Thrasher's Wheat Goes Off The Grid and On the Beach

Rare "On The Beach" Poster with Neil facing camera

We here at Thrasher's Wheat have gone off the grid, on the beach and out beyond where the pavement turns to sand.

Just so our regular readers know, we will be offline for the next couple of weeks. Nothing to be conCERNed about.

It's been awhile since we took an extended break here at Thrasher's Wheat. As humbled as we might be by running what is now the 2nd* longest continuously running website dedicated to a single topic on the Internet, it is our long relationship with our soulmate thrashette and the unconditional love that matters the most.

So as we consciously co-create awareness of our separate realities, we'll see everyone on the other side of the Quantum Big Shift.

So we'll be back later on here in September with an update, and we will continue to bring you wonderful folks out there only the wheat of Neil Young news. No chaff.

 

FOUND: A Heart of Gold

An Island in the Sun Under a Rainbow

 
peace & love,
thrasher and thrashette

#RITFW - Rockin' on the Long Walk to FREEDOM
33 Degrees, 49' 03" S, 18 Degrees, 22' 44" E

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Comment of the Moment: Sound Mix of Albums "TOAST" & "Are You Passionate?" by Neil Young

"TOAST" & "Are You Passionate?" 

 

The Comment of the Moment is from Concert Film "Noise & Flowers" by Neil Young + Promise of the Real | Hearse Theater | NYA by  the "intrepid, inconsolable, & inflammable" Scotsman:

(Off topic – sorry.)

Do we know when Toast (the released version) was mixed?

Because if you listen to the Are You Passionate mix of Goin' Home, you can instantly hear why Crazy Horse (from the other side of the mixing control room) weren't totally impressed by these recording sessions back in 2001.

The mix is limp and grey and flat sounding (what I call the "wet cardboard" effect). The vocal is tentative — it struggles to find the melody, and is submerged by the guitars. The lead guitar hits a series of bum notes that kill the mood.

The bass has no real depth or presence. The overdubs might as well not be there. Poncho's masterful second-guitar performance is buried.

And in the end, Neil just aborts the performance.

The feeling is: "this isn't quite working". Which is frustrating. For the musicians and producer and the listener.

But the mix on Toast is the opposite of all that. And it's the *same* take — the same version! Neil and John Hanlon knew there was something special in this performance, and they went in and brought it to the surface.

This is an album where the production, the overdubs and the mixing all play a huge part in the success of the music.

That's not a criticism! The production is part of the art.

Similarly, many people wear makeup to accentuate their natural beauty. Nothing wrong with that, and it's the same principle.

In the music world, an audible sense of production only becomes a problem when a) it detracts from the music's natural beauty and b) when the production covers up a lack of substance.

(Much of Le Noise, in my opinion, is an example of the latter. The production is impressive, but the effect is a hollow one.)

On Toast, extensive work has gone into making Goin' Home sound as good as humanly possible. The bum notes have been chopped (as minimally as possible), the vocal has been heavily compressed to even it out and add some heft, there's a 3D sense of vocal echo, the abrupt ending is faded out...

It sounds magical. And, unlike the Are You Passionate attempt, it's been mixed with both gutsy horsepower and real colour. This is the spirit of David Briggs in the mixing room.

The Are You Passionate mix of Goin' Home is like a documentary. We might imagine it's Neil telling us "this is why I re-recorded this album".

Whereas the Toast mix is designed to take this rough diamond of a performance and present it to the world in the best light possible.

PS: the mixes of Goin' Home are different enough that some listeners have imagined them to be two different takes. Understandable!

But there are some extra overdubs on the Toast mix — so the two aren't musically identical.

E.g notice the twinkling piano (and what sounds like the church organ) rising out of the mix just before the final guitar solo — helping propel it into a higher gear.

I think these are inspired touches, instantly reminding of the overdubs we hear on Drive Back from Zuma. Another power-chord-based song that somehow feels entirely different to its 2001 cousin.

Scotsman.

No worries on off topic.

Sometimes off topic leads back to focus on what truly matters. And never stop being your  "intrepid, inconsolable, & inflammable" self Mr. Scotsman.

"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!!!)

 

More on "Dream PlayList" of "TOAST" & "Are You Passionate?" by Neil Young.

Back to topic ... 

Neil Young + Promise of the Real's "Noise & Flowers" 

 image via Rusted Moon  

 (See The Story behind the Cover of  "Noise & Flowers" )

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A First Reaction To Neil Young's Music - "Cortez The Killer"

A First Reaction To Neil Young's Music - Cortez The Killer | YouTube

 

 

As we learned back in 2020, the reaction to hearing Neil Young's music for the first time can be both delightful and amusing.

Most of us remember quite distinctly our experience of hearing Neil Young for the very first time. (Here's ours.)

So here's a few random reactions to hearing Neil Young's song "Cortez The Killer" for the very first time. enjoy!

 

 

Incidentally -- or not -- the video above by SyedRewinds -- who is a Hip Hop fan primarily -- seems quite entranced and intrigued by the lengthy intro jam.

 

More on  Neil Young's song  "Cortez The Killer".

 

More on Reactions To Hearing Neil Young For The 1st Time.

Reaction To Hearing Neil Young For The 1st Time

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Decoding Neil: "The Musical Transcendence of Neil Young" by author Martin Halliwell

 

Here is a rather excellent essay by author Martin Halliwell which explores Neil Young’s long-running fascination with dreams.

From The Musical Transcendence of Neil Young by author Martin Halliwell:

Dreams for Young are sometimes a puzzle to solve and at other times a new geography to explore, corresponding to the two dominant dream theories of the 1960s: the Freudian theory in which dreams are a working through of repressed psychic matter; and the existential humanist view of dreams as an alternative topography. 

Dreaming is rarely a doorway to the state of lost innocence for which Young yearns in “Sugar Mountain,” but it has the capacity to transport the singer and the listener elsewhere. Through the act of dreaming Young can drift purposefully, pulling together sounds, images and colours in creative ways, and can explore the twists and turns of the unconscious where one image blurs with the next. The nature of dreams means that their shape keeps morphing. This can lead the dreamer towards deeper meaning, but can also drift away into impressions and noise. At times Young searches for direction–such as the quest on his 2007 track “Spirit Road” to discover the “long highway” within — and at other times escapes from meaning into a play of imagery and sound.

We can identify this second trend in one of Young’s early dream songs, “Broken Arrow.” This six-minute coda to the second Buffalo Springfield album Buffalo Springfield Again seems to be inspired by the early-summer release of The Beatles’ concept album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, leading Young to incorporate crowd noises from a Beatles concert and the opening distorted snippet of a live performance of “Mr Soul,” sung by drummer Dewey Martin. Despite its musical variety there is little input from the band, except for backing vocals by Richie Furay, added after Young had recorded the song in September 1967. Its power stems from Young’s sound experiments and the visually arresting figure of a Native American standing alone on a riverbank with an empty quiver. This image of the ‘vanishing Indian’ with a broken arrow suggests either surrender to an unstoppable force or an offering of peace. 

What makes this a mysterious image is that there is no discernible enemy in sight; instead the verses describe a triad of social pressures (fame, adolescence and marriage) as if modern social organization has defeated the nobility of the Native American.

 

Full excerpt at The Musical Transcendence of Neil Young by author Martin Halliwell.

 Neil Young: American Traveller (Reverb) by Martin Halliwell

Also, Martin Halliwell's new book is titled Neil Young: American Traveller (Reverb).

For more on Neil Young's dreams, also see:

• "All Those Dreams" by Neil Young from the album Storytone
• Americana and The American Dream
• Review: Neil Young's Dreamin' Man
• Chrome Dreams II Reviews

‘The Visitor’
by Neil Young + Promise of the Real

(see NEW ALBUM: ‘The Visitor’ by Neil Young + Promise of the Real)

 

 

"All in a dream, all in a dream
The loading had begun
Flying mother nature's silver seed
To a new home in the sun
Flying mother nature's silver seed
To a new home"

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Comment of the Moment: Concert Film "Noise & Flowers" by Neil Young + Promise of the Real | Hearse Theater | NYA

Neil Young on Tour - 2019
w/ Manager Elliot Roberts Looking On  (Click photo to enlarge)

 

This weekend, the concert film "Noise & Flowers", of Neil Young + Promise of the Real from Europe 2019 -- directed by Bernard Shakey & dhlovelife -- is playing in Hearse Theater | NYA.

Neil Young writes on Hearse Theater | NYA:

Promise of the Real and I on tour were celebrating the life of Elliot Roberts.

Two weeks after he passed we were on the road in Europe and we made this film. The concert film is full of emotions because we loved Elliot so much. We celebrated his life.

Thanks ‘Promise of the Real’
Miss you Elliot!

love,
ny

Which brings us to the Comment of the Moment on "Noise & Flowers" by Neil Young + Promise of the Real by the irrepressibly delightful Scotsman:

Just a "last-minute" reminder that the Noise and Flowers concert film with Promise of the Real is streaming on Neil's website today.

(My plan was to get the blu-ray before watching the whole thing, but I did sneak a look at a couple of tracks on Neil's site — and now I want to watch it all, because they were a lot of fun.)

A visual treat? Oh yes.

I think the most engaging tours (musically *and* visually) are the ones where Neil is the dominant force on stage, rather than "merely" one of the gang. At heart, he's a solo artist with a point-of-view. Even when he's playing with a band.

(That's one reason why he's not well-suited to those shambolic all-star celebrity jam sessions that happen at awards ceremonies. Unless there's a good producer involved!).

And then, of course, there's the "spook" — the sense of space in the sound that leaves room for the listener's imagination.

In order for one musical force to step forward, other elements have to step back, or to the sides — *and then* find a way to make their personality felt within those boundaries. Without killing the spook.

In 2019, the vibe *and* musical arrangement was in place for the band to put on a mighty performance, and they certainly delivered on that promise (both in Europe and the short US mini-tour that came first).

I enjoyed following pretty much every show on YouTube (I couldn't make it to the Hyde Park gig, so the YouTube audience films were a welcome and enjoyable alternative).

I thought Promise of the Real sounded great, looked great, and played with a real sense of direction... of travelling somewhere special.

The audience began the show in one mental space and was carried away to another — with a sense of uncomplicated direction, a sense of urgency, and that vividly-alive feeling that I wrote about in a previous comment about Noise and Flowers.

Neil fans know that several of Neil's most memorable tours have been performed in Europe. Starting in 1976, with magical performances including Like A Hurricane at the legendary Hammersmith Odeon in London, England.

And now, the archivists, historians and other note-takers can add the 2019 tour to that distinguished list.

So my heartfelt suggestion is to head over to Neil's site and enjoy an hour or so of watching the concert film. Although I was planning to wait for the blu-ray, I expect I will be joining you.

Scotsman.

Thanks so much -- as always -- Mr Scotsman.

We too enjoyed  "Noise & Flowers" last night as well.  After proper attitude adjustment, managed to get the stream going about 11P and finished up after midnight sometime.  Don't think we woke up any neighbors, but we did hear hounds that howl in the distance.  

A highlight had to be FU when Lukas just sprawls out on the stage and Neil just grins.

"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!!!) 

More on Neil Young & Promise Of The Real - Noise & Flowers ...

 

REVIEW: "Noise & Flowers" by Neil Young +  Promise of the Real  | CLASH Music

First Impressions: Noise and Flowers by Neil Young + Promise of the Real |  The Old Grey Cat  

 

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.

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

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

REVIEW: Neil Young & Promise Of The Real - Noise & Flowers Box Set - CD Bluray Vinyl | Davy's Cinema Flicks & Music Picks

 

Neil Young + Promise of the REAL

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

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