Acoustic Guitar Magazine (October 2017)
Neil Young is on the cover of the current Acoustic Guitar Magazine (October 2017).
From Acoustic Guitar Magazine by editor Blair Jackson:
The wonderful photo of Neil Young (by Richard McCaffrey) that adorns the current (October) cover of Acoustic Guitar is from a series of historic solo acoustic shows he performed at the long-defunct Boarding House club in San Francisco in May of 1978.Thanks Blair!
I was lucky enough to go to two of those concerts and was completely blown away: It was where I first heard many of the songs that would appear on Comes a Time (released in November ’78) and Rust Never Sleeps (released in July 1979, it includes three songs recorded at that Boarding House run)—both in my pantheon of great Neil albums. Then, when Neil and Crazy Horse went on an arena tour in the fall of ’78, dubbed “Rust Never Sleeps,” he included a few solo acoustic numbers there, too.
That tour was captured on film in a fantastic documentary (also called Rust Never Sleeps), shot at the Cow Palace outside of San Francisco (still the best Crazy Horse show I ever saw), and on a live double-LP (Live Rust). My “Throwback” choice is the wonderful 12-string number called “Thrasher,” which was hands-down my favorite of the new songs introduced at the Boarding House (and on the Rust Never Sleeps album). I find it very hypnotic musically and the lyrics so evocative; I’ve always loved it. This is the Cow Palace version from the film, so it doesn’t have quite the intimacy of the club rendition a few months earlier (and it even contains a vocal flub), but it still has that core mystery and majesty that make it one of Neil Young’s best tunes.
— Blair Jackson
BTW, we are quite fond of the song “Thrasher”, as well, as you may have noticed.
I saw neil at the cow palace --- years ago --- and its a toss up --- who was more wasted --- him or --- me ???
ReplyDeleteSaw a couple of the BH '78 shows and was on the main floor of the '78 CP concert wearing those goofy 3-D glasses
ReplyDeleteMAGICALLY creative times, those...
Thrasher is a great song which seems to speak of his parting ways with certain band members (CSN) and their bloated drug abuse, washed up on the sands of squandered potential. Neil moves on, and does his thing. Somehow he stays vital, relevant, hypnotizing. When so many other musicians lost their will to fight for justice, Neil Young is an Environmental Warrior. I am so proud of what he has done, and tried to do, to make the world a better place. He stood up for the Native Standing Rock Sioux with Wille at a time when Obama was turning his back on the Natives and ignoring their fate as the Oil Corporation from Canada drilled and plowed through their land illegally, with improper Environmental assessment and horrendous brute force used by the Militarized cops who overzealously attacked peaceful water protectors with pepper spray on their own land while the white man, once again, took back what had been given to the Natives in a Treaty. And this was BEFORE Donald Trump took office! Obama sold the Natives out and fucked them over big time. For that, I will never forgive him. Trump is a nightmare but the Democratic party has allowed Wall Street and Oil Companies to pay their way to the steering position inside the party. I think the time has come for a new party in this country. Perhaps we can force Democracy on this Oligarchy one day. We must try. Alan in Seattle
ReplyDelete@ Patrick - maybe a tie?
ReplyDelete@ Tom - lucky you on the BH shows. We did a RNS show. Purportedly, we can be barely seen on the back cover of the LIVE RUST album jacket. Allegedly taken by Pegi at the William & Mary Hall concert.
http://neilyoungnews.thrasherswheat.org/2009/10/flashback-concert-review-of-neil-young.html
But who knows?
@ Alan - Love that passion as always. You've covered a lot of territory today. A lot.
through a scanner darkly we go, as PK Dick would write...