It's been 30 year since Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse released the album Ragged Glory in September 1990.
More than a comeback record, 1990’s Ragged Glory set the table for a rock music revolution
From "Neil Young’s Return to Glory" | RockandRollGlobe:
After years spent bubbling beneath the surface, grunge was poised to change the face of popular music, but it arguably needed someone with some mainstream bona fides to help it cross over.
Young was almost 45 at the time of Ragged Glory’s September 1990 release, old enough where on paper it seemed his time had passed for leading any sort of musical youth movement. But he was nonetheless exactly the kind of raunchy, defiant time-tested icon that could soften up mass audiences to this new sonic shift. To that end, Ragged Glory wasn’t just the best record Young had put out in more than a decade.
It arguably served as a catalyst for the impending grunge explosion the following year.Full article @ "Neil Young’s Return to Glory" | RockandRollGlobe.
Also, see Ragged Glory II - Neil Young and Crazy Horse Found Tapes.
Also, see more on Neil Young's Ragged Glory Sound & Equipment - Guitar World, October 2009.
Neil Young's Ragged Glory Sound & Equipment - Guitar World, October 2009
(Click to enlarge)
More on why Ragged Glory Is The Perfect Summer Album Soundtrack.
"Ragged Glory: A Perfect Summer Soundtrack"
Neil Young's 1990 Album w/ Crazy Horse
Also, check an interview with Neil Young that was conducted at the time of the album's release is now streaming at In The Studio.
Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse
Jack Nitzsche ,
Neil Young's producer/arranger on the masterpiece "Broken Arrow", has
stated that Crazy Horse was the American equivalent of The Rolling
Stones. IOHO, Crazy Horse is to Neil Young what The Band was to Bob Dylan. As perfect a complement as tequila and salt.
Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse:
"3rd Best Garage Band in the World"
~~Bill Graham
In tribute to Crazy Horse, the "3rd Best Garage Band in the World", here's a look back at some highlights:
- EXCLUSIVE: Crazy Horse Drummer Ralph Molina Interview
- Year of the Horse Film Review and Interviews on the making with Crazy Horse, Neil and Director Jim Jarmusch
- Year of the Horse - Interview in France's Les Inrockuptibles, July 1997
- Year of the Horse - Film Review
- Crazy Horse Biography - Reprise Records, 1997
- Frank Sampedro Interview - Torhout Festival, 1996
- Poncho Interview - Halifax Daily News, 11/1/96
- Interview: Crazy Horse and Neil Young Maintain Special Relationship, by Barry Gutman, Music Wire, ~9/96
- Billy Talbot Interview - Rip it Up, ~8/96
- Crazy Horse Album Reviews- by Robert Christgau
- Years of the Horse
Induct Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse
Into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
#CrazyHorse4HOF
Imho, the Horse got better and better as the '90s went on. SWA is beautifully, painfully hopeful work of art in itself, and the best moments of Broken Arrow/YOH are in the same class as anything Neil and/or The Horse recorded before. The sound did get mellower, darker, and slower (and maybe more mature) as the decade wore on, but I personally find this development fascinating rather than deflating or stifling in any way. This is part of why I'm so interested in hearing how the unreleased Toast relates to the albums both before and following it.
ReplyDeleteWhatever Neil had been working on with the Horse circa late '90s sort of dissipated after S&G. The next full album was Greendale, which is a different beast in many ways. And then radio silence from the Horse until the double act of Americana and the Pill. And although these more recent albums have plenty to recommend them, they never entirely picked up whatever Neil was trying to develop with the likes of Slip Away, or even the enigmatic post-grunge Goin' Home.
Of course, better to keep making new sounds than exhaust the old. Yet if I had to guess, I'd venture that part (and maybe a major part) of the erratic nature of post-SWA Horse stems from the loss of Briggs affecting the creative dynamics in some way.
That being said, Colorado is--in my opinion--the closest we have come to recapturing some of the particular atmosphere of SWA-YOH period Horse. It's jazzed up with Neil's more recent topical preoccupations, of course, but I'd argue nonetheless that She Showed Me Love, Milk Way, and I Do are heirs to (for instance) Trans Am, Blue Eden, Loose Change, and Slip Away.
Thanks as always Meta Rocker!
ReplyDeleteRG @ 30 is a good time to take stock of the whole CH legacy, for sure.
Your observations on the Horse getting better as the '90s went on is solid, especially as to the live concerts. Not so much to report in the studio though.
Compare RG w/ Weld. The relatively tight and controlled studio RG got knocked out of the park by the ferocity of WELD tour. Recall expert consensus of it being the loudest concert tour ever. Which we can attest by the unfortunate permanent hearing loss we experienced being directly in front of the stacks w/ ear protection (wadded up napkin off the floor).
plus, unreleased Toast should be revealing.
Meta Rocker,
ReplyDeleteGreat comments. I have always been partial to "Big Time." I think it belongs right up there with some other truly great Neil songs and a very unusual theme. Broken Arrow was underrated, as it came out after that string of great albums (I think Freedom is better than Ragged Glory but that is another discussion). I also think you make a fine point about SWA. Personally, I loved Americana, he roughs up those iconic songs, which to me was very funny and interesting with Clementine being an abyss of despair. Hope you are enjoying the weekend. It looks like we have one more warm day around here and then.....descent into true autumn.