Neil Young’s 2001 Album Was Toast Until It Wasn’t

Admittedly, this post was predictable, at least to those who know me well. As a longtime Neil Young fan, I just couldn’t ignore Toast. In fact, you might ask, what took me so long? The simple answer is I didn’t want this post to coincide with any other recently published posts.

Toast is yet another album where Neil was, well, Neil. After he had assembled his backing mates from Crazy Horse in San Francisco in 2001 and worked on music for the album, he decided he didn’t like the outcome and scrapped it. Instead, he called back his Crazy Horse guitarist Frank “Poncho” Sampedro and recorded an album with Booker T. & the M.G.’s, Are You Passionate?

Well, of course, there’s a bit more to the story. This review in Uncut largely unpacks it. In a nutshell, it appears to have been a combination of poor preparation where Young hadn’t prepared any raw material the band could work from, as well as his personal state of mind: His marriage with his second wife Pegi Young (née Morton) was going through a rough patch. Eventually, they got divorced in 2014.

The above Uncut review quoted from Young’s October 2014 biography Special Deluxe: A Memoir of Life & Cars: “I was not happy with it, or maybe I was just generally unhappy. I don’t know. It was a very desolate album, very sad and unanswered.” Rightfully, Uncut also noted it’s remarkable that Young, nevertheless, ended up using three songs written during the Toast sessions for Are You Passionate?: Quit (Don’t Say You Love Me), How Ya Doin’? (renamed Mr. Disappointment and Boom Boom Boom (retitled She’s a Healer).

The above shall suffice for context. I’d say it’s time to get to some goodies. I should point out Toast doesn’t break any new musical ground. Since I dig the “old Neil”, that’s not a problem for me. All songs were written by Neil Young, except for the opener Quit, which he co-wrote with Sampedro. Let’s start with that one, a mellow-sounding tune that starts with a chorus repeating the phrase, “don’t say you love me” – not exactly cheerful!

On Standing in the Light of Love things get crunchy. Young called it “sort of like a Deep Purple hit” in a piece on his website NeilYoungArchives.com. However you’d like to characterize the tune, it’s the type of Neil rocker I really dig!

Next up is Gateway of Love. Clocking in at 10:11 minutes, it’s the second-longest track on Toast. It kind of has an epic feel to it and in that sense reminds me a bit of Cortez the Killer, one of Young’s best-known tracks off Zuma, another album with Crazy Horse, released in November 1975.

The last track I’d like to call out is the closer Boom Boom Boom, which at 13:06 minutes is the longest song on Toast. At about 8:45 minutes into the track, things take an unexpected jazzy turn with trumpet work credited to Tom Brady – obviously, not that Tom Brady. Let the good times roll!

Toast was recorded at Toast Studios in San Francisco, which is safe to assume explains the record’s name. The album was co-produced by Young and his longtime producer John Hanlon. In addition to Young, Hanlon has worked with the likes of Stephen Stills, T-Bone Burnett, R.E.M., Gillian Welch, Dennis Wilson and The Beach Boys. On his website, Young adds that Rick Rubin “was in the control room for a fair amount of time during the recording as a guest.”

The final word shall belong to Neil. “I had forgotten about these songs, put them out of my mind and went on living my life,” he wrote on his website. “It must be said here Crazy Horse shows a depth never seen or heard before on any other Horse recording [CMM – well, I’m not going to argue with the man here, but I could see some folks disagreeing]. For the greatest group I have ever met – CRAZY HORSE, this is a pinnacle. Where they let me go, where they took me, was unbelievable.”

Sources: Wikipedia; Uncut; NeilYoungArchives.com; Discogs; YouTube

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Clips & Pix: Neil Young & Crazy Horse/Welcome Back

Neil Young has shared a video of Welcome Back, the third upfront track from his upcoming new album. Recorded with his longtime backing band Crazy Horse, Barn is scheduled for this Friday, December 10. The eight-and-a-half-minute track is a slow-burning, crunchy jam rocker. Its feel reminds me a bit of Cortez the Killer, the epic tune from Young’s 1975 Zuma album, which he also made with Crazy Horse. This sounds like classic Neil – check it out!

A note published on Young’s website NeilYoungArchives.com on December 3 reads as follows: Welcome Back! The Horse is in the Barn playing a song like only the Horse can. Enjoy! We had a great time making this record for you and of course for us!

Apart from Young (guitar, vocals), the clip features Crazy Horse members Nils Lofgren (guitar), Billy Talbot (bass) and Ralph Molina (drums). Like the previously released Heading West, Welcome Back was recorded on June 21 this year at Le Mobile Remote Recording Studio in the Rocky Mountains. According to Wikipedia, Barn is Young’s 41st studio album and his 14th with Crazy Horse.

In addition to the album, there will be a companion documentary titled BARN/A Band – A Brotherhood – A Barn, directed by Young’s wife Daryl Hannah. The film will be screened at select theaters for one night only. Current locations listed on NeilYoungArchives.com include venues in Chicago; Santa Monica, Calif.; New York City and Toronto. Here’s a trailer.

Sources: Wikipedia; NeilYoungArchives.com; YouTube

Way Down in the Rust Bucket is a Must for Neil Young Fans

Since prompted by Music Enthusiast recently and my March 4 post about Mansion on the Hill, I’ve been thinking to do more on Way Down in the Rust Bucket, the latest release from Neil Young’s archives that appeared on February 26. I guess it was only a matter of time before I would revisit what Young and former Crazy Horse guitarist Frank “Poncho” Sampedro have called a “definitive chapter” in the band’s history. In fact, when interviewed by Rolling Stone a few days ago, Sampedro went as far as characterizing the new live album as “the best Crazy Horse record we ever recorded.” While I cannot claim to know all of the band’s album, I know one thing for sure: Way Down in the Rust Bucket truly rocks, and Neil Young fans are going to love it!

The album captures a gig of Young with his long-time backing band Crazy Horse, which happened on November 13, 1990. About two months earlier, they had released Ragged Glory. The concert at The Catalyst, a nightclub in Santa Cruz, Calif., took place before the band embarked on an intense 53-date tour to support the album in January 1991. The tour was documented in the albums Weld and Arc, which both came out in October 1991. Located close to Young’s Broken Arrow ranch, The Catalyst holds about 800 people – sounds like a great venue to experience live music!

But don’t tell Poncho it was a warm-up gig. “I hate when people say, “These were warm-up shows for the tour”, he emphasized to Rolling Stone. “We did two shows. Do they really think they were warming us up for a giant tour? That’s more for us. It’s giving back to the community. We played in Santa Cruz. It’s really close to Neil’s place. That’s so most people could come to see us.”

Apart from songs off Ragged Glory like Country Home, Fuckin’ Up, Farmer John and Mansion on the Hill, Way Down in the Rust Bucket also features goodies from various other Neil Young albums, such as Cinnamon Girl (Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere – 1969), Sedan Delivery (Rust Never Sleeps – 1979), Like a Hurricane (American Stars ‘n Bars – 1975) and Cortez the Killer (Zuma – 1975). The live album is available in triple vinyl, CD, DVD and streaming formats. In addition to all tracks on the vinyl, CD and streaming versions, the DVD includes one extra tune, Cowgirl in the Sand, another track from Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere. Time for some music!

Let’s kick it off with opener Country Home, which is also the first track on Ragged Glory. Unless noted otherwise, all tunes were written by Young.

Here’s Farmer John. Originally an R&B song, the tune was co-written by Don “Sugarcane” Harris and Dewey Terry who also first recorded and released it as Don & Dewey in 1959. Sampedro told Rolling Stone the band recorded their cover in just one take for Ragged Glory. Their performance at The Catalyst only was the second time they played it. “It wasn’t quite as good, but we never played it before” [live], he noted.

Let’s do another track from Ragged Glory: Fuckin’ Up, a Young-Sampedro co-write. Asked during the above Rolling Stone interview, Sampedro confirmed Fuckin’ Up was first recorded during rehearsals for Young’s appearance on Saturday Night Life in 1989, where he was backed by Sampedro, Charley Drayton (bass) and Steve Jordan (drums). However, they switched it up during rehearsals. “Steve was playing my guitar and I love to play drums,” Sampedro said…I started playing the drums and we were getting into it.” Young has said he wants to put out the SNL rehearsals as an album – looks like another archives release to me! Meanwhile, here’s the live version from Way Down in the Rust Bucket.

Time to take a look at some of the goodies from other Young albums. Here’s Homegrown, the title track of the album Young initially had planned to release in 1975 but then decided to abandon at the last minute and put out Tonight’s the Night instead – a classic Neil move! Though, of course, Homegrown eventually appeared in June 2020.

Yes, it’s been played over and over, including in my blog. And while I don’t see myself being in a crowded hazy bar anytime soon, Like a Hurricane from American Stars ‘n Bars remains one of my all-time favorite Neil Young tunes that still blows me away. As such, I simply couldn’t skip it. Plus, this version is killer! 🙂

Not that I want to glorify violence, but speaking of killer, I’d like to wrap things up with what in my book is another absolute Young classic: Cortez the Killer, from Zuma, a 1975 album Neil recorded with Crazy Horse.

“I love this record,” Sampedro raved about Way Down in the Rust Bucket. “Neil plays great, unbelievably great. He’s just electrified. “Country Home” sounds like a country tune I never heard in my life. He just takes it to all kinds of different levels. He nails “Cortez.” He nails “Danger Bird” and “Over and Over.” He’s just playing so good and the band played really good.”

The last word shall belong to Young. We were in the pocket as soon as the lights went down that night at the Catalyst, he wrote on his website. I really love this memory and sharing it with all of you! We are so lucky to have this one. If you were there, our love goes out to you [man, I wish – you should have invited me, Neil!] Now this record and film brings that night to everybody! While it’s safe to assume no album can replace the experience of actually having been there that night at The Catalyst, I still take it!

BTW, Neil Young has been prolific with releases from his archives. Only last year, he put out three: Homegrown, Return to Greendale and Neil Young Archives Volume II: 1972-1976. The next one is already scheduled for March 26: Young Shakespeare, an all-acoustic solo gig recorded at Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford, Conn., on January 22, 1971, just three days after Young’s legendary Massey Hall show.

Sources: Wikipedia; Rolling Stone; Neil Young website; YouTube