VIDEO: "Barstool Blues" - Neil Young & Crazy Horse (Live in Belgium, 2014)

Neil Young & Crazy Horse 2014 Europe Tour
  

From a recent comment:

I just wanted to share with you a video I took of Neil and CH in Belgium in 2014.

 The song is Barstool Blues and as you will see Poncho’s guitar was not in tune and it was quite a funny moment…

   (Thanks Surfer Moe! great handle, btw)

 

 

Neil: "You got to tune the guitars *before* bringing them on stage. These people paid a lot of money. *I'm* singing it, so it's *already* out of tune" 

More on Neil Young & Crazy Horse Concert: Lokeren, Belgium - August 3, 2014.

From a Review of the Moment on Neil Young News: Neil Young & Crazy Horse Concert: Lokeren, Belgium - August 3, 2014 by Darth Malt:

Wow, I don't even know where to begin. As the gates opened I somehow managed to find myself in the best spot on the grounds, riding the rail immediately to the left of the center divide - and would not move for the next 7 hours.

Neil and the boys launched into the show with a monstrous but soulful jam of DBTR that, like Anonymous mentioned, must have gone on for more than 20 minutes. Who does that? After the first song was done, Mrs. Malt (who is not a fan, I have to admit) turned to me and simply asked incredulously: "Has he always sounded this good?".

What then followed was a cavalcade of mostly classic songs that the Horse (squabble all you want about the band name) jammed through with glee and passion. They played well over the original two hour time slot (which unfortunately, due to the late timing, slight jet lag and physical exhaustion was a bit too much for Mrs. Malt in the end).

At one point (going into Psychedelic Pill?), Neil stopped the song short after a few chords, and glaring at the crew, sent them back to replace Poncho's guitar. "You got to tune the guitars *before* bringing them on stage. These people paid a lot of money. *I'm* singing it, so it's *already* out of tune" (may be paraphrasing here).

Is it me, or is Neil actually getting better year after year? With every swipe, slap and pick he conjures controlled growls roaring out of his guitar, and the interplay with Poncho last night was the best I've seen so far (admittedly this was only my fourth Crazy Horse gig). I don't know if I've ever seen Neil so happy and Poncho positively fucking *glowed* and held his own in the spotlight. Even Rick, calm and laid back, took part in the goofy camaraderie with a smile and the whole band gelled together naturally and effortlessly. From my viewpoint I unfortunately didn't see much of Ralph before the bows at the end.

A special thank you to the friendly crew of the Lokerse Feesten for a well organized festival.

Thanks Darth! Thanks for review, See yo down the road someday,

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Comment of the Moment: VIDEO: Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse @ Fuji Rock Festival 2001

Neil Young - 2001

 

The Comment of the Moment is from post VIDEO: Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse @ Fuji Rock Festival 2001 by Tomatron:

Great time for the Horse. 

When the timeline concert from that tour was uploaded, the melody from Gateway really stuck in my head. And that’s no small feat since those things aren’t the most easily accessed content, other than the concert of the moment. 

But the tune kept coming back to me. Neil now expresses real regret over not having released Toast at the time. I say, don’t be so hard on yourself, sir. Are You Passionate, while not a banger in its time, has grown in appreciation from the fanbase. For me, it beats out the three studio albums that followed. If he had put out Toast like he says he should’ve, AYP would never have been. And I venture to say Toast, for its part, could very likely have been panned at the time. 

Now, with patience, we have both records. What a treat. Can they be reconciled into one grand statement? With the magic of playlists, this is possible.

Here’s my favorite way to overdo it:

1. Boom Boom Boom

I just really love this song as a warm up to the journey to come. It’s totally original, with plenty of space between the notes for the studio stank to seep through. Plus, it was one of the first tunes recorded for the sessions and is a more tantalizing introduction than either of the albums’ kickoff tracks. 

2. You’re My Girl
3. Mr. Disappointment
4. Differently
5. Quit (Don’t Say You Love Me)

Since AYP was what we heard first, it’s only fair to proceed with a quadruple threat from that 2002 CD. You’re My Girl is just the sweetest dedication that I bet a lot of parents can relate to. Then you get immersed in the MGs’ treatment of otherwise unheard Toast material and the super soulful Differently and practically go swimming in that soupy B-3 sound. 

6. Standing In The Light Of Love
7. Goin’ Home
8. Timberline
9. Gateway Of Love
10. How Ya Doin’?

This is a perfect point to switch off into Horse territory. We are ready to rock! Standing In The Light Of Love was the first fully Toast Toast we got to hear. It kicks ass. The heart of Toast remains intact and the heartbroken vibe does not let up for over half an hour. Awesome. I think that’s enough time to return to Mr. Disappointment; he sounds even more disappointed with the slower tempo and more honest voice. 

11. Let’s Roll
12. Are You Passionate?
13. Goin’ Home
 

Yes, that moment is here. That moment when we listen to Let’s Roll. We can’t skip Let’s Roll, can’t pretend it didn’t happen. When heard as an ode to the bravery of regular people in the face of terror rather than as the hawkish call to deployment it could be taken for, Let’s Roll is actually a pretty cool song, and the band more than do it justice. Somehow, despite all the strife of blowing off one record for the next, enduring pained relationships and national trauma, a loose narrative still seemed to break through in Neil Young’s sequencing of AYP, something we can see he took seriously with all the possible permutations of song orders on the back cover. The family and marriage themes of the early tracks give way to the shock of attack and burden of war. Nothing else needs to be said about the title track but it’s perfect and beautiful. And what an impact the AYP version of Goin’ Home made, and makes still. We all love the brutal drumming and the brutal ending. It was a characteristic stroke of genius to include one Crazy Horse song on the album, and it was *this* song. This is the mythical Crazy Horse, from the lost sessions. It retains this quality here. 

14. When I Hold You In My Arms
15. Be With You
16. Two Old Friends
17. She’s A Healer

And yet, Are You Passionate rolls on. Again, contrasts are crucial when it comes to the flow of an album, a film, a story or work of art of any kind. The epic bleakness of Goin’ Home gives way to the folksy hand wringing of When I Hold You In My Arms, and it wouldn’t have worked better in any configuration. We are lucky to have the ebullient Be With You to buoy us up into the warm embrace of the best Motown feel the MGs have to offer. And Two Old Friends, a fan favorite, serves the purpose of relieving some of the weighty themes posed by the mid-album 9/11 inspired songs before She’s A Healer performs a similar function for the heartsick husband of the earlier tracks. Thrasher’s Wheat contributors seem to generally agree Healer is a high point of the record and possibly exceeds the excellence of its Toast counterpart. Either way, it’s a hell of a finale.
18. Quit

Ok, I’ll say it. This is the superior version of the song. The funny thing is, the two are so alike, they should stay as far apart as possible: 20 years, or at least the better part of a playlist’s distance. But that’s not the only reason Quit landed here. Inclusion as a coda to our listen symbolizes the wait we had to finally hear Toast. And the sadness of “don’t say you love me” turned out to be the truest end to this story, taking us back to the beginning in a legendary little San Francisco recording studio. 

Let’s go listen to Toast again, on vinyl this time.

Thanks for our Comment of the Moment Tomatron!  What a playlist. As you say,  the magic of playlists makes this all possible.

More on post VIDEO: Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse @ Fuji Rock Festival 2001.

 

Induct Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
#CrazyHorse4HOF 

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TRAILER: "The Seeds of Vandana Shiva" Documentary Film

  "The Seeds of Vandana Shiva" Documentary Film

 

Obviously -- if you're a fan of Neil Young and The Promise Of The Real's 2015 album "The Monsanto Years" -- then you'll enjoy the trailer for the documentary film "The Seeds of Vandana Shiva" about the life story of food activist and seed justice supporter Dr. Vandana Shiva.

  

And -- maybe even more obviously -- if you're NOT a fan of "The Monsanto Years" -- then you'll just want to keep on scrolling by ...

About that time that we went to a Farm Aid concert and Neil pointed and spoke directly to us ...

"The Monsanto Years" Quilt
Neil Young + Promise Of The Real
Telluride, Colorado - 9/30/16

 

"It's a bad day to do nothin'"
~~"A New Day For Love" by Neil Young

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David Crosby and The Damage Done (or Not...)

Classic Rocker Mouths Off At Fan, Gets Dragged For His Trouble | Daily Wire(Click photo to enlarge)

 

David Crosby -- yet again -- finds himself in serious blowback over some ill considered remarks. (Thanks Richie C.!)

The short story is that a Croz fan (DJBSackett @DjbSackett· Jul 16 | Twitter) sent David Crosby a portrait and The Croz response was "Don't quit your day job."

 

DJBSackett @DjbSackett· Jul 16 | Twitter

Hi @thedavidcrosby hope you are keeping well. Did a picture of you…. Thanks for the music

 

The fallout has not been kind to David Crosby.

So, the following is an attempt not to re-hash ad infinitum the never ending controversies of CSN & Neil Young , but to simply share something that we were unaware of completely.

Check this clip from 1967 Monterey Pop Festival of The Byrds.

 

 

The Byrds - "He Was a Friend of Mine" (Live at 1967 Monterey Pop Festival)

In the above clip, David Crosby makes a very brief statement about the John F. Kennedy assassination and then plays the Byrds song "He Was a Friend of Mine".

David Crosby: “They’re shooting this for television. 

I’m sure they’re going to edit this out. I want to say it anyway, even though they will edit it out. When President Kennedy was killed, he was not killed by one man. He was shot from a number of different directions, by different guns. 

The story has been suppressed, witnesses have been killed, and this is your country, ladies and gentlemen.”

"He Was A Friend Of Mine"

He was a friend of mine, he was a friend of mine
His killing had no purpose, no reason or rhyme
He was a friend of mine

He was in Dallas town, he was in Dallas town
From a sixth floor window a gunner shot him down
He was in Dallas town

He never knew my name, he never knew my name
Though I never met him I knew him just the same
Oh he was a friend of mine

Leader of a nation for such a precious time
He was a friend of mine

David Crosby: “Thank you. As I say, they will censor it I’m sure. They can’t afford to have things like that on the air. It’d blow their image.”

Due to Crosby’s controversial statement about the JFK assassination,  the Byrds'  Monterey performance was cut from television and film coverage of the festival.  It was this incident and similar circumstances which led to Crosby leaving the Byrds and eventually forming CSN.

But... history has proven that Crosby was right back in 1967 about the JFK assassination, as we know now.

It was -- as Bob Dylan put it recently -- a "Murder Most Foul".

Jackie Reaching for JFK's Brains
"If Lee Harvey Oswald's shots came from the behind (above left), why are JFK's brains on the rear trunk? (front, right)"

 

ANALYSIS: Bob Dylan's "Murder Most Foul" | Why Bob Dylan's "Murder Most Foul" Is 17 Minutes of The TRUTH

 

Even Though The Music Died 50+ Years Ago, It Still Matters More Than Ever

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VIDEO: Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse @ Fuji Rock Festival, 2001-07-28

 Fuji Rock Festival Poster
2001-07-28, Naeba Ski Resort, Naeba, Japan
via Sugar Mountain
 (Click photo to enlarge)  

Much discussion lately regarding the "lost masterpieces" uneARThed on TOAST album by Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse.

 

Here is a rare video of Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse @ Fuji Rock Festival, Japan on 2001-07-28. (thanks Ron!) 

 

 

"Goin' Home" @ ~24:00:00.  Also, be sure to check Poncho pounding on Neil's back @ ~28:00:00.  And check Larry Cragg on piano @ ~29:00:00 pounding away.

 

Neil Young - 2001

 

"TOAST" & "Are You Passionate?"   

 

Also, see:

• REVIEW: Neil Young 64: Toast | Everybody’s Dummy 
• Neil Young Achieves 46th Career Top 40 Album with TOAST

Comment of the Moment #2: First Impressions - Toast by Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse 

Comment of the Moment: First Impressions - Toast by Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse

REVIEW: "TOAST" - Unreleased 2001 Album by Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse | Davy's Cinema Flicks & Music Picks

First Impressions: Toast by Neil Young with Crazy Horse | The Old Grey Cat 

Comment of the Moment: Neil Young's Unreleased 2001 Album "Toast" w/ Crazy Horse

"TOAST" Finally Pops: Unreleased 2001 album by Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse

 Comment of the Moment: PREMEIRE: "Timberline" from Neil Young's unreleased 2001 album "Toast" w/ Crazy Hors

PREMIERE: "Timberline" from Neil Young's  unreleased 2001 album "Toast" w/ Crazy Horse 

Comment of the Moment: "TOAST": Neil Young's Unreleased 2001 Album w/ Crazy Horse Set for 8th July, 2022

Comment of the Moment on "Toast" - A Roadstory: Neil Young Shares Thoughts on Unreleased 2001 Album by Tony "Hambone" Hammond in the UK.  (See  "Toast" - A Roadstory: Neil Young Shares Thoughts on Unreleased 2001 Album.)

More on interview with Frank “Poncho” Sampedro, Neil Young, Crazy Horse Guitarist [discusses TOAST] | The Aquarium Drunkard. 

Also, see ‘Are You Passionate?’ Turns 10 Years Old and Neil Young's Album of the Week: 'Are You Passionate?' + Defending AYP?

 

Induct Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
#CrazyHorse4HOF

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REVIEW: Neil Young 64: Toast | Everybody’s Dummy

"TOAST":  Neil Young Unreleased 2001 Album w/ Crazy Horse (Please shop locally & independently. But if you can't, we appreciate your supporting Thrasher's Wheat by clicking  this link . Thank you!!!)  

From Neil Young 64: Toast | Everybody’s Dummy: 

 

A distinct improvement is “Gateway Of Love”, which was teased on the back cover of Passionate and played live with the Horse throughout that summer. 

It’s the only track we hear that has the “Latin influence” Poncho Sampedro mentioned in interviews about the shelved album; most of that is in the drums, while the bass could go either way. “How Ya Doin’?” is an odd title for what became “Mr. Disappointment”, since that question only surfaced in the later recording. This earlier version is sung in Neil’s natural voice, rather than the low rasp he adopted for the album. “Boom Boom Boom” is the same song as “She’s A Healer”, except that it’s longer and taken just a tad slower. Once again the eventual title features prominently in the lyrics, while the initial title does not. At thirteen minutes it does drag, but the jazzy bridge stands out more, and Tom Bray adds a trumpet, just as he would on the later album. 

Neil overdubbed a few stabs at a piano, and somebody’s playing the vibes and tapping bongos. 

Thanks Wardo!  So,  Neil Young review #64??!  Quite a run of reviews.  Onto the next 64 reviews.

 

"TOAST" & "Are You Passionate?"   

 Also, see:

• Neil Young Achieves 46th Career Top 40 Album with TOAST
• Comment of the Moment #2: First Impressions - Toast by Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse 
  
• Comment of the Moment: First Impressions - Toast by Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse
  
• REVIEW: "TOAST" - Unreleased 2001 Album by Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse | Davy's Cinema Flicks & Music Picks
• First Impressions: Toast by Neil Young with Crazy Horse | The Old Grey Cat 
  
• Comment of the Moment: Neil Young's Unreleased 2001 Album "Toast" w/ Crazy Horse
• "TOAST" Finally Pops: Unreleased 2001 album by Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse
•  Comment of the Moment: PREMEIRE: "Timberline" from Neil Young's unreleased 2001 album "Toast" w/ Crazy Hors
  
• PREMIERE: "Timberline" from Neil Young's  unreleased 2001 album "Toast" w/ Crazy Horse 
• Comment of the Moment: "TOAST": Neil Young's Unreleased 2001 Album w/ Crazy Horse Set for 8th July, 2022
• Comment of the Moment on "Toast" - A Roadstory: Neil Young Shares Thoughts on Unreleased 2001 Album by Tony "Hambone" Hammond in the UK.  (See  "Toast" - A Roadstory: Neil Young Shares Thoughts on Unreleased 2001 Album.)
  
• More on interview with Frank “Poncho” Sampedro, Neil Young, Crazy Horse Guitarist [discusses TOAST] | The Aquarium Drunkard. 
  
• Also, see ‘Are You Passionate?’ Turns 10 Years Old and Neil Young's Album of the Week: 'Are You Passionate?' + Defending AYP?
  

 

Induct Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
#CrazyHorse4HOF

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Comment of the Moment #2: First Impressions - Toast by Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse

 "TOAST":  Neil Young Unreleased 2001 Album w/ Crazy Horse (Please shop locally & independently. But if you can't, we appreciate your supporting Thrasher's Wheat by clicking  this link . Thank you!!!)

 

The Comment of the Moment is from the post First Impressions - Toast by Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse by Ron:

I have been really enjoying listening to Toast on NYA (is it OK to ‘enjoy’ it given the subject matter?

I guess Neil wouldn’t have released it if not). Great to read on here what other people think too – many great comments and insights.

I saw Neil and Crazy Horse in June 2001 at the NEC Birmingham England on their Eurotour ‘01 and I have been thinking about that show a lot and reflecting on the setlist and performances given what we now know about the background. Of course I didn’t know it at the time but Toast had been recorded the preceding Nov/Dec/Feb.

Goin’ Home was a major highlight for me that night. The battle drums, instantly catchy melody and epic soloing received a great reaction from the crowd. They followed this with When I Hold You In My Arms. Neil sitting on a stool playing piano with Old Black strapped on his back and switching effortlessly between the two throughout the song was great to see. I liked this song and performance a lot, but it was strikingly different to what had gone before it and not typical for Crazy Horse. Of course I can now see that Neil had already recorded it in May with Booker T and the MGs so it makes more sense now.

Standing in the Light of Love and Gateway of Love were the first songs following a short acoustic set from Neil. I thought these were good at the time but they were kind of overshadowed as they were followed by Hey Hey My My, Like a Hurricane, Sedan Delivery, Rockin’ in the Free World and F*!#in’ Up. The intro to Gateway was so long I thought it was maybe going to be an instrumental. I now love the Toast version of Gateway of Love though.

All in all it was a great show and had me eagerly looking forward to the next album. I found a great version of Goin’ Home from Montreux on YouTube and played that regularly but when Are You Passionate? came out in April 2002 I have to say for me it was quite a disappointment. I was expecting/hoping for a Crazy Horse album I guess. The sound of Goin’ Home didn’t seem quite right and somehow didn’t quite live up to the live performance. It was still my favourite track on the album though. I know others really like this album, and I like some of Neil’s guitar playing on it and some of the lyrics were strikingly personal even then, but I am not a big fan overall and much prefer the Toast versions of the songs that are on both. The tracks I have listened to most since it came out are the ones that are also on Toast plus the closing Are You Passionate? track. I think it would be great to hear Crazy Horse tackle this song.

So last night I watched a recording of Neil and Crazy Horse from the Fuji festival July 2001 on YouTube. This show immediately followed the completion of Eurotour ’01 and was just 6 weeks after I saw them in Birmingham. The recording is not the complete show as it does not have the closing run of classics but it includes Goin’ Home, When I Hold You In My Arms, Standing In the Light of Love and Gateway of Love. The performances are great and I can thoroughly recommend it to anyone interested to see how Neil and Crazy Horse performed these songs back then.

One thing that struck me watching the show was the choice of the other tracks that made up the setlist for that tour. Given what Neil has said now about his personal life at that time, the inclusion of Don’t Cry No Tears, I’ve Been Waiting For You and Only Love Can Break Your Heart for example are perhaps more significant than I realised back then.

So in conclusion and as others have said what a great time to be a Neil fan! So much to listen to and watch. Neil sounds pretty excited about the new album with Rick Rubin – can’t wait! 

Thanks much for the comment Ron.  We need to check out the Fuji festival 2001 --  its been quite awhile.  So great you made it to the 2001 concerts and are able to share your journey to the future with us.

 

"TOAST" & "Are You Passionate?"   

 Also, see:

• Neil Young Achieves 46th Career Top 40 Album with TOAST
  
• Comment of the Moment: First Impressions - Toast by Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse
  
• First Impressions: Toast by Neil Young with Crazy Horse | The Old Grey Cat 
  
• Comment of the Moment: Neil Young's Unreleased 2001 Album "Toast" w/ Crazy Horse
• "TOAST" Finally Pops: Unreleased 2001 album by Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse
•  Comment of the Moment: PREMEIRE: "Timberline" from Neil Young's unreleased 2001 album "Toast" w/ Crazy Hors
  
• PREMIERE: "Timberline" from Neil Young's  unreleased 2001 album "Toast" w/ Crazy Horse 
• Comment of the Moment: "TOAST": Neil Young's Unreleased 2001 Album w/ Crazy Horse Set for 8th July, 2022
• Comment of the Moment on "Toast" - A Roadstory: Neil Young Shares Thoughts on Unreleased 2001 Album by Tony "Hambone" Hammond in the UK.  (See  "Toast" - A Roadstory: Neil Young Shares Thoughts on Unreleased 2001 Album.)
  
• More on interview with Frank “Poncho” Sampedro, Neil Young, Crazy Horse Guitarist [discusses TOAST] | The Aquarium Drunkard. 
  
• Also, see ‘Are You Passionate?’ Turns 10 Years Old and Neil Young's Album of the Week: 'Are You Passionate?' + Defending AYP?

REVIEW: "TOAST" - Unreleased 2001 Album by Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse | Davy's Cinema Flicks & Music Picks

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