Comment of the Moment: Neil Young's latest album "Peace Trail"

Neil Young

Opinions on Neil Young's latest album "Peace Trail" continue to be shared across the internet between the latest fake news bulletins.

So much chaff (fake news). So little wheat (truth).

But we've got a job to do. This is our journey, our self-appointed task. And we won't quit.

So here's a little, tiny bit of wheat that emerged from the chaff strewn fields from RichieCruz on the post LISTEN: Neil Young's "Peace Trail", TW's Comment of the Moment:

Some nice comments from folks on this album on this thread, so I'm happy to add my two cents. I'm absolutely loving this album! I've listened to it for four straight nights, and I've enjoyed it more each time. I think it's his best overall work since Greendale, and his best non-Horse studio music since Mirror Ball. Neil just seems so engaged and alive on every tune, something that really can't be said about much of his stuff in the 2000's.

Recording this with just skilled musicians like Bushnell and Keltner was a genius move. I love POTR, but this material benefits from less clutter. And Neil's vocals are as good as I've heard in a LONG time. I swear, even though the songs are very modern lyrically, the music and vocals on some of these tunes sound like they're from 1977.

It starts off strong with "Peace Trail" and the great "Can't Stop Working". When Neil sings of forgiveness, is he asking for it, or wondering if he has the strength for it? The album dips for me during "Indian Givers" and "Texas Rangers", not bad by any means, just could have used some lyrical tightening. "Show Me" has a nice feel, reminding me of Freedom-era Neil. "TSHG" sounds better on the album than it did for me at the Bridge, Neil's vocals really shine.

So far so good, but from here on in the album reaches a major new level for me. I LOVE "John Oaks". I can see where some wouldn't, but it sounds so unique to me, even though it's a nasty tale. I don't ever yell out songs to Neil, but if I'm at a solo acoustic show and Neil looks like he's wondering what to play, I'm gonna yell out "John Oaks" and see if he'll play it.

"Glass Accident" is incredible. Sounding like something off of Stars-n-Bars, the lyrics to this are chilling. I would never claim to know, but if Neil is singing about his personal life here, these are some real cold lyrics. I've seen some who say these are political lyrics, but I think it's far more personal. Very interesting.

"My Pledge" speaks for itself. This is high quality Neil Young. To me, this is the "I'm The Ocean" of this album, the "Ambulance Blues". Just a wonderful song with seriously dreamy Neil lyrics, I love the layered vocals, sounds like two Neils are singing. Best song on the album.

"My New Robot" is the weirdest closing song of any Neil album, but so much fun. Neil's singing about a cold cup of coffee, or was it a cold bowl of chilli? Then when things get mechanical, listen closely to how great the band is jamming. People laughed at Neil when Trans happened, now the world is like that album, and I think Neil is subtlety giving the finger back.

Sorry about the long ramble, but I love this one. Not everything works of course. The loud harmonica thing does get old, and I am in the camp that wishes Neil spent just a bit more time on the lyrics, but those are minor quibbles. I really dig this one, at the very least, it's a pretty cool thing for a 71 year old man to be doing with his time.

God bless ya, Neil!

Thanks Richie! Nice thoughts. We appreciate your helping us to maintain a high level wheat/chaff ratio.

More on LISTEN: Neil Young's "Peace Trail" and Meta Reviews: Neil Young's "Peace Trail".

Whatever your listening preference may be, let us know your thoughts on Neil Young's "Peace Trail".



Neil Young - Peace Trail
(You're Supporting Thrasher's Wheat When you Click link Above)

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LISTEN: Neil Young's "Peace Trail"

Neil Young's newest album "Peace Trail" was released last week and can be streamed above.

We did summary of opinion and commentary at Meta Reviews: Neil Young's "Peace Trail" that attempted to capture the range of opinion from "weak" to "worthy".

So stream on. Or spin on. Whatever your listening preference may be, let us know your thoughts on Neil Young's "Peace Trail".


Neil Young - Peace Trail
(You're Supporting Thrasher's Wheat When you Click link Above)

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Neil Young Bootleg Record Shopping - 1971

 

Neil Young Goes "Bootleg Record Shoplifting/Bootlifting"

 

Here is a short film from December, 1971 of Neil Young shopping in a record store and coming across his own work on bootleg albums.

The clip is from Neil Young Archives Volume #1 and is quite amusing on a number of levels. The sheer audacity of Neil essentially stealing back his own work, the clueless record store clerk trying to handle the situation, and of course that '70's vibe all make for a vintage time capsule.

Here's a comment on the YouTube video:

But the point is that artists need to be paid for their work.

That is all this is about.

Forget it’s Neil Young. It’s very simple. If you were an artist - musician, actor, photographer, painter, whatever - you would have no trouble comprehending the spirit of what he’s doing in this clip. This is where this notion of taking from artists started, back then. And look where it’s left us. People ripping shit off all over the internet. It’s not fair and you would understand if someone at your job said “Well Jim, sorry but we’re only gonna pay you for some of the work you did. The rest of it we’re giving out for free.” Neil was making a statement, plain and simple, and yes, you’re right, hardly any of this affected him monetarily him back then or now or will in the future. Personally it’s a whole other story when that is your work. He’s doing it for the greater good, which is in fact pretty awesome.


More on Neil Young Archives Volume #1.

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What Really Happened At The End of The Buffalo Springfield?

The Buffalo Springfield

We recently came across a rather provocative and deeply researched article on the waning days of the Buffalo Springfield.

The initial thesis is that the demise of The Buffalo Springfield is due to the restlessness of Neil Young and his ambitions. However -- upon closer examination -- the theory that Neil is to blame does not hold water water. And as with all things, it's quite complicated.

From Did Neil Young Really Kill Buffalo Springfield? | The Observer by Justin Joffe:

L.A. was the perfect time and place for Buffalo Springfield to form in February ’66, so named because they saw it branded on the side of a steamroller outside their apartment on Fountain Avenue. “For a city so derided, usually by Californian rival San Francisco, for being ‘plastic,’ it is ironic that folk was its fortune,” writes Mat Snow on Young fansite Thrasher’s Wheat. “LA had not only those Dylan-endorsed hitmakers The Byrds, but also the icons of new bohemian hipsterism Sonny & Cher. With year-round sunshine to nurture the muse, and LSD still not yet illegal, even those candy-striped squares The Beach Boys had grown their hair and got hip.”

By the time Buffalo Springfield has released that first album in 1966, they had very much fallen into that scene.

Young picked up the love of British Invasion music from his time in Winnipeg, and though he was by no means a mod, that played well when it came to writing songs with the rest of the band. The great Acid Tests went down in San Francisco that prior November, and bands like The Charlatans, who lived on a ranch outside of San Fransisco, were already doing the jug band thing. Hence, the folk-rock scene in L.A. was pop music’s way of preserving the music of the kids.

While somewhat inconclusive in the end, it seems that the case to blame Neil for the breakup of The Buffalo Springfield is tenuous at best. The 1960's were the most tumultuous decade of the 20th century, so establishing anything with certainity is a tricky proposition.

As author Joffe posits, maybe Bruce Palmer killed Buffalo Springfield, with his enabling decadence and gratuitous drug use? Or maybe the answer was just the wild and crazy times of the ’60s themselves were to blame?

Or with certainty we can say that we'll never know for sure and does it really matter? But if it does matter to you then check the entire article at Did Neil Young Really Kill Buffalo Springfield? | The Observer.

Decide for yourself and let us know what you think below.

Also, see Revisiting The Significance of The Buffalo Springfield Reunion.

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Neil Young Discusses His New Album, Trump, Future of Pono | Rolling Stone

Neil Young Discusses His New Album, Trump, Future of Pono

The entire interview with Young is available on the latest episode of podcast, Rolling Stone Music Now.

Some highlights:

Regarding future work: "I've got a lot to do without touring,” says Young, who's working on a TV show about the cross-country journey of his electric car and writing another book (this one may be fiction). But primarily, he says, “I'm actually just focusing now on recordings for awhile."

Regarding PONO: "We're pushing towards getting a presence in phones," says Young (though iPhones' internal chips are not currently compatible with higher-than-CD-quality sound). He's working with a Singaporean company on a method to "maintain our quality level when we go to streaming."

Regarding Crazy Horse and CSNY: "Billy's in great shape, he's fine," says Young, promising to work his way back to the band. "Crazy Horse has a cycle. If you look at Crazy Horse's history and when Crazy Horse played and when they didn't play, you can see that we're still in the pocket."

When he's reminded that Crosby, Stills Nash and Young have a 50th anniversary coming up, he responds with savage sarcasm: "Oh, yeah, there's a huge anniversary coming up. Huge. It's terrific! I love it!" At the same time, he won't rule out a reunion with that group, who last played together in 2013. "Anything is possible," he says.

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INTERVIEW: For Neil Young, the Trump Era Feels a Lot Like the '60s | Mother Jones

"Nothing is perfect…We're really more interested in what we're saying than how we're saying it."
Neil Young
Dalhalla, Sweden - July 2016
Ibl/Rex Shutterstock/ZUMA (Click photo to enlarge)
A recent interview with Neil Young discussing his newest album "Peace Trail" released last week (reviews).

From Mother Jones by Jacob Blickenstaff:

MJ: In the song "Can't Stop Workin'," you sing that work is "bad for the body but good for the soul." What's hard for you?

NY: I think it's the constant work; performing and traveling. It gets to be a bit of a strain. But if you pace yourself, which I've managed to do, you can go pretty well. And now I'm at a point where I decided I'm going to be in the studio for a while, at least until I finish this record I'm working on now. I should have two, three, four of the sessions that I had that were similar to the sessions for Peace Trail before I have a complete record. But I'm off to a good start and it may happen faster. Who knows?

MJ: I had an unsettling feeling that the purpose of my own work as an artist should maybe change after this election, but I'm unsure how. You've lived through really turbulent times and have written some very powerful protest songs—"Ohio" and "Southern Man," for example. So how do you view the responsibilities of being an artist in the years to come?

NY: This time is very similar to the '60s, as far as I can tell. The artists always reflect the times, so there's a lot to think about, a lot of unknowns, a lot of things that are describable. This is the closest I've seen to the kind of ambience that made the '60s happen. It's not about the artist having a responsibility to do anything. They have to be artists and express themselves and everything will work out fine. It's all going to be great. The youth of this country are not behind what is going on. We all know that. If you looked at a [political] map of the United States 25 and under, it's all-revealing. It's a unified map.

MJ: What scares me is this rift in our understanding of one another. You have viewpoints so far apart, so colored by anger and frustration, that it's very hard to find common ground. Do you have thoughts for how we might connect?

NY: It's gonna happen. We had the Vietnam War in the '60s, and there was a draft. The students didn't believe in it, and it unified them. That brought the people together and made the '60s like they were. The youth were very unified against the status quo—against the old line and the new old line. It's the same exact thing today. Social media and young people, art, music, all communications make this one of the most active times for activism. It will be a time of change.
"Standing Rock is a moment in history. We really have to grab it and go with it."

MJ: Speaking of activism, there's your new song "Indian Giver," about Standing Rock. What's your view on the standoff?

NY: It's injustice. It's wrong. [The pipeline companies] didn't get the permission. They didn't do the things they should have done in the first place. They tried to just bully their way through there and they got stopped. But they're not really stopping.

MJ: It's become a new point of reckoning in the history of how Native Americans are treated.

NY: Five hundred years later we're still doing it. This is a moment where we're either going to reaffirm that's what we do, that's who we are, or we're going to start moving toward change. A change won't come easy, because there's a lot of big money that doesn't care about any of this. Standing Rock is the beginning of something. It's a moment in history. We really have to grab it and go with it. We may only be halfway through the actual "Standing Rock" part, [but] it's more than that—it's the lessons of Standing Rock, of what you can do. How much can you make change happen? How long can you slow things down? How much attention can you bring to things that are unjust, unfair, in many cases illegal? Just exposing it, that's the job of the social media, the musicians, the people who care, the real protectors around the world. They don't have to be at Standing Rock. They just have to say they're with the people at Standing Rock, and tell other people that what's going on there is wrong. Learn about it. See what happened. See what they actually did. You won't see it on corporate media, you have to go to social media.

In the interview Neil Young says: "Nothing is perfect… We're really more interested in what we're saying than how we're saying it." This tracks along with earlier comments that we've highlighted, such as "It's too late in the game for subtle lyrics" by Micah Nelson. Also, see Neil's comment:
“I gave up a lot of disciplines on this record,” he said. “There are several technical things about the poetry of writing this that are pretty sloppy. But it didn’t matter. So I feel good about that. I didn’t feel the need to go back and correct things.“

These are not excuses for "weak lyrics". These are the facts as to why. Neil's just not there these days.

Full interview with Neil Young on Mother Jones by Jacob Blickenstaff.

Also, see reviews of Neil Young's newest album "Peace Trail" released last week .

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