Neil Young + Booker T. & The MG's: "Like A Hurricane", Concord Pavilion, Concord, CA - June 12, 1993

As Neil Young's 2017 sabbatical continues, we've been plowing deep into the Thrasher's Wheat Archives Vaults.

Recently, we posted a video of Bryan Ferry covering Neil Young's "Like A Hurricane" live in Montreal, Canada.

Reaction was -- how shall we say -- a bit underwhelming. But never fear. Or comments don't fail me now, as Scotsman has suggested an alternative -- semi-vintage Neil Young with Booker T. and the MG's at the Concord Pavilion, Concord, CA on June 12, 1993.

Scotsman comments:

This version (from the 1993 warm-up tour with Booker T) is a great demonstration of why I hold the late eighties/early nineties period in such high regard.

Neil's lead guitar playing was at it's most accomplished, it's most eloquent, and the slow-burning intensity of the performances was at an all-time high. A masterclass in pacing and focus.

Down By The River from the same gig was equally good.

Thanks Scotsman! We're enjoying.

And while we're on the subject of nothing too much really -- as Neil's self imposed sabbatical continues -- so just what is the song "Like A Hurricane" all about you might inquire?

From the Uncut Magazine interview (December 2004), Neil discusses "Like A Hurricane". The song was written in July 1975 after Young had just undergone an operation on his vocal chords after a cocaine-fueled night with friend and La Honda neighbor Taylor Phelps in the back of his car, a Desoto Suburban.

"All it is is four notes on the bass.

Billy [Talbot] plays a few extra notes now and then, and the drumbeat's the same all the way through... Sometimes it does sound as if we're really playing fast, but we're not. Its just everything starts swimming around in circles. "We were all really high, fucked up. Been out partying. Wrote it sitting up at Vista Point on Skyline. Supposed to be the highest point in San Mateo County, which was appropriate. I wrote it when I couldn't sing. I was on voice rest. It was nuts - I was whistling it.

I wrote a lot of songs when I couldn't talk."

For more, see Neil Young Song Lyrics Analysis.... "Just Another Line in the Field of Time" ...

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