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An unofficial news blog for Neil Young fans from Thrasher's Wheat with concert and album updates, reviews, analysis, and other Rock & Roll ramblings. Separating the wheat from the chaff since 1996.
Out of curiosity on how Amazon.com was handling Neil Young Bootleg listings, we did a random search and came up with results where nearly one out of 3 listings were bootlegs.
The top image contains a screenshot of a CD, vinyl and DVD bootleg title.
Cow Palace 86
Live In Europe December 1989
Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Year Of The Horse [DVD] (see comments below)
Given the prevalence and lack of Amazon oversight of rampant Bootleg listings, we wonder whether Neil Young's announcement of an Official Bootleg Series was motivated by the huge and long running unofficial bootleg recordings of concerts, as well as, official ripoffs.
Now, an update on Neil Young's DVD release schedule from Subscriber News | Neil Young Archives. (Thanks tomatron !) Also, release dates for Official Bootleg Series are included. As always, use disCERNment, here are TENTATIVE* RELEASE DATES** (*read at your own risk , **side effects may include disappointment):
"AMERICANA is collection of classic, American folk songs.
In their day,
some of these may have been referred to as "protest songs", "murder
ballads", or campfire-type songs passed down with universal, relatable
tales for everyman."
Before this post or thread goes away, I wanted to clarify and explain my
points.
By not approaching the songs with reverence, Neil Young and
Crazy Horse do at least two things (and this depends on their electric
sludge and mayhem). First of all, "coming Round the Mountain" or
whatever that song is called, basically gets what it deserves: a sound
thrashing. In short they beat the crap out of the song (imagine a nice
studio reverent version- which would be the opposite).
The song, with
its portals and red roosters, is utterly revolting and moronic. No
doubt, Neil senses this in his bones and so the video with all the
dancing racists. The song got exactly what it deserved (thank God).
Clementine, on the other hand, is revealed rather than thrashed. What
comes forth in the grimly, slithering noise is the nihilism of the
narrator and the overall horror of the song. This song is more grotesque
than moronic. Basically, no respect leads to the revelation of the song
in all its wretched darkness.
The other songs are, in their essence,
quite dumb and lead nowhere. I see nothing of real value in "God Save
the Queen" except perhaps historical significance. Perhaps an analogy
might be a bad novel that gathered some nationalistic, jingoistic,
appeal over time.
No mercy is an interesting and novel approach to a
"cover" and so instead of wanting to really find some place for himself
in the canon or in the songbook, Neil seems to be going in the opposite
direction. This is why I love the guy and the band.
One has to admire
the recognition of the songs as wretched. I don't think he brought them
back to life, we can only hope that he put a few nails in a few coffins.
(Please, no one take this as an attack on their country or culture- I
find many US anthems as repulsive and bad. Although, we might all be
better off without any kings and queens, as Locke argued a long time
ago.)
Abner, thank you very much for sharing this retrospective on "Americana" -- nearly 10 years after. Guess that didn't age too well for you ... or many others for that matter.
Actually, Prince Philip's demise and your comment do to provide us with an opportunity to revisit 2012's "Americana" by Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse. And we're kinda glad we did.
And what struck us most was the near virulent hatred for the 1st Crazy Horse studio album since 1996's "Broken Arrow". Regardless of whatever one's opinion may be -- if nothing else -- "Americana" opened the barn door for Neil with The Horse to the subsequent album "Psychedelic Pill".
But possibly even more significant was how the massive blowback reaction to "Americana" merely foreshadowed the full blown culture wars of today's cancel culture /woke mob mentality which is hellbent on on eradication of any and everything that they find to be of the slightest offense.
The original intent and malice that the song ["Oh Susannah"] was written with and for is
no longer present in the current incarnation of the song in our
collective "Americana." Is it interesting to see where the song
originally came from and how it has changed over time? Yes.
But if this
song has become "illegal" to reproduce in your mind because an old
version of the song (which is not what Neil is playing) was racist, then
there are a whole lot of other things that should be "illegal" as well.
"Oh Susannah" was written by Stephen Foster in 1847 and was a product of its times. As a folk song, "Oh Susannah" transcended its minstrel history with Neil Young's version excising the original racist lyrics with demeaning
caricatures of black people. So Neil has reinvented "Oh Susannah", removing the egregious racist lyrics and setting forth a version to help move forward beyond a painful era.
Oh Susannah, by Shepard Fairey - 2012 Mixed media (stencil, silkscreen, and collage) on canvas (Click photo to enlarge)
"What ties these songs together is the fact that while they
may represent an America that may no longer exist.
The emotions and scenarios behind these songs
still resonate with what’s going on in the country today with equal, if
not greater impact nearly 200 years later. The lyrics reflect the same
concerns and are still remarkably meaningful to a society going through
economic and cultural upheaval, especially during an election year.
They
are just as poignant and powerful today as the day they were written."
After what seems to have been a long couple of days here at TW, it would
seem that we more fully appreciate the "Americana-ness" of Neil Young
& Crazy Horse's Americana album.
So what the heck does that mean you might ask?
Well,
if you've been following our comment threads lately, you might
understand. If not, well, you may have saved yourself some time -- or
depending on your point of view -- missed quite a bit of entertainment.
Maybe it's just the summer heat that's getting to folks?
Some
agreed with our take on the review and others did not. Fine. This was
followed by our posting of an equal opportunity dissenting opinion
(which we do indeed welcome), of a thoughtful, well considered rebuttal by Babbo.
So we included a poll asking if folks really thought that Americana "Drifts into Self Parody" of a Neil Young & Crazy Horse album?
And what did we find?
Interestingly, it seems that the majority think that no, Americana is
not a "Self Parody" because it captures Neil Young & Crazy Horse in
all of their raw, ragged glory. Between those who say Americana is not a "Self Parody" and those indifferent, it seems about 95% of folks are OK or neutral with Americana. Only 5% of voters thought Americana is
a "Self Parody" because it is "too rich, too perfect, too comical to be
anything but a parody." (Could this contingent be the dreaded "4% Club" that emerged after Fork in the Road? Let's hope not since they seem to be growing.)
Songs like 'High Flying Bird' are about a man that works so hard in a
mine that when he comes out into the light of day he can't enjoy the
world because he's blinded by the light—in essence, the fruits of his
labor.
Many parallels between the aspirations and failings of the American Dream, whether it was 1880 or today.
"Clementine" Art by Gary Burden and Jenice Heo
In other words, the poll results and positive comments seem to be fairly
representative of the mythical "Americana" itself, i.e., passions on
the extreme fringes of the Neil-love and Neil-hate camps are
unrepresentative while it is the great middle ground of Neil-moderates
who are the true silent majority. In other words, the Neil Young fan
base is reflective of "Americana" itself where the discourse is
dominated by the hype/wind/noise machines on the fringes which is
unrepresentative of the true mainstream "Americana". And those
mainstream or "ordinary Neil fans" have stood and been counted and they
think Neil & The Horse's Americana is perfectly OK.
Neil Young:"All I can say is, everyone has a different idea, but this truly represents a lot of those things and touches on a lot of the core beliefs in the American Dream and questions them and makes you think about them.
And questions whether it's that different from what everybody else's dreams are everywhere else.
It turns out we may not be so perfect."
Shepard Fairey: "Latitude for interpretation is something
that Neil utilizes and seems to value as an important way for the
listener/viewer to personalize their interaction with art and music. "
Never shy about making bold political or civil statements, Young
brilliantly borrows songs from the U.S.’ historical fabric and tosses
them as live grenades that explode on impact, broaching the staple
concepts—freedom, liberty, justice, equality, rights, conflicts,
privacy, the common good—on which America prides itself.
He and Crazy Horse invoke these broad subjects without advocating one
party or another; Americana owes some of its political and cultural
potency to its impartiality.
"Is it really Neil's, or any artist's "responsibility" to either the
song, history or the music fan, to adhere to or at least reference or
explain the original purpose of a piece of music, and the political,
social or spiritual climate of its time, in some way, so that the
authenticity and history of something isn't lost or disrespected?
Does he owe it to the song, the song's author or the music fan to
prostrate himself before the energy that created that piece of music and
deliver it into the 21st century in a way that retains, and even helps
to convey or preserve a clear idea of the song and its history? Or, more
importantly, to not undermine reality or contribute to confusing, or
even rewriting, history?
This is definitely a very important topic, and I feel strongly about retaining the purity of historical accounting, but I
would argue "no" to the question of Neil's responsibility as an artist
toward either some kind of historical or social accuracy, or toward
supporting a certain political identification, or simply toward NOT
doing something that could be perceived as insulting to those of us with
touchy emotional triggers about American Indians, the dark history of
Colonial America, or the authenticity of music history.
Now, the first six covers of the "Official Bootleg Series"
(OBS) and release dates have been announced on the NYA Timeline.
The six official bootlegs are:
"Carnegie Hall" (OBS 01) - Solo concert at Carnegie Hall, New York on December 4th, 1970
"Royce Hall" (OBS 04) - Solo concert at UCLA, Westwood, CA on 1/30/1971
"I'm happy that ya'all came down" (OBS 03) - Solo concert at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, LA on 02/01/1971
"Somewhere Under The Rainbow" (OBS 06) - Neil Young & The Santa Monica Flyers at the Rainbow Theater, London on November 5th, 1973
"Citizen Kane Jr. Blues" (OBS 06) - Neil Young solo in the club "The Bottom Line" on May 16, 1974
"High Flyin '" (OBS 02) - Neil Young & The Ducks in the summer of 1977
The first official bootleg album in the series will be released on August 27th, with remaining five to follow on October 9th September 10th. (Thanks Phil!) In addition to being streamed on the NYA website, the six albums will also be offered on vinyl.
Margo Price and Annie Nelson have joined the board of directors of Willie Nelson’s Farm Aid.
The two longtime advocates will contribute to the organization's mission of supporting family farmers, along with Neil Young and John Mellencamp, and Dave Matthews.
Margo Price said in a statement from Farm Aid:
“It is always a thrill to perform alongside my heroes on the Farm Aid stage, and it is one of the greatest honors of my life to become a member of the Farm Aid board.
It’s been a dream of mine to help family farmers and communities across America ever since my family lost their farm in the fall of 1984 — a year before the first Farm Aid concert. I hope to use my voice to shine light on the issues of climate change, our health and the health of our soil and water, and most importantly, food justice.”
Annie Nelson said in a statement from Farm Aid:
“I am honored to join Willie and the other members on Farm Aid’s board of directors.
I’ve witnessed the incredible strength and resilience of America’s family farmers through my involvement in Farm Aid, and I am eager to continue to help our family farm system thrive through this new role."
>> Pre-Order on Amazon.com << 
Human Highway
Concert Review of the Moment
This Land is My Land
FREEDOM In A New Year
*Thanks Neil!*
![[EFC Blue Ribbon - Free Speech Online]](http://www.thrasherswheat.org/gifs/free-speech.gif)
The Unbearable Lightness of Being Neil Young
Pardon My Heart
"We're The Ones 
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