Neil Young Keeps On Rocking in the Free World

I make no bones about it – my decision to get a ticket for Neil Young & Crazy Horse a few months ago was driven by my emotions for an artist I’ve loved for 40-plus years; and the thought this may be my second and final chance to see him after a great 2018 solo gig in Boston. The fact this would be a first with Neil’s long-time backing band Crazy Horse was icing on the cake. Showtime finally came on Wednesday (May 15), at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens, a venue with a storied past, where the likes of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix performed. And what a rock fest it was, despite dicey weather!

As I usually do leading up to a gig, I checked recent setlists of the Love Earth Tour on Setlist.fm and live footage on YouTube. The sets looked very promising, pointing to many classics I could expect to hear. YouTube footage was more of a mixed bag, especially when it came to Young’s vocals, so I decided to adjust my expectations. Fortunately, Young’s voice turned out to be much better than I had anticipated. Even the weather gods largely cooperated. It was raining while entering the venue and waiting for the show and, as such, my waterproof rain poncho came in handy, but the precipitation largely stopped by the time Neil Young & Crazy Horse hit the stage.

Neil Young & Crazy Horse during Earth Love Tour at Orion Amphitheater in Huntsville, Ala., May 5, 2024. From left: Micah Nelson, Billy Talbot, Ralph Molina (barely visible hind his drum kit) and Neil Young. Credit: Matt Wake

A few words about Crazy Horse before getting to some music. While Young’s longtime on-and-off backing band since 1969 were a secondary consideration when purchasing my ticket, like many other fans, I had assumed Nils Lofgren would be part of the Love Earth Tour, along with bassist Billy Talbot and drummer Ralph Molina. But only two-thirds of that line-up were there, with Micah Nelson filling in for Lofgren as the second guitarist. To say it right away, Micah, a son of Willie Nelson, did a great job!

Based on commentary I saw on the Internet, I wasn’t the only fan who when they purchased their ticket didn’t realize Lofgren would still be on the road with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. Not even AI could have fixed the challenge of being in two places at the same time! Obviously, Lofgren’s schedule was known to the Love Earth organizers when tickets for the tour went on sale, yet I don’t recall seeing any mention of it. I think it would have been better to be transparent about Lofgren’s absence.

Neil Young during Love Earth Tour, which included a solo acoustic portion

The Love Earth stage setup featured cool oversized props of guitar amps and road cases, which an article in Young’s online paper NYA Times Contrarian notes were “immortalized” in the 1979 documentary Rust Never Sleeps. Molina’s drum kit was on a riser placed between the giant amp props. A large black banner featuring a white running horse served as the stage backsplash. A minor wrinkle: No jumbotrons, which made it impossible to see the artists up-close for folks in the back, including this blogger.

Mirroring past Neil Young & Crazy Horse concerts, the set included a mix of electric full-band songs, which hugged a portion featuring Young solo on acoustic guitar and harmonica. Most of the music drew from ’70s and late ’60s albums, such as Everybody Knows This is Nowhere (1969), Zuma (1975) and Rust Never Sleeps (1979). Ragged Glory (1990) was also prominently represented. Additionally, there was music from Young solo albums, including Harvest (1972), Tonight’s the Night (1975) and Comes a Time (1978). The biggest surprise to me was Heart of Gold. While that’s Young’s biggest hit, I recall reading previous commentary from him that he wouldn’t perform that song.

Let’s take a look at some clips. Conditions for filming weren’t ideal, and the sound was better than what I captured. But I still hope the footage will give you an idea of the concert. After the epic opener Cortez the Killer unleashed the Horse, it was time for Cinnamon Girl. The classic track is from Young’s second studio album Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere and his first with Crazy Hose, released in May 1969.

One of my all-time favorite Neil Young songs is Powderfinger. It first appeared on the Rust Never Sleeps album with Crazy Horse, which came out in June 1997. That album was mostly recorded live with overdubs added in the studio.

Then it was time for Young’s solo acoustic set. Here’s the first song, Comes a Time, the title track off his October 1978 solo album.

One of two tour debuts was Sugar Mountain, another song by Young I’ve always loved. He composed it on his 19th birthday. The first known recording, from December 1965, is included on Young’s 2009 compilation The Archives Vol. 1 1963–1972. The song’s first released version is a live recording, which became the B-side to his 1969 single The Loner. Last but not least, the first album version was included on the excellent October 1977 compilation Decade.

Of course, I couldn’t skip the set’s closer Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black). This epic song first appeared on the aforementioned Rust Never Sleeps album.

Last but not least, here’s the first encore: Like a Hurricane, off American Stars ‘n Bars, another album Young made with Crazy Horse, released in May 1977. It was a perfect end to a great show. Perhaps the only song that could have trumped it would have been Rockin’ In the Free World, which they played as one of two encores Tuesday night at the same venue.

Here’s the setlist from Wednesday night. Based on Setlist.fm, most of it has remained constant, but Neil has made frequent tweaks, so in case you are going to catch him at an upcoming date, you likely won’t exactly get what you see below.

Setlist
• Cortez the Killer
• Cinnamon Girl
• Fuckin’ Up
• Down by the River
• Scattered (Let’s Think About Livin’)
• Roll Another Number (For the Road)
• Don’t Cry No Tears
• Mansion on the Hill (tour debut)
• Danger Bird
• Powderfinger
• Love and Only Love
• Comes a Time (Young solo acoustic)
• Heart of Gold (Young solo acoustic)
• Human Highway (Young solo acoustic)
• I Am a Child (Buffalo Springfield cover) (Young solo acoustic)
• Sugar Mountain (Young solo acoustic; tour debut)
• Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)

Encore
• Like a Hurricane
• Roll Another Number (For the Road) (Reprise)

If you dig Neil Young and want in it appears there may still be some tickets available. I imagine a good deal are for resale, so not sure about prices at this time. Neil and the Horse continue their ride this evening in Mansfield, Mass, followed by Bridgeport, Conn., tomorrow (May 18); Toronto, Ontario (May 20); Clarkston, Mich. (May 22); Chicago, Ill. (May 23); and Austin, Texas (May 27). The full schedule is here.

Last but not least, now that Neil has returned to Spotify, I’m leaving you with a Spotify playlist that mirrors the above setlist.

Sources: Wikipedia; NeilYoungArchives.com; Setlist.fm; YouTube; Spotify

Catching Up: Short Takes On New Music I Missed

With so much new music coming out each week, it’s no surprise I can’t keep up. As such, I thought this would be a good time to take a look at some of what I missed during the first half of February.

Neil Young & Crazy Horse/Broken Circle (Over and Over)

Neil Young has unleashed the horse again and released Broken Circle (Over and Over) on February 15, the first single from F##in’ Up, his cheerfully titled upcoming new album with Crazy Horse that’s set to drop on April 20. The song was first released as Over and Over on Ragged Glory. F##in’ Up is a collection of re-recordings from the Horse’s September 1990 album. “In the spirit it’s offered, we made this for the Horse lovers,” Young explained on his website. He has also announced the Love Earth Tour with Crazy Horse, which will kick off in San Diego on April 24 and travel across North America – dang it, after listening to this song, I’m very tempted!

7th & Hope/Take My Love

7th & Hope is a transatlantic pop duo by Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Patricia Bahia, who I previously featured here, and UK-based singer-songwriter Betty Lawrence. Their new single Take My Love is a pretty song about offering unconditional love, which has a bit of an Ed Sheeran vibe. Additionally, the acoustic track features 7th & Hope collaborators Cameron Stymeist, who also produced the single, and Nitanee Paris. Released on February 14, Take My Love’s straightforward message couldn’t be more timely during a period when we’re surrounded by so much negativity and hate, especially on the Internet.

Revolution Saints/Against the Winds

When I first listened to Against the Winds, the title track of Revolution Saints’ new album released on February 9, I thought this sounds a bit like Journey – turns out I was on to something. This rock supergroup includes Journey drummer and vocalist Deen Castronovo, along with Joel Hoekstra (Whitesnake guitarist), Jeff Pilson (bassist of glam metal band Dokken) and Italian keyboarder, singer, record producer and songwriter Alessandro Del Vecchio. Including their self-titled 2015 debut, Revolution Saints have released five albums to date. I find this neat melodic rock very accessible! If you’re into Journey, there’s no way you won’t dig this!

Sheryl Crow/Do It Again

Sheryl Crow has released another single from her forthcoming new album Evolution scheduled for March 29. Do It Again was penned by Crow and John Shanks who previously also co-wrote Steve McQueen and Real Gone. In a Facebook announcement Crow explained Do It Again came together pretty quickly during a visit by Shanks and is “about a journey in figuring out who you are.” Musically, it’s classic Sheryl Crow and reminds me a tiny bit of her 1994 breakthrough single All I Wanna Do. I love it! Crow has a busy year ahead on the road in both Europe and the U.S. She’s another artist I’ve haven’t seen and would love to do so!

Most of Neil Young’s music remains unavailable on Spotify, so the enclosed playlist doesn’t include his new song. Instead, I included an additional track from Revolution Saints’ new album.

Sources: Wikipedia; Neil Young website; 7th & Hope Facebook page; Sheryl Crow Facebook page; YouTube; Spotify

Members of Crazy Horse and Neil Young Debut As Molina, Talbot, Lofgren & Young

After 53 years, the current members of Crazy Horse and their on-and-off leader throughout this period Neil Young decided to do something they had never done before: Instead of creating new music together, they each recorded songs individually and compiled them on a new album, All Roads Lead Home, which appeared last Friday (March 31). For the first time, they also released music as Molina, Talbot, Lofgren & Young. Inevitably, it makes you think of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.

Ralph Molina (drums) and Billy Talbot (bass), the only consistent members of Crazy Horse since the band’s official inception in 1969 on Young’s sophomore album Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, and Nils Lofgren (guitar) who first joined in 1970, each wrote three tunes. Young contributed a solo version of Song of the Seasons, a tune that first appeared on the album Barn, which he released with Crazy Horse in December 2021. I reviewed it here at the time.

From left: Nils Lofgren, Ralph Molina, Billy Talbot and Neil Young

The four artists pointed to the dreadful pandemic to explain their approach. Sure, travel restrictions would have made gathering more challenging, not to mention the fact that getting sick would have put each gentleman at significant risk – after all, they aren’t exactly 18 any longer! Yet, modern technology could have overcome physical separation. Simply put, they could have recorded their parts individually and exchanged them via digital files. Of course, the latter would be hard to imagine for a band like Crazy Horse who have been known to create music together in the moment – a spontaneous approach that while it resulted in various outcomes has served them well overall!

In their review, Ultimate Classic Rock rightly notes All Roads Lead Home feels like “four solo records collected in a single home”. They add, “That makes for a scattered and occasionally unfocused listen, already a characteristic of recent Young and Crazy Horse albums.” That doesn’t bother me at all. True, there’s no apparent overarching vision or theme here, but I actually think the resulting variety of the songs enriches the listening experience. Also, unlike Neil Young and Nils Lofgren, frankly, I hadn’t exactly thought of Ralph Molina and Billy Talbot as songwriters. Looking at previous albums released by Crazy Horse without Neil Young, such as Crazy Moon (1978) and Left For Dead (1989), reveals Molina and Talbot had done some occasional writing in the past.

I’d say ’nuff talk, let’s get to some music! The opener Rain is one of the songs by Talbot who also provides lead vocals in addition to acoustic guitar and piano – the first time I recall hearing Talbot sing! He’s backed by the Billy Talbot Band featuring Matt Piucci (electric guitar, organ, acoustic guitar, vocals), Michael Hamilton (electric guitar, acoustic guitar, baritone bass, vocals), Mark Hanley (slide guitar, electric piano, vocals), Ryan James Holzer (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, vocals), Jack Hughes (organ, piano, vocals), Tommy Carns (bass guitar, steel guitar, vocals) and Stephen Junca (drums, vocals). According to Talbot’s website, the Billy Talbot Band has been around since 2004 when he launched his solo career with the album Alive in the Spirit World – who knew! This all works for me!

You Will Never Know was penned by Lofgren. He also sings lead vocals and plays all instruments, including guitars, keyboards, bass, drums and percussion. One of his brothers, Tom Lofgren, who is a musician as well and performs with his brothers Mike Lofgren and Mark Lofgren in a trio known as The Lofgren Brothers, is credited with vocals. I love Nils’ slide guitar work on this song, which has a bit of an Eagles vibe, especially once Tom sings harmony vocals. Love Will Keep Us Alive anybody?

Here’s Young’s aforementioned solo version of Song of the Seasons. You could say supplying only one tune that isn’t even new is a bit of a measly contribution. Again, I’d like to see the upside here. While Neil Young is very well-known as a prolific singer-songwriter, the same cannot be said about Ralph Molina and Billy Talbot. As such, I like the fact that both guys are given room for three tunes each on the album! Coming back to Song of the Seasons, apart from singing, Young plays guitar and harmonica, making it classic acoustic Neil Young. This stripped-back approach and sound is a key reason why I fell in love with him in the first place many moons ago!

One of the album’s highlights is Look Through the Eyes of Your Heart, written by Molina. With its rugged sound, it’s got a Crazy Horse vibe, though perhaps not as rugged as you could imagine it when Young goes grunge. Like Talbot, Molina who sings lead chose to be backed by musicians other than his Crazy Horse bandmates: Marco Cecilia (guitars), Francesco Lucarelli (tremolo guitar), Anthony Crawford (acoustic guitar) and Marco Melino (drums). Backing vocals are provided by Brad Stock and Sonny Mone. I like how this tune came out!

Let’s do one more, The Hunter, another song co-written by Talbot. Like in his previous above tune, Talbot is singing lead and playing piano and guitar on this ballad, with backing by members of the Billy Talbot Band. In this case, the line-up is slightly modified and includes Payton Jerde (bass, vocals) in addition to Holzer, Hamilton, Junca and Hughes. In a post on Neil Young’s website neilyoungarchives.com Talbot explains the tune which he co-wrote with Ryan James Holzer came out of sessions with the band in late 2017. Once again, I have to say I’m impressed with the outcome!

So, what do you think? While All Roads Lead Home doesn’t break new musical ground, I feel it’s not only a pleasant listening experience, but it also elevates the profiles of Ralph Molina and Billy Talbot as songwriters. And, who knows, perhaps the Crazy Horse formula has changed forever! Plus, who would have thought we’d see another band that has “& Young” as part of their name!

The last words shall belong to the members. “After Billy and I talking, we finally realized it was time to have our own album together..along with Nils, and the big guy, we thank wholeheartedly, adding a song,” Molina said in the aforementioned post on neilyoungarchives.com. “We now have what we feel is a good one.”

“I loved working on the All Ways Lead Home project,” Lofgren stated. “Thrilled to share it now. After 53 years of friendship and music, it was a joy to participate.”

“Playing with these guys for over 50 years is one of the greatest joys of my life,” added Young.

The album isn’t available on Spotify, most likely because of Young’s well-publicized beef with the streaming platform (you can hear his explanation in this interview snippet with Howard Stern), though you can stream it on Apple Music and I assume other platforms. Following is the tracklist:

01 Rain (Billy Talbot)
02 You Will Never Know (Nils Lofgren)
03 It’s Magical (Ralph Molina)
04 Song Of The Seasons (Neil Young)
05 Cherish (Billy Talbot)
06 Fill My Cup (Nils Lofgren)
07 Look Through The Eyes Of Your Heart (Ralph Molina)
08 The Hunter (Billy Talbot)
09 Go With Me (Nils Lofgren)
10 Just For You (Ralph Molina)

Sources: Wikipedia; Ultimate Classic Rock; Billy Talbot website; neilyoungarchives.com; YouTube

The Year That Was – Part 1 of 2

After feeling a bit lukewarm initially about the thought of looking back at 2021, a year I’d rather forget in many regards, I’m glad I decided to proceed. After all, there was lots of great new music – music that undoubtedly helped me cope with challenges this tiresome pandemic presented.

This review is split into two parts. Part 1 revisits my favorite 2021 albums I covered during the past year. Part 2 presents highlights from Best of What’s New, my weekly recurring feature looking at newly released songs. While it would have been easy to feature some of the same artists in both parts, I deliberately avoided overlap.

Altogether, I reviewed more than 20 albums over the past 12 months. After excluding archives releases, such as Neil Young’s Carnegie Hall 1970 and Young Shakespeare, and reissues like Tom Petty’s Angel Dream (Songs and Music from the Motion Picture “She’s the One”), I narrowed the list to 17 albums. Following are six I like in particular.

Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band/Dance Songs for Hard Times

Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band is an unusual country blues trio, and it’s not only because of their funny name. The group, which has been around since 2003, consists of Josh “The Reverend” Peyton (guitar, lead vocals), his wife  “Washboard” Breezy Peyton (washboard) and Max Senteney (drums). Notably, they don’t have a bassist. Peyton, a great guitarist, compensates with skillful fingerstyle playing that includes the prominent use of his thumb to play bass lines. Dance Songs for Hard Times, the trio’s 10th full-length album, was released on April 9. You can read more about it here. To get an idea, check out the amazing Too Cool to Dance and tell me this doesn’t rock!

John Hiatt with The Jerry Douglas Band/Leftover Feelings

One of my big “discoveries” this year is John Hiatt, an artist whose name I’ve known for 30-plus years but had not started to explore until earlier this year – well, better late than never! On May 21, Hiatt released a great collaboration album with Dobro resonator guitar master Jerry Douglas. They were backed by Jerry Douglas Band members Mike Seal (acoustic and electric guitar), Daniel Kimbro (bass, string arrangements) and Christian Sedelmyer (fiddle). You can read more about Leftover Feelings here, which was recorded at Nashville’s historic RCA Studio B during the Covid shutdown. Here’s a little sample: Mississippi Phone Booth, written by Hiatt.

Southern Avenue/Be the Love You Want

Southern Avenue, a five-piece from Memphis, Tenn., are one of my favorite contemporary groups, blending blues and soul with contemporary R&B. Founded in 2015, this great band features Ori Naftaly (guitar), Tierinii Jackson (lead vocals), her sister Tikyra Jackson (drums, backing vocals), Jeremy Powell (keyboards) and Evan Sarver (bass). On August 27, their third album Be the Love You Want came out. While it feels like a bigger and more contemporary production compared to the band’s first two records and there’s a guest appearance by pop artist Jason Mraz, at its core, this still sounds very much like Southern Avenue’s music I’ve come to love: A tasty blend of blues, soul, funk and gospel, combined with elements of modern R&B. You can read more about it here. And here’s Push Now.

The Wild Feathers/Alvarado

The Wild Feathers, formed in Nashville, Tenn. in 2010, combine elements of country rock, southern rock, classic rock, blues and folk with multi-part harmony singing – a quite attractive combination! The group’s current lineup includes founding members Taylor Burns (guitar, vocals), Ricky Young (guitar, vocals), Brett Moore (guitar, mandolin) and Joel King (bass, vocals), together with Ben Dumas (drums). On October 8, they released their fifth studio album Alvarado. According to an exclusive preview by American Songwriter, The Wild Feathers wrote and recorded the album in a small cabin located an hour northwest of Nashville, the same place in which they conceived predecessor Medium Rarities. You can read more about Alvarado here. To get an idea, I give you Side Street Shakedown, a great rocker co-written by King, Young and Burns.

The Brandy Alexanders/The Brandy Alexanders

The Brandy Alexanders are a psychedelic pop-rock band from Canada, which was formed in 2016. The members include brothers Alex Dick (lead vocals, guitar) and Daniel Dick (keyboards), along with Sean Shepherd (lead guitar), Zack Vivier (bass) and Robbie Cervi (drums). They were discovered in 2019 by Renan Yildizdogan, the founder of independent label Gypsy Soul Records, who saw the group at a local performance venue in Toronto and subsequently signed them. On December 10, The Brandy Alexanders released their eponymous debut album. For more on that, click here. And here’s the great-sounding opener Ceiling Fan, Man. 

Neil Young & Crazy Horse/Barn

Neil Young has been on a roll this year. In addition to the aforementioned solo releases from his archives, he put out Way Down in the Rust Bucket, another excellent archives release of a 1990 live concert with Crazy Horse. Speaking of Young’s longtime backing band, there was a record with new songs, Barn, his 41st studio release and 14th album with Crazy Horse. It appeared on December 10 as well. Recorded in a converted barn high in the Rocky Mountains, Barn sounds charmingly ragged, relaxed and spontaneous – like classic Crazy Horse! Click here for my album review and check out Heading West!

Additional 2021 albums I’d like to at least briefly acknowledge include Exit Wounds (The Wallflowers), Many a Mile (Blue Rodeo), Long Lost (Lord Huron), Dirty Honey (Dirty Honey) and The Battle at Garden’s Gate (Greta Van Fleet). Stay tuned for Part 2 of this year-in-review feature, which will include songs from these artists.

Sources: Wikipedia; American Songwriter; YouTube