
Here's a new rock podcast from Baltimore MD called "The Keep Calm and Rock On Podcast".

Nils Lofgren was a guest for this week's episode and discusses everything from Nil's current east coast tour, his "Face the Music" box set, song writing styles, his time playing with Bruce Springsteen and of course Neil Young, as well as the differences between begin a solo artist and a side man plus many more topics.

On this week's episode of The Keep Calm and Rock On Podcast, Michael, Angelo & Jamie are joined by Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Nils Lofgren. Over a 46 year career, Nils Lofgren has not only spent time playing with Neil Young and as a member of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, but he has also had a storied solo career that has spanned decades. Nils discusses his career with the KCRO crew as well as his song writing process, his new 10 disc retrospective "Face The Music" and his current duo tour. All this, and much more on this week's Keep Calm and Rock On.

• Download this Episode

Also, see more on Nils Lofgren and Neil Young.

"Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent." - Victor Hugo

Music influences culture, inspires companionship, and creates tension. To love music is to eternally welcome it into your heart like a significant other. Often compelling, occasionally frustrating, yet forever entwined with your heart. The Keep Calm and Rock On Podcast has launched to provide a roundtable-type platform to discuss the way rock and roll and popular music has moved people for the last 50 years. Through it's creators Angelo, Michael and Jamie, listeners will be led on musical exploration of all topics rock and roll, the familiar and the foreign. Every two weeks, Keep Calm and Rock On will release a new episode that will focus on a rarely explored avenue of rock and roll. KCRO - as the show is sometimes referred to - can be viewed as a metaphysical look into a genre that is normally explored from audio or literary perspectives. Each of the show's hosts is an adult blend of longtime musician and contemporary historian. Join Angelo, Michael and Jamie in their quest to explain the musically unexplainable and attain rock and roll unattainable...The Keep Calm and Rock On Podcast!

Thanks Michael!

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Comment of the Moment: The Passion of A Neil Young Fan

Neil Young
(Click photo to enlarge)
Although the volume of comments here on TW continues to decline, we still manage to receive some really passionate views on Neil Young and his musical influence.

The Comment of the Moment is from NEW ALBUM & TOUR: Monsanto Years & Nelson Brothers by Alan:

I am so proud to be a Neil Young fan in this modern era.

Those who think the good times are all gone are way wrong, in my opinion. Lots of folks think the Status Quo is just fine. If only Neil would just keep remaking Harvest, etc. My politics line up with those of Mr. Young. The Mainstream Media and the Minds of Americans are not likely to notice a problem like massive doses of Poison in the food supply were it not for the courageous voices of famous artists like Neil Young.

His rebellious vantage point and his hip girlfriend just add fuel to the fire of environmental righteousness he will lay out in this next dose of sonic brilliance. His latest wake up call to the sleeping populace. How did Americans get so Apolitical? The 60's are dead and gone. For most all, except for our hero, Neil, who carries the torch the present day. Each and every one of his modern releases contain masterful work. Take Fork in the Road, for instance. Johnny Magic and Fuel line are 2 of the hottest Rock songs any veteran has recorded in the last decade. If Don Henley could write and perform a song like Fuel Line, he would still be relevant.

Yes, Psychedelic Pill was brilliant. So was Living With War. Who has the balls to call it like he sees it. He nails it. "Back in the days of 'Mission Accomplished…' " Cutting insight. "There's a Bailout coming but its not for you." Hello?! The Middle Class is being bled dry by this corruption. Are you paying attention? Neil is. Long Live Neil! How many more masterpieces can we get from the man? Be grateful he is so productive. Even Storytone is a classic album (I like the solo version best). There are some burned out Right Wing fans out there who wish Neil would shut up and do what they want him to do.

Sorry, that's not how he works. Bring it on, Neil!

Alan in Seattle

Thanks Alan. Love that Neil passion and know the feeling. See you on the rail this summer.

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