"Songs For Judy" by Neil Young
RELEASE DATE: Nov. 30 (Pre-Orders only)
Last week, we posted about Next Neil Young Album? "Songs for Judy" (aka Joel Bernstein Tapes) and now a tracklist has been posted to NYA Times-Contrarian.
From John Hanlon's Notebook on NYA Times-Contrarian, Hanlon wrote that Neil Young is preparing to release a new archival album titled "Songs For Judy". A double album, "Songs For Judy" will feature 23 songs from the acoustic sets of the November 1976 "Crazy Horse" tour.
"Songs for Judy" Tracklist
(Click photo to enlarge)
Tracklist via NYA Times-Contrarian:
“Songs For Judy Intro” – Atlanta, GA – Nov 24 (late show)
“Too Far Gone” – Boulder, Colorado – Nov 06
“No One Seems To Know” – Boulder, Colorado – Nov 07
“Heart Of Gold” – Fort Worth, Texas – Nov 10
“White Line” – Fort Worth, Texas – Nov 10
“Love Is A Rose” – Houston – Nov 11
“After The Gold Rush” – Houston – Nov 11
“Human Highway” – Madison, Wisconsin – Nov 14
“Tell Me Why” – Chicago – Nov 15 (late show)
“Mr. Soul” – New York – Nov 20 (early show)
“Mellow My Mind” – New York – Nov 20 (early show)
“Give Me Strength” – New York – Nov 20 (late show)
“A Man Needs A Maid” – New York – Nov 20 (late show)
“Roll Another Number” – Boston – Nov 22 (late show)
“Journey Through The Past” – Boston – Nov 22 (late show)
“Harvest” – Boston – Nov 22 (late show)
“Campaigner” – Boston – Nov 22 (late show)
“Old Laughing Lady” – Atlanta – Nov 24 (early show)
“The Losing End” – Atlanta – Nov 24 (late show)
“Here We Are In The Years” – Atlanta – Nov 24 (late show)
“The Needle And The Damage Done” – Atlanta – Nov 24 (early show)
“Pocahontas” – Atlanta – Nov 24 (late show)
“Sugar Mountain” – Atlanta – Nov 24 (late show)
(Thanks to Ken N., who got the track list pretty close!)
UPDATE: "Campaigner", recorded November 22nd, 1976 at Boston’s Music Hall, has been just released as the first "single," album due Nov. 30. (Thanks Babbo!)
There are fascinating "Notes About The Recordings" by Cameron Crowe and Joel Bernstein. (Thanks Wardo!)
NEIL YOUNG – SONGS FOR JUDY
Some Notes About The Recordings
Some Notes About The Recordings
by Cameron Crowe and Joel Bernstein
August 12, 2018
Here's a comment from post Next Neil Young Album? "Songs for Judy" (aka Joel Bernstein Tapes) by Richard B.:
This is easily one of the very best unreleased Neil Young tapes out there.Thanks Richard! Yes, it's sounding like we're in for an acoustic Christmas!
As any dedicated Neil fan has probably heard these already,they will not be surprised by how amazing this tape is. For those ,who I dare say,are lucky enough so that their release will be your first time hearing these tracks,well,stand back because these are all mind blowingly (word?) great.
Much like the Beatles White Album acoustic demos that are also right around the corner, these live tracks focus on the acoustic side of things and both releases are absolute must haves,for hardcore and casual fans alike. Such is their quality and importance.
Looks like it's gonna be an acoustic Christmas this year.
So who was Judy? That would be Judy Garland -- of course - from the epicly important and essential "Wizard of OZ".
Witch Glinda (The Good Witch) & Dorothy (Judy Garland)
Recall what Witch Glinda (The Good Witch) says to Dorothy (Judy Garland):
"You don't need to be helped any longer.
You've always had the power to go back to Kansas."
You've always had the power to go back to Kansas."
So remember, just use your power and the force will be with you. And we'll see you when you get home. (Also, see The Wizard of OZ ... or What Really Happened to America.) You've always had the power, may the force be with you, be the rain, walk like a giant, tell the truth, hack the matrix, & LAOL.
More on Joel Bernstein Tapes and "Songs for Judy".
She Could Drag Me Somewhere Over The Rainbow...
Judy Garland & Jimmy Durante
(Thanks Ralf @ Rusted Moon!)
Or as Judy asks: "How's the business, Neil?" At this point, probably too far gone...
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteCampaigner released as the first "single," album due Nov. 30: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rvVjBfcJ7w&feature=youtu.be
ReplyDeleteJust heard the Campaigner, sounds fantastic. Can't wait to hear the rest. Cover is real cool, featuring a drawing of Judy Garland in red....
ReplyDeleteI can't wait for this. My wallet is ready!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Babbo! Updated.
ReplyDeleteCampaigner is sounding clean & crisp! Just in time for mid-terms! :) That Neil...
Yay! Can’t wait for ‘White Line’. Great performance.
ReplyDeleteLiner notes (?) here:
ReplyDeletehttps://wbr.app.box.com/s/zodcrwe23wrchtkwnsnfiiitnjfi4aeb
Also, is this considered part of the Performance Series? #7? #7.5?
@ Syscrusher - oh yeah, definitely ‘White Line’'s a great performance. But which night?
ReplyDelete@ wardo - some of the best Liner Notes of any Neil album. Maybe the best besides TTN & Decade?
Wondering whether we'll get venue/date details? Or have those been lost to time?
Pete Long had these details printed.
DeleteSo Tired
WOW! If the sound on Campaigner is any indication of the rest of the album, we are in for a delightful treat! This is gonna be awesome!
ReplyDeleteNYA now has the Crowe Bernstein notes for perusal on the Contrarian. Based on them, the album would appear to be The Bernstein tape, but in chronological order.
ReplyDeleteSo, if I understand the notes correctly, this will be a mono recording?
ReplyDeleteNo.Many songs are new mixes from the multitracks if available. New York, Boston, Atlanta shows were recorded by Dave Hewitt on multitracks.
DeleteSo Tired
@Richard S: Cover isn't a drawing, it's from this photo: http://gummgarland.tumblr.com/post/35746370317/judyforever-judy-garland-and-jimmy-durante
ReplyDeleteAccording to NYA credits, tracks 1-9 and 23 are from Joel's tapes, 10-22 are from the multitracks.
ReplyDeleteBased on Crowe and Bernstein's notes, can we assume then that they also put together back when a compilation tape of the definitive best electric set?
ReplyDeleteI was lucky (and old) enough to attend the Nov. 18 show in NYC. I took photos (which are on Sugar Mountain) and taped the show. I traded for other tapes from that tour so had a quite extensive collection. After waiting over 40 years for the release of Give Me Strength, we now have it twice in the same year. The concert version is far better than the one on Hitchhiker.
ReplyDelete@Unknown 4:45: From Crowe's comments in the notes: "We never made it to the electric sets. Such was Joel’s attention to detail, and our shared commitment to exploring every crevice of the 1976 acoustic rabbit hole, by the time we finished part one, we were spent."
ReplyDeleteWow, TWO songs from the Boulder show !!
ReplyDeleteI'd driven down to The Fieldhouse from Ft Collins for my 2nd Neil Young show ...with a strawberryblonde & a McD shake that i'd put thru a blender w/the last of my dried peyote chips.
My only actual memory of the show is booing the staging @ the end of Too Far Gone. Neil was at the piano & at tune's end he turned away from the keyboard & continued singing 'am i too far gone for you' w/a single spotlight shining down from above.
That, apparently, was just a bit too much 'staged drama bullshit' for my mescalito'd mind.
When Crazy Horse came out, i stopped thinkin' altogether.
What a trip THAT was.
'Songs for Judy', eh ? Thanks Neil, for bringing me back to Boulder
That reminded me....why i loved Neil's music.
ReplyDeleteNeil can keep coming with his most incredible period of creativity in his career ‘72-‘79. Releasing Archive 2 this way is the right way to do it. Can’t wait for Alchemy .
ReplyDeleteThrashers comment was the only bummer in the comment section( you just had to remind everyone about politics).
The Joel/Cameron article in NYA Times-Contrarian brings me back to the very first time I saw Neil Young in concert during that November 1976 tour with Crazy Horse.
ReplyDeleteBy 1976, my enduring admiration for Neil Young had already been firmly established. I started in 1970 with After The Goldrush, my first Neil Young album purchase. I quickly after that got all of the previous solo albums, Buffalo Springfield, and CSNY. Acquiring Harvest, the Journey Through The Past movie soundtrack (plus watching the movie in a theater), then on to the thrilling experiences of listening to Time Fades Away, On The Beach, Tonight’s The Night, and Zuma. What a ride that was. I was deeply into all of those albums. I had heard some things that gave me some idea of what Neil was like live. I had Four Way Street and cassette copies of the 1971 bootlegs Live at the BBC and Dorothy Chandler Pavilion show. But I had never seen Neil live. That changed on November 6, 1976.
The Balch Fieldhouse at the University of Colorado in Boulder was a basketball arena and I was able to get a general admission ticket to this show which was about 80 miles away from where I was living at the time. The experience of the November 6, 1976 turned out to be a profound event for me.
In a broad description, the show consisted of 18 songs, eight solo acoustic tunes followed by a ten song electric set with Crazy Horse. The show was incredible to me in every way. Neil had a profound stage presence. His personality held the audience and the power of the music drove through everyone. I know Neil had played thousands of live shows by that time, but I felt like all of us, Neil, CH, and the audience were part of something huge and important. I was totally amazed not only at the number of unreleased songs Neil and the band played but also the incredible intensity of how very good these new songs were. I loved the songs that I was familiar with (I had his complete catalog at the time) but these new ones were as good or better as the ones I knew. The new ones for me included the acoustic opener Campaigner and the electric opener Country Home and also Human Highway, Pocahontas, Too Far Gone, Bite The Bullet, Lotta Love, and the absolutely blistering Like A Hurricane (I am so glad my first experience with that song was a live show!) The full setlist thanks to Tom Hambleton’s Sugar Mountain site was:
1) Campaigner
2) Human Highway
3) After The Goldrush
4) Pocahontas
5) Too Far Gone
6) Old Man
7) A Man Needs A Maid
8) Sugar Mountain
----
9) Country Home
10) Don’t Cry No Tears
11) Down By The River
12) Bite The Bullet
13) Lotta Love
14) Like A Hurricane
15) Drive Back
16) Cinnamon Girl
---
17) Homegrown
18) Cortez The Killer
Looking at that setlist, I am struck at how many of those songs have propelled Neil Young live shows through his career up to the present. I was very fortunate to have attended the May 1 NYCH show in Fresno, California this year and he played many songs that I experienced at that first show of mine including Country Home, Don’t Cry No Tears, Too Far Gone, Cinnamon Girl, Cortez The Killer, and Like A Hurricane. At that show this year I was very much transported back to that November 6, 1976 show and the immense experience of being a Neil Young admirer and fan for 48 years.
Two things worry me: the delta in sound quality between the multitracks and the original tapes (although I would suspect they used the original reels and sound quality generally isn't an issue on NYA PS releases). Two: they rearranged the order of the tracks, chronologically, in line with other PS releases. Now that worked fine for A Treasure and Bluenote Cafe, but I can only imagine Joel and Cameron had a specific running order in mind and that it was carefully thought out. Hopefully the new order won't affect the feel too much.
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, the original bootleg never struck a chord with me somehow. It always seemed a bit messy and fanmade so I'm curious for the final version.
Okay, one final concern: hopefully Odeon-Budokan will still contain acoustic stuff. I want my Sad Movies dammit!
Still, strong run of releases, Hitchhiker, Roxy and now this. Next NYA vol 2?
Maybe we're getting NYA Vol. 2 in 12 separate releases over 4 years.
ReplyDeleteFrom "Letters to the Editor" on NYA: "May 2019 the NYA V2 CDs and a separate book by Toshi Onuki will be available. Blu Ray is no longer viable for economic reasons."
ReplyDeleteI was at the Boston Music Hall late show, my 3rd time seeing Neil. I remember the two cigar store indians wearing the Explorer and Firebird Gibsons flanking the stage. I was completely mesmerised by the acoustic set, including Neil playing piano and the string module at the same time on AMNAM. But then, I dont even remember Country Home, I just remember the collective audience's jaw dropping when they lit into Drive Back, and it just went on from there! Also, the stage looked a little hazy for Homegrown.......
ReplyDeleteJudy Garland was hot.
ReplyDeleteJ'ai absolument tout ses albums mais je dois bien avouer qu'il ne se casse plus trop la tête depuis l'excellent Prairie Wind et Storytone ou encore Psychedelic Pill.
ReplyDeleteQu'en pensez-vous chers amis rusty !
Personnellement, Cellar Door c'est limite de chez limite coup de grâce !
Avec tout le respect que je dois à ce formidable chanteur que j'ai eu le privilège de rencontrer à quatre reprises.
Bref, j'achèterai l'album, obligé :)