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An unofficial news blog for Neil Young fans from Thrasher's Wheat with concert and album updates, reviews, analysis, and other Rock & Roll ramblings. Separating the wheat from the chaff since 1996.
On Feb. 11, 2005, in Los Angeles, Neil performed the Beach Boys song 'In My Room' and dedicated the song not only to Wilson, but to his late brothers, Dennis and Carl.
The Making of ‘Heart of Gold Volume 1’ – A Neil Young Tribute Album Supporting The Bridge School
‘Heart of Gold Volume 1
A Neil Young Tribute Album Supporting The Bridge School
‘Heart Of Gold Volume 1’, a compilation of Neil Young covers performed by artists including Fiona Apple, Brandi Carlile, The Doobie Brothers, Eddie Vedder, Mumford & Sons, and more, will raise funds for The Bridge School . The Bridge School helps children with severe speech and physical impairments through assistive technology.
Cinema Music Group (CMG) a Los Angeles-based production house founded by longtime friends and collaborators Dave Resnik and Niko Bolas, produced the benefit album. Each artist on the album personally chose the song they covered, and nearly every track was recorded in just one or two takes, giving the record an intimate, live feel. The tribute benefit album has already raised $100,000 for The Bridge School, with Volume 1 out now, and Volumes 2 and 3 on the way.
Kat Harlton: How did the idea for ‘Heart of Gold Volume 1’ come about, and what inspired you to make it a benefit project for The Bridge School?
CMG: We were recording an album with Chris Pierce in 2022. He’s such an incredible songwriter. We knew we wanted to record more with him and we started looking at cover ideas. Niko’s worked with Neil for a long time and their friendship goes back 30+ years! So, we ended up speaking with Neil and got his blessing to record a few covers but the idea only ended up growing from there and after a few more conversations we booked a studio session in 2023 and invited Chris Pierce, Sharon Van Etten and Draco Rosa along. We reached out to Brandi Carlile too and she said yes but her schedule was really busy. We tracked 3 songs in one day! The session was great success and we just kept going. Brandi recorded “Philadelphia” about 15 months later! The Bridge School is such a huge part of Neil’s legacy. The old benefit concerts were so memorable, it was such an exciting thing to be part of. It only felt natural for us to turn the Heart Of Gold project into a benefit record to benefit The Bridge School.
Kat: Neil Young is such a revered and complex artist—what was it like securing his blessing for this project, and how did that influence how you approached the covers?
CMG: It meant everything, we definitely couldn’t have done it without him. His songwriting is so good, His songs are some of the best ever written. We wanted to approach recording the record with as much care and respect for the original songs as possible and we believed the best way to do that was by letting the artists pick the songs they wanted to cover. By doing that it meant that they were able to pick and play the songs that they really connected with. We wanted to make a heartfelt record and this approach made it easier to record and capture all the emotive performances.
Kat: With artists like Fiona Apple, Brandi Carlile, Eddie Vedder, and The Doobie Brothers involved, how did you go about curating such a diverse and legendary lineup?
CMG: Similar to how the concerts were put together… The concerts had this family feel to them where everyone knew everyone. We wanted to keep that family feel so we reached out to people who we knew. Sometimes we were able to reach out directly to the artist and sometimes we reached out to the producer, or a manager or even the guitar tech! The whole project happened via word or mouth. We ran with the whole six degrees of separation… “who do we know who knows ___?”. We were really surprised by how many people wanted to be involved. It was amazing to have so many artists wanting to use their talents and music to do something good.
Kat: You chose to record most songs live in just one or two takes—why was it important to you to keep the process raw and immediate, and how did that affect the final sound?
CMG: We used Neil’s “1 take” approach to tracking. It’s really difficult to capture the emotion in a session if it’s all been recorded in parts and sections. It’s best to do full takes, that’s when the magic happens! You feel the energy between the musicians. The drummer is playing with the bassist and they’re feeding off of that… the guitar digs in a little harder and the vocalist is feeling it too because they’re all in the same room together! You can’t get that with a computer. It’s not squeaky clean but the magic is found in all those subtle mistakes and nuances. If you listen to any of Neil’s records you can hear him use that process too. It has such a vibe to it. It feels much more intimate.
TODAY - Harvest Moon Gathering: Benefit for The Painted Turtle & The Bridge School
Harvest Moon:
A Gathering To Benefit for The Painted Turtle & The Bridge School
w/ Stephen Stills & Neil Young
Stephen Stills will perform as special guest with Neil Young at The Harvest Moon Gathering: Benefit for The Painted Turtle & The Bridge School today, Saturday October 5 at Lake Hughes, CA.
Be among the first fans to
have the chance to purchase this week before being announced on
social media.
100% OF THE PROCEEDS GO DIRECTLY TO THE BRIDGE SCHOOL
Readers of this site's support has been instrumental in helping The Bridge School thrive as a leader in the field of augmentative and alternative communication for nearly four decades. To show The Bridge School's gratitude, they have offered us early VIP access.
There is an array of Bridge memorabilia including posters, programs and shirts.
Bridge 1999 Memory: "Greenville" by Lucinda Williams w/ Emmylou Harris & Neil Young
Poster: Bridge School Benefit 1999
Here's a Bridge School Benefit concert memory form 1999 whenNeil Young hosted Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins,
Sheryl Crow, Green day, Lucinda Williams, Brian Wilson, The Who, Emmylou
Harris, Tom Waits and more.
Here is "Greenville" by Lucinda Williams with Emmylou Harris and Neil Young.
"All the young dudes carry the news": David Bowie and Neil Young
David Bowie: Berlin,
2002
From our TW post back in 2011, here's an absolute mesmerizingly amazing cover by David Bowie of Neil
Young's song "I've Been Waiting For You", live in concert in Berlin,
2002 on YouTube.
On the 2002 album Heathen Bowie covers Young's song "I've Been
Waiting For You". Incidentally, the riotous guitar treatment is by Dave
Grohl of Foo Fighters and former Nirvana drummer.
David Bowie -- the Man Who Fell To Earth -- wrote "Kooks" after listening to Neil Young's "After The Goldrush". Bowie
performed Kooks at a BBC session on 3 June 1971 - three days after his
son Zowie's birth.
"I'd been listening to a Neil Young album and they phoned
through and said that my wife had a baby on Sunday morning, and I wrote
this one about the baby," he told the studio audience [BBC.com].
In an article on David Bowie in The Kansas City Star By TIMOTHY FINN (May. 09, 2004) on artistic relevance, musical innovation and why he is still a rebel:
Bowie: "When things go bad,
I've always looked to my peers and, in a way, my musical mentors to see
what they've done in similar situations. Neil Young and Bob Dylan have
done similar things: They have both made a few disastrous albums, but
they always end up coming back to the point of what they started in the
first place. You've got to go back to what you were doing when you were
rooting around with experimentation,ideas that are going to work for me, not my audience."
“My first impression of David Bowie as he walked
through the front door of our home for the annual BBQ fiesta that
traditionally kicks off the Bridge School Benefit Concert weekend was
how slight he was. His music and his persona were so large that I was
struck by the contrast.
As I approached him and his band to welcome them to our home and to
thank them for coming to play for our kids, the next thing that stays in
my memory is what an absolute gentleman he was. He was an enormously
talented yet humble man who was content to just hang out with the kids
and other guests who were attending that night’s party.
I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to meet him, to
welcome him into my home and to have him grace the stage over that
weekend in 1996 to offer his unique and innovative talent for our
organization.
He was an original in every senses of the word. On behalf of all of us
who have been associated with Bridge School, I offer our sincere and
heartfelt sympathies and wishes for peace to his many close and dear
loved ones.
That Saturday Bridge show in 2010 was one of the greatest live music experiences of my life. What a night in the rain.
Dancin
along to Billy Idol right after the Giants got into the World Series
was an absolute blast, even though Billy really had no idea why the
crowd was going THAT crazy! Pearl Jam gave us a great set, including
their tribute song to my home, Santa Cruz. Seeing Kris Kristofferson was a treat, though Merle Haggard's absence was the only bummer of the night.
All
of it led up to Buffalo Springfield. You could feel a real nervousness
in the air, as no one really knew what to expect, but as soon as we
heard Richie's voice on "On The Way Home", everyone breathed a sigh of
relief. Richie sounded perfect, Stephen looked and played better than I
had seen in a long time, the backup guys were the perfect choice, and of
course, Neil was Neil. Their performance was far far better than anyone
could have hoped. From my seat, I had a great view of Emmylou Harris
backstage swaying along to the music, she stayed in that spot for the
entire time they played. When they broke out "Burned", I figured I was
having an out of body experience. At the climax of "Bluebird", Stephen
and Neil looked at each other with total "WOW" looks, total magic.
I've seen a lot of shows in my time, and that's one that really stands out as one of the truly best.
Thanks so much for the memories there of Bridge weekend 2010 Richie! Quite a weekend of musical history being made.
The Buffalo Springfield, v. 2010 Joe Vitale, Stephen Stills, Richie Furay, Neil Young and Rick Rosas Photo by Eleanor Stills
RARE VIDEO: Neil Young for the National Academy of Child Development 1982 TV PSA
Neil Young
National Academy of Child Development 1982 TV PSA
A very rare YouTube video of Neil Young in 1982 doing a Public Service Announcement for the National Academy of Child Development of Puget Sound, Washington.
Is it any wonder that Neil & Pegi would go on to found the The Bridge School a few years later?
Thanks Bob D.!
Here is Lucinda Williams w/ Emmylou Harris & Neil Young on "Greenville" from Bridge School Benefit 13 in 1999.
More on reviews of 13th Annual Bridge School Benefit concerts with The Who, Pearl Jam, Sheryl Crow, Green Day, Billy Corgan & James Iha, Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams and Brian Wilson @ Bridge School Benefit Concerts.
A couple of weeks ago, Neil Young Archives announced that 2 new Bridge School concerts have been added for rental streaming at MovieTone | NYA.
Previously, the concerts, such as the 1988 and 1989 concerts, were available on demand for a 24 hour period. That period has now been extended to a 48 hour window, with proceeds going to Bridge School.
>> Pre-Order on Amazon.com << 
Human Highway
Concert Review of the Moment
This Land is My Land
FREEDOM In A New Year
*Thanks Neil!*
![[EFC Blue Ribbon - Free Speech Online]](http://www.thrasherswheat.org/gifs/free-speech.gif)
The Unbearable Lightness of Being Neil Young
Pardon My Heart
"We're The Ones 
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