Neil Young recording with Daniel Lanois-"Le Noise" out 9/28*

I thought Angry World was terrible at 1st and that 'yeah' is really dumb. I still don't like the song but unfortunately it's the one I can't get out of my head.

 

That's quite a claim.

I wish my copy would arrive from Amazon so I could hear this thing for myself.

 

After several listens, there are some strong songs here but I personally find the production's bells whistles and tape loops a distraction. The solo idea is fine, but I'd prefer a more organic electric sound and hope he releases a live version without the goofy loops and production tricks.

Neil is the master of acoustic guitar tone with his Martins and Frapp setup - but, I miss that tone on the 2 acoustic numbers. I hope he releases a live version of Love and War with his D45 someday.

 

they were recording the other night at the live show i went to and all the goofy loops and production tricks stole whatever part of the show that allen touissant didn't.

 

doesn't Amazon still have it for $20.88? That's what I paid last week.

 

Vinyl is $35 at Amazon. Just checked.

 

maybe he'll release "Le Noise - Raw"

 

I reserve the right to be wrong, though.

 

I get a real "On the Beach-feel" from this record. Not sure if it's mainly due to Hitchhiker, or if it's due to the different guitar tones, or the loss of LA Johnson and Ben Keith hanging over Neil during the recording and production of this, or all of this and more, but it has the same kind of dark vibe.

 

I had that feeling as well, but I have no idea why. The sound couldn't be more different. The subject matter is usually very different. I can't place it, but for some reason I thought of On The Beach.

 

Same amount of songs.

 

sorry if i missed it but has anyone heard the vinyl? If so is it fabulous?

 

I just listened to the vinyl, I ran it through a tube amp into headphones frst then speakers twice. In my opinion it's up in the top tiers of his stuff. I think the whole thing is complete the way it is and the sound is fantastic. Can''t explain it but it just feels right for this time

 

Finally received LE NOISE.

How about that opening barre chord/bass note on "Walk With Me"? Heavy.

I like it. I'm kinda shocked at how amateurish some of Daniel Lanois' obvious switch-throwing effects are ... didn't anticipate that at all. I mean, there are two or three instances where you virtually hear him switch an effect on or off. Makes the whole thing sound kinda demo-y, which isn't necessarily a bad thing if you're working on a Neil Young record. Which is to say anything goes, and that's fine. I wouldn't have pegged this as a Lanois production had I not known beforehand.

I'm not gonna run down the songs yet 'cause they haven't sunk in. Generally speaking, there are more dynamics here than I'd expected to hear. Neil is in fine voice throughout and his voice is recorded quite well. I kinda dig the whole "guitar-only" aesthetic but wish he'd have put on a couple of keyboard songs. I love Neil's piano playing and piano-based songs. It would've mixed things up a little more. Anyone who's read anything I've written here about Neil Young knows this is a pet peeve of mine re: Neil's records since the late '70s.

I've only played the album twice. Don't think it's a quote-unquote masterpiece but it is a very strong, bluesy Neil Young album. Once again, he's opened a new album with his catchiest song first, then sort of lets the chips fall wherever they may. It's good Neil ... and it's somewhat new styling for him, too. Again, I keep noticing how strong his vocals are here.

Apparently, Neil's abandoned the HDCD codec. Too bad. The CD sounds good, nonetheless. Another late-period Neil Young album. For some reason, it harkens back to CHROME DREAMS II for me. And that ain't bad at all.

 

I was a little surprised by the disparity between cd and lp prices. I wasn't going to pay an "extra" $24 for an album I wasn't even sure I was going to like. If there are only 3,000 copies of the vinyl for the world, fence sitters might lose out though. I've only heard it once so far so it's too early to make any grand statements. I will say that compared to other left field Neil, i.e. Trans or The Shocking Pinks, it's good. I can't say I really like the first song much. That fat, artificial bass doesn't do much for me. I'd rather here an acoustic bass in its place, even if that signal were to get tweaked. At least it would be a more pleasing base to work from. Time will tell if it will get regular spins from me but I think it's far from my least favorite albums of his (which I don't own).

 

Yeah, as I said earlier, it sounds and feels thematically like an extension of On the Beach and Tonight's the Night, despite some of Lanois' more modern sonic textures.

 

I intentionally have not watched or listened to any of the associated videos or audio for the album, so when the disc arrived a couple of days ago it was all fresh. I love this album from beginning to end, especially its conceptual rawness. And I keep listening to it over and over which is something I never do with a new album. (I like to listen to something then give it a rest, then come back to it.) One of Neil's best, IMO.

 

Pitchfork review is up. Pretty positive. 7.6.

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14684-le-noise/

 

They didn't say anything negative about the album, so why only 7.6? It would appear that they knocked him a point or two for the stuff they didn't like over the past decade. The quote about "Hitchhiker" is sort of sad. The writer tries to make a point about Neil's intentions with the album by suggesting the relevance of the same line appearing in two songs. Yet, while he knows "Hitchhiker" is an old song, he seems to not know that "Like An Inca" borrowed the line from "Hitchhiker", not the other around. Oh well. I guess it basically has Pitchfork's blessing which should result in the sales of at least 12 more units.

 

I've heard it thrice now. So far I'm giving it 4.5/10. Be aware that I actually use the whole scale as opposed to just about any site out there, so 4.5 means "slightly below average". "On the Beach" got the same score from me just a couple of months ago, and it has climbed since, so who knows, this also might. If not, well...there's enough Neil Young out there to satisfy anyone.

 

i'd have given his live show about a 4 and he played a lot of this new material. given the amount of time he played, he may have played it all....

 

6 of the 8 songs on Le Noise were played at the Sept. 25th show.

The set list:

My My, Hey Hey (Out Of The Blue)
Tell Me Why
Helpless
You Never Call
Peaceful Valley Boulevard
Love And War
Down By The River
Hitchhiker
Ohio
Sign Of Love
Leia
After The Gold Rush
I Believe In You
Rumblin'
Cortez The Killer
Cinnamon Girl
Old Man
Walk With Me

 

Were they played like on the record, or what?

 

I saw him in DC this year and it strikes me as pretty close to this. I think with this as with most of his stuff you have to take the whole album good/ bad, different and listen to what he's trying to say. He usually does things for a reason. I guess it's up to us to figure out the message and decide if we like it and if that's where we're at.

 

Same set in Biloxi.