SUPER RARE PHOTO: Neil Young - Annecy, France - 1982

Neil Young Annecy, France - 1982
Photo by Gilles Bascop

 

This rare Neil Young photo in  Annecy, France (1982) by Gilles Bascop really kind of says it all.

 

Per our Twitter post asking "Anyone know the story here?", WoodyWood75 replied with details on the photographer Gilles Bascop.

WoodyWood75 |@herve_oudet | Twitter

Other details on whether this kid just wandered onto stage or something else are unknown.

Maybe Neil Young will remember that a little French boy needs him around anyhow?

 

Neil Young: Humanitarian Rebel With Causes

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LISTEN TO “THROW YOUR HATRED DOWN” from ‘NOISE & FLOWERS’ + VIDEO: Making of Toast "How Ya Doin?"

"Noise & Flowers"

Neil Young + Promise of the Real   Release Date - August 5th 
(Please shop locally & independently. But if you can't, we appreciate your supporting Thrasher's Wheat by clicking  this link . Thank you!!!) 

Available for Pre-Order now and Out AUG. 5 Neil Young + Promise Of The Real announce a new live album, Noise & Flowers, that captures the group in all their glory on their 2019 European tour. The release will be accompanied by a similarly titled concert film that’s included in the album’s 2xLP+CD+Blu-ray Deluxe Edition, and as a stand-alone Blu-Ray disc. 

Neil Young writes on NYA:

‘NOISE AND FLOWERS’ is a record made just after the passing of my life - long manager and best friend, Elliot Roberts.

Promise of The Real and I had a tour planned of Europe. D and I were in the bus, on our way to New York to catch a plane to Europe . . . . when we got the call. After returning to the funeral for our beloved Elliot, we got on a plane and left for the tour.

During the tour, we had a poster of Elliot on a road case, right where he always stood during all shows. Everyone who was with us felt that this tour was amazing for its great vibe. The REAL and I delivered for Elliot.

Neil Young + Promise of the REAL

The Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, New York - 9/26 & 27/2018

 

More on "Noise & Flowers" Coming in 2021: Neil Young + Promise of the REAL | NYA - UPDATED. 

More on The Story Behind The Album Cover "Noise & Flowers" by Neil Young + Promise of the Real .

More on Sneak Preview: "Noise & Flowers" Track by Neil Young + Promise Of The Real.

Also, a new video has been posted on NYA  | Hearse Theater of the making of Toast "How Ya Doin?".

Toast - How Ya Doin'?

Directed by John O'Neill

Running time: 22m34s

Produced by Bernard Shakey & Gary Ward / Edited by Rachel Simmer

 

 More on "TOAST" & "Are You Passionate?" ...

"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!!!)  

 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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Neil Young Patron ZOOM Call Update

Neil Young

@ Lost Planet Editorial, Santa Monica, CA - Sept. 9, 2019
Photo by Rebecca Cabage/Invision/AP

 

From Neil Young's Patron Call earlier today.  Many thanks to Greying Rider for updates!

At 7/28/2022 02:24:00 PM,  Greying Rider said...

Hi Everybody,

Just got off the Patron call and wanted to share with you all (its good to share). Neil looked great and was in good form. Sound was poor at times but so nice to see the great man answer any old question that was put to him by moderator Bonnie, then John O and a few others in the NYA team:

⁃ He played the new album for Warners on the roof of the building. Said is was very cool. No release date yet from WB for the record.

⁃ Big announcement coming sometime soon that NYA is turning a profit for the first time!

⁃ Working on a series of behind the scenes stuff about the new record and Toast. Episode 1 of the Toast story is done (around 21 mins long) and they are going to work on the next episode today after the call. 4-5 episodes planned on Toast.

⁃ Best thing for Neil are the letters and the people of NYA. He loves obscure details he has forgotten about and then they go look for them and find cool things they didn’t know they had. Acoustic Ordinary People is an example and getting ready to drop that soon (along with 7/8 other things in the “ready bin” of the Surf Shack with Nico)

⁃ Greendale is based on Half Moon Bay California.

⁃ Going Home on Toast - Neil did not actually visit any historical places. All made up. Its pictures. Not autobiographical.

⁃ How has songwriting changed since you've not been touring for a while? Neil really liked this one: “Good question!”. Stark difference in making this new record. New style (apart from two songs - one written before Barn as the pandemic hit / another after Barn but before the others in Canada - both conventionally written). The other 8 / 9 written while walking every day in winter in snow for 2-3 miles and would whistle and noticed that he was whistling new songs. All had rhythm of walking. Recorded on phone. Then did lyrics over full moon in April this year. No corrections to the lyrics! Most cases the first couple of takes were the masters. Unique approach as the choice of instruments wide open because the songs were not written on a specific instrument.

⁃ Archives 3 - Believes there will be some Bluenotes material but not sure. Something with Devo will be included.

⁃ Gateway of Love. Knows it’s a special song. Horse is great. Singing is really good. Instrumentation is really good.

⁃ Electric Tour Bus. Decided not to do that. Biodiesel instead.

⁃ Nico says hello as the “Quietest of the Volume Dealers”. Says Atmos is a lot of fun if you have the way to play it. More separation between instruments.

⁃ Asked about differences between large stadiums and theatres. The same for him. What matters is if he is singing the song from his heart and it is working for him. No preference.

.... continued.....

⁃ Johnny’s island is in Archives III. 7 tracks never been heard before, some songs as well maybe never heard before. Not chronological. Album order.

⁃ Might be more live Stars and Bars but not found anything that is interested in yet.

⁃ Will not be another Greendale. But was one of his favourite projects.

⁃ Answered my question about where he was doing the call from! He was in his agent Frank Gironda’s office. Behind him were a lot of records that he mention to the call: Batman Forever / Bob Dylan / Tracey Chapman / Spiritualized. All Frank Gironda albums.

⁃ Animated Version of Trans is in Volume III.

⁃ Johnny’s Island and Island in the Sun are different albums but a few songs are the same. Island in the Sun recorded after Trans (but had thought before?) and made in Hawaii. Johnny and Love Hotel are two songs on the album and there are some other unknown songs.

⁃ Talks to the difference of digital and analogue. All vinyl has a source code so that you can tell where it came from.

⁃ John O’Neil asks some questions: 1) Anymore fireside sessions? 2) If no touring, what about a live show? Neil says that if he feels like doing more than doing what he’s doing right now then will do. If he is in the right place he will do it. If there is a reason to do it and feels like doing it. Not trying to recreate the live experience.

⁃ Neil says that Joni’s set was fantastic. The essence of music. Nuances of the melodies. Did a big favour for the muse and music in general. Neil spoke to Joni yesterday to congratulate and tell her how touched and moved he was!

⁃ We will get a full Ducks live set. Vol III has a section of the Ducks with the songs he wrote. The Ducks bootleg will be a complete performance.

⁃ Lot of Joel B pictures in the Harvest 50th book and there is a 2h movie about Harvest to go with it.

⁃ Loves playing the pump organ. No answer to what is his favourite new instrument.

Please feel free to correct me!

Toby

 

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NEW TIMELINE CONCERT: Neil Young Solo, CHICAGO 2018 | NYA

"One Of These Days"
Neil Young Solo: Auditorium Theater, Chicago, Il - June 30, 2018
Photo by thrasher

 

A new Neil Young solo concert from Auditorium Theater, Chicago, Il on June 30, 2018 is now streaming on Neil Young Archives.

From Neil Young Archives:

TIMELINE - CHICAGO 2018

NYA7-26-22

An acoustic performance for my friends in Chicago at the old Auditorium Theater comes with good vibe. That is such a beautiful place. I played there a long time ago with CSNY and played Tonight’s the Night there with the Santa Monica Flyers on another memorable tour. That was a long time ago.

This is a loose show with a good vibe. Enjoy it now at NYA on the Timeline. Lots of love!
neil

 

  NEIL YOUNG TIMELINE CONCERT OF THE WEEK | NYA

 

We had the honor and privilege to be in Chicago 2018 both nights -- one of which we were front row, center as you can see in the top photo.

When Neil is performing solo inches away, you literally hold your breath for 2 hours.  And then you exhale a great sigh of joy and happiness.

So it is a true joy to hear this concert in all of its pristine soundboard glory.  Thank you NYA!

 

Setlist via Sugar Mountain:
2018-06-30
Auditorium Theater, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Solo

01. On The Way Home (acoustic guitar)
02. Homefires (acoustic guitar)
03. Love Is A Rose (acoustic guitar)
04. Only Love Can Break Your Heart (acoustic guitar)
05. Cowgirl In The Sand (acoustic guitar)
06. Mellow My Mind (banjo)
07. Ohio (electric guitar)
08. There's A World (piano)
09. Birds (piano)
10. Are You Ready For The Country? (piano)
11. After The Gold Rush (piano)
12. Tonight's The Night (piano)
13. Speakin' Out (piano)
14. Angry World (electric guitar)
15. Love And War (acoustic guitar)
16. Peaceful Valley Boulevard (acoustic guitar)
17. Out On The Weekend (acoustic guitar)
18. The Needle And The Damage Done (acoustic guitar)
19. Heart Of Gold (acoustic guitar)
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20. One Of These Days (acoustic guitar)
21. War Of Man (acoustic guitar)

22. Tumbleweed (ukulele)

More on Neil Young Solo: Auditorium Theater, Chicago, IL - June 30 & July .

More on Neil Young Concert Timeline: Full Listing on Archives| NYA.

 

When Neil Young is Playing, You Shut the Fuck Up

Chicago RustFests

 

Thanks to our hosts Timmy & Mary! (Chicago RustFests Hosts - '07, '11, '12, '14, '15)

w/ Brad "More BARN!" 

 

More on Neil Young Solo: Auditorium Theater, Chicago, IL - June 30 & July . 

 

LOVE is the answer 

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Farm Aid 2022 Location & Lineup Announced + Photo of the Moment: Willie Nelson & Neil Young @ Farm Aid 2016

Farm Aid 2022 - Raleigh, North Carolina, on Saturday, September 24

 

Reactions to the news that once again this year, Neil Young Will NOT Play Farm Aid 2022, have ranged from sympathy to bewilderment. (See comments here.)

Meanwhile,  Farm Aid 2022 location and lineup have been announced.

Artists in lineup include: Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews (with Tim Reynolds), and Margo Price, as well as Chris Stapleton, Sheryl Crow, Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, Allison Russell, Charley Crockett, Brittney Spencer and Particle Kid. (NOTE: Neil Young Will NOT Play Farm Aid 2022, )

Thus, the Photo of the Moment is Willie Nelson & Neil Young at Farm Aid 2016.

"Are There Any More Real Cowboys?"
Willie Nelson & Neil Young 

(w/ Lukas Nelson & Tony LoGerfo)
Farm Aid 2016 - Bristow, Virginia, Sept. 17
Photo by thrasher
(Click photo to enlarge)

More on:

• Neil Young Will NOT Play Farm Aid Again This Year
  
• Farm Aid 2016 - Bristow, Virginia, Sat., Sept. 17
• Neil Young @ Farm Aid 2016 Press Conference - COMPLETE
• About That Time That We Went To A Farm Aid Concert...  

Willie for a Nobel!
#Willie4Nobel

Willie Nelson for Nobel Peace Prize
for Farm Aid and his work on
alternative fuels, and world peace initiatives.

Nobel Peace Prize for Willie Nelson for Farm Aid

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Neil Young Will NOT Play Farm Aid Again This Year

 INSPIRATIONLTE | T-C | NYA (Click photo to enlarge)

 

UPDATED

Very, very sadly, Neil Young will NOT be playing at Farm Aid this year, per LTE | T-C | NYA: (thanks RoadDawg Mike!)

I will not be at Farmaid this year. I am not ready for that yet. I don’t think it is safe in the pandemic.

I miss it very much.

Farm Aid 2022 on September 24th 

Venue TBD

(image via Rusted Moon)

We have held this news for over a week now, awaiting official NYA publication.

Inexplicably -- apparently -- this news has been available only on Mobile NYA versions, but just appeared on desktop NYA.

 

This is the second year in a row that Neil has canceled himself and 3rd year in a row without a Neil + FA.  He has not performed in public since 2019. Earlier, Neil said that there will be no 2022 Tour Plans "Until my bus is electric".

 

As the concert drought drags on and many fans are wonderin' if they will ever get to see Neil play a concert again.

 

Seriously.

 

Afterall, even Joni Mitchell just performed at the Newport Folk Festival -- just this weekend -- playing her first full set in more than 20 years.

 

Joni Mitchell - 2022 Newport Folk Festival

 

 

At this point, many - including TW -- are wonderin' what happened to ol' Neil? 

 

Neil continues to make music and work on the Archives, so there's always that.

 

But for many, it is the concerts that matter most.  And esp those who want one last romp with The Horse. We're all adults and have freedom to make our own choices.

 

Oh Neil, where art thou???

 

Like we said from Day#1, Keep Calm, No Fear .  Past time to move on, just sayin'.  We have and are having the time of our life once again, as it should be.

Wolf Trap: "The Red Rocks of the East"*

Bare Naked Ladies, Gin Blossoms + TOAD The Wet Sprocket -

July 17, 2022

(* Avett Brothers)

...

 

Earlier, Farm Aid organizers announced the annual benefit concert will be on September 24th at a venue TBD.

Venue details, pre-sales and other artists are to be announced at the end of July.

Whether Neil Young will  be making his first live appearance in three years is also TBD.  Other Farm Aid board members Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews and Margo Price are expected to perform live, in concert this year.

Click here for all the Farm Aid 2022 Details.

 

Willie for a Nobel!
#Willie4Nobel

Willie Nelson for Nobel Peace Prize
for Farm Aid and his work on
alternative fuels, and world peace initiatives.

Nobel Peace Prize for Willie Nelson for Farm Aid

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Comment of the Moment: "Dream PlayList" of "TOAST" & "Are You Passionate?" by Neil Young

"TOAST" & "Are You Passionate?"   

Lots of great discussion here on "TOAST" by our passionate TW commenters.

The Comment of the Moment is a reply to another CotM by Tomatron and a "Dream Playlist" by Meta Rocker:

This is a great CotM. 

Refreshing to have some in-depth music discussion. Sets a tone much preferable, in my opinion, to some other recent threads.

Tomatron's playlist has inspired me to experiment with my own, which I have some history of doing anyway. Placing Boom Boom Boom at the start is a brilliant idea and I, too, see Quit as a bookend song, though I didn't end up with quite the same arrangement in my own permutation.

Firstly, in the interests of creating a listening experience that provides unity, flow, and symmetry, I would normally have reservations about using more than one recording of the same song. However, the Toast vs. AYP? versions are (mostly) different enough in flavor to merit showcasing both. With one exception: I decided not to include the same take of Goin' Home twice, simply opting for the longer AYP? mix with the abrupt coda.

So, to begin with a large slice of toast:

1. Boom Boom Boom
2. Standin' in the Light of Love

Can't add much to what has already been said about these tracks. Next, however, I exercise a free hand, a compromise between the running order heard on AYP? and the note cards pictured on the back cover:

3. When I Hold you in My arms
4. Be with You
5.Mr. Disappointment
6. You're My Girl
7. Differently

This portion quenches the fire of Standing in the Light, cooling things down with a touch of romance and ample time to soak in the bright, sunny sound of the M.G.'s.

8. Two Old Friends
9. Timberline

I like these two next two each other, because of the common religious themes and the stark contrast in tone. Of all the tracks, I struggled the most with where/how to fit in Timberline, until saw the potential of exploiting tension between this song and Two Old Friends. From here out, attentive listeners may also notice the tone of the songs growing darker and grittier. In narrative terms of rising action, this is the middle of the story. The innermost circle. Things start to get complicated.

10. Goin' Home
11. Let's Roll
12. Are you Passionate?

Again, this segment is lifted wholesale from the note cards on the back of AYP?, read left to right. Goin' Home is halted in its tracks (the abrupt, drop-off ending) by Let's Roll. 9/11 brought cataclysmic change, casting a heavy shadow over everything that came before. To hear the music stop cold for the intro to Let's Roll perfectly captures this feeling.

13. Quit (Don't Say you Love me)

Relief from all the brooding, piercing tension of the title song, a ray of hope. This is another nice transition I picked up from that back cover of AYP?, on which the title song and Quit are positioned back to back, with the latter capping off the entire sequence. In this case, I've used it as a gentle lead-in for the final act:

14. Gateway of Love
15. How you Doin'?
16. She's a Healer
17. Quit (Toast version)

Maybe Gateway ended up in a climactic position because I'm so partial to it, but for me, it is clearly the emotional and musical peak of the Toast cycle. How you Doin'? follows as the ultimate anti-climax and She's a Healer puts us back where we started. 

Finally, I take the calculated risk of sequencing the Toast version of Quit only a few tracks after the AYP? cut. First of all, because Quit works so well as a soft, yearning yet ambivalent coda, a release of tension after the fireworks of the previous numbers. 

What's more, I hope the combo of Gateway and Healer will have left more than enough distance (musically and emotionally) between the two Quits.

Addendum: Long time readers will know re-configuring AYP? is one of my favorite "games", treating the back cover like an ancient hieroglyph or cipher, an Emerald Tablet of sorts to read *through* rather than simply look at passively: the hermetics of Neil Young, no? To be able, after all these years, to include the Toast cuts is very satisfying. Although these two albums are quite distinctive, they do illuminate aspects of one another. The common link, instrumentally, seems to be Neil's guitar (also Pancho's): "All I got is a broken heart and I don't try to hide it when I play my guitar."

The extended Horse workouts of Toast speak for themselves, but the textured guitar tone throughout the AYP? album is extraordinarily underrated. Even the "vanilla" When I Hold You in My Arms ends with a series of tender, lyrical licks. 

For Neil, the solos are unusually restrained and crafted, which may be why they are overlooked, but the best passages (Quit, Mr. Disappointment) are totally sublime.

What a great Playlist Meta Rocker.  Thanks so much to both Tomatron & MR for the playlist which expand and build off of one another plus TOAST & AYP?

Here's what Tomatron replied back to Meta Rocker -- and we couldn't put it any better:

Ian, your playlist was a blast to consider. 

I especially like the closing four tracks. Originally I was looking at a finish similar to that one. 

Gateway has such a climactic feel, and it’s sequenced as such on Toast. You have chosen a freer approach to this arrangement. 

For my running order, i wanted above all to maintain fidelity to the albums’ own sequencing as I combined them. I ended up setting Gateway as the peak of the Toast chunk so that Healer could hold that position at the end. Making the two mixes of Goin Home work was the trickiest, since I didn’t want to leave off any tracks but they are literally the same performance. 

So I’m treating them as representations of the records they inhabit. On Toast, Goin’ Home is a proper chapter of a longer story. On AYP it’s a total departure, its meaning obfuscated by the lack of context. 

Having that edition come later with the full ending revealed seemed to solve the problem of how to reconcile these two versions together.

 More on "TOAST" & "Are You Passionate?" ...

"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!!!)  

 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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