Neil Young
Photo by Rebecca Cabage/Invision/AP
From Neil Young's Patron call earlier today. Many thanks to Hambone, Dan, Chris, tomatron, Greying Rider and many others for updates via TW comments.
The following distilation is from TW comments on Unboxing Video are from Wednesday's call with Neil Young and his fans.
At 8/28/2024 04:38:00 PM, Blogger Dan Swan said...
Right from the beginning he states third of five volumes, so at least two more volumes the Archives. I can imagine Neil living for quite awhile after seeing just how healthy and happy he looked in the unboxing video. So I’m really looking forward to the deep dive into Volume 3. And hoping for more while I’m still alive.
At 8/28/2024 09:48:00 PM, Blogger Chris said...
The call fell at an awkward time and, although I was able to join, unfortunately I could not give it my full attention and did not take my usual minutes. Agree Neil looked and sounded in good health. New tour announcement with POTR lite is excellent news. Though I'm not going to try and travel to the USA to see this tour having got my fingers (and heart) burnt with the cancellation of my dream ticket - I had Row 8 - to see Crazy Horse play in Hollywood. At least it saved me the irony of a long haul flight to see the 'Love Earth' tour, even with an offset. Long may you run, Neil.
At 8/29/2024 06:12:00 AM, Blogger Hambone said...
Morning all. Here's my pick of highlights from yesterday's zoom. No notes either so it's what I can remember after a nights sleep.
1. Frank Gironda mentioned that patron subscribers were at a high and I noted 396 on the call last night. When the zooms started a few years back it was nearer the 250 level, so that sounbds good for the health of NYA.
2. Tour cancellation - as tomatron said - the phrase Neil used was that a couple of the band "hit a wall" and then he felt sick at the idea of going onstage. He was clear that he couldn't just keep going and that what matters is "the art of playing, and the music".
Rolling Stone has some fuller quotes here:
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/neil-young-breaks-silence-crazy-horse-tour-cancellation-1235090480/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3pBk7tv2ggwZfQoqO82JRNlchwDcZfkAtcSQ3MlgUx5w61w6TR46KXt2Y_aem_gI2eCa2pbA1Cc-NdmXFlhg
The new tour with Micah, Anthony Logerfo and Corey McCormick is due to follow Farm Aid, at outdoor and theatre venues, many which he has played before. He implied it would be East Coast and then an arc across the country back home - Michigan and Ohio were mention, so sounds like a road trip of sorts.
Content will be a classic Neil/ band set of solo acoustic then the band joins in - and at a less breakneck pace than the Horse.
Neil looked keen to go out, was very animated and sharp on answering questions & was pacing up and down out of camera shot. At one point I wondered if the mail had arrived as he disappeared for a minute or so.
Volume 4 - this will cover 1988 - 2002. There was some talk about where Live Mirror Ball fits in as I think someone asked about it as a separate release.
The other thing was that Neil said a majority of the studio recordings from Vol 4 would be the first band take of songs, which would be "interesting".
Also the implication that Vol 5 will be 2003- the present, whatever that will mean.
Lyrics book - this is in progress. Neil says it has 600 odd songs and will include scans of the original handwritten lyrics where they exist. Sheets are still being found and it may include a few songs where only the lyrics where written, but never found a tune.
Canary novel - this is at the line by line editing stage. There is no publishing deal for it yet, but Neil appears confident they will find one when the book is ready. As he's said before it's a Science Fiction novel.
Now as a very long term SF fan of 50 years - I just got back from the World SF Convention in Glasgow UK - I get a bit wary when celebrities start trying to write in the genre. Often their original idea has already been explored by the numerous fantastic less-known writers out there who live and breathe the genre. But hey it's Neil so I'll be giving a look in.
Coastal soundtrack - OK I hope I heard this right. This is Daryl's film of the 2023 Coastal Tour and the soundtrack will have different songs/versions from what has already appeared on Before and After. The film is almost ready, but I didn't catch a release date.
There was also some technical discussion about playing NYA via ATMOS and SONOS devices/apps but since I don't use them, sorry can't remember the details.
I'm sure others can fill in the gaps of what's been missed.
Hope the new tour is sedate and complete. I'll keep everything crossed for something in Europe eventually but it's great to hear Tales of the Rail from the US from everyone here.
Tony Hambone in the UK
At 8/29/2024 09:12:00 AM, Blogger herbsworld said...
That unboxing video, to me, was glorious! I agree. Neil is in fine form and I felt relief over not only a familiar face, but a personality that remains. I have so many older friends that just “change” with age (Or, maybe it’s me?). Neil seems as enthusiastically excited as ever. Optimistic, even. Glad to see and hear indeed! The box itself, meh.
Not to be a Debbie Downer but there were maybe 5 or 6 audio cd’s that I’m innarested in (tho not in low-fi, cd quality) and maybe 2 of the bluray titles. I would most likely spend more on cherry picking individual titles, if they become available, which I hope they do, (Along with the book). Anyway. Like I said before, I’m happy for the output and everyone who is excited about Christmas in September :)
Here’s to a Happy Neil Year!
At 8/29/2024 01:12:00 PM, Blogger Hayo said...
Other cool things Neil mentioned in the Zoom call:
- CSNY 69 is pretty much done and all analog.
- Roxy album (and maybe video?) is incomplete but in the works.
.
Excellent updates folks! Many thanks for sharing all the details. It is good to share, indeed. Sharing is caring.
So much to unpack here. The Big Amps carry on. Lost Cortez lyrics found. Archives Vol #4 being worked. So lucky for us rustie grains.
Also, see Neil Young Patron ZOOM Call Update: Archives Volume #3 w/ 17 Discs.
Given the plan for a PotR tour, I suspect something spooked the Horse—definite “eat a peach” vibes, probably compounded if band members were physically unwell. Maybe audiences didn’t pick up on the vibes? I’d be interested in reports from anyone who caught shows late in the tour.
ReplyDeleteMy hunch is that Neil is relatively healthy. There’s a chance he’d be open about something affecting him directly, but if other band members were sick, he’d wat to respect their privacy.
I remember reading that some folks who saw the later part of the tour thought that Ralph’s drumming was noticeably off. Not sure if that had anything to do with his health, but who knows.
ReplyDeletePeace 🙏
I am sad the “Micah Horse” tour got cut short but I was lucky to see a great show on night 2 of tour.
ReplyDeleteI have high hopes for the upcoming “Real Crazy Promise, Nelson-Brothers” tour with our captain Neil at the helm. May the four winds blow, fill the sails, and deliver the goods. Working extra hours this Labor Day weekend to afford the 17 CD NYA3 box, among other things. Broken cars, kids in college, etc. I love what I am hearing from NYA3 so far! Thanks Neil! Your Brother Alan in Seattle
Dan, thanks for the Horse tour notes. My impressions (based on reports of reports of reports…) may be colored by my recent viewing of Muddy Track. I watched that and Human Highway the same week, trying to soak in the mindset of the vol III time period.
ReplyDeleteThe Horse is kind of like the little girl in that nursery rhyme, the one with the little curl. “When she was good, she was very good indeed, but when she was bad…” [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.]
Doesn’t Muddy Track feature Neil and the band saying “F U Germany!” ? The band didn’t like the sedate crowd? I was not impressed. It gave the movie a negative identity somewhat, in my view. Mountaintop also showed the meaner side of Neil. I have seen him pissed at soundcheck in Boise in 2016. What a venue! Outlaw Field! Let’s go back there! The Pacific Northwest is always ready for another Neil show! Your Brother Alan in Seattle.
DeleteMuddy Track has so much messiness (and muddiness), I don’t remember that exact moment. Makes you wonder about any footage they didn’t use. Today, we can look at it as a historical document; back in ‘87, it probably would’ve been too raw.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite quote on that NYCH era is from (I think) D. Briggs: “Billy Talbot can play one note on anything.” (Feel free to correct me on the source or wording.)
In the not too many Neil Young concerts that I have attended the 1987 show in Munich stands out as the resurrection of the Horse. In those days long before the internet, the rumour in continental Europe was that Neil Young had become a redneck country music act, a supporter of the much detested B-movie actor playing president Ronald Reagan along the axis of evil. Five years earlier and due to lack of communication virtually nobody in Europe had understood the overblown Trans tour that in Germany had been announced as being "Live Rust '82" (!). So what were they thinking over at Geffen, in Neil's camp, or with the concert promoters? "Life" had not been released yet, the last record that was to be published by Geffen Records which could have been an indicator what maybe was to follow. So for the die-hard fan the reference was "Landing On Water", not an album to whet one's appetite either.
ReplyDeleteIn Munich the concert had to be shifted from the Olympiahalle (maximum capacity 17 000) to Deutsches Museum (capacity 3500 roughly) because of poor ticket sales. The show was pretty physical on the bands side, aggressive and loud. I tend to believe that they played for their survival somehow. At the end I saw Neil Young shredding all the strings on Old Black for the first time. "Muddy Tracks" is an excellent document about this tour, it shows Neil's frustration in Luxembourg (run-down venue) the reherasal quarrels about performance details of "Cortez" and the endless rain during these weeks. I remember standing in line for two hours soaking wet before being admitted to the concert hall.
Maybe not understandable for the Northamerican fan are the rainy bus ride impressions. The caravan obviously got totally lost on backroads in Southern Germany. When they made it back on track onto the Autobahn system Poncho Sampedro airs his frustration about having to play the "Tempodrom" in Berlin, a "fucking tent show". In 1987 Neil Young & Crazy Horse in Europe were out of place and out of time, they went through experiences that a newcomer band would have to cope with. Records like "Freedom" and "Ragged Glory" still were in the future and in the eyes and ears of the continental European audiences with their many HOGTTs it had to be a Woodstock nostalgia act or a RNS re-incarnation. Mind you, nobody in 1987 believed in rockstars beyond their 70th birthday.
When they triumphantly returned to Munich in 2001, Neil Young adressed the crowd in the Olympiahalle commenting on their reaction saying something I understood as being related to those days in 1987: "I could tell you stories, but I won't". Maybe that was a wise decision, German speaking countries make up for the largest market for NY in Europe, after all.