New Neil Young Album "Prairie Wind"

News from Shakey' Garage on the upcoming album titled "Prairie Wind".

Neil Young's official website has a crawl running along the bottom that says:

"Hi Folks.... my greatest hits vinyl is out now and i'm really proud of it.... it actually sounds better than the original pressings!.... Prairie Wind is coming in a CD/DVD on September 20 ..... the DVD shows us recording the whole record, every note you hear, you see! .... hope you enjoy that one.... archives volume #1 will follow.... thanks for your letters and words.... ny"

Neil has been recording the new album in Nashville with keyboardist Spooner Oldham, pedal steel guitarist Ben Keith and drummer Carl Himmel. The Nashville recording sessions follow Neil's recovery from surgery for a brain aneurysm he suffered during the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremonies earlier this year.

Rumor has it that Neil has booked Nashville 's original Grand Ol Opry at the Ryman Auditorium from August 15-19, for filming by director Jonathan Demme.

Hmmm? So maybe Neil could use the old "Give To The Wind" artwork for "Prairie Wind"?!

As for the Archives? We'll see....

More on the new "Prairie Wind"

Thanks Expecting 2 Fly and Nick for the tips!

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"Give To The Wind" Artwork

A reader of Thrasher's Wheat who goes by the handle Cosmo tipped us off to an interesting item on eBay. It appears to be genuine artwork for Neil Young's "GIVE TO THE WIND" album, which eventually became Comes A Time.

Thrasher doesn't normally plug eBay stuff, but this has some intriguing background info. From the bid item:

"In 1978 Neil Young released the seminal LP: 'Comes a Time'.For a while prior to its release this album was known as 'Give to the wind'.

The story behind this LP, title & running order changes is one of Neil Young legend.

It is believed the album was finished by December 1977, however nothing was heard until test pressings of the 'Give to the Wind' LP were distributed to Warner Bros executives in March 78. The record was greeted enthusiastically by everyone except Neil, who identified an audio flaw (that no one else could hear!)

A second test pressing of 'Give to the Wind' was subsequently issued - some with normal stock copy labels (as opposed to plain white with a photocpy A4 sheet).

Soon after another batch of test pressings were issued with the name changed to 'Comes a time'. The story of this records release doesn't end there at all, it goes on to include Neil putting a .22 caliber bullet through each box of the initial pressing & more test pressings & a change in running order - but this is another story for another day.

The point is that 'Give to the Wind' was never issued in its original form. Some test pressings have shown up & some with stock copy labels.

However what is not largely known is that at some point Warner Bros artwork dept prepared a provisional cover design for this LP which was never to be released."

This would have been another cover with a bird.

More on the album "Comes A Time".

Thanks for the tip Cosmo!

Crazy Horse's Scratchy: The Complete Reprise Recordings

Crazy Horse has recently released their complete Reprise recordings on a compilation cleverly titled "Scratchy".

Each of the limited edition of 2,500 copies from Rhino Handmade is individually numbered. Although we ordered our copy shortly after the announcement, Thrasher was surprised to have received #1,605.

And last we checked, the entire limited edition run has sold all of the 2,500 copies.

The packaging is really nice and contains a booklet with some interesting notes from Barry Alfonso:

"In a better world than this one, Crazy Horse changed pop music history with their 1971 debut album. All the elements were there -- inspired songs, tight arrangements, a palpable energy that crackled through every track. It blew away the haze of mellowness that was setting down upon American rock in those days and blazed a trail for others to follow. The Crazy Horse LP yielded hit singles like "Downtown" and "Gone Dead Train", filling the airwaves with the band's tough yet tender brand of soulful country-rock."

Of course, that's how history should have been. But alas it didn't quite turn out that way.

"Come On Baby, Let's Go Downtown"
Danny Whitten of Crazy Horse
Billy Talbot writes in the liner notes:

"With Neil, our sound is very rustic. It's thrown up like a log cabin that still has bark on it, and that's great. But Danny and Ralph and I had our own thing, and it wasn't exactly the way we were with Neil. It wasn't just three-chords, bashing-away Crazy Horse."

Disc one of contains remastered versions of Crazy Horse and Loose in their entirety. Disc two includes previously unreleased tracks from the Crazy Horse sessions, as well as a previously unreleased version of Neil Young's "When You Dance You Can Really Love," a 1971 radio spot, and the A- and B-sides of the Danny & The Memories single "Can't Help Loving That Girl," released in 1962 on the Valiant label.

More on Crazy Horse: Tales of the 3rd Best Garage Band in the World.

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Mojo/Q Classic Special All Neil Young Issue

It's been a couple of weeks since receiving the Mojo/Q Classic Special All Neil Young Issue. And what a treat!

Titled as "NEIL YOUNG: THE AMAZING JOURNEY - From Folk Hero to Rocker From Hell!", the 140+ page issue is a joint effort between Q and Mojo magazine. Lots of innaresting stuff.

It looks like Joel Bernstein cooperated with the effort as evidenced by the quantity of photos, including some that have not been published before. This was the first time that Thrasher has seen a picture of Neil's first wife Susan Acevedo.


Neil with his first wife, Susan

While we've read much of this before, this is really the most complete and comprehensive - yet concise - look at Neil's career, outside of Jimmy McDonough's Neil Young biography "Shakey".

While the cover hype's in tabloid-style fashion screaming headlines like "Cocaine, Chicks, & Chaos" and "Crazy Tales", the contents are actually well researched and edited. So credit to the good folks at Mojo/Q.

A few items of interest include:

- every Neil Young album reviewed;
- a profile of Neil's manager Elliot Roberts;
- The Stills-Young "Eat A Peach" saga;
- a profile of Neil's producer the late David Briggs; and
- memories of Neil in Canada by Randy Bachman.

With very minimal advertising, the issue is labeled as the "ultimate collectors edition". And it lives up to the billing. Nice job Mojo/Q!

"When God Made Me" Lyrics

Neil Young sings "When God Made Me"
"Did God give me my voice so that others could silence me?"

UPDATE 9/10/05 - Neil Young Performs "When God Made Me" on "Shelter From the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast".

UPDATE 8/1/05 - An incredible volume of comments have been posted on this article. Scroll down for reader reaction.

Here are the lyrics for the new Neil Young song "When God Made Me" from Sharry (Up in T.O. keepin' jive alive) posted on Rust:

WHEN GOD MADE ME

Was he thinking about my country,
or the colour of my skin?
Was he thinking about my religion,
and the way I worshipped him?
Did he create just me in his image,
or every living thing?

When God made me.
When God made me.

Was he planning only for believers,
or for those who just had faith?
Did he envision all wars
that were fought in his name?
Did he say there was only one way
to be close to him?

When God made me.
When God made me.

Did he give me the gift of love
to say who I could choose?

When God made me.
When God made me.
When God made me.

Did he give me the gift of voice
so some could silence me?
Did he give me the gift of vision
not knowing what I might see?
Did he give me the gift of compassion
to help my fellow man?

When God made me.
When God made me.
When God made me.

The lyrics are ripe for interpretation. And everybody likes to analyze Neil's song meanings.

At first glance, certainly not Neil's most obtuse lyrics like ""And I saw you in my nightmares, but I'll see you in my dreams" but more like the enigmatic lyrics "What is the color when black is burned?".

On second glance there is a lot going on here. Start with the gospel choir-like Fisk University Jubilee Singers. The student vocalists introduced "slave songs" to the world and, in many opinions, preserved this music from extinction. So Neil has not embarked on some light-hearted exercise here as many seem to believe.

Neil and the Fisk University Jubilee Choir
From the comments below:

"Musically this is a nice song, but in terms of lyrics it's a different story. Lennon's song "Imagine" was quite unambiguous.

Young's is totally ambiguous, asking ten questions, but giving no answers. You might think the answers are all obvious, and so might I, but I doubt we agree on what those obvious answers are. Is that the beauty of this song, or its evil side?"

An interesting exercise to answer Neil's questions laid out starkly in the deceptively simple lyrics.

Others question Neil's motives. For example, on Get Religion, Douglas LeBlanc writes rather absurdly and demonstrates a complete lack of lyrical analysis -- much less christian-like empathy:

"For a few decades now, John Lennon’s “Imagine” has served as a secularist hymn. From the end of The Killing Fields to the post-9/11 America: A Tribute to Heroes broadcast, “Imagine” has been there to tell us that the world could be so much more pleasant if only everyone were inclusive enough to set aside what they believe about God, the afterlife and other trivial matters.

Neil Young played “Imagine” on America: A Tribute to Heroes, and now he’s written a song that could join it in the pantheon of believer-bashing hymns.
---
You’ll likely hear “When God Made Me” many times in the coming decades, especially at elementary schools’ winter holiday festivals and weddings that favor vows custom-written by the bride and groom."

ECJ responds to the above post on Get Religion:

“The implied answer to every rhetorical question was ‘No.’ The song is a denial of both explicit revelation, and Exclusive Truth.

“Was He planning only for believers or for those who just have faith?”

He divides belief from faith, thus implicitly asserting that faith is more important than the object of the faith. Have faith in what? Can you have faith in God and yet disbelieve? Yes, you can, if what you disbelieve is the exclusive doctrine rooted in Revelation which demands conformity. If God is silent and we are all just struggling in the dark to find Him, then each man can follow whatever faith he thinks up in his own mind. Who is to question him?

“Did He envision all the wars that were fought in His name?.”

Since having faith is what is important, and not any specific content for that faith, then why should anyone fight over it? In essense he argues that the exclusive religious belief is dangerous because it leads people to fight. Of course, the important question is whether this exclusive belief is true. But he has already answered that in the previous line.

“Did He say there was only one way to be close to Him?”

This is the penultimate question. Is it true that God has revealed Himself through only one religion? Was Jesus lying or deceived or mistaken when He said “If you do not believe that I Am, you will die in your sins.” Place the question in the context of the previous two lines, and you see how the song frames the question.

This just scratches the surface. I could have just as easily focused on Providence. Or Sovereignty. I took the song and the artist seriously. And I think this is a reasonable and fair rendering of its meaning. It has nothing to do with grace and election. It presents a Theology of uncertainty - a god lost within the haze who knows nothing of holiness, and speaks with no clear voice."

In an interview with The New York Times by Jon Pareles, Young commented:

"I feel like our religion and our faith have been hijacked.

What is bothering me the most is the misappropriation of religion and faith, the misuse of God and the house of worship. It's one faith with different people trying to express it in different ways. It's all about being the little guy in the big world."

In an interview in Rolling Stone magazine by Alec Wilkerson:

"Young has a seeker's sensitivity, a susceptibility to impressions received in passing or only half-clearly. The hymn "When God Made Me" is deeply subversive. It is meant to unsettle those ardent believers whose certainty of holiness makes them feel they can abusively enforce their beliefs on the rest of the world.

"I was asking questions about faith," Young says. "But one kept evading me. I couldn't figure out what the last question was."

Not until Young realized that the recording studio was actually in a former church, was he able to complete the song.

From A churchless song: “When God Made Me” - Church of the Churchless:

"The way I see “When God Made Me,” it offers a glimpse of how much better religions would be if their focus was on asking questions that didn’t have ready-made dogmatic answers.

I’m going to make it the Church of the Churchless theme song."

Lastly, I agree with Wilco's lyrics from "A Ghost is Born": "Theologians, you don't know nothing about my soul".

More on the Live8 concert finale by Neil Young performing "Rockin' in the Free World and the Live8 concert highlights. Also, Technorati Live8 blogs.

UPDATE 9/10/05 - Neil Young Performs "When God Made Me" on "Shelter From the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast".

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Live 8 Video of Neil Young Now Available

Neil Young on Live8 video is now available for streaming on that much maligned AOL network. However, let it be said that AOL has redeemed itself in the face of the massive failure of MTV's totally pathetically lame Live8 coverage last weekend. Just another reason to kill your television.

Neil's entire setlist including the new song "When God Made Me" is hosted along with all of the other performances like Pink Floyd's sublimely blissfully beautiful 20 minute set.

Thrasher has been struck by the lack of discussion and coverage of Neil's new song "When God Made Me" (lyrics). As far as Thrasher is aware, no other artist trotted out a brand new song for the day. Not only that, many artists did not seem to attempt to tailor their setlists to the day's message. As usual, Neil not only rose to the challenge but demonstrated how to deliver the right message at the right moment, similar to his performance of John Lennon's "Imagine" days after 9/11.

In light of yesterday's tragedies in London, Thrasher can draw on Neil's performances for strength in these disturbed and disturbing times.

NPR's Scott Simon on Weekend Edition played a clip of "When God Made Me" in the context of the London's bombings.

More on the Live8 concert finale by Neil Young performing "Rockin' in the Free World and the Live8 concert highlights.

Thanks Ron "Sailor's Refuge" for the tip!

Also, the Martin guitar discussion forum is in an uproar over Neil playing a Taylor guitar rather than his normal Martin D-45 acoustic. (Thanks for the tip Lionel Louie!)

Lastly, what happened to Crosby, Still & Nash at Live 8?

Undercover reports that CSN had "logistical problems". CSN were scheduled to play in Berlin but canceled. "After working many hours to try and support Live8 and David Crosby even helping to secure a plane as CSN was prepared to do the show, the band was not able to get a workable slot in the Berlin performance sequence that would have put them back in Bonn to perform a tour date that was previously routed prior to any announcement of the Live 8 event," Gerry Tolman, manager of Crosby, Stills & Nash said today. "They are extremely sad that they could not be a part of this historic event."

Live8 Finale: Neil Young Rocks the Free World

Neil Young Closes Live8 Concert in Canada


Neil & Friends: Keep on Rockin in the Free World!

The Live8 concerts ended with Neil Young and an all-star finale of "Rockin' In The Free World". Quite a fitting conclusion for a day in music history. It was the second performance of the song in the day. Earlier, Maroon 5 played RITFW in Philadelphia.


Neil Young, Buckcherry's Josh Todd & Gordon Lightfoot


Neil Young sings "When God Made Me"
"Did God give me my voice so that others could silence me?"


Neil and the Fisk University Jubilee Choir
Neil performed a new song called "When God Made Me" on grand piano. He was accompanied by the Fisk University Jubilee Choir. Gorgeous, heartfelt lyrics. Sharry transcribes the lyrics on Rust@Yahoo!:

"When God made me

Was he planning only for believers
Or for those who just have faith?
Did he envision all the wars
That were fought in his name?
Did he say there was only one way
To be close to him?"

"When God Made Me" (lyrics)
Neil and Pegi on "Four Strong Winds"

Neil and his wife Pegi opened with the Ian Tyson song, "Four Strong Winds".

A spontaneous "Oh Canada" closes the day

Here's a BitTorrent of Neil's Live8 set on Rust Radio.

More Live8 Concert Reports and photos.

Live8 Rocks The World - Concert Report Updates

The Live8 concerts take place around the world. Lots of bands. Lots of cities. Lots of good causes.

Live 8 – The Long Walk to Justice is being organized to put pressure on the G-8 nations' leaders to come up with more aid for Africa.

Among the bands to perform are Pink Floyd, U2, Madonna, Paul McCartney, Green Day, Brian Wilson, Coldplay, Linkin Park, Jay-Z, Crosby, Stills, & Nash and Neil Young (separate stages).


U2 & Paul McCartney

It was 20 years ago today. U2 & Paul McCartney opened the Live8 global concerts with "Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band".

Thrasher's Blog attempts to capture the historic day with feed photos.


Live8


Live8 Tickets on Flickr
Live8 Rocks The World - Concert Reports