Kent State Ohio Massacre Coverup Continues

Terry Norman - FBI informant/provocateur
70 Seconds Before Kent State Shootings
May 4, 1970 @ 12:24 PM
Kent State Truth Tribunal

So what really happened at Kent State, Ohio 42 years ago today?

Based on last week's U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation report, we still might never know. Or will we someday learn the awful truth of that tragic day that left 4 dead in Ohio?

It seems that the key to the truth lies with Terry Norman.

In recently discovered film of the Kent State Shooting in 1970 (1:07.40 thru 1:08), FBI informant provocateur Terry Norman (photo at top) is the young man in the light colored sports jacket. Earlier that day Norman's mentor, Detective Tom Kelly from the Kent Police had attempted to have Norman's gun approved for carrying on campus during the demonstrations, but that approval never came so it's KEY that the video clearly shows Norman handing over his gun to Detective Kelly.

From forensic evidence expert Stuart Allen's analyses of the Kent State Tape in 2010, we learned that Norman shot that weapon at the May 4th demonstration as he was attacked & beat-up by students who saw his gun. (More on Terry Norman ~ Does Terry Norman Hold the Key to Kent State?.)

Watching these Kent State videos without sound, Norman's gun hand-off coupled with the post-Kent State Tape analysis, we now understand the importance of this interaction caught on video & at many other sources.

Norman's pistol 'created the sound of sniper fire.'

In response to the DOJ whitewash report Congressman Dennis Kucinich issued a statement:

“The letter also failed to indicate any efforts to reconcile the evidence in the recording with any prior statements about the incident made by FBI paid informant, Terry Norman, who was on campus that day and was known to have brandished a gun that might have created the sounds caught in the recording.

“While I appreciate the response from the Justice Department, ultimately, they fail to examine key questions and discrepancies. It is well known that an FBI informant, Terry Norman, was on the campus. That FBI informant was carrying a gun. Eye witnesses testified that they saw Mr. Norman brandish that weapon. Two experts in forensic audio, who have previously testified in court regarding audio forensics, found gunshots in their analysis of the audio recording.

Did an FBI informant discharge a firearm at Kent State?

Did an FBI informant precipitate the shootings?"

Why is understanding the Kent State Ohio Massacre critical?

To understand the events of May 4, 1970 at Kent State and the four dead in Ohio, is to understand much of what has happened in our history before, during and after.

In the intervening 41 years, there have been a wide range of commissions, studies, research and theories of what actually led to twenty-eight Ohio National Guardsmen shooting into a crowd of anti-war protesters at Kent State University which left four college students dead on the ground.


Photo by Kent State photojournalism student John Filo

"History never exactly repeats itself.

But its currents are never far from the present. As today’s protesters and police employ bolder tactics, the Kent State and Jackson State anniversaries should remind us that deadly mistakes can and do happen. It is the government’s responsibility to wield proportionate force, not to over-arm police and place them in a position where they could panic with deadly results."
~~ Steven Rosenfeld, Will a Militarized Police Force Facing Occupy Wall Street Lead to Another Kent State Massacre? | Civil Liberties | AlterNet

Despite many official denials, there have always been persistent theories that the National Guard was actually provoked into the shootings by a belief that they were being fired upon themselves and therefore were acting in self defense.

What follows is a brief recap for those less familiar with the The Kent State Massacre, followed by the latest developments.

The spring of 1970 was a time of significant unrest on college campuses protesting the Vietnam war and President Richard Nixon's announcement of a new American invasion of Cambodia, provoking an escalation in anti-war protests. The anti-war protest movement culminated with the Kent State Massacre which resulted in hundreds of universities, colleges, and high schools closing throughout the United States due to a student strike of four million students. The official President's Commission on Campus Unrest concluded that "the indiscriminate firing of rifles into a crowd of students and the deaths that followed were unnecessary, unwarranted, and inexcusable."



Twenty-eight Ohio National Guardsmen fired sixty-seven rounds in thirteen seconds, leaving four students dead

Here is a summary of recent new developments from Kent State Truth Tribunal. (For more, see Kent State Truth Tribunal. Thanks Laurel for all of your work in your sister Allison's name.)


Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Minneapolis, MN 1970
"They were about to walk out on stage and were spending a moment warming up."
Photo by Henry Diltz

Immediately after the Kent State shooting on May 4, 1970, Neil Young composed the song "Ohio" after looking at photos appearing in Life magazine and then taking a walk in the woods. Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young went to the studio and recorded the song which was released to radio stations shortly after the killings.

A rather significant article in today's The Cleveland (Ohio) Plain Dealer "Neil Young's 'Ohio' evokes strong images of May 4, 1970 shootings at Kent State" by Mark Dawidziak:

It was more than just another protest song.

Ohio was a cry of anguish, penned by Neil Young after seeing pictures taken at Kent State University on May 4, 1970.

But 40 years after members of the Ohio National Guard opened fire on college students, Young's "Ohio" remains the most evocative pop-culture response to a defining moment in American history.

"This is an event that now is in every history book," said Carole A. Barbato, a Kent State University professor of communication studies who team-teaches a course on May 4. "Wherever you live, even though your environment obviously shapes how you perceive things, you're probably as aware of the shootings at Kent State as those of us in Northeast Ohio. And even though this still would be in the history books, the pop culture certainly does perpetuate that. "Ohio" was entering the pop-culture consciousness within three weeks of the shootings.

"It was the quickest and best reaction to Kent State, with Neil Young acting as 50 percent songwriter and 50 percent journalist," said David Bianculli, a pop-culture historian who teaches at Rowan University and regularly contributes to NPR's "Fresh Air."

"I'll tell you what that song meant," said Bianculli, author of the recently published "Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour." "After the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy, you felt kind of helpless as a young person. It seemed that when someone had your voice, that voice was silenced, usually by violence.

"Then you have Kent State, and college kids are actually fired upon. And when you just might start to be thinking, you don't dare have a voice or there is no voice, from the radio comes this voice of solidarity and outrage. It wasn't just a pop song."

...
"After 1970, that doesn't happen again. It didn't need to happen again, mostly because it didn't need to happen there. And that's what Neil Young's song spoke to."

Thanks Ken D.

More on Neil Young composed song "Ohio" performed by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (CSNY).

Timeline of Events Leading up to May 4, 1970:

4 Days in May: Ohio, May 1, 1970

4 Days in May: Ohio, May 2, 1970

4 Days in May: Ohio, May 3, 1970

4 Dead In Ohio: May 4, 1970


Let us continue the struggle to ensure that Allison's murder (& Bill's, Jeffry's and Sandra's) was not in vain.

The Four Dead in Ohio

Allison Krause - Age: 19, 110 Yards
William Schroeder - Age: 19, 130 Yards
Jeffrey Miller - Age: 20, 90 Yards
Sandra Scheuer - Age: 20, 130 Yards



A video collage of still images commemorating the 36th Anniversary of the killing of four college students by National Guardsman at Kent State in 1970

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Some Thoughts on New Video "Oh Susannah" by Neil Young & Crazy Horse

Music Video for "Oh Susannah" by Neil Young & Crazy Horse
(Click photo to enlarge)

Tuesday's release of a video for "Oh Susannah" , from the upcoming album Americana by Neil Young & Crazy Horse, has been well received by fans based on early comments.

Obviously, one of the most surprising aspects of the video is what it isn't. That is to say, this is not a music video of a bunch of old guys rockin' out in a barn somewhere in Northern California but rather a simple video bringing a deeper meaning to an old Americana folk classic.

Here's what Jill has to say:

I love it, song and video, and I`m just so glad to hear the Horse back in action.

When I first watched it my initial reaction when the little boy lit up his cigarette was to shout “no, don`t let him smoke it!!” But that`s how it was, and Neil has never been one to shy away from the truth or from controversy.

I think there`s also a message here that even when times are hard, especially when times are hard maybe, making music is always there as a comfort and an inspiration, that`s where these old songs came from and what links us together. I loved the version Neil did with Dave Matthews at Bridge last year, but I think this rocks even more, and the beautiful vocals of the children`s choir give the song a lift at just the right time.

Brilliant stuff as always, and I`m looking forward to hearing the rest of the album.

Another comment from HuffingtonPost.com by jephman:

Say what you want about Crazy Horse but Neil got the sound he wanted.

Unconventional? Yes but no band to this day can really mimic that sound and confuse it with another band. The members of Crazy Horse aren't full of themselves which made it easy for Neil to work with and get what he wanted.

There will come a day when the genius of this man is heralded for all his contributions from the unplugged acoustic type sessions to Crazy Horse. He was also very good with lyrics which ranged from heartfelt love songs to insightful sarcasm. Either way his music was something you could have some fun with and somehow you could tell he would be just a great person to know.

It appears that the film is from documentary footage of the Dust Bowl/Depression era 1930's. Such footage captured an often unspoken reality of widespread poverty in American life at the time.

So for those who might fail to see the connection between the Depression era 1930's and today... well look around. It's not a pretty sight. The reality of life in Americana has not changed for the better, for all too many of whom live and struggle under very harsh, brutal conditions.

The fantasy world portrayed on your TeeVee is in no way, shape or form anywhere close to what the world is truly like. Today, we are living John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath and the ghost of Tom Joad surrounds us.

Here's a comment by Matthew L. in response to some of our thoughts:

Good assessment on the meaning of the video.

Kind of fits with Neil and the band putting their own faces on the concept of Americana. The troubles and struggles of life continue unabated, and, as Americana in general tends to reflect the less glamorous realities of everyday life in early American history, it projects very well right on top of today's realities. A lot of the iconography has changed, but many of the basic struggles of living continue. We focus so much on glamour, that we miss the reality around us.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Indeed. Same as it ever was. Same as it ever was. Same as it ever was.

We await additional videos from Americana. And we think we'll continue to be pleasantly surprised by Neil's unconventional approach to conventional Americana.

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OFFICIAL VIDEO: "Oh Susannah" by Neil Young & Crazy Horse

The official video release of "Oh Susannah" by Neil Young & Crazy Horse.

More on "Oh! Susanna": The Story Behind The Song



Set for a June 5th release, you can now pre-Order "Americana" on Amazon.com (Thanks! You'll be helping to support us.)

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"Oh! Susanna": Dave Matthews and Neil Young

"Oh! Susanna" (Live) - Dave Matthews / Neil Young - Mtn. View, Shoreline - October 23, 2011

One of the bigger surprises from Bridge 2011 weekend was the pairing of Dave Matthews & Neil Young on "Oh! Susanna".

For many, this was a concert highlight.

As we mentioned recently, with all of the anticipation for the upcoming album Americana by Neil Young & Crazy Horse, there's been a lot of focus on the song "Oh! Susannah".

Yesterday, we posted The Big 3's "The Banjo Song (Oh Suzanna!)" from 1963. And before that, the campy Bananarama cover of "Venus" which is a cult classic YouTube video by Shocking Blue which is based off of the Americana tune "Oh! Susannah" and its riffs. "Venus" was written by Robbie van Leeuwen and originally recorded by Shocking Blue for their 1969 album, "At Home".

And just as we were reminded about The Byrds version of "Oh Susanna" and James Taylor with Johnny Cash's version of "Oh Susanna" along comes another "Oh Susanna" version.

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Neil Young with Jonathan Demme: 92nd Street Y - New York, NY, June 8, 2012

Neil Young with Jonathan Demme
Date: Fri, June 8, 2012, 8 pm
Venue: Kaufmann Concert Hall
Location: Lexington Avenue at 92nd St, New York, NY

From 92y.org:

Join rock legend Neil Young in conversation with acclaimed director Jonathan Demme (Married to the Mob, Rachel Getting Married) and see an excerpt from the forthcoming film Neil Young Journeys, their third collaboration, in which Demme follows Young on a road trip to his hometown in Ontario for the last nights of his world concert tour.

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"Oh! Susanna": The Story Behind The Song Continues

 

Americana by Neil Young & Crazy Horse

One of the bigger surprises from Bridge 2011 weekend was the pairing of Dave Matthews & Neil Young on "Oh! Susanna". For many, this was a concert highlight. Above is the video for The Big 3's "The Banjo Song (Oh Suzanna!)" from 1963. As we mentioned recently, with all of the anticipation for the upcoming album Americana by Neil Young & Crazy Horse, there's been a lot of focus on the song "Oh! Susannah".

Yesterday, we posted the campy Bananarama cover of "Venus" which is a cult classic YouTube video by Shocking Blue which is based off of the Americana tune "Oh! Susannah" and its riffs. "Venus" was written by Robbie van Leeuwen and originally recorded by Shocking Blue for their 1969 album, "At Home".

And just as we were reminded about The Byrds version of "Oh Susanna" and James Taylor with Johnny Cash's version of "Oh Susanna" along comes another "Oh Susanna" version. And as the legacy and history of "Oh! Susanna" continues to flap around on The Judgement Not To Pre-Judge "Americana", here's a comment by Matt & Jes Wedding:

First off, no one is snickering at Neil. Nor are they snickering at James Taylor because he didn't give a 15 minute lecture on "the history of the song Oh! Suzanna" before he played it live. Song meanings change over time. The original intent and malice that the song was written with and for is no longer present in the current incarnation of the song in our collective "Americana." Is it interesting to see where the song originally came from and how it has changed over time? Yes. But if this song has become "illegal" to reproduce in your mind because an old version of the song (which is not what Neil is playing) was racist, then there are a whole lot of other things that should be "illegal" as well. As I stated, song meanings change over time. This one has had 150 years to churn away in the collective American psyche, and in the mid-60s was reborn as a different song with a different meaning...you know, the version that EVERYONE knows. Not the original version that NO ONE knows. In a much more recent example of song meanings and change over time, think about Eddie Vedder and the song "Alive." Here is Ed recounting how the song has changed during VH1 storytellers, from twofeetthick.com: Ed retells the story of “Alive” saying “it’s a song about someone I know very well (laughs) … Ok, it’s about me” and goes on to say how the chorus is sung by fans with exuberance and it has trancended from being a song about a curse, to being an uplifting song. He concludes with “you changed the meaning of the song, you lifted the curse” And it only took 15 years to completely reverse and change the meaning of the entire song. Different circumstances, sure, but same idea. So snicker away if that helps you. I just don't see the point in living life stuck in 1830.

More on "Oh! Susanna": The Story Behind The Song



Set for a June 5th release, you can now pre-Order "Americana" on Amazon.com (Thanks! You'll be helping to support us.)

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The Judgement Not To Pre-Judge "Americana"

The Comment of the Moment is from Friday Afternoon Insanity: Yes, This Is Still A Neil Young Blog and responds to some of the pre-judicial early reviews that have been floated in anticipation of the upcoming album "Americana" by Neil Young & Crazy Horse.

What seems to be most bizarrely troublesome about all the chatter is how much of it is totally baseless since the writers openly admit they haven't heard the songs they're criticizing.

But hey?! It's the Internets. Everyone has an opinion. Including the inestimable D. I. Kertis who said...

It's good to see Neil back with the Horse finally.

I'm not one of those fans who's in love with Crazy Horse to the exclusion of all else, but it's inspiring good vibes nonetheless. I was a bit surprised when I first found Neil's new album was going to be folk/protest songs, and I'm not surprised it's gotten some pre-release flak (haven't most of Neil's albums lately?), but as for me, I'm trying to keep an opened mind to it. A new NY album will certainly be a nice way to begin the summer, and while I never specifically wished for Neil to play "Oh! Susannah" or "Clementine", I'm rather intrigued to hear what the Neil Young/Crazy Horse take on these songs will be. (Remember, Neil's Crazy Horse albums don't always sound just like the Crazy Horse we all know and love--I'm thinking especially of "Sleeps with Angels" here.)

Although it makes me even more curious about this album's "sound", I certainly have no qualms with the children's choir. Indeed I find the concept somewhat endearing.

Chrome Dreams II's "The Way", which featured a kids' choir, keeps coming back to me in a good way (one of my favorite of the relatively recent albums, too), and it's really cool that Neil, as an older rock musician, seems to be interested in reaching out to children. I also look at it, perhaps even more importantly, from the perspective that this is, after all, *folk* music: songs (if you'll pardon the reference) by the people, of the people, for the people.

Most of them are probably in public domain at this stage, many are universally recognized at least within the US, and, being in essence commonly owned, are intended to be singable by anyone anywhere, including children. So perhaps the inclusion of the children's choir on this album serves to highlight the universal nature of the kind of music Neil is essaying here. That's just a thought before actually hearing how 'Americana' plays out, but we shall see what we shall hear in not too long.

What I absolutely do not understand, though, is the talk of imperialism (and even, in one post I saw somewhere, fascism) over the inclusion in the track list of 'God Save the Queen'. I don't want to get too deeply into things here, but suffice to say that, as well know, 'God Save the Queen' is the British national anthem (also the tune for the American patriotic song 'My Country 'Tis of Thee, by the way), and if anyone seriously believes that 21st century England is oppressively imperialistic or "fascist" simply for continuing to have a reigning monarch, that just strikes me as gross ignorance of the world beyond one's own borders.

I'm not saying any country is completely idyllic or perfect; I think England has its issues just like anywhere else. But just because a nation does not have all of its leaders elected like in the US, that doesn't mean the people are being oppressed or that the ideology is necessarily wrongheaded. So I do strongly take exception to remarks of that nature.

Other than that, I'd prefer for the most part to sit back and give 'Americana' a fair chance. There's no use in a knee-jerk reaction, and nothing positive to be gained by rushing to judgement here. I'm sure 'Americana' will be as controversial as anyone Neil Young release, but I think it should at least be allowed a chance to reveal itself before we get too far into the complaints and nitpicking.

P.S. I saw my "comment of the moment" spot; thanks . I probably don't come here that often because writing comments of the moment takes so much time and energy, but it's nice to feel wanted. I'm sure I'll have more to say on 'Americana', the Linc-Volt, and other matters in the coming weeks and months.

Thanks -- as always -- for your time and energy D.I.!!! Your opinions (as well as dissenters) are wanted and welcomed. It's all one comment, afterall.



Set for a June 5th release, you can now pre-Order "Americana" on Amazon.com (Thanks! You'll be helping to support us.)

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Friday Afternoon Insanity: Yes, This Is Still A Neil Young Blog

As we promised yesterday, here's some Friday afternoon craziness. And, yes, this is still a Neil Young blog.

Yesterday, we posted a cult classic YouTube video of "Venus" by Shocking Blue which is based off of the Americana tune "Oh! Susannah" and its riffs. "Venus" was written by Robbie van Leeuwen and originally recorded by Shocking Blue for their 1969 album, "At Home".

As we mentioned recently, with all of the anticipation for the upcoming album Americana by Neil Young & Crazy Horse, there's been a lot of focus on the song "Oh! Susannah".

And just as we were reminded about The Byrds version of "Oh Susanna" and James Taylor with Johnny Cash's version of "Oh Susanna" along comes another "Oh Susanna" version.

Here's the video of Bananarama's "Venus" from 1986 album, "True Confessions".

Ahhh, those '80's....

Check it out.



Set for a June 5th release, you can now pre-Order "Americana" on Amazon.com (Thanks! You'll be helping to support us.)

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The "Oh! Susannah" Riffs Keep Coming: Shocking Blue's "Venus"

The "Oh! Susannah" riffs just keep right on coming it seems.

As we mentioned recently, with all of the anticipation for the upcoming album Americana by Neil Young & Crazy Horse, there's been a lot of focus on the song "Oh! Susannah".

And just as we were reminded about The Byrds version of "Oh Susanna" and James Taylor with Johnny Cash's version of "Oh Susanna" along comes another "Oh Susanna" version.

Here's the cult classic video of Shocking Blue's "Venus" which has the "Oh Susanna" riff.

Ahhh, those '60's....

Check it out.

ps - and just wait until you see tomorrow's video...



Set for a June 5th release, you can now pre-Order "Americana" on Amazon.com (Thanks! You'll be helping to support us.)

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Borrowed Tunes: Toronto Neil Young Tribute - May 4 & 5

A Toronto Neil Young Tribute coming up at Hugh's Room on Friday & Saturday, May 4 & 5.

This will be a special 5th Year Anniversary Event.

Neil Young Tribute

TOM WILSON
LEE HARVEY OSMOND
OH SUSANNA
LIAM TITCOMB
THE UNDESIRABLES
HEMINGWAY CORNER
ANNABELLE CHVOSTEK
BRENT TITCOMB
RORY JORDAN-STEVENS
DANIEL ROTH
DOUG CAMERON
CORIN RAYMOND

Thanks Mike R.!

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James Taylor with Johnny Cash Cover "Oh Susanna" - 1971

As we mentioned yesterday, with all of the anticipation for the upcoming album Americana by Neil Young & Crazy Horse, there's been a lot of focus on the song "Oh! Susannah".

And just as we were reminded about The Byrds version of "Oh Susanna" along comes another "Oh Susanna" version.

This one is so classic, it boggles the mind -- James Taylor with Johnny Cash on the Johnny Cash TV Show on Feb. 17, 1971. (Thanks Harold!)

Simply amazing.



Set for a June 5th release, you can now pre-Order "Americana" on Amazon.com (Thanks! You'll be helping to support us.)

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"Oh! Susannah" by The Byrds

With all of the anticipation for the upcoming album Americana by Neil Young & Crazy Horse, there's been a lot of focus on the song "Oh! Susannah".

And we were reminded that the last song on The Byrds 1965 album Turn, Turn, Turn was "Oh Susanna". (thanks Mark!)

From the liner notes for Americana by Neil Young & Crazy Horse for the song "Oh, Susannah":

This song written by Stephen Foster was originally performed on September 11, 1847. The Americana version was arranged with a new melody by Tim Rose and was originally performed by The Big Three in 1963, and updated by Tim Rose and the Thorns in 1964. This band did a lot of arrangements of folk songs that were changed to be rock and roll songs and called folk-rock. Tim Rose was one of the pioneers of folk- rock. Much of the music of Americana is based on this idea.

Set for a June 5th release, you can now pre-Order "Americana" on Amazon.com (Thanks! You'll be helping to support us.)

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2012 CROSBY, STILLS, NASH & YOUNG CONVENTION: Reggio Emilia, Italy, May 5 & 6

2012 CSN&Y Convention | Facebook

Nine bands from all over Italy, two locations, record stalls, cd, dvd, photographs, rare and never-seen-before audio and video items, collectors and fans from Europe, the fine cuisine of the Italian food valley, good vibes and a lot of great music. Free admission!

Saturday, May 5th: the international convention dedicated to Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young is back. And it displays an incredible program!

AFTERNOON (ALMOST) UNPLUGGED
It starts early, at 3 p.m. Saturday, May 5, at Tabacchi Blues Fountain Rubiera in Reggio Emilia (via Madonna of Pompeii 2 side via Fontana - www.tabacchi-blues.com). On stage at the five local bands will rise. Open dances Stefano Fedele from Udine, followed by Renzo Cozzani and Daniel Schiaffino from La Spezia, and again an acoustic trio , Bittersweet (Brescia) and the distortion sound of Topanga Four (Padova) and Neil's Addiction (Bologna).
Admission is free at Tabacchi Blues, and do not require booking.

ELECTRIC PARTY - NIGHT
From 7.30 p.m. on the night CSNY International convention change area. We'll move down to the "Batard" (by Canaletto, 35 in San Prospero, Modena - www.batard.it) where Simonel Borghi and Luca Poli from Ancona to kick off the program. After that, the Reggio Emilia band "The Youngs" will premiere the full Neil Young's Harvest, which in 2012 celebrates its first forty years. Then the Romans will go up on stage CSNY Experience Stefano Frollano and Francesco Lucarelli. The honor of closing the evening will be up to Rusties from Bergamo, the name is so popular in Italian music circuit.
At Batard the entrance is free, but there will be a dinner set menu (20 euros per person excluding drinks) for which we strongly advise you booked (via email at giampaolocorradini@gmail.com).

THIRD TIME
If there is a sufficient number of reservations (at least 40), Sunday, May 6 there will be a "third time" always at Batard: lunch set menu for 18 euros per person, excluding drinks, and free access to the stage for a jam session will go on till you drop ... who intends to enjoy the fantastic cuisine of Batard and listen and / or participate in the jam session on Sunday afternoon, you must book by mail at giampaolocorradini@gmail.com

CSNY AND THE INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION 'MADE IN COLLABORATION WITH MUZIK AND STATION RECORDS Kayman

MENU Batard Saturday, May 5 (20 euros per person excluding drink, booking recommended for caldissimamente giampaolocorradini@gmail.com) begin dinner at 20.30

Lasagne
Platter of cured salami PALMIERI of San Prospero with Fable Mortadella, Coppa seasoned Culaccia Zibello, Greaves, salami
Baskets with tigelle dumplings and baked
Platters of cheese Grana, Toma, Pecorino, accompanied by honey and jams

Torta Barozzi like chocolate and coffee
Water (excluding wine)

It 'will be a vegetarian alternative to the standard vegetable lasagna, insalatoni, salmon carpaccio, mozzarella and tomato crostini)

THIRD TIME MENU Batard Sunday, May 6 (18 EURO PER PERSON, LUNCH WILL 'ONLY IF THERE WILL BE AT LEAST 40 BOOKING. RESERVATIONS giampaolocorradini@gmail.com)

Tortellini in broth
Sausage with beans
Jam tart
Water and coffee (without wine)

INFORMATION AND RESERVATIONS: giampaolocorradini@gmail.com and 2012 CSN&Y Convention | Facebook

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Lincvolt Update: The Final Assembly Begins

Earlier today -- as part of Thrasher's Wheat's Earth Day observance -- we referenced how Neil is making a difference with his LincVolt project.

But we neglected to provide the latest update on the star crossed 5 year LincVolt project. From Lincvolt - Repowering the American Dream - Blog, we learn that LV is in the final assembly and about to begin touring around the country extolling the benefits of clean electric transportation.

Read all the details at Lincvolt - Repowering the American Dream - Blog.

(Thanks k!)

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Happy (Mother) Earth Day!

"

Happy (Mother) Earth Day!

Neil Young performs "Mother Earth" in Milwaukee on October 2, 2010, from broadcast of Farm Aid 25: Growing Hope for America.



Save Mother Earth for another day...

Here at Thrasher's Wheat, we're observing Earth Day by playing Neil Young's Greendale.

And -- in all seriousness -- we try and make everyday Earth Day on this blog. Some may note the badge on the lower right sidebar that states that "This Blog Fights Climate Change". And we like to talk about Sun Green and Earth Brown's mission to save Alaska from time to time.



As we've argued repeatedly over the years about the vastly underrated and under appreciated Greendale, the inconvenient truth of Greendale was that Sun Green -- and Neil Young -- were right.



And -- inconveniently -- the job is bigger than saving just Alaska.

From Venice Magazine interview (February 2004) on making a difference:

YOUNG: "Well, I think it is incumbent upon me, with Greendale out there, to do everything that I can to try to live up to Sun Green's vision of what the world should be like, and the kind of changes people should make. Which is more like, "Put your money where your mouth is.

And it's slow, a painfully slow process, but one of the things that we are doing is starting to power our vehicles for this next tour with bio-fuel that has no emissions that damage the ozone, 75 to 80% less pollution than normal diesel, and we'll just try to make a statement that, "Hey, this is something you can do right now, I could be driving around in my SUV or Hummer burning vegetable oil." The thing everybody hates about those is how wasteful they are. The fact that it's big, it's in the way, it's macho, and it's polluting the fucking planet and wasting fuel while it's doing it, it's pouring gallons and gallons of gasoline through one of these things, that's what bothers people."

And that's only one reason why we applaud the LincVolt project.



The inconvenient truth of Greendale is that regardless of whether you loved it or hated it, it was "the most important album of 2003, the musical equivalent of Silent Spring".

Now that is clear that the classic capitalist economic model is seriously flawed we need to understand how best to re-engineer our societies. Because we have now reached the fork in the road and must make a serious choice -- continue in the direction we're heading or choose the hidden path which is less traveled.

Mother Earth by Neil Young


Oh, Mother Earth,
With your fields of green
Once more laid down
by the hungry hand
How long can you
give and not receive
And feed this world
ruled by greed
And feed this world
ruled by greed.

Oh, ball of fire
In the summer sky
Your healing light,
your parade of days
Are they betrayed
by the men of power
Who hold this world
in their changing hands
They hold the world
in their changing hands.

Oh, freedom land
Can you let this go
Down to the streets
where the numbers grow
Respect Mother Earth
and her giving ways
Or trade away
our children's days
Or trade away
our children's days.

Respect Mother Earth
and her giving ways
Or trade away
our children's days.

Neil Young performed "Mother Earth" at each of his concerts during 2010.

Why?

So, if you never really figured out what 2003's Greendale was all about -- or if you missed the stageplay concert -- then take a few moments and watch this video of "Be The Rain".



Be the Rain. Be the Change. Be the Wheat.

“Treat the earth well: it was not given to you by your parents; it was loaned to you by your children. We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.”

-- Ancient Indian Proverb.

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Levon Helm: Gone But Not Forgotten

Levon Helm, Stephen Stills, Paul Butterfield, Neil Young, Ron Wood at The Last Waltz
Photo by Bo Shannon (c)
(Click photo to enlarge via Purple Words on a Grey Background)

We're glad to say that we had the honor and pleasure of seeing Levon Helm perform over the years. We didn't catch The Band in their very early days, but were lucky to see the various incarnations right up until last summer when Levon, while still vigorous on drums, could barely croak out a verse. Nevertheless, memories to cherish.

Much, much has been written to acknowledge Levon's place in musical history and we won't try and do justice. But we'll make note of the various musical intersections of Levon Helm and Neil Young.

Levon Helm played drums and contributed vocals on Neil Young's On The Beach (reviews) on the tracks "Revolution Blues" and "See the Sky about to Rain". Helm also appeared on "The Old Homestead" on Hawks And Doves (review) .

Bob Dylan, in a post on his official website, writes:

"He was my bosom buddy friend to the end, one of the last true great spirits of my or any other generation.

This is just so sad to talk about.

I still can remember the first day I met him and the last day I saw him. We go back pretty far and had been through some trials together. I'm going to miss him, as I'm sure a whole lot of others will too."

From Levon Helm: So Real It Makes You Believe < PopMatters by Sean Murphy:

There are certain albums you come upon at the ideal age, and I reckon, as a freshman in college, it was the ideal time to fall under the spell of Neil Young’s On the Beach. Much more on that album another time (short summary: it’s impeccable), but one of the songs that has never ceased to leave me at once unsettled and exhilarated is “See the Sky About to Rain”. It was interesting enough in its earlier incarnation as an acoustic number that Young performed on his ’71 tour. In fact, hearing that version helps you appreciate how much Young and his band did to elevate it (here I go again) to that other place.

Beyond boasting one of Young’s most desolate (and beautiful, yes beautiful) vocal performances, it has the whiskey-soaked Wurlitzer, the harmonica, the steel guitar (!) and that dark-night-of-the-soul vibe that more than a few folks—coincidentally or not—tapped into during the early-to-mid ‘70s. But mostly it has those drums: Helm’s work here is a clinic. Like all his playing and like the man himself, it is muscular, sensitive, soulful and masculine. It prods and occasionally cajoles, but it mostly keeps the time and supplies the requisite pace to the proceedings. (In a wonderfully full-circle sort of touch, Young—who had recently felt some rebel blowback for his acerbic, if accurate, cultural critiques in “Southern Man” and “Alabama”—alludes to his own recent and the region’s older history by name-checking “Dixie Land”. It’s one of those improbable moments that you shake your head at and remain in thrall of for the rest of your life.)

I can’t imagine music without Levon Helm. I can’t imagine my world without Levon Helm. Fortunately I’ll never have to.

More on Levon Helm on Purple Words on a Grey Background: RIP Levon Helm (26 May 1940 -19 April 2012)).

(Merci Jacques!)

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The Mynah Birds: An In Depth Exclusive

The Mynah Birds
John Goadsby (aka Goldie McJohn), Bruce Palmer, Richie Grand, Ricky James Matthews, Jimmy Livingston and Frank Iozzo (aka Frank Arnel)
February 1965
(Click photo to enlarge)

Editors Note: In honor of the annual Record Store Day and the vinyl release of The Mynah Birds single, we bring you an in-depth look back at The Mynah Birds.

Reduced to a footnote in Neil Young and Rick James’s careers, Toronto R&B sensation, The Mynah Birds have been overlooked in the annals of rock history. In a Thrasher's Wheat exclusive, Nick Warburton uncovers the fascinating story behind the first largely white band to sign to Motown Records. Nick Warburton is an award-winning journalist with over 15 years’ experience of writing across a wide range of topical issues and is a specialist in the field of popular music. His pioneering work on The Mynah Birds was recognised by Universal Records, which contacted him to assist with the band’s entry on its Motown 1966 Singles Boxed Set.

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In 2006, Universal Music Distribution unveiled volume six of its epic Complete Motown Singles series. Like its predecessors, the five-disc package, documenting the year 1966 and containing no less than 125 tracks, had been compiled and presented with immaculate detail.

Housed in a hard back cover and adorned with a replica copy of The Four Tops’ classic “Reach Out, I’ll Be There” in the front window, the boxed set was a fitting tribute to the ground-breaking music recorded under the auspices of Motown Records during the 1960s.

However, what made the 1966 singles series stand out for many avid rock fans was the inclusion of two previously unreleased tracks by The Mynah Birds, the legendary Toronto R&B band that for a mere six weeks married the unlikely talents of future funk star, the late Rick James (or Ricky James Matthews as he was then known) and Canadian guitar legend Neil Young.

The Mynah Birds - October 1965
(Click photo to enlarge)

Scheduled for release as a single on Motown’s V.I.P. subsidiary in spring ‘66, and assigned the catalogue number 25033, the garage/folk-rock classic “It’s My Time” (allegedly one of several Rick James/Neil Young collaborations but credited to Michael Valvano, Ricky James Matthews and R Dean Taylor in the boxed set) should have been a smash single.

Driven by James’s distinctive soulful voice and Young’s ringing 12-string guitar, the infectious “It’s My Time”, coupled with the contrasting “Go On and Cry”, a soft ballad credited to James, rhythm guitarist John Taylor and Motown staff writers, Michael Valvano and R Dean Taylor, had all of the ingredients to be a hit record.

But it was withdrawn when, half way through the recording of an album with producers William “Mickey” Stevenson, Michael Valvano and R Dean Taylor at Motown’s Hitsville studio, the band imploded in spectacular fashion.

James was AWOL from the US Navy, and his surrender to the FBI put an end to any further recordings. Left to reassess their futures, Neil Young and bass player Bruce Palmer promptly relocated to Los Angeles where they founded Buffalo Springfield. For Young it was the start of an illustrious career that would lead him to superstardom and a successful solo career.

But how did an interracial Canadian R&B band come to fall under Motown’s radar in the first place, and, more importantly, what happened to the rumoured album that was shelved?

To answer these questions, we need to go back to the autumn of ‘64 and a thriving Toronto live scene, into which stepped a young man wanted by the FBI: James Ambrose Johnson Jr.

The Mynah Birds at El Patio, Toronto in Feb '66.
Photo by Toronto Telegram.
(Click photo to enlarge)

Months shy of his 17th birthday, the Buffalo native made an instant impression after being invited to sing a few songs with Klaus Karl Kassbaum’s band at the El Patio coffeehouse in Toronto’s bohemian district, Yorkville Village. The future Steppenwolf bass player, better known as Nick St Nicholas, duly hired him as singer, and, dressed in the teenager’s US naval gear, they became the aptly named Sailorboys.

Besides Rick James and Nick St Nicholas, the line up at this time also comprised lead guitarist Ian Goble and drummer Rick Cameron. One early witness to the nascent group was Bev Davies, who later ran the Cellar coffeehouse in Yorkville where she befriended struggling folkie Neil Young.

For those in the know, Bev Davies was the woman that missed out on Neil Young and Bruce Palmer’s famous road trip to Los Angeles after being promised a place in the hearse.

“I was at Ontario College of Art fall 1964 [and] “I used to go to the El Patio to see Ricky James Matthews band,” says Davies. “I think Nick had an older brother who was at art school that year. The art school had a band called ‘the art school rubber band’ and he may have been in that. There was some connection between the band sometimes called The Sailors and the art school.”

Davies remembers James strutting around the stage. “Two outstanding songs that I remember him doing were ‘Hitch Hike’ and “I Got My Mojo Working’, she adds.

Local fame soon beckoned when eccentric businessman Colin Kerr, the owner of a local nightclub called the Mynah Bird, offered his services as a manager and renamed them after his favourite pet, a minor bird called Rajah. He also insisted the musicians adopt Rajah as band mascot and dress in minor bird colours on stage!

“He had [this] one minor bird that he would leave in a cage with a tape running 24-7 saying, ‘Hello, Ed Sullivan’ because he was quite convinced that sooner or later we’d end up on his [TV] show,” remembers new drummer Richie Grand.

The Mynah Birds - "Mynah Bird Hop" 45RPM
(Click photo to enlarge)

In a more constructive move, Kerr engineered a recording deal with the Canadian arm of Columbia Records, which resulted in a hopelessly rare one-off single – the R&B belter “Mynah Bird Hop”, coupled with the calypso-flavoured “Mynah Bird Song”.

Both sides of the single were penned by Colin’s brother, the late Ben Kerr, and featured another future Steppenwolf member, John Goadsby (aka Goldie McJohn) on organ plus new guitarist Frank Iozzo (aka Arnel).

Issued in early ’65 with the catalogue number C4-2660, the single bombed. Yet despite its chart failure, the two tracks offer a fascinating glimpse into James’s formative years as a singer. Even as a teenager, his charisma and immense talent is clearly evident.

Of the two tracks, “Mynah Birds Hop”, is by far the more impressive and finds the teenager sharing vocals with a man nearly 10 years’ his age – the late Jimmy Livingston, who co-fronted The Mynah Birds for a few months and would go on to front The Just Us, The Tripp, Livingston’s Journey and Heather Merryweather.

One of rock’s true madcaps, Livingston’s off-the-wall stage persona was way ahead of its time – readers are advised to check out The Tripp on Canadian filmmaker Bruce McDonald’s three-part documentary series Yonge Street: Toronto Rock & Roll Stories, where the singer’s unnerving performance beats Joy Division’s Ian Curtis to the punch by 10 years.

Livingston later decamped to L.A where his prodigious consumption of hallucinogenic drugs would tragically see him fall into the Syd Barratt/Skip Spence orbit of rock casualties.

The troubled singer was but one of many musicians that would pass through The Mynah Birds’ ranks during late ‘64/early ’65; another journeyman being future Mandala, James Gang and Guess Who guitarist, the late Domenic Troiano.

But it was arguably the arrival of the late Bruce Palmer, traded with Nick St Nicholas from local rivals, Jack London & The Sparrows (later to morph into Steppenwolf) that shifted The Mynah Birds up a gear.

Soon after Palmer’s arrival, Kerr landed the band an important showcase gig at the Collonade Theatre in downtown Toronto and, according to Grand, in an inspired move he paid hundreds of girls to rush the band’s limo as it pulled up outside the venue!

The Mynah Birds - "Mynah Bird Song" 45RPM
(Click photo to enlarge)

The writing was on the wall, however, and by late spring ’65, The Mynah Birds had split from their eccentric manager. “We broke away from him and went with another little promoter,” remembers Grand, who left soon afterwards to join The Stormy Clovers, the first group to perform Leonard Cohen songs. “We went to Montreal as The Swinging Doors and played at the Esquire Show Bar.”

Left with the band name, James and Palmer secured the patronage of well-healed businessman John Eaton, and in June 1965 brought in three musicians from Brantford, Ontario band, The Bunkys – lead guitarist Tom Morgan, rhythm guitarist and songwriter John Taylor and drummer Rick Mason.

Eschewing the Kerr wardrobe and decked in clothes to match their idols, The Rolling Stones, The new-look Mynah Birds soon turned heads.

One was the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which, according to Mason, filmed the band for a long-lost documentary while playing at the Devil’s Den. “CBC came down the stairs and filmed the whole night of us,” says Mason. “Somewhere in their archives they have the footage of us.”

Eager to get a foot in the fledging Canadian rock market, one of Eaton’s first moves was to buy the musicians some new equipment and to set up an expense account. They also acquired a new manager, a shady character known as Morley Shelman, who was suspected of pocketing most of the money Eaton forwarded them.

Nevertheless, it was Shelman who used his connections with actor Sal Mineo to pique the interest of Motown Records. In October 1965, an awe struck band drove down to Detroit to audition personally for Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson.

According to Garry Graff and Daniel Durchholz in the excellent Neil Young: Long May You Run: The Illustrated History, The Mynah Birds got as far as taping a backing track for “No Greater Love”, written by Howard Lemon and produced by Harvey Fuqua.

But for Tom Morgan, the session was a turning point. Sensing the label was only interested in Rick James, he bailed out two months later making way for an unlikely replacement – struggling folkie Neil Young.

The Mynah Birds
Rick Mason
Photo by Nick Warburton
(Click photo to enlarge)

Rick Mason remembers Young’s first job with the band – the Inferno, a club on Toronto’s east side in early January 1966. “They put rubber gym mats out for us to play on! The first song we go to do, Neil goes up to do his lead and unplugs his guitar. He plays the whole lead without his guitar plugged in!”

Soon after, the new line up returned to Detroit to begin sessions for an album, but only completed four tracks, cut between 18-26 January. Mason remembers the label being a hard taskmaster. “Twenty-four seven, day and night until we dropped,” is how he describes the workload.

“Neil used a 12-string a lot,” he continues. “But we never did anything as a band. It was all done in parts and they put it together. Then everybody would drop in and do songs with us, like Smokey Robinson and Tammi Terrell.”

Several of the song titles are listed on the Broadcast Music Inc (BMI) website. Only one is credited to Neil Young: “I’ll Wait Forever” which is listed as a co-write with Ricky James Matthews, Michael Valvano and R Dean Taylor, and was completed at the January sessions.

The other finished track is “I Got You (In My Soul)”, a Rick James/John Taylor co-write that sounds suspiciously like a direct lift from Van Morrison and Them’s ‘Little Girl”!

John Taylor’s widow Carolyn has five separate song-writing contracts signed by Rick James and her late husband for Jobete Music, dated 18 January 1966. These include “Go On and Cry” and “I Got You (In My Soul)”, as well as three previously unknown songs – “We Gotta Go”, “Don’t Change Your Mind” and “Pretty Words”.

The Mynah Birds - August 1966
John Klassen, Rick Mason, Mark Smith, John Taylor and Tom Morgan
Photo by Rick Mason
(Click photo to enlarge)

According to an article in Billboard, dated 5 March 1966, The Mynah Birds only recorded four tracks in January but had plans to return to Detroit the next month to undertake further recordings.

“The Mynah Birds are billing themselves as the first Canadian group to be signed by Tamla Motown, with the first single under their new recording and management contract to be released shortly, it’s ‘I’ve Got You [In My Soul]’, written by lead singer Rick James [sic], one of the four numbers cut last month at the Motown studios in Detroit,” ran the review.

It then added: “The group’s personal manager, Morley Shelman, reports they’ll return to Detroit next month for more sessions with an album in sight and talk of US tour upcoming.”

Regrouping in Toronto a week after the first batch of sessions, The Mynah Birds were billed to play the El Patio in Yorkville Village on 11-13 February when news of James’s AWOL status reached Motown. The April sessions were duly scrapped, and with James in the FBI’s custody, The Mynah Birds’ career derailed. But that’s not quite the end of the story.

With Young and Palmer heading to Los Angeles, remaining members John Taylor and Rick Mason kept The Mynah Birds going for another year. Bringing back former member Tom Morgan alongside The Bunkys’ bass player John Klassen and new singer Mark Smith, the group gigged incessantly before finally dissolving in spring 1967.

Not long after, and having served time in military prison, Rick James was offered a second shot at Motown. Pulling together yet another version of The Mynah Birds with former David Clayton-Thomas sidemen, guitarist Bill Ross and drummer Al Morrison, plus bass player/singer Neil Lillie (aka Neil Merryweather) from The Tripp, they rehearsed at the label’s Gold Star studio before laying down a couple of backing tracks at Hitsville with R Dean Taylor in the producer’s chair and an unknown organist.

Session logs for 21 June 1967 reveal that two songs – “Masquerade” and “Fantasy” were cut before a studio dispute curtailed the sessions and irrevocably split the band, leaving Rick James to go on to a plethora of fascinating groups such as Salt & Pepper, Heaven & Earth, Great White Cane and The Stone City Band before finally striking gold with “Super Freak” in 1981.

While the Motown sessions in January 1966 provide a tantalising glimpse of what might have been had James’s arrest not scuppered the record deal, it would not be the last time that Rick James and Neil Young would cross paths.

Watch this space for the next chapter!

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Nick Warburton has been researching the history of The Mynah Birds and its related groups for a documentary and for a forthcoming book. He would like to thank Rick Mason, Stan Endersby, Tom Morgan, Carolyn Taylor, Carny Corbett, Richie Grand, Neil Merryweather, Harry Weinger, Bev Davies, Ivan Amirault and Goldie McJohn. This is an extended and modified version of an article that was published in Record Collector in March 2012.

Email: Warchive@aol.com
Web: www.nickwarburton.com
Follow Nick on Twitter @Lucifersblues

Copyright © Nick Warburton, 2012. All Rights Reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior permission from the author.

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Thanks Nick! Great research.

More on Rick James and Neil Young: The Mynah Birds, The "Super Freak" and Neil.

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Photo of the Moment: Neil Young and Donald "Duck" Dunn

Neil Young with Booker T & The MG's (Donald "Duck" Dunn)
Finsbury Park, London - 1993
Photo by Jimmy Newark
(Click photo to enlarge)

The Photo of the Moment is Neil Young and Donald "Duck" Dunn on bass of Booker T & The MG's at Finsbury Park, London in 1993.

Thanks Jimmy!

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Neil Young & Crazy Horse To Co-headline Outside Lands 2012 Festival

Neil Young & Crazy Horse, along with many others, will be co-headliners for the fifth annual Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival, in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park from Aug. 10-12.

Other co-headliners include Stevie Wonder, Metallica, Jack White and the Foo Fighters.

Full lineup at Outside Lands 2012.

Outside Lands pairs music with wine and food, and is known as "the world's only gourmet music festival."

Tickets on sale this Thursday (Apr. 19) at noon PST.

(Thanks to everyone who notified us!)

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Radiohead Samples "After the Goldrush" at Coachella 2012 + PLUS, RARE Interview

Radiohead headlined the Coachella 2012 Festival this past weekend and partially covered Neil Young's "After the Goldrush".

During the first encore, as an intro to "Everything in It's Right Place" (1:27:25), Thom Yorke went a capella on "After the Gold Rush."

The following interview with Thom Yorke was conducted by Mark Cooper, on January 27th 2008 at the BBC TV Centre in London. Sections from this interview were supposed to be used in "Don't Be Denied", a documentary on Neil Young.

Sadly, the footage went completely unused in the final edit. Here is the complete, unedited raw footage of that interview of Thom Yorke on Neil Young's influence.

Thom Yorke: “I once watched him [Neil Young] play ‘Cortez the Killer’ with the Pearl Jam band . . . and there was probably the most sustained wind — I can’t think of another way of putting it — but this wind was coming off the stage as he was playing his solo and it just did not stop, it was just like this force of nature coming off the stage.

It was extraordinary, because if you sat down and analyzed or listened to the bits, you know, there was nothing sort of special necessarily in the elements, but something happens and it all comes together: boom. The idea is to be a channel of what is going on.

And that’s what you should be doing.”

More on Radiohead Covering Neil Young Songs.

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5 Things That Remind Me Of Neil Young (That Really Shouldn’t) « The Pulmyears Music Blog

Ok, here's some silly, Neil fun.

From The Pulmyears Music Blog | "5 Things That Remind Me Of Neil Young (That Really Shouldn’t)".

We'd have to agree. These are 5 things that really shouldn’t remind us of Neil. But we are acquainted with the phenomenon of Neil is everywhere.

Afterall, there really are more that just "5 Things That Remind Me Of Neil Young (That Really Shouldn’t)".

Right?

Share your "5 Things That Remind Me Of Neil Young (That Really Shouldn’t)" in comments below.

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Comment of the Moment: Reappraising "Are You Passionate?" 10 Years After

Are You Passionate?
(Back Cover - Click photo to enlarge)

Quite a pleasantly surprising reaction to the recent re-appraisal of Neil Young's Are You Passionate? on the album's 10 year release anniversary.

The Comment of the Moment is from D. I. Kertis regarding the back cover of the album and the listing of song titles, including the elusive "Gateway of Love":

Neat thread, as I've come to regard this as an album with its own special place.

The title track is actually one of my favorite NY songs of the 2000s. Although it's very personal, but I think it's also as much about 9-11 as Let's Roll ("a world that never stops/turning on you/turning on me", and most obviously the countermelody verse beginning with "Once I was a soldier...").

AYP?, for me, is one of those tracks that plays almost like a poem set to music.

I like Goin' Home, too, but the title is definitely my favorite track here. The last couple tracks also appeal. Even though She's a Healer is a long one based on a repetitive riff, I love the overall sound of it--NY grunge crossed with Booker T's highly jazz-influenced Motown sound.

If nothing else, this one of the more musically experimental, fusion-oriented albums, and Healer seems to define its sound the most strongly. Maybe it's because I tend to enjoy exploring many different musical styles (I.e. Not a fan of just electric Crazy Horse or only acoustic folksy) that this album is interesting to me. Mr. Disappointment and Differently also stand out in this regard, as does Quit to a degree (I can understand the lyrics being seen as somewhat hackneyed, but the collage of guitar and keyboard is very evocative on its own at times).

Like others, I sometimes skip Let's Roll, not so much because I think it is terribly jingoistic (though I can certainly understand how it might come off that way), but because the subject matter is unpleasant, which is compounded by the very heavy-handed approach, and it has some outstanding lines, but really isn't that great a song in my opinion.

On a related note, thinking about this makes me wish Neil would release Toast, which I seem to remember hearing was being prepared back in 2009, about the time Fork in the Road was coming out. Given that it was the project directly preceded AYP?, and that Goin' Home was recorded during those abandoned sessions, it seems like it might make an interesting companion piece, provided that it ever finds its way out of the vault.

Not to clog up the board, but another thing I wanted to mention having a massive post: the alternate track listing provided by following those notecards shown on the back cover, minus the unreleased Gateway to Love (which I hope is on Toast, crossing fingers again).

I actually use iTunes to place the tracks in this order, with interesting, certainly not-bad results. I'm assuming anyone interested in doing this themselves owns the CD (or images can probably be found online), so I won't type out the entire sequence unless anybody asks, but for reference, note that I followed the cards horizontally rather than vertically (i.e. Left to right by rows, rather than by columns).

I find this order makes the album darker and heavier, and potentially less commercial. It's bookended by When I Hold You in my Arms and Quit (Don't Say You Love Me) respectively, which drew out some lyrical and musically connections between the two that I hadn't thought about much before and makes the album seem more tightly structured and much more conceptual. But the most radical change is to move Healer from being the album's finale to track 2. But I was surprised how much this started to click after one or two playbacks. I'll let others try it on their own, but suffice it to say that Healer is given two very different lyrical/musical contexts depending on which order one chooses, and in my opinion the most impressive and interesting part is that both musical roles make complete sense.

Like I said, though, it's also a tonally darker, possibly edgier album this way. Let's Roll and the title track are still placed back to back exactly as on the original, but are sequenced immediately before Quit, meaning the whole album is now a build-up to its darkest tracks, especially the title track, which also effectively becomes the climax. Whether or not this is desirable really depends on personal preference, and to be honest, I could probably argue either side of that depending on which way the wind is blowing.

So I'll leave everyone else to make their own assessments as they wish to. I just encourage other Neil fans to try it, especially if the album doesn't appeal much in the official sequence. I have a hunch the notecard picture may show this as a sequence that was considered for release before Gateway was dropped, especially because I remember a description of them shuffling notecards to determine the sequence for Harvest Moon somewhere in Neil's authorized biography.

And in an ideal world, we might be able to in include Gateway to Love in the sequence, but for now this will have to do : )

D. I.Kertis

Thanks D.I.! Good to hear from you. It's been awhile. Please come back again soon. peace

Also, thanks to Matthew Wilkening over at Ultimate Classic Rock for the reappraisal article "Neil Young’s ‘Are You Passionate?’ Turns 10 Years Old".

More reaction to the recent re-appraisal of Neil Young's Are You Passionate? on the album's 10 year release anniversary.

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Pegi Young and The Survivors: Northhampton, MA, April 10, 2012

Pegi Young
The Iron Horse, Northhampton, MA - April 10, 2012
Photos by Steve Babineau | Facebook
(Click photo to enlarge)

Pegi Young and The Survivors are out on the road.

Here's a nice photo gallery from The Iron Horse in Northhampton Mass. by Steve Babineau.



Pegi Young and The Survivors on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon singing "Medline".


Pegi Young and The Survivors
The Iron Horse, Northhampton, MA - April 10, 2012
Photos by Steve Babineau | Facebook
(Click photo to enlarge)

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The Coal Porters play Neil Young's Like A Hurricane - YouTube

Speaking of Americana, here's a different take on the classic Neil Young & Crazy Horse song.

The Coal Porters on Sept. 9, 2010 at the Americana Festival in Nashville playing Neil Young's "Like A Hurricane".

The Coal Porters are a London based Blue Grass band.

(Thanks John "Big Chief"!)

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The Greatness of Bruce Springsteen (and Neil Young)

Bruce Springsteen

"You know, the difference between the greatness of Bruce Springsteen and that of Neil Young?
Bruce makes you think you, too, can be as great as he is; Neil makes you think he is really no better than you are to begin with. Remember that."
Dr. Eric Alterman - Altercation

Much as been written about the importance and impact of Bruce Springsteen's music.

So why would we even bother to highlight yet another homage to Bruce in the never ending flood of coverage? On a Neil Young blog nonetheless?

Mainly, because it's the kind of article we would like to have written about Neil Young.

An article which would explore the loss of Ben Keith and its impact on Neil -- just as the loss of Clarence Clemons impacts Bruce. An analysis of the parallels between Bruce's tribute to Woody Guthrie on Nebraska and Pete Seeger on The Seeger Sessions relative to the upcoming Americana.

Of how Bruce's "Born in the USA" was co-opted by the Reagan administration to project an image of America that was diametrically opposed to the true meanings of the lyrics -- similar to the misinterpretation of Young's "Rockin' in the Free World".

The article by long time Springsteen scholar and fan Eric Alterman is adapted from the book The Cause: The Fight for American Liberalism From Franklin Roosevelt to Barack Obama and is online at Bruce Springsteen's Political Voice | The Nation.

Definitely worth a read if you like Bruce. Or Neil. But especially if you like the greatness both artists.


Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young


More on Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young: The Difference in Greatness

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Americana Covers Contest

An Americana covers contest has been announced.

Neil Young is inviting musicians to submit their cover of one of the listed 'Americana' classics for the chance to win. The winner will have their submission featured on Neil Young’s social media channels and will receive $1000.

For details, see Cover an American Classic for Neil Young.

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‘Are You Passionate?’ Turns 10 Years Old

Are You Passionate? by Neil Young
(Click photo to enlarge)

It's been ten years since the release of Neil Young’s Are You Passionate? album.

In the critics' game of "Hits & Misses", Are You Passionate? often falls into the category of "Misses". But is it finally time for a re-evaluation, like much of Young's back catalog that is classified as "Misses"?

Over at Ultimate Classic Rock Matthew Wilkening thinks so with the article "Neil Young’s ‘Are You Passionate?’ Turns 10 Years Old".

As the camouflage, rose and romantic portrait on the cover art indicates, the lyrics on many of this album’s 11 songs deal with familiar themes of love and war.

Young had toured with the famous instrumental R&B group [Booker T & the M.G.’s] as his backing band way back in the early ’90s, but it was nearly a decade before they released a record together.

Just in case you’re not clear who he’s working with, Young works musical quotes from the band’s 1969 hit ‘Time is Tight‘ into two tracks on the record — ‘Be With You’ and album opener ‘You’re My Girl.’

The Memphis Soul legends’ tight grooves and inherent professionalism provide an interesting contrast to Young’s untamed guitar on many of the songs, even if his vocals seem oddly polished on a couple of tracks.

More of Ultimate Classic Rock | "Neil Young’s ‘Are You Passionate?’ Turns 10 Years Old" by Matthew Wilkening.

As for trivia, the album's title is a homage to The Jimi Hendrix Experience 1967 album "Are You Experienced?". Also, the back cover lists song titles, all of which appear on CD except for "Gateway of Love". Go figure.

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Billy Talbot Interview - 1996

Billy Talbot - Rome, Italy, November 20, 2005

Here's an interview with Crazy Horse bassist Billy Talbot from 1996. (ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR , October 24, 1996, BY NICK KREWEN)

You can't accuse BILLY TALBOT of having a short memory span.

In a career that has lasted 27 years and boasted somewhere in the vicinity of 1500 concerts, the good-natured bassist who anchors CRAZY HORSE, the band that helps NEIL YOUNG achieve his ragged glory, not only remembers the group's 1991 appearance at Copps Coliseum, but Hamilton itself.

"I remember meeting some great people, going to eat at a great African restaurant, and meeting a security person who has turned out to be a great friend over the years," says Talbot Tuesday from his Vancouver hotel room.

"We were really smoking that night. But we're smoking way more now on this tour," he adds, referring to band's current ten-date cross-Canada tour to promote Neil Young's latest album, Broken Arrow.

What's even more impressive is Talbot's recollection of the first time he accompanied Neil Young to Hamilton: as bassist with THE SANTA MONICA FLYERS back in 1973 when they played McMaster University on October 28 to kick off the Tonight's The Night tour. It was one of the first tours since the November 18, 1972 drug overdose of DANNY WHITTEN, ex-Crazy Horse guitarist and one of the band's co-founding members.

Talbot admits that a year later everyone was still reeling from the tragedy.

"We knew it was coming, but it was a shock," says Talbot of Whitten, who left Crazy Horse in 1971 due to his problems. "But that album wasn't solely about Danny. It included some of the other good friends we lost -- BRUCE BERRY, who was one of our roadies. JIMI HENDRIX. JANIS JOPLIN.

"Danny was the topper. That was the one that hit too close to home."

Talbot says he remembers flying to Ontario and playing three gigs on the university circuit before the band embarked on a week-long European tour.

"It was like an Irish wake," he recalls. "There was a lot of celebrating, a lot of drinking, and being rowdy instead of playing out the darkness."

As for The Santa Monica Flyers, which featured longtime Young associate BEN KEITH on pedal steel, future E. STREET BAND guitarist NILS LOFGREN, Talbot and drummer RALPH MOLINA?

"That was just another pseudonym for Crazy Horse," chuckles Talbot, who celebrated his 53rd birthday yesterday.

Although Crazy Horse -- Talbot, Molina and guitarist FRANK (PANCHO) SAMPEDRO, who joined in time for 1975's Zuma -- is best known as Young's favorite rock and roll accompanists, sharing credits on such classic albums as Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere and Rust Never Sleeps, the band's origins come from an unlikely source: the acapella vocal music known as doo-wop.

Born in New York City, Talbot first became involved in music singing doo-wop on Big Apple street corners at the age of 14. At 17, he migrated to Los Angeles where he met Whitten and Molina, forming a vocal group called DANNY & THE MEMORIES.

"That's why there are a lot of harmonies in Crazy Horse," says Talbot. "From performing doo-wop when we were youngsters."

After a short stint as THE CYRCLE in the studio with producer SLY STONE, Whitten, Talbot and Molina took up instruments and joined forces with LEON and GEORGE WHITSELL and BOBBY NORCROFF, becoming THE ROCKETS. At that point Neil Young came into their lives.

"I first met Neil around 1967, when he first got in town," says Talbot, who resides in San Francisco.

"We knew each other slightly before the BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD days. He heard The Rockets' album and we used to jam on`Mr. Soul' before he recorded it with Buffalo Springfield. But I remember him pulling up in his hearse."

When it came time for Young to enter the studio to record Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, The Rockets had dwindled to three and Crazy Horse was born.

Talbot says that although Young writes the songs, Crazy Horse is more of a partnership than people realize.

"It's like art," he explains. "He's the leader. We're the colors. We all contribute to the overall picture."

More on Crazy Horse.

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Art and Neil Young

Art and Neil Young Photo by Henry Diltz  A fun -- yet sad -- little story about Neil Young and his dog Art from Rhino Records - Fun Stuff - Henry Diltz Gallery (defunct):

Henry Diltz: Here is Neil Young with his dog Art. This was in Malibu in front of a beach house that Neil had there for a while. This was one of his favorite dogs and Neil had just put the sunglasses on him (in the sunglasses you can see Gary Burden and I standing there taking the picture). Unfortunately, shortly after this the dog was shot by a neighboring rancher for chasing his cattle, which is sort of the unwritten law -- that if a dog chases your livestock, you have the right to shoot it. So although Neil was very upset, he understood.

Speaking of dogs, who can ever forget "Old King"?

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