Today's a "World Record" Day: New Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse Album Released

World Record - Neil Young & Crazy Horse

Date First Available: September 29, 2022*

Release date: November 18th

(now available for pre-order here. Please shop locally & independently. But if you can't, we appreciate your supporting Thrasher's Wheat by clicking this link or YOUR COUNTRY's FLAG up @ top. Thank you!!!)

 

Today, Friday, November 18th,  Neil Young  w/ Crazy Horse releases a new album 'World Record'.

Neil Young has released a studio album -- on average, about every 14 months -- for the last 53 years. 'World Record' will be his 44th studio album since 1969.  Also, this will be Neil Young's 3rd consecutive studio album w/ Crazy Horse after "Colorado" (2019) and "Barn" (2021) --  their second album of new studio recordings within the past 12 months.

But hey, who's counting, anyways?  Numbers add up to nothin'... afterall ...

Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse
photo by Joey Martinez

Neil Young with Crazy Horse - Chevrolet (Official Music Video)

(see "CHEVROLET": ONE SONG - TWO LENGTHS | Neil Young Archives)

Rick Rubin, Neil Young & Zane Lowe
(see Neil Young and Rick Rubin: 'World Record', Recording on Tape, and Creative Process | Apple Music)

 

Also, see interview @ Inside Neil Young and Crazy Horse’s New LP ‘World Record’: ‘The Rock Gods Were With Us’ | Rolling Stone by Andy Greene.

 

   

NYA | NEW TRACK: "Love Earth" by Neil Young & Crazy Horse

 

 

"Break the Chain"

 Info card on Neil Young Archives

 

More reaction to  "Love Earth" by Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse on MAJOR NEIL YOUNG NEWS COMING SOON: "WORLD RECORD - CELEBRATE WITH US AT NYA! 9-29-22 Midnight EST - 9pm" PST.

Rick Rubin & Neil Young Tease Their New Music For Jack White

 

 

A MESSAGE FROM NEIL: Making An Album Today 

via Neil Young Archives Times-Contrarian post

(see The Unbearable Lightness of Being Neil Young (Revised)

 

Also, Comment of the Moment: "Love Earth" by Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse.

 

Neil Young Drops 1st Preview Track "Love Earth"

image via Official Music Video directed by dhlovelife

 

Also, see All About Making Neil Young & Crazy Horse "World Record"| Rusted Moon

Album Review: Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse - 'World Record' | Ultimate Classic Rock

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Neil Young and Rick Rubin: 'World Record', Recording on Tape, and Creative Process | Apple Music

Rick Rubin, Neil Young & Zane Lowe
(Click photo to enlarge)

Neil Young and record producer Rick Rubin sit down with Zane Lowe for an intimate conversation at  Shangri La Studios in Malibu, California.  

In the interview, they discuss the upcoming album 'World Record', benefits and challenges of recording on tape, and debate the pros and cons of digital versus analog methods of making music.

 

From Rock Cellar Magazine:

Young on his seemingly relentless focus on releasing new music decades into his career:

“I don’t care. I figured that’s why they like it, because I don’t care. It’s what I have to do. I want to do this. That’s why there’s 51, 52 albums because I want to do this and I can still feel it. I’d be crazy to stop.”

Reuniting with Rubin for World Record:

“So all these songs started like that. 8 out of 10 of them started with the melody, with no instrument. No words, no instrument, no chord changes. That is significantly, completely in another zone, and not thought of or sitting down to feel anything…just walking. So then I started thinking maybe four, five months later it might be nice to go to do some stuff. I’d written a couple of other songs and one of them was Chevrolet. I just finished that and I was back here and I said, “God, it’d be nice to get in the studio and do some stuff.” Checked it out and the Horse was ready to go. And so I called and I booked the studio and I said, “God, that was easy. Usually you can’t get in this place.” I mean, I’m going, I got it, it’s three days later. I was very, very lucky to get this place again. So, here I am and then I said, “Well, I’m going to call Rick now,” because I thought of Rick right away. I’m going, “Who’s going to help me do this?” And so, I thought of Rick because he’s here, it’s his place. So, there we did. We’ve done things before, but we’ve never completed a record before, which doesn’t mean anything because the things we did, we remember. And we remember what they felt like, so that’s our history. It’s not about what records came out. So, musically we are very similar… it just seemed like the right thing. So, I told him the story of whistling and doing this stuff, and then writing the songs in two days, all of the songs were finished in two days… It’s so weird, it was the weirdest project.”

Why he avoids social media:

“It scares the shit out of me. I don’t like to go to social media. I don’t like to get involved in that and the back and forth of one celebrity against another celebrity to do as a certain kind of people. I mean, who cares? There’s so many more important things than that to think about today if you really want to look at what’s happening. Again, even as I’m saying that, I can feel like, whoa, you’ve said that so many times already. People know that, but people don’t really know it well enough to act on it. I keep going back to the same old thing and it’s going to be the death of me pretty soon. I probably have to stop doing that. Ya… Fuck them if they can’t take a joke.”

Neil Young Opines Away

 

00:00 - Recording to Tape 

 11:47 - Creating the Melodies 

 18:55 - Theme of ‘World Record’ 

 29:36 - “Love Earth” 

 41:13 - Working on Vinyl 

 53:09 - Neil Young on ‘Harvest’ 

 Also, see Rick Rubin & Neil Young Tease Their New Music For Jack White.

Rick Rubin & Neil Young Tease Their New Music For Jack White

 

Album Review: Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse - 'World Record' | Ultimate Classic Rock

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Inside Neil Young and Crazy Horse’s New LP ‘World Record’: ‘The Rock Gods Were With Us’ | Rolling Stone

Neil Young w/ Crazy Horsephoto by Joey Martinez*
 (Click photo to enlarge) 

From Inside Neil Young and Crazy Horse’s New LP ‘World Record’: ‘The Rock Gods Were With Us’ | Rolling Stone by Andy Greene:

Billy Talbot:

“We got into this magical space together.  And the rock & roll gods were with us the whole time.”

“Poncho brought so much to the table, and we really miss him. 

He’ll always be a part of Crazy Horse. But when he was in the group, we weren’t doing many ‘Heart of Gold’-style [acoustic] songs. With Nils in there with us, we can do that. Neil can get on the pump organ or piano, we can play along, and that spirit comes out where we’re like, ‘We can do this too.'”

 ... 

Nils Lofgren: “The idea of using a producer means turning over control.

That’s not something in Neil’s nature. He used Rick as a guide. It was never like, ‘You’ve got to do it this way.’ That’s just not going to work with Neil, and Rick knows that. But he would sometimes say things like, ‘Why don’t you try that one on acoustic guitar?’ or ‘Try going down a different road on this one.’ 

Billy Talbot: “Rick is a real music fan.

He likes authentic things, things that happen naturally. He was really good for us.” 

 ... 

Young has floated the idea in the past that Micah Nelson might sub in for Lofgren on a Crazy Horse tour. 

Nils Lofgren: “I’ve seen Promise of the Real play with Neil, and they’re fabulous. 

But look, I just made this great record. I think it’s the best of the last three with Neil and Crazy Horse. It bums me out talking about being replaced for a tour.” 

Talbot says that he’s heard nothing about future Crazy Horse shows, with or without Lofgren. 

Billy Talbot:  “I’d like to play some of these new songs, and some of the old ones.

But we really miss Poncho, and now Nils is going to be busy. Micah’s name has been mentioned. I wouldn’t be surprised if it worked.

It would be great if we could make an album with him before we did shows, though.”

Full interview @ Inside Neil Young and Crazy Horse’s New LP ‘World Record’: ‘The Rock Gods Were With Us’ | Rolling Stone by Andy Greene.

 

   

NYA | NEW TRACK: "Love Earth" by Neil Young & Crazy Horse

 

 

"Break the Chain"

 Info card on Neil Young Archives

 

More reaction to  "Love Earth" by Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse on MAJOR NEIL YOUNG NEWS COMING SOON: "WORLD RECORD - CELEBRATE WITH US AT NYA! 9-29-22 Midnight EST - 9pm" PST.

Rick Rubin & Neil Young Tease Their New Music For Jack White

 

 

A MESSAGE FROM NEIL: Making An Album Today 

via Neil Young Archives Times-Contrarian post

(see The Unbearable Lightness of Being Neil Young (Revised)

 

Also, Comment of the Moment: "Love Earth" by Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse.

 

Neil Young Drops 1st Preview Track "Love Earth"

image via Official Music Video directed by dhlovelife 

 

Album Review: Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse - 'World Record' | Ultimate Classic Rock

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Grammy Nomination for Beck's Neil Young Cover of "Old Man" + "A Band a Brotherhood a Barn" Film Nominated

Best Rock Performance Grammy Nominations 2023

 

Beck has a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Performance for a Neil Young cover song of "Old Man.

Also, on a brighter note,  a Grammy nomination for Neil Young & Crazy Horse – A Band a Brotherhood a Barn in Best Music Film category.  But still no major Grammy  nomination for Neil after 7 decades in the music business. (see The Story Behind Why Neil Young Has Never Won a Major GRAMMY Award.)

 A Band a Brotherhood a Barn -

Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse 

Back to the irony here which is unbelievably rich.

 

 

To rewind just a bit, back in September, Beck covered Neil Young’s song ‘Old Man’ for a NFL TV commercial.

 

 

Beck Covering Neil Young’s ‘Old Man’ for NFL Commercial

 

Why this song was specifically chosen to promote football was never well understood and made little sense from a marketing perspective. Because old men are target market and watch lots of tee-vee, perhaps?

This sparked a bit of a flare up on the long running controversies involving artists selling out for commercial purposes.

 

Sponsored by Nobody?!
Neil Young's 1988 "This Note's for You"

 

On Instagram, Young posted a photo showing him holding a beer bottle with a label that reads, "SPONSORED BY NOBODY" without a caption.  hmmmm...

Neil Young| Instagram

The photo posted on IG is from the video for the 1988 Bluenotes song "This Note's for You" in which the musician parodied fellow artists (like Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton, etc.) who used themselves and their songs for product and company advertising.

As we reported in January 2021, Neil Young sold his copyrights for 1,180 songs to Hipgnosis Songs Fund for $150,000,000.

"There will never be a ‘Burger of Gold’":

 Merck Mercuriadis - Founder, Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited

(See These Notes Are For Who? Neil Young Sells Song Catalog Stake For $150,000,000 )

 

Merck Mercuriadis, founder of Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited, stated at the time:

"Hipgnosis and Young have a common integrity, ethos and passion born out of a belief in music and these important songs. There will never be a ‘Burger of Gold’ but we will work together to make sure everyone gets to hear them on Neil's terms.”

"There will never be a ‘Burger of Gold’".   Seems clear enough.  No worries, right?

So does the promise made above hold for Young’s classic song ‘Old Man’? Is this very poor taste usage not akin to ‘Burger of Gold’"?  Apparently it did not.

The question is why?

How could those statements above reconcile with the travesty of what became known as a "spectacularly bad idea and in poor taste"?

Neil Young - "Cough Up the Buck$" Video - 2008

So why did Neil Young authorize and agree to this usage? Or maybe he didn't authorize this because the decision was handled by the new ownership stake in his catalog?

Our earlier cautions about "risking the "family jewels"  was actually addressed directly by Neil Young himself on NYA. (Also, please note some of our clarifications on this subject after the giant hullabaloo/kerfuffle in 2021.)

"gotta watch out for the greedy hand

the greedy hand" 

 

The Greedy Hand | Neil Young Store | WBR

Also, see this 2007 piece The Price of Neil: When Art and Commerce Collide.  More on "Cough Up the Buck$": Neil Young's Song of the Day | NYA. 

 

 

"Old Man" art by Ianardo

 

Also, see The Story Behind Why Neil Young Has Never Won a Major GRAMMY Award.

 

"Best Art Direction on a Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package"
Jenice Heo, Neil Young, and Gary Burden
Grammy Award Pre-telecast Ceremony, Los Angeles, Jan 31, 2010 ( see The Story Behind Why Neil Young Has Never Won a Major GRAMMY Award)
Photo by Matt Sayles/Associated Press 

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Album Review: Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse - 'World Record' | Ultimate Classic Rock

World Record - Neil Young & Crazy Horse

Date First Available: September 29, 2022*

Release date: November 18th

(now available for pre-order here. Please shop locally & independently. But if you can't, we appreciate your supporting Thrasher's Wheat by clicking this link or YOUR COUNTRY's FLAG up @ top. Thank you!!!)

 

This Friday, November 18th,  Neil Young  w/ Crazy Horse will release 'World Record'.

Neil Young has released a studio album -- on average, about every 14 months -- for the last 53 years. 'World Record' will be his 44th studio album since 1969.

But hey, who's counting, anyways?  Numbers add up to nothin'...

Meanwhile here's an early review of  'World Record' from Neil Young With Crazy Horse, 'World Record': Album Review | Ultimate Classic Rock by Michael Gallucci:

World Record brings together environmental issues, Crazy Horse and another quickly assembled album (i.e., recorded live with no overdubs) that sounds like an extension of both the past few years and Young's entire career.

Like 2019's Colorado (which was recorded and released in the months before COVID, but which now seems to be the launching point of Young's latest period) and 2021's Barn, World Record can be messy and often unfocused. But Young and Crazy Horse's allegiance to the material and themselves leads them to do what they've always done best: plugging in, following the leader and having a blast for 45 or so minutes.

World Record doesn't go too deep. The opening lines of the album sum up its central message: "Love Earth, such an easy thing to do." Other times, Young declares "You're not alone on this old planet" ("This Old Planet [Changing Days])" and "No more war, only love" ("Walkin' on the Road [To the Future])." They're simple messages, delivered in an unfussy manner by Young, Nils Lofgren, Ralph Molina and Billy Talbot. Producer Rick Rubin rarely gets in their way, though his voice is heard at the start of some songs during setup.

Like its past couple of predecessors, World Record is a combination of laid-back acoustic songs and electric numbers, though only the 15-minute "Chevrolet" allows the quartet to truly stretch out like the old days.

Full review @ Neil Young With Crazy Horse, 'World Record': Album Review | Ultimate Classic Rock by Michael Gallucci.

 

NYA | NEW TRACK: "Love Earth" by Neil Young & Crazy Horse

 

 

"Break the Chain"

 Info card on Neil Young Archives

 

 

 

Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse 

photo by Joey Martinez

 

More reaction to  "Love Earth" by Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse on MAJOR NEIL YOUNG NEWS COMING SOON: "WORLD RECORD - CELEBRATE WITH US AT NYA! 9-29-22 Midnight EST - 9pm" PST.

Rick Rubin & Neil Young Tease Their New Music For Jack White

 

 

A MESSAGE FROM NEIL: Making An Album Today 

via Neil Young Archives Times-Contrarian post

(see The Unbearable Lightness of Being Neil Young (Revised)

 

Also, Comment of the Moment: "Love Earth" by Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse.

 

Neil Young Drops 1st Preview Track "Love Earth"

image via Official Music Video directed by dhlovelife 

 

 

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Guitar World Interview: Neil Young Discusses 'Mirror Ball' and Working with Pearl Jam (September 1995)

Neil Young 

Guitar World - September 1995 

 

Here is a clip from Guitar World Interview: Neil Young Discusses 'Mirror Ball' and Working with Pearl Jam  (September 1995) by Gary Graff.

“People my age,” sings Neil Young on his latest album, Mirror Ball (Reprise), “they don’t do the things I do.”

No Kidding.

At 49 – an age when so many veteran rockers put themselves on the summer tour greatest hits treadmill – Young is still rocking with a fury, opening new vistas in his amply celebrated 30-year, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame career.  Mirror Ball is Young’s collaboration with Pearl Jam, an inevitable move, really, considering the creative kinship evident between the two since Pearl Jam emerged from Seattle in 1991.

Pearl Jam’s staunch independence – TicketMaster battle and all – echoes Young’s. 

And the quintet’s thick, dynamic guitar attack owes more that a little to Young’s part-time band, Crazy Horse. Young, for his part, has willingly played the benevolent and supportive big brother/father figure for not only Pearl Jam, but also for any other modern rock denizens who acknowledge him as an influence. If Pete Townshend were writing this story, it would be titled “The Punks Meet the Godfather.”

“I was completely honored to be playing with him,” Mike McCready gushes about the four days Young and Pearl Jam spent recording Mirror Ball in Seattle, with Pearl Jam collaborator Brendan O’Brien producing and playing keyboards. “We’re enamored of him… and I’m honored he says he’s into us. I think he just likes where we’re coming from. He sees a lot of honesty in our music.”

Still, there’s a difference between being buds and rubbing elbows with your heroes and actually getting down to brass tacks in the studio. 

“Oh yeah,” McCready acknowledges. “We’d be jamming, and I’d look over and say to myself, ‘That’s Neil Young, and he’s playing leads. That’s the shit!’ I could only wish to be that good. 

“I think he’s a genius. 

There’s a complexity to his playing, a complexity of emotions. He’ll sustain a note forever and it’ll sound amazing, whereas I’m used to playing a bunch of different leads. He made me look at how I play, and I’d like to eventually play like him. He always hits the right note. 

I don’t think it’s a thinking process for him; he just does it.”

Full interview @ Guitar World Interview: Neil Young Discusses 'Mirror Ball' and Working with Pearl Jam  (September 1995) by Gary Graff.

On Sept 11, 2022, Pearl Jam performed an encore with a cover of Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World" plus the "Star Spangled Banner".

Pearl Jam - 9/11/22 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
(see Pearl Jam encores Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World" on 9-11 in NYC)

 

"Throw Your Hatred Down" video - Neil Young w/ Pearl Jam

Directed by Jim Sheridan

via Live in Dublin - Mirror Ball Live album | Hearse Theater | NYA

 

In 2021, we highlighted the upcoming Neil Young w/ Pearl Jam Mirror Ball Live album recorded in 1995 at the indoor Simmonscourt Arena, Dublin, Ireland. 

 

 

Neil Young and Pearl Jam

 

Simmonscourt Arena, Dublin, Ireland

photo via David Fallon

 

Pearl Jam and Neil Young have been collaborating since at least 1992 when Pearl Jam and Neil played separately at the Bob Dylan tribute ("BobFest") at Madison Square Garden in New York City on October 16. It is believed that this is when Neil and Eddie Vedder first met and possibly Neil invited Pearl Jam to play at the Bridge School Benefit concert. on 11/1/92. 

A few weeks later Pearl Jam would play the Bridge School concert and mark the beginning of a long and productive relationship. Since their initial meeting, Pearl Jam's music has been heavily influenced by Neil Young as demonstrated by their numerous covers of Young songs. For example, Pearl Jam has covered "Rockin In The Free World" over 100 times, often as final encores, according to the Pearl Jam fan site Lukin.

A year later, Neil would join Pearl Jam onstage at the MTV Music Awards on 9/2/93 to play an incendiary Rockin in The Free World. Critics would call the onstage interplay the highlight of an otherwise lackluster affair. The attention gained from "BobFest" and playing with Pearl Jam would introduce Neil to a new generation of admirers.

It is likely that during this period that Young invited Eddie Vedder to induct him into the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame the following year.

For Neil's induction speech, Eddie Vedder said (from Five Horizons):

"He's taught us a lot as a band about dignity and commitment and playing in the moment and when I hear, you know, the speeches and inducting Janis Joplin and Frank Zappa, I get, uh, I'm just really glad he's still here. And I'm gonna (audience applauds; Eddie rolls his eyes, smiles and clutches his hand to his heart)... yeah!!

And I think I'm gonna have to say that I don't know if there's been another artist that has been inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame to commemorate a career that is still as vital as he is today. Some of his best songs were on his last record."

Several weeks later, Neil would return the favor and perform at the Voters For Choice Benefit Concerts in Washington, DC.

Neil went on to rescue a PJ show in San Francisco at the Polo Field on June 24, 1995 when Eddie fell sick after 3 songs.

The only recording Neil and Pearl Jam did together was the Mirror Ball and Merkin Ball albums. (The recording sessions and tour are covered in detail below. To play and listen to a MP3 sample from Neil Young Mirror Ball and Pearl Jam's Merkin Ball.) 

Neil Young & Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder 

Voters For Choice Benefit - January 14 & 15, 1995w/ Pearl Jam & Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse  

Pearl Jam & Neil Young
Toronto - September 11, 2011
(See Neil Young Fans Have Spoken and They Want Pearl Jam?! Archives Survey Results Posted)

"Walk With Me"

Pearl Jam w/ Neil Young 

2010 Bridge School Benefit Concert (24th Annual)

 

"Throw Your Hatred Down" 

Eddie Vedder & Neil Young

2014 Bridge School Benefit Concerts

Photo by Jay Blakesberg Photography

(Click photo to enlarge)

 

Also, see:

Collection of Mirror Ball and Merkin Ball Reviews - A Pearl Jam and Neil Young Collaboration

DISPATCHES FROM THE FIELD. Pearl Jam and Neil Young at Polo Field - June 24, 1995.

Voters For Choice Benefit - January 14 & 15, 1995

NEIL YOUNG/PEARL JAM Exhibition Stadium, Toronto, Ontario, August 18, 1993 - SPIN Mag

Bridge 2003 - 17th Annual Bridge School Benefit Concert, October 25th and 26th, 2003 - Shoreline Amphitheater, Mountain View, CA.

VIDEO: The Day Neil Young Saved a Pearl Jam Concert - San Francisco, 06.24.1995

Bridge Memory: "Walk With Me": Pearl Jam w/ Neil Young - 10/24/10

Pearl Jam, Rush, Journey Members Cover Neil Young at Rock Hall All-Star Jam

VIDEO: "Peace and Love" - Neil Young w/ Pearl Jam

VIDEO: Pearl Jam Covers Neil Young's "Throw Your Hatred Down" - Seattle, 8/8/2018

Jack White Joins Pearl Jam to Perform Neil Young's “Rockin’ in the Free World” at Portugal Fest

Neil Young Will Induct Pearl Jam into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

VIDEO: Pearl Jam's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction + "Rockin' in the Free World"

Super Jam Full Performance: 2017 Hall of Fame "Rockin' In The Free World" by Pearl Jam, Yes, Journey, Rush + More

Pearl Jam - Fuckin' Up - Hartford (October 25, 2013)

Pearl Jam + Red Hot Chili Peppers Cover Neil Young's "Rockin' In the Free World" in Rio

Nephew Eddie and Uncle Neil

Pearl Jam & Stephen Colbert Cover Neil Young's 'Rockin' In the Free World' | The Late Show

Eddie Vedder & Lukas Nelson + Promise Of The Real Cover Neil Young's "Throw Your Hatred Down": OHANA FESTIVAL (Sept 29, 2019)

Pearl Jam Covers "Fuckin' Up" in DC - 2006

Pearl Jam Working With Neil Young - Pearl Jam Twenty Film

Pearl Jam and Uncle Neil in Winnipeg - 2005

RARE VIDEO: Pearl Jam & Neil Young - "I'm The Ocean", San Francisco, CA 6/24/1995 

Uncle Neil & Nephew Eddie

 

For more on Pearl Jam and Neil Young, see Eddie Vedder Influences page. 

 

Eddie Vedder
Columbia, MD - 9/18/98
Photo by Thrasher 

Pearl Jam's "Lightning Bolt" Dedicated to Neil Young 

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