(Click photo to enlarge)
Much excitement over past 24 hours here at Thrasher's Wheat and the global rust community.
If you're just tuning in now, here's the quick background.
On Monday Sept 7, NYA published our letter to Neil Young about the "Almost Famous" film (directed by Cameron Crowe) soundtrack and the source of “Cortez the Killer”. To which Neil challenged this blog's readership to "Check your sources, Thrasher!"
And so we did with stunningly delightful results in yet another "Neil-incidence".
“Cortez the Killer” by Neil Young In Concert
via Sugar Mountain
Thanks to many -- but especially -- Tom @ Sugar Mountain, the source for the film's “Cortez the Killer” is Neil's concert at Paramount Theatre, Oakland, California on 1999-03-20.
Yesterday, after positive identification of song's source, a Sneak Preview was posted to NYA.
A wondrous 8 minute plus solo acoustic guitar and harmonica version that has left many breathless. (see comments.)
Neil introduces song saying:
"A lot of people ask me where the song comes from... a lot of people ask me... I don't know".
Thanks again all of our TW "sources" Sugar Mountain, Rust Radio, Spook The Horse & many others.
Crowdsourcing the Wheat.
So, he giveth. We taketh. And, so, we thanketh!
Continuing to blow rustie minds.
— ThrashersWheat (@ThrashersWheat) September 10, 2020
SNEAK PREVIEW: "Cortez the Killer” by Neil Young in "Almost Famous" Film from 1999-03-20, Paramount Theatre, Oakland, California, USA
See https://t.co/MhBsdBEcwk
♥️☮️@NeilYoungNYA @sugarmtn @rustradio @CameronCrowe pic.twitter.com/WjcbNFBUjN
Note: In the movie "Almost Famous", at about 02:15:13, right after the plane turbulence scene where the drummer shouts that he's gay, a live acoustic version of Neil Young's "Cortez the Killer" starts to play.
The parts used in "Almost Famous" film are taken from: 1:30-2:10 & 3:20-4:40.
regarding the phrase Neil-incidence above.
ReplyDeleteLong time readers are quite familair w/ all of the Neil synchroncties which have occurred over the years on this blog and out on the concert trail.
The mystery seat upgrades. The random encounters in parking lots, hotel lobbies, backstage and elsewhere.
A small sample ...
About That Time That We Went To A Farm Aid Concert...
Interview with The Arkansas Girls Who (HEART) Crazy Horse on Thrasher's Wheat Radio on WBKM.org
A Wish for "Harvest Moon" is Granted
That 99 solo tour was pretty special! I was lucky enough to see the first night of the Minneapolis show and only 4 rows back. That night like many other nights on that tour was 2 and a half hours of Neil solo playing songs from all over his catalogue and at the top of his game. I’ll never forget hearing him play Ambulance Blues and not realizing until after the song was over that I had tears running down my face. It was a one of a kind performance, Somehow I was also lucky enough to get a bootleg cd of that show a few weeks later and along with it a copy of that same show from the Paramount theatre on 3-20 with the outstanding Cortez acoustic! I wore those discs out pretty good but still have them in my cozy collection. Thing I remember most about that Paramount theatre show was the performance of a song called Kansas. A song I, at the time, had never heard before and was blown away by. Funny how it all comes back around. As much as I enjoyed finally hearing the studio version of Kansas on Homegrown I have to say that live solo version from that show is tops! If You get a chance to hear any of those 99 solo shows check em out, pure Neil gold! !! Peace!
ReplyDeleteNeil please release this full concert!
ReplyDeleteFor anyone else that attended that tour in '99, in most sets he played "Albuquerque". If you listen to the first few notes of this version of Cortez, he clearly started playing Albuquerque and then went into Cortez. It really is all one song.
ReplyDeleteThis is another killer acoustic version here:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29eltVuft0w
And this one has an additional verse that most of you have never heard!!!
its great to have a direct line to Neil...keep it up Thrasher :) - this is a wondeful transporting acoustic peformance of cortez, takes me away to another time, a time of peace and love
ReplyDeleteI also saw one of the '99 Minneapolis shows, at age 17. One of my big takeaways from that was "Southern Pacific"! He was doing awesome set lists at that time. He also played the 2-3 very good Silver & Gold style songs he donated to CSNY that year.
ReplyDeleteAs maddening as he can sometimes be (from a maniacal fan point of view), he still has the power to crack me up. Long may he run.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, Cortez is not anymore on NYA. It's replaced by another Sneak Preview, a nice RITFW from the upcoming (probably early 2021) live recording with POTR (2019 tour ?), just made after Elliot Roberts death.
ReplyDeleteApparently, NY is working on this album which could postpone other awaited gems as Alchemy, Mirror Ball Live, Early Daze CH...
Hard to follow but so exciting...
@ jjclark28 - wonderful concert memories to share.
ReplyDeleteWhat a treat Ambulance Blues
fascinating that Neil was "top of his game" in 1999 over 20 years ago.
The solo concerts in 2018 were a revelation that Neil's still not too far off the mark, hitting the high notes a bit more creaky, but still hitting all the right strings.
@ Roberto - someday. so many treasures still deep in the vault.
@ DREman - yes, good catch on a few "Albuquerque" notes.
That other killer CTK w/ additional verse is super rare. YT says 2003? Europe Greendale presumably?
@ Shakeydave - thanks. we try.
And it is all about letting the music transport to another time & place where war was never known ...
@ purple words - cool, lucky for CSNY !
@ wardo - the power to crack up. maybe it can be patented and put in a bottle?!
@ Phil - Thanks for heads up on new preview.
He giveth. We taketh. And, so, we thanketh Neil!
Sneak Preview: "Noise & Flowers" Track by Neil Young + Promise of the REAL | NYA
ReplyDeleteI was going to taketh.... but the link at the top of the post now goes to Booker T and Let's Roll. I guess Neil giveth and taketh. Maybe I am too late to the game.....
ReplyDeleteI love getting these emails with links to this site and more links to NYA pages that are gone within a few hours. Good to know it was a nice song but I'd kinda like to hear something since I've been paying every month for three years for basically nothing. Some archive. More like a cock tease. I'm gonna cancel soon.
ReplyDeleteout of more than 40 shows the day before that Oakland show, the BCT is still my favorite NY show I ever witnessed. The crowd was in rapture over 2 hours. a remarkably good solo night and tour.
ReplyDelete@ wsanjose01 - BCT = Berkeley Community Theater?
ReplyDeleteyes that is right. your sources have always been good
ReplyDeleteMe and 3 friends were enjoying a few preshow quafs at Pyramid Brewery. Pretty good beer esp the wheat, Hefewizen. The host of the restaurant agreed to call us a cab. We're waiting, waiting waiting. I go hey what happened to that taxi? He's all oh you want it now? IM LIKE YES I WANT IT NOW lol. Now its 10 mins to show. We go down to the street. A cab drives by. He stops. its a quick like 6 min drive. His meter is broken. He goes give me 10. I go Ill give you 7. he goes YOUVE got 4 ppl! You'll give me 10! I thought his turban might unwind in anger. ok ok I gave him 12. He was into Tell Me Why when we arrived. They let us get to our seats at its end.
ReplyDelete...
ReplyDeleteHello from Paris
Surprising surprises on NYA ... nice version of Cortez in acoustics I hope we will find it on NYA ... Version that I "worked" in your EbAbDbGbBb with capo 1 that sounds really nice .. I was inspired a beautiful song
Bad Fog Of Loneliness EbAbDbGbBb.
I'm going back to NYA thank you!
José from Paris
Nice version too
https://youtu.be/29eltVuft0w thank you DREman
and he giveth!
ReplyDeleteCTK returns for those who missed it.
http://neilyoungnews.thrasherswheat.org/2020/09/new-this-week-neil-youngs-times.html
@ wsanjose01 - thanks.
ReplyDeletequite a ride to the show. man, know that feeling of drama trying to get to the show on time.
thrashette always says the most stressful times in her life are being with this blog editor in the 1 hour period before Neil takes the stage.
sorry thrashette. love you!
@ José - bonjour! inspiring!
...
Wow I'm glad he put it back up! I like it!!! Thanks Thrasher and Neil!
ReplyDelete