I thought exactly that, while listening to it. I don't know, maybe it's all down to preferences but Mother Earth probably is so different to what lead up to it, that it that it leapt out at me and made such an impression. That's the thing that I've always found with his music - it's more varied than is generally taken for... lovely acoustic player and one aggressive guy on electric guitar. Then all of a sudden, he shifts to piano (or even harmonium!) and these are the things I forget when I've not heard him for a while. The more albums I get by him, the more is being revealed to me.
This is a critical entry in Neil's 90s comeback. The only Neil I had for years was Live Rust on cassette and later, CD. I think I also had the compilation, Decade. When This Note's For You came out in 1988, I thought it was pretty good, what I heard of it anyway, but it was still Neil being weird and difficult due to the big band aspect of it. Still, I got the sense that something good was brewing with Neil. Then, when El Dorado came out in 1989, which was released only in Japan and Australia, word was Neil was "back" to normal rock and roll. I say "word" because I didn't get to hear El Dorado anytime soon after it was released, as this is of course pre-internet, but I read about the EP. Anyway, Neil was in from the desert of his weird Geffen years, during which Geffen was so frustrated with Neil's output, they sued him (unsuccessfully) for making "un-Neil Young like" records. When Freedom came out in late '89, this is what I had been waiting for since I had got into Neil. When Ragged Glory came out in 1990, Neil rocking with the Horse, the comeback was well underway, and Neil would release more great albums in the 90s, and also give a lot of great live performances. I've never thought of Neil as the "godfather of Grunge" as he was tagged in the 90s, but he was experiencing a rock resurgence, and grunge was big, so I guess that was an easy way for the music press to treat him at the time.
Please tell me you have heard Weld...if you liked Ragged Glory, you'll love Weld (well, probably, anyway...)
I've not heard Weld yet, no. I had heard of it though. But soon I will as I've now ordered the double CD. These are also on their way to me: Rust Never Sleeps (DVD), Live Rust, Freedom, Mirror Ball, Broken Arrow.
And with him teaming up with Pearl Jam who were very high-profile at the time, that would give the music press another reason to catagorise or label him within a genre, I'd imagine. I've always found the whole genre thing fairly meaningless anyway.
I didn't know that it was overdubbed but did think the harmony vocals were very... precise, I suppose you could say. Thank you for posting that.
just saw neil and the promise of the real last night in seattle. about to head off to vancouver to catch them again tonight. last night was brilliant, a 3 hour show with amazing guitar work by the whole band, and the incredible treat of hearing "here we are in the years" played live for the first time in 40 years. the band nailed it. also got to witness a 24 minute "down by the river". i knew it would be a good show....but they took it to another level last night.
I went record shopping on Saturday and didn't pick up Monsanto on vinyl because it's almost Christmas and I usually get Neil Young vinyl for Christmas. Plus I spent sort of a huge amount on a small number of records. That is all. But now reading this thread I wish I'd coughed up the extra forty bucks.
I always thought that Neil should have capitalized on the publicity he was receiving as "The Godfather of Grunge" by compiling a CD of some of his best rockers from "Mr. Soul" up through Mirror Ball. I believe it would have opened up his music to a new generation of fans--and sold a ton. But then, Neil Young was never a conventional artist...
I forgot to mention that they teased 'pushed it over the end' at the end of 'here we are in the years'
Neil used to be so important to me especially right after Harvest came out when I was 16. He was a huge guitar influence. I learned from his Harvest portfolio and Vol. 1 book. I've followed him thru the years but not the last decade. I almost don't like him anymore as a musician...it's weird...from hero to zero. Everybody Knows with the original Crazy Horse and the Filmore East stuff seems the most vital to me now. Love his work with Buffalo Springfield.
Last night he broke out "Vampire Blues" for the first time since 1974, and for only the second time ever. Gah!
this tour's a monster. the two shows i saw were amazing, and for once i got to hear a bunch of different songs between the two.
At last, the NYA Performance Series gets a reboot! "Bluenote Cafe" NYA-PS 11 It's scheduled for release November 13, 2015 and currently up for pre-order at the Warners online store. http://neilyoung.warnerbrosrecords.com/bluenote-cafe-cd-bundle.html Tracklist Disc 1: Welcome To The Big Room* Don’t Take Your Love Away From Me** This Note’s For You*** Ten Men Workin’**** Life In The City**** Hello Lonely Woman**** Soul Of A Woman**** Married Man+ Bad News Comes To Town++ Ain’t It The Truth++ One Thing++ Twilight++ Disc 2: I’m Goin’# Ordinary People## Crime In The City### Crime Of The Heart#### Welcome Rap#### Doghouse#### Fool For Your Love#### Encore Rap#### On The Way Home+++ Sunny Inside#### Tonight’s The Night#### Recorded on location at: * Mt. View Theater, Mt. View, CA - 11/7/87 ** The Fillmore, San Francisco, CA - 11/12/87 *** The Palace, Hollywood, CA - 4/13/88 **** The World, NY, NY - 4/18/88 + The World, NY, NY - 4/21/88 ++ Agoura Ballroom, Cleveland, OH - 4/23/88 +++ Poplar Creek Music Theatre, Hoffman Estates, IL - 8/16/88 # CNE, Toronto, Canada - 8/18/88 ## Lake Compounce, Bristol, CT - 8/23/88 ### Jones Beach, Wantagh, NY - 8/27/88 #### Pier 84, NY, NY - 8/30/88 Band: Neil Young - guitar & vocals Bluenote Café: Rick Rosas - bass Chad Cromwell - drums Frank Sampedro - keyboards Steve Lawrence - lead tenor saxophone Ben Keith - alto saxophone Larry Cragg - baritone saxophone Claude Cailliet - trombone Tom Bray - trumpet John Fumo - trumpet Billy Talbot – bass Ralph Molina - drums
I also posted this in The Monsanto Years thread: Great show at the Santa Barbara Bowl last night. I've seen him 5 or 6 times since 1991, and the show was as good as any I've seen, and in some ways, it was better. With Promise of the Real, Neil can range from near-studio renditions of his classic hits, and also rock pretty hard on Horse material. They support him great, almost as well as The Band supported Dylan. Luke Nelson is a hell of a guitar player, and the drummer got everything right. If you're on the fence, this show is a must see. Some goofy to funny to good theatrics are incorporated too. Even if you're not into The Monsanto Years tracks, which comprise the middle of the show, Neil and Luke Nelson traded some great lead licks on those. Part of what made this show different for me is I've only seen Neil solo or with The Horse. I've never seen him with this versatile of a backing band.
Posted this the other day in the Visual Arts thread but here it is again: Just got an e-mail from CD Japan and it lists Neil Young's film, HUMAN HIGHWAY, as being released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc in February 2026. I assume a domestic release date can't be too far behind. Finally. Mine's pre-ordered.
more dates with POTL in 2016 June 5 – Glasgow, Scotland, The SSE Hydro June 7 – Belfast, Northern Ireland, The SSE Arena, Belfast June 8 – Dublin, Ireland, 3Arena June 10 – Leeds, England, First Direct Arena June 11 – London, England, The O2 - London July 9 – Amsterdam, Netherlands, Ziggo Dome July 20 – Leipzig, Germany, Volkerschlacht Denkmal July 21 – Berlin, Germany, Waldbühne Berlin
His lyrics became too much of a cliche for me, and it happened years ago. Albums 2 through 7 have always been good to me, there are hit and misses from then until now. Releasing anything that comes to mind is kind of narcissistic in my opinion. What's next? We were walking down memory lane By the light of the silvery moon Just two peas in a pod Heart going boom-boom-boom I hope NY will take his time and write something good, that has real meaning, from his heart instead of his brain.
