Neil Young - "Storytone" (2014)

I don't mind that these songs are about Hannah, he has plenty about Pegi. Songs about new love are more colorful.

 

Agreed, and it seems to have reawakened his muse. But to the extent (including in his two recent books) he has long served as a role model for marital longevity -- a rare thing among celebrities -- it's a bit jarring.

 

Yeah. Just don't ask me to picture them naked on a bearskin rug in front of a roaring fire and we'll be good.

 

Great point. One that seems lost on his naysayers.

 

Vinyl down to £44 on Amazon UK now. Still expensive but at least better than the previous price @ £103!

 

Had ordered at £100+ with a hope that it would drop significantly.... So I am happy

 

Good for you . I'm soon to follow, it's a lovely album.

 

importcds.com lists a 1-disc version "in stock" that's not on Amazon.

 

Now relented and ordered at £44. More the norm for a NY double. Diverse Vinyl still £65 who claim only 500 copies being imported to UK.

 

Just ordered through Amazon at 44 GBP. Don't wanna risk not getting it. Besides it's probably not gonna get much cheaper elswhere than this...

 

It's a drag that Neil seems to have given up on Blu-ray, like he did with DVD-A. Maybe this will be my first Pono purchase, depending on how much they charge, and if it's in hi-def.

As for the album, I like it on first listen, which I didn't think I would based on "Who's Gonna Stand Up", which is terrible.

 

I believe my final outlook on this album is that as standalone songs several of them are wonderful. Perhaps 6 out of the lot. However, as an album there is a certain sameness to the flow that disallows a pleasurable listen. As stated previously, I believe that the orchestral version of "When I Watch You Sleeping" and the solo version of "Say Hello To Chicago" are classic Neil Young. "Plastic Flowers" is close..."Glimmer" a little further; both are very good.

But really, they would work much better if they were sandwiched between other styles where they could have more effect. As it is, the really good ones are swallowed up by lesser songs in their context, because the lesser numbers are much in the same vein.

That said, as I've made a "Best of..." 2 CD compilation of Neil's music from the 2000s, I'm sure the abovementioned songs will make superb additions to a "Best of..." from this current decade.

 

I'd love to see your "Best Of" from the 2000's if you'd like to share...

 

Mine:
"Are You Passionate?"
"Goin' Home"
"Quit (Don't Say You Love Me)"
"When I Hold You in My Arms"
"Bandit"
"Falling From Above"
"Be the Rain"
"The Painter"
"It's a Dream"
"Prairie Wind"
"Living with War"
"The Restless Consumer"
"Beautiful Bluebird" (oldie but goodie)
"Boxcar" (oldie but goodie)
"The Believer"
"Shining Light"
"Ever After"
"No Hidden Path"
"The Way"
"When Worlds Collide"
"Just Singing a Song"
"Cough Up the Bucks"
"Fork in the Road"
"Love and War"
"Hitchhiker" (oldie but goodie)
"Peaceful Valley Boulevard"
"Rumblin'"
"Born in Ontario"
"Twisted Road
"She's Always Dancing"
"For the Love of Man" (oldie but goodie)

That's 3 albums of quality material in 10 years, not bad.

 

I think Dino's list is better than mine. Haha! Though I'm a little shocked at the ommissions of "Ramada Inn" and "Carmichael"

Oh, and "Silver and Gold"

 

Ah, I counted 'Silver And Gold' as a 90s album due to it being recorded in '98-'99...

 

Amazon UK just hiked the price to £76. I got my pre-order in at £44 and was hoping it would decrease below that, as even for a double album that's still ridiculously priced.

 

Phew! I ordered mine yesterday at 44£. But yes, an insane price, nothing justifies that..

 

Exactly!!

This is just plain price gouging, plain and simple trying to take advantage of vinyl's new found popularity.

I have almost every Neil Young album on vinyl. Warners and Neil will not be getting my hard earned cash for this release.

 

So I ordered the 24/192 download through Warner Music Australia with a release date of 31st October, it's now 1st November and no sign of the download link...

 

My 2 CD edition arrived from Amazon UK today, and I'm listening to it now.

Really didn't think much of the songs listening to the 'solo' CD but now, listening to the 'orchestral' CD, I'm enjoying them better.

This isn't a Neil Young album that grabbed me on first listen, like Le Noise or Are You Passionate did, but hopefully it will grow on me.

 

Just finished by 3rd listen of the orchestral disc. Have to say, I love it now!

 

This is an interesting topic in its own right so I started a new thread here...

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/neil-young-best-of-2000-2014.390597/

 

Picked up the double CD in town today and just played the orchestral/big band version first and I liked it very much.

Was going to change over to play the acoustic version but think I'll leave that just now and play the full band version again to make sure my first impression sticks.

 

Has anybody bought the Pono version from Neil's site? I did but my download is nowhere to be seen at all.