Here’s a great goodie for all Neil Young fans, but before getting to it, I must give credit where credit is due: Earlier this week, Music Enthusiast pointed me to this Rolling Stone interview with Frank “Poncho” Sampedro, ex-guitarist of Neil’s longtime backing band Crazy Horse, who sadly was forced to retire several years ago due to severe arthritis in his hands and feet – yikes!
The interview was conducted in the wake of Neil’s latest release from his archives: Way Down in the Rust Bucket from last Friday, February 26, which I had completely missed! It captures the band live on November 13, 1990 at The Catalyst in Santa Cruz, Calif. The nightclub holds about 800 people and is located close to Neil’s Broken Arrow ranch.
Mansion on the Hill, written by Neil Young, is from the Ragged Glory album he released with Crazy Horse in September of the same year. The above gig was scheduled as a “warm-up” to the band’s tour in support of the album.
Here’s an excerpt from Neil’s Archives site: Poncho and the boys are all excited to bring you what we feel is the definitive chapter in our story!…We were in the pocket as soon as the lights went down that night at the Catalyst…Now this record and film brings that night to everybody!
Said Poncho to Rolling Stone: “Let me go on record as saying that I think this Way Down in the Rust Bucket is the best Crazy Horse record we ever recorded. I love it! I love this record. Neil plays great, unbelievably great. He’s just electrified…He’s just playing so good and the band played really good.”
Indeed. And based on what I’ve heard thus far, it sounds awesome!
Sources: Wikipedia; Rolling Stone; Neil Young Archives website; YouTube
Christian's Music Musings 
Ive been listening to this the last couple days. If you like this time in Neil and CH’s career you’ll love. I do.
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Agree 100%, CB. I’ve listened to most of the album and love it! Man, that would have been an awesome show to attend.
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I have a few of those cuts on various other recordings but what a smorg of great live Neil and CH music. “Aint got no T-Bone” is stuck in my head. The boys go to town on this one.
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Damn, you’re right about “T-Bone”, one of the tunes I had not heard yet.
The only thing is listening to Neil singing about mashed potatoes and t-bone actually reminds me that I once again skipped lunch today and could use some food!😆
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Thats funny. Got the stomach growling.
That song is so cool, throw in some Neil words and hit the heavy groove button. I think when I bought that record when it was released, a lot of folks panned it. I guess they didnt like the deep lyrics.
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It really is a very simple riff. Once again goes to show great music doesn’t need to be complex!
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I’m going to spin the record again tomorrow. I love it. Go grab a T-Bone Christian. Eat some food.
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Yep, admittedly, I like meat, so a T-Bone sounds like a pretty attractive proposition!😆
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You’ll never eat another without that lyric going through your head. Enjoy every bite. Maybe some mashed potatoes on the side.
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I love his soloing…he is one of my favorite guitar players because he plays by feel not technique. I have read where he has a ton of music in the vaults…this is awesome. I heard one track last night.
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Neil is an interesting guitar player, especially on the electric – very crude, yet it just works really well for his songs!
Admittedly, I may be a bit biased, since I really like Neil, as you know. I think he and Poncho are correct to call this live album a highlight for Crazy Horse.
Neil and the band truly were on fire that night. Older songs like “Cinnamon Girl”, “Like a Hurricane” and “Cortez” just sound awesome.
If you dig Neil, I’d encourage you to listen to the entire album.😀
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CB was telling me about it last night. Yea I want to hear more from it. One thing I love about Neil…he is raw and in your face…I love that.
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I can imagine Ragged Glory working better live – it has some great songs but feels a bit too sprawling as a studio record. Some older songs that fit well too, like ‘T-Bone’ and ‘Danger Bird’.
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I’ve listened to most of the album and think it’s really cool!
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Good song on a good album. I love garage band rock.
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This sounds great. Mixed feelings here about Neil as a guitar player. Yes, a lot of emotion but he always seems to sound like he just learned how to play.
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Ouch!😆
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You play an instrument. I think you know what I mean. Primitive. Not really one of my favorite guitarists at all.
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His style is certainly crude, especially on the electric guitar. I actually find it charming though.
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I don’t hate it. But he gets to play ‘coz it’s his band. I don’t think he’d cut it at an audition
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For the record, I like Neil’s crude playing too. But I look at it from a different perspective which is, Is he a guy whose licks I wanna copy? So, different viewpoint.
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Fair point!
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