347 replies to this topic

[RadioHitchcock]

I really enjoy this thread, and it's SO close to being done. Any word on when it will be?

once all the swimming events are through.

[Campaigner]

I really enjoy this thread, and it's SO close to being done. Any word on when it will be?

once all the swimming events are through.

haha... too true

Sorry folks - Only four albums to go! Need a spare few hours to get through the rest, might get to it on the weekend.

[franty]

I really enjoy this thread, and it's SO close to being done. Any word on when it will be?

once all the swimming events are through.

haha... too true

Sorry folks - Only four albums to go! Need a spare few hours to get through the rest, might get to it on the weekend.

i've been listening to neil young a lot in the past few days, and i've just found this thread. fantastic work. seriously, you should consider turning this into a book... a neil young companion. at least a dedicated website....

i'd only get rid of the ratings.... you'll end up pissing some angry crazy neil young fans... like myself



there should be a bob dylan thread like this one.

[RadioHitchcock]

there should be a bob dylan thread like this one.

it's coming...as soon as the 101 songs from 2008 I think you should hear is through.
about 93 days from now.

[Campaigner]

Just while I'm getting the rest of this thread ready.

Here's the four bonus tracks that came with Chrome Dreams II, taken from the 1968 Riverboat show that's the NYAPS Disc #1.

Tracks:

1) Broken Arrow
2) I Am a Child
3) On the Way Home
4) Sugar Mountain

This sounds unreal, almost as though they're demos from some studio session with 20 randoms as an audience. Neil sounds pretty apprehensive too...

http://rapidshare.com/files/138487241/nyr.rar.html

[Campaigner]

Neil Young
Living With War (2006)

TRACKS:

1) 'After the Garden'
2) 'Living With War'
3) 'The Restless Consumer'
4) 'Shock & Awe'
5) 'Families'
6) 'Flags of Freedom'
7) 'Let's Impeach the President'
8) 'Lookin' For a Leader'
9) 'Roger & Out'
10) 'America the Beautiful'

ALBUM RATING: 4.0

VERDICT:

Ok, so this is a different kind of review. I'm not going to go track-by track. I'm not interesting in doing so, not for this album anyway. To me, the songs themselves aren't important. Not because they're good (which, to be fair they aren't at all), but because they don't matter as this is about the album. Neil Young's always been a spur-of-the-moment kind of guy. Or so it's seemed (I've always maintained that although Neil's jumped from style to style, he's always done so with a plan in his mind... with obvious exceptions).

'Music as a protest' has been going on for a long time, and as far as Neil's concerned with Living With War, what's being said isn't as important as the perception that at the very least you're saying something. Honestly, "Let's impeach the President for lying" has nothing on "tin soldiers and Nixon's coming", but you all knew that anyway.

The songs themselves are not good. Of those which make any impact at all, only 'The Restless Consumer' makes me interested enough to consider it a success. The rest are forgettable and not worthy of being attached to the name of Neil Young.

Ultimately, what makes Living With War a failure is not the scope of the project, not at all. Neil's idea to write, record and release as soon as possible was a masterstroke in that coupled with the subject matter, it was bound to raise the interests of music fans (for its expediency) and the general public (for its subject matter). All of a sudden it seemed as though Neil were relevant again because he made an anti-war album. People didn't stop to think that the songs might be this horrible.

It's hard to write about this album, simply because it's so bad. This is Neil Young at his most strained, strained in voice, strained in inspiration. Strained in inspiration... how can I write that? How can I believe that? This is Neil Young for fuck's sake - the man earned his immortality from making the controversial accesible. He translated people's anger ('Ohio') and he's simplified the unique feelings of men better than many others. Here, he only convinces you that he should never have made this album to begin with and if this isn't the review you were after... well perhaps it's best to think like me and pretend like this album never happened.

NEXT: Back to the Future, Part II

[solace]

love that record After The Garden and Roger Out are up there w/ my fave Neil songs sure Let's Impeach is lame and won't last like Ohio, but other than that, showed me that Neil still has plenty of fire left.

[hinsey21]

this thread should be back on the first page are you going to be carry on soon with this campaigner??

[RadioHitchcock]

It's hard to write about this album, simply because it's so bad.

This was my top album in 06.
I enjoy all the songs on it except "America The Beautiful".

[Heretix]

It's hard to write about this album, simply because it's so bad.

This was my top album in 06.
I enjoy all the songs on it except "America The Beautiful".

Really? I loved this album when it first came out but the idea of listening to it ever again is highly unpalatable -- I think it's the only time I'd ever consider selling one of my CDs/records. I'm somewhat interested in hearing the RAW version because the choir and horns are really tacky, but the songs themselves are just so blah that it's not even worth it.

The lyrics are subpar (way too direct, seems like very little effort was put into it..); Living With War I guess is a pretty good song but the melody feels rushed and unfinished, like it's stretching for a natural resolution that it can't reach. Let's Impeach The President is notable for its speech samples and sheer audacity, but otherwise is a fucking terrible song. Stuff like After The Garden is hands-down the most boring stuff Neil has ever put out.. so dreary. At least Chrome Dreams II was an improvement..

Songs like Ohio had great melodies, great lyrics, and felt like they were leading the anti-war culture; a sort of zeitgeist. These songs feel like bandwagon jumping, no one needs an entire anti-Bush album when the mainstream (especially in the entertainment industry) is generally (unspoken or not) against Bush in the first place. Yes, I'm looking at you, Al Jourgenson. It smacks of very little substance, and certainly lacks any importance or relevance.

So, the album doesn't have any worthwhile songs, or any tangible impact or relevance. A massive misfire on both spectrums. Poor Neil.

[the dude]

wow, campaigner, yr a harsh marker.

like living with war, but love living with war: in the beginning.

[Campaigner]

wow, campaigner, yr a harsh marker.

like living with war, but love living with war: in the beginning.

Funny, I look at the 4.0 that I gave the album only a few days ago and think that I was being generous.

As much as I dislike Living With War, I want to strangle Living With War: In the Beginning. You won't see me put much effort into that review.

[Heretix]

wow, campaigner, yr a harsh marker.

like living with war, but love living with war: in the beginning.

Funny, I look at the 4.0 that I gave the album only a few days ago and think that I was being generous.

As much as I dislike Living With War, I want to strangle Living With War: In the Beginning. You won't see me put much effort into that review.

Is In The Beginning the version that was released without the choir and such? I always thought that was called RAW because of the giant RAW across the cover? (Or am I just a dumbass, and it said war?)

And yeah, I tried listening to it a few months ago, and it was even more torturous than the regular version.

[Campaigner]

Neil Young
Live at Massey Hall (2007)

TRACKS:

1) 'On the Way Home' - Masterpiece #41. As much as the original Buffalo Springfield tune is great, what with Richie Furay singing and all that (along with it just being some bouncy fun - something Neil's not particularly known for), this kicks its ass all the way back to California. No offense to Richie at all, but Neil was born to sing this song, not you. Acoustic is where it's at also. The way he sings "I held my breath with my eyes closed" is about as good as the guy's ever sung. I don't know if he was smiling with eyes slammed shut when he sung that line that night, but to me - it's the only way it can be sung. Completely brilliant start. 10.0

2) 'Tell Me Why' - I know, I was pissing on sacred cows and all that when I said that, of the studio version, "[it] feels like the intro to a song that never arrived". But you see, I saw potential that hadn't been realised. That was Neil with a little too much sheen, this is Neil with not too much of anything and as a result, he delivers a much more inspiring reading of a song that I know I should love to death, but never have been able to. This reading goes a long way to changing my opinion. 8.0

3) 'Old Man' - "Screw the Nashville band, ditch the country star aspirations and just play the fuckin' song." That's what should've been said to Neil back in the day. Because, as good as the original was - Neil with just his guitar on a stage while singing this song is awesome. Listen to him practically plead as he sings the chorus! Brilliant shit. 9.0

4) 'Journey Through the Past' - Another gem. As much as I love Time Fades Away, this song doesn't need a weary Neil, it needs this Neil - at full voice and a little bit of care about how he's playing. Pondering, yet at the same time happy to be beyond the place he's singing about. There's a masterpiece version of this song out there, but this isn't it. Not quite anyway (I'm partial to the version he recorded live for the BBC in Feb '71). 9.5

5) 'Helpless' - Contrary to 'Tell Me Why' and 'Old Man', I think this needs CSN. You see, I see this as a pretty sad song - and I don't ever think Neil was happy while in the studio with CSN, and the melancholy with which it was sung on Deja Vu is vital to understanding its greatness. Fuck, he wrote some brilliant songs back then, didn't he? 7.0

6) 'Love in Mind' - Still as good as when I first heard it. There's a very similar cut on Time Fades Away, taken from the same tour, so go there if you want my feelings on the song as a whole... but needless to say, still fuckin' great. 8.5

7) 'A Man Needs a Maid/Heart of Gold' - As much as I love 'A Man Needs a Maid' - I did after all call the Harvest cut a masterpiece - I'm not going to be so kind to it here. It's embryonic and I'm not sure I like the "a man feels afraid" line. Neil's never at his best when he's to the point, he's always better when you have to get your mind around things. Adding it to 'Heart of Gold' also may have seemed like a good idea, but an embryonic 'Heart of Gold' on the piano? Gimme Ronstadt and Taylor any day. 7.0

8) 'Cowgirl in the Sand' - A completely different cut than the one on the Fillmore East release, but no less vital. In the electric take, the lyrics are almost incidental - here, they drive the song and they drive it to different heights. Am I ever going to be able to give a version of this song anything less than a 10.0?

9) 'Don't Let it Bring You Down' - Better than the studio cut found on After the Gold Rush, but sorry guys, I still can't love it too much. There's something there though, something that stops me from skipping to the next track every time it comes on. That's gotta stand for something right? 7.0

10) 'There's a World' - Should there be kudos for trying? I don't know, Neil must've known that it wasn't a very good song. But then again, he played it live and still saw fit to record it with the LSO. Maybe he thought that the strings would add something, and that once he'd paid for them to be on there, he might as well better to release the song. Unfortunately, it's still shit. 1.0

11) 'Bad Fog of Loneliness' - This needs Ben Keith doubling Neil's vocals. Not saying the song's bad (not at all - it's fuckin' great), but Keith's vocals on one of the readily available studio versions elevates the song to greater heights. As I said though, this is no slouch and easily better than a lot of the songs released around this time, and I dare say it's better than a lot of the so-called 'classics' from the time. 8.0

12) 'The Needle & the Damage Done' - Is it wrong to be bored of this song by now? Sure, it's a vital message (even more so at the timeframe of this concert), but surely after hearing so many versions of what is pretty much the same performance, the message starts to blue. Obviously I'm not going to pick up a needle anytime soon, but after a while it seems Neil's no longer cautioning, but preaching. And I really don't like preachers. But if I give the Harvest version an 8.5, there's no reason why I shouldn't do the same here. 8.5

13) 'Ohio' - Again, and like 'Helpless', this needs CSN. This needs the urgency of the studio cut, this needs a bit more. 7.0

14) 'See the Sky About to Rain' - Whereas 'Helpless' and 'Ohio' needed CSN, this here needs the Wurlitzer, this needs Levon Helm. Not a masterpiece like the On the Beach cut, it still is a great and powerful song. And how can I hate a Neil/Piano combo song? Not possible... not at all. 8.5

15) 'Down By the River' - I dunno. The song's still a masterpiece (it really could be nothing but), however Neil's sounding a bit tired by this point, and whereas the song's Everybody Knows This is Nowhere brother, 'Cowgirl in the Sand' reveals more layers as a stripped-down and acoustic tale, this loses a bit without the electric guitars behind it. 8.0

16) 'Dance Dance Dance' - Trashy fun. The acoustic equivalent of 'Prisoners of Rock and Roll' and just as good. Should be a mandatory encore at any of Neil's acoustic concerts, complete with stomping feet. Or maybe that's just me? 7.5

17) 'I Am a Child' - Yeah, still not a fan. Why doesn't he just play 'Out of My Mind' instead? I gave this a 5.0 when I originally reviewed Last Time Around, and I can't see any reason to change my view now. 5.0

ALBUM RATING: 9.5

VERDICT: Neil believes David Briggs was right and that he should've released this instead of Harvest. I'm not so sure. I like this better than Harvest, but I'm one who doesn't believe in regrets. Release this instead of Harvest and maybe Neil never goes to #1. If that never happens then maybe he doesn't want a massive tour. Maybe he doesn't invite Danny Whitten on the tour and the guy somehow gets clean. Neil would never have released the 'Doom Trilogy' and things would be very different to how they are now. Of course, maybe they'd be better, but that's not a risk that I'm willing to take. Maybe this should've stayed in the can until it did. Maybe I'm talking bullshit, I don't know...

NEXT: Sequel time!

[The Gram]

1) 'On the Way Home' - Masterpiece #40.

Great work there chief...finish line is in sight.
You're probably going a bit stir crazy by now and forgot that you're up to Masterpiece#41.

I'm sure I'm not the only person on here that's been updating a "shakey-II" inspired playlist.

[Campaigner]

1) 'On the Way Home' - Masterpiece #40.

Great work there chief...finish line is in sight.
You're probably going a bit stir crazy by now and forgot that you're up to Masterpiece#41.

I'm sure I'm not the only person on here that's been updating a "shakey-II" inspired playlist.

Duly noted (and thanks!)

[M_Rots]

I dunno - I've heard most of the acoustic versions of the stuff from Massey Hall on other boots, as well as legitimate concert releases, and while the Massey Hall versions are fine, it's an album I almost never listen to.

This will seem a petty quibble, and it probably is, but I get tired of Neil's commentary/onstage patter and it seems as if there's some of it after every track. Makes putting most of these versions on mixes impossible - 2 minutes of crowd noise and Neil overcompensating for his lack of stage presence with inane monologues makes good transitions between tracks all but impossible.

I think your individual song ratings are spot-on, but sometimes the whole is less than the sum of its parts.

[Campaigner]

I dunno - I've heard most of the acoustic versions of the stuff from Massey Hall on other boots, as well as legitimate concert releases, and while the Massey Hall versions are fine, it's an album I almost never listen to.

This will seem a petty quibble, and it probably is, but I get tired of Neil's commentary/onstage patter and it seems as if there's some of it after every track. Makes putting most of these versions on mixes impossible - 2 minutes of crowd noise and Neil overcompensating for his lack of stage presence with inane monologues makes good transitions between tracks all but impossible.

I think your individual song ratings are spot-on, but sometimes the whole is less than the sum of its parts.

I definitely see and understand your point - however I think there is almost an invisible pressure placed on singer-songwriters to become more than that, almost a singer-songwriter-storyteller (as if the songs aren't nearly enough).

Kind of a Catch-22 situation. Talk to the crowd and they tell you to shut up and play the songs, or don't talk to them and be labeled an arrogant prick.

My only gripe (which I got over quickly) is that the banter isn't placed at the end of the preceding track, so you couldn't just skip past it to the actual song.

[Campaigner]

Neil Young
Chrome Dreams II (2007)

TRACKS:

1) 'Beautiful Bluebird' - It's beside the point that this is a very good song. It's beside the point that it would've been one of the best songs on Old Ways if it were released. It's beside the point that it's a great way to start an uneven album. I suppose the point to all this is "what's the point?" I don't get the idea behind this album, I don't get the idea behind it's title and I don't get what possessed Neil to do what he did here. But I guess that's the point. 6.5

2) 'Boxcar' - Now this is a great fuckin' song. Banjo and dirty electric guitar? Works for me. Not the world's greatest train song, but I sure as hell dig the "whoah-oh" backing vocals, and Neil shows here that his voice ain't what it used to be (compare his vocals here to just two songs later and it's quite startling). But yeah - I dig this and I get that it doesn't really fit on anything that he released around the timeframe that this was record (1988/89). Might as well get thrown on here. 8.0

3) 'Ordinary People' - I started another thread some time back, praising Pete Townshend's Lifehouse Chronicles. It wasn't viewed as much as this thread, nor was it replied to as often, but I talked about the importance of 'scope'. I wrote that "scope shows that in the beginning, at least, there was an idea. A notion that says "from a spark something great may grow". And if, in the end, something refuses to grow - then at least you can say that there was at least the spark, the daring to be different and lay it all on the line not for the sake of the fans, or because you want good reviews, but because you know in your heart that you're capable of something so powerful it would knock the false teeth off a lady standing a mile away if you could just get that spark to grow." Well, you could say that about 'Ordinary People'. I'm not sure that it entirely works, but then again I don't for a second think that it isn't one of the most daringly brilliant things Neil has ever done. An 18-minute song with a horn section, recorded with some of the best guitar playing of the man's career - right at the time when his career was at one of its lowest ebbs? That's scope right there, bitches (with a healthy side-dish of balls). Or stupidity, depending on your perspective. I've grown up for so long with the live version from Jones Beach in 1988 that it was a bit odd to hear anything different to what I was used to. The verses are mixed up and some are added, but the song is still there. I'm not prepared to give it a 10.0, or call it a masterpiece. Just call it a brilliant song if you like - I do. 9.5

4) 'Shining Light' - Ahh - here's where the problems start. There's such a difference to this track, both in quality of sound, in the quality of the actual song, that it makes you think that Neil didn't have enough for a proper album so he just threw on some older stuff to pad it out. This isn't the worst song at all - it actually feels like it wouldn't have been out of place had it been recorded and placed on Life. But as it is, it can't honestly expect to follow 'Ordinary People' and be memorable in any way, shape or form. It's probably worth noting that for the soulful feel Neil gets here is probably equal or greater than anything on Are You Passionate? 6.5

5) 'The Believer' - Yeah, this isn't very good. Like an Are You Passionate? outtake. This is a tired Neil, and it's a shame. 3.0

6) 'Spirit Road' - Well, Old Black's out and unleashed again - that's the positive. The negative is that it's not something that makes you really get out of your chair to freak out to. It could just be an unnecessary gripe. Anyone else think this would've been one of the better songs on Greendale? 5.5

7) 'Dirty Old Man' - Makes 'Piece of Crap' just that little bit more masterful. "I'm a dirty old man, I do what I can, I'm gonna get a hammer and do it again". Wow - it's no "there you stood on the edge of your feather, expecting to fly" is it? Mindless trash, and for that - it's forgivable, but there's something in me that thinks Neil can do 'crap' or 'mindless trash' these days, with nothing else. Prove me wrong Neil - tell me to mind my own fuckin' business and leave the songs to you. Get worked up and smash someone's guitar over my head. I'll be a willing participant, but as long as you get some songs out of it that make me fuckin' weep, not because they're shit, but because they're the greatest thing ever written. Prove to me you've still got it. 5.0

8) 'Ever After' - 5 seconds in and you feel the dread... it gets slightly better, but not much. "The world is full of questions, some are answered, some are not". I think I might go cry now. 2.0

9) 'No Hidden Path' - NOW THAT'S FUCKING MORE LIKE IT! This isn't a masterpiece - but it's dirty, loose and it makes you move your head, tap your feet and much more. This has turned into a monster live - but I'm not reviewing that. This is still really good, and that's not just in comparison with the other songs on the album - this is good no matter what or where it is. 7.5

10) 'The Way' - Really - could there be anything else but a headfuck to finish this album? But you know what? I actually kinda dig this song. A brother (or sister) to 'A Dream That Can Last' from Sleeps With Angels. I'm almost tempted to say that this is the best 'new' song on the album... but I won't go that far. Don't ask me why I like it - because I'm not sure myself, but all I know is that it's endearing, and has been endearing itself to me since the first time I ever heard it. Would never have thought a Neil Young song with a children's choir would be good, but here you go. 7.0

ALBUM RATING: 6.0

VERDICT: A lot of these songs either were originally recorded for other albums, or sound like they belong on other albums - and that's pretty much this 'album' in a nutshell. It's not terrible, but there's no cohesive thread or quality throughout the album that would make me think it was worth a regular spin. Sure, it's better than Are You Passionate?, Greendale and Living With War, but then again - what isn't? Not too disappointing and there's a few signs towards the end of the disc that make you think there's some glorious light at the end of the tunnel.

NEXT: The long walk home.

[dice]

hats off to you sir