Comment of the Moment: Neil Young's New Album EARTH - The Artist and The Audience

Neil Young - "Defiant Yet Vulnerable"

Lots of engaging comments of late on Neil Young's new upcoming album EARTH.

And in the ensuing chatter, invariably Neil's musical direction collides with his other projects, such as PONO or LincVolt.

The Comment of the Moment is from TopangaDaze summarizing the situation of The Artist and The Audience:

In a press release, Mr. Young reiterated that he's continuing his life long journey of making music while pursuing his varied interests. Paraphrasing, he said he will continue to do what he wants to, when he wants to, how he wants to, where he wants to and why he wants to.

It may make sense to him, it may not; It may make sense to the critics, it may not; It may make sense to his fans, it may not.

At the age of 70, Mr. Young is still searching and questioning. His questions and answers sometimes resonate, other times he walks on a lonely road.

He understands the primary commodity that no one can possess is unlimited time. He will continue to treat each day as if it's a life and death struggle, because it is. Yesterday's gone and tomorrow's a dream. He's fighting for his music, for his planet, for his right to speak out and for his need to create. He often strikes the wrong chord but it's in search of that unreachable note. That perfect feeling when time just slips away...

Regarding PONO, Mr. Young has said he hears and feels the difference; Others may or may not.

One thing is clear to this observer: For over 50 years, Mr. Young has tapped into something unseen and unheard by others. He's in touch with a source and he is a source. We are all welcome to listen and we are all welcome to move on if we choose.

Mr. Young wrote "Just think of me as one you never figured" back in the 70s. Those words were true then and remain true today.

He also wrote:

Take my advice
don't listen to me

which may or may not be applicable to the way many feel about PONO. As for me, I just hope Mr. Young is happy and healthy and that he still feels the pull.

TopangaD we have to agree with where you're coming from here.

Actually, the funny logic of figuring out Neil Young is the fundamental understanding of his unpredictability and whimsy.

Once upon a time, we blogged about The Message Trilogy

The initial consensus around Neil Young's Greendale and Living With War was that they were flawed and misguided. Our opinion was that Fork in the Road seemed to be falling right into the same mindset. But we maintain that the three works together actually constitute a cohesive trilogy that may just validate Neil's early 21st century work.

There's an intriguing arc between the three albums. With Greendale , Neil sounds the alarm that something has gone terribly wrong on a number of fronts. Living With War was a direct confrontation of the need for a call to action. Fork in the Road -- the 3rd installment of the trilogy -- reveals Neil coming to grips with the fact that first you recognize a problem, then you call out the need to address it, and finally you do something about it.

All 3 albums were recorded very quickly without heavy production and stylistically cohesive. Raw Neil. We like it that way. Keeping it real.

And so it continues. Americana - a Crazy Horse album of covers. A Letter Home - lo-fi recording in a booth. Storytone - full symphony and choir. EARTH - live recording with overdubbed "sounds of nature".

That's just the last 3 years of "unconventional" releases.

Such is The Unbearable Lightness of Being Neil Young ...

---

---