Neil Young News

April 2004

Fresh Wheat - 4/26/2004



Jimmy McDonough Discusses Shakey on Bravo

This week's Artist of the Week on Canada's Bravo channel is Neil Young comes word from Bad News Beat. McDonough discusses writing Shakey along with author Dave Zimmer (4 Way Street). Lots of clips and archival footage. From the site:

"McDonough spent six years doggedly pursuing rock's most elusive quarry, talking to more than three hundred of Young's associates (many of whom spoke freely for the first time), as well as sitting down with Young in person for more than fifty hours of interviews."

Fresh Wheat - 4/24/2004



Flea on Neil & Crazy Horse

In a RollingStone.com article "The Immortals: 50 Greatest Artists of All Time", Neil Young comes in at #34. The writeup is provided by the Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea:

"I can't say enough about how much I love Crazy Horse. The sound is so deep, the groove is so deep -- even when they're off, it still sounds great, because they feel it so much. I don't usually go for that approach. I like Sly and the Family Stone, Miles Davis and Mingus. I like consummate steady musicianship. I grew up on jazz. I didn't listen to rock music until I played in my first rock band when I was in high school. I went from progressive to Hendrix to funk to full-on L.A. punk. That's when I had the realization that emotion and content, no matter how simple, were valuable.

A great one-chord punk song became as important to me as a Coltrane solo, and I've had the same feeling about Neil Young. He changed the way I thought about rock music. As a bass player, I used to be into very boisterous, syncopated and rhythmically complex songs. After hearing Neil, I appreciated simplicity, the poignancy of 'less is more.' "

Wow, comparing Neil & Crazy Horse to John Coltrane is pretty heavy. But like great jazz, words can not capture inspired improvisation nor Neil and the Horse jammin'. More on Flea, Neil & the Horse and what other artists think of the Immortal Mr. Young.

Fresh Wheat - 4/16/2004



Rhino Releases 3 Classic Neil Young Albums on DVD-Audio

From High Fidelity Review comes word that Rhino Records has released ‘On the Beach’, ‘Hawks and Doves’ and ‘American Stars ‘n Bars’ on DVD-Audio discs. 'Re-ac-tor’ was also planned for an April 13th release, but has been delayed until 5th May due to changes made to the disc’s on-screen menu artwork.

According to the news release, all three discs are stereo-only, but the albums are presented at 176.4kHz 24-bit resolution. Also, bonus materials for ‘American Stars ‘n Bars’ include lyrics, photographs, a discography and a 'Like a Hurricane' video sequence.

Rhino calls the ‘On the Beach’ album “…a lost classic from his creative height.” From a High Fidelity Review review of 'On the Beach' by Patrick Cleasby on the audio quality:

"The cymbals sound fantastically real throughout; the huge ride cymbal in ‘Walk On’, Levon Helm’s hi-hat on ‘See the Sky About to Rain’, coupled with his wonderfully tight fills; the height on the harmonica on the same track; The feel when Rick Danko’s bubbling bass blends with his Band-mate Helm’s kick drum and martial snare on ‘Revolution Blues’, but at the same time with a great space between the instrumentalists; the way that the vocal and the solo sit back behind the soundstage on the same track; the holographic foot stomping on ‘For the Turnstiles’, coupled with the most faithful banjo tone; the way the organ on ‘Vampire Blues’ inhabits a space in front of the left speaker while a hyper-real shaker emerges from the right; authentic sounding harmonicas throughout; the height on the second guitar solo for ‘On the Beach’ – the list of revelatory events in this recording could be endless."

And now if we'd only known this last summer before the re-release on regular CD?!?! More on the legendary "On The Beach".


Greendale DVD Scheduled for June 22 Release

From Music Tap comes word that Greendale will be released on DVD on June 22. In addition to the movie, bonus features will include The Making of Greendale which will contain new interviews with Neil and members of the cast, 3 live performances of Greendale songs, lyrics, and a complete discography.

Fresh Wheat - 4/15/2004



Learning How To Die - A New Wilco Book by Greg Kot

A new book on the band Wilco is being released called Learning How To Die by Greg Kot.

An excerpt from the book discusses the influence of Neil Young on Uncle Tupelo, Jeff Tweedy, and Jay Farrar:

"Plenty of musical tributaries converged in the early recordings of Uncle Tupelo, but one of the most prominent was Neil Young - the off-the-cuff, midnight-of-the-soul Young of Tonight's the Night and On The Beach , as well as the hippie balladeer of "Harvest" and the primitive guitar genius of "Down By the River."

"You can't underestimate Young's influence an that whole scene," says journalist Richard Byrne.

"I would say the main reason I got what was happening was because I was a huge Tonight's the Night fan, and Tonight's the Night was the album for all of these guys, for Brian Henneman, for Jay Farrar, for Jeff Tweedy. They were hearing the country and folk stuff that they grew up around, and they were listening to all their SST punk records, and Neil crystallized it for them."

More on Wilco , the book "Learning How To Die", and the new release "A Ghost is Born". Also see Neil's influence on Uncle Tupelo .

Fresh Wheat - 4/11/2004



Carrie Snodgress: 1946 - 2004

Actress Carrie Snodgress, whose career included an Oscar nomination for "Diary of a Mad Housewife", died on April 1, 2004 at the age of 57.

Snodgress and Neil Young had a son named Zeke. Zeke Young was at Carrie's side when she died. Snodgress had been hospitalized at the University of California Medical Center in Los Angeles, awaiting a liver transplant when she died of heart failure.

Neil recorded several songs which reference Snodgress. The most well song is "A Man Needs A Maid" from the album "Harvest" containing the lines:

"I fell in love with the actress
She was playing a part I could understand"

Young's 1974 album "On The Beach" featured the song "Motion Pictures" which was dedicated to "Carrie". Lyrics of "Motion Pictures" clearly reference Carrie and Young's love for her:

"And I'll stand before you,
and I'll bring a smile to your eyes.
Motion pictures, motion pictures. "

In a 1983 article, Snodgress said:

"One day, there was a note on my dressing room table that said, 'Call Neil Young.' I didn't know who Neil Young was, but called him anyway."

Within weeks she had fallen in love with 'a wonderful artist [who] needed me.' As for her career: 'I decided that I was going to be in love, I was going to give it everything I had.' "

More on Carrie Snodgress and Neil Young.

Fresh Wheat - 4/4/2004

Neil & Pegi - Bridge School Concert 2003 photo by Craig Abaya
Bridge School Concert 2003 photos

• From Bad News Beat comes word that new photos by Craig Abaya have been added to the The Bridge School page of the 2003 benefit concert.

  Craig Abaya's photos are wonderful upclose shots of the weekend's performers including Pearl Jam, Counting Crows, Dashboard Confessional, Wilco, Willie Nelson, Incubus, Indigo Girls, and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Craig has authorized Thrasher's Wheat permission to use photos on this site including the home page photos from the 2002 concert. More reviews and photos on the Bridge School Benefit Concert 2003.

  Thanks Craig and support the Bridge School! Also, it's the Link of the Moment.

  
  Bob Dylan in Concert: April 3, 2004, American University, Washington D.C.

• A raspy Bob Dylan made three appearances in Washington, DC this past weekend. We caught the middle show on Saturday, April 3, 2004, at American University, Washington D.C. A terrific show and lots of classic Bob tunes.

  More photos, reviews, setlist and movie clip of the Bob Dylan concert.

  Fresh Wheat - 4/2/2004

  
  Now magazine Interview

• Another insightful interview from Canada's NOW Magazine (March 25 - 31, 2004) BY MICHAEL HOLLETT. The article is headlined:

  CANADA'S GIFT TO ROCK STILL KICKS ASS, LOTS OF THEM...
  INCLUDING GEORGE DUBYA'S, CLEAR CHANNEL'S AND CNN'S.

  Says Young about the fake Clear Channel billboard on the stage that reads "Support Our War," where initially people cheered it, then got the gag and screamed their protest:

  Radio City Music Hall, New York City, NY 3/17/2004

  "Both sides were there. They're all my fans, so I tried not to draw conclusions for people. Personally, I think the war is illegal and it's a travesty, it's justice trashed. And like somebody in Haiti said on a protest sign, 'America gets an F-minus in democracy.'

  "The war with Iraq and the occupation were obviously done for oil and revenge. Those are the American motives, controlling the flow of oil, which is now miraculously stronger than it was before the invasion. Yet they destroyed the museums, lost all the art and had no plans for protecting the culture."

  On whether Neil believes corporate media are selling an agenda:

  "Why is it that Martha Stewart is getting more headlines for a $200,000 infraction than (George Bush's Vice-President Dick Cheney's former company, U.S. military supplier) Halliburton for a $61-million infraction against the American people? Stewart's crime wasn't against the American people, it was just a company she was trading. It wasn't like she was trading in somebody's future or taking away someone's Social Security. But the media's obviously controlled."

  On the new film Greendale, Young said:

  "Film is totally driving me. I'm making a change. There's no way to get my music out there – the only way to get it noticed is to do a film. If I can make a film well enough to get attention so people know there's a record, then that's what I should do."

  "I would like to think that this is the first of an evolving form, " says Young. "It's a new form for me, and it may be a new form period. It sits in between – it doesn't try to be a film, but it's not a video. It's not trying not to be a film." "I don't want to use anybody else's money," says Young, leaning into his point. "I don't want anybody to be telling me what I should be doing. I don't want anybody to feel like they own me, like I have to do something because they gave me $10 million to make a movie and now I've got to pacify three executives."

  More Neil Young interviews on Greendale. Also, see music and politics. Because it's too important a time not to discuss music's influence on politics and vice versa.

  
  Numbers On The Site Counts Greendale Tour

• From Matt's always fascinating Numbers On The Site comes a few interesting tour statistics. There were a number of "one-off" concert performances during the Winter 2004 leg. Songs performed only once include:
  Drive Back - Mar 20 2004, Radio City Music Hall, New York City, NY
  Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere - Feb 23 2004, Memorial Auditorium, Sacramento, CA
  Farmer John - Feb 28 2004, Tingley Coliseum, Albuquerque, NM
  Fuckin' Up - Feb 29 2004, World Arena, Colorado Springs, CO
  Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues - Feb 28 2004, Tingley Coliseum, Albuquerque, NM (last performance: Oct 16 1992)
  Mansion On The Hill - Mar 21 2004, Mullins Center, Amherst, MA
  Prisoners Of Rock -N- Roll - Feb 19 2004, Queen Elizabeth Theater, Vancouver, Canada
  The Loner - Mar 05 2004, Rosemont Theater, Chicago, IL

  Thanks Matt!

  
  

  Bye, Greendale. We'll miss you and we'll be back soon!

  Fresh Wheat - 4/1/2004

  
  Fresh Air Interview

• The first segment of a two part interview on National Public Radio's Fresh Air on March 25, 2004 with Terry Gross. Fascinating comments on Greendale and its making. Neil comments on the devil and artists selling their souls:
  "I think the idea of making a deal with the devil, which is what you got from seeing it, is that that is a constant idea, that is something that artists sometimes feel they have to do to get their art out, OK? I think that's something that--there's a point there, but in this case, this artist, Earl Green, didn't--he didn't realize what had happened. But he gained from it, which makes you wonder, you know, who--how--why did the devil do that? I mean, you know, what kind of a devil is this? What--he actually did Earl a favor. Earl doesn't know if he made a deal with the devil or not. He doesn't feel any sense of debt."

  Later in the interview, some comparisons between the film Dead Man and Greendale. Young said that Greendale is an album with pictures on top of it:

  "And the similarity [Dead Man and Greendale] is that both of the films are kind of treated as a silent film with the sound being added to it, only it's backwards on "Greendale." It's like a silent film, but it's laid on top of the story."

  You can listen to entire interview on Fresh Air program archive. Transcript available on Bad News Beat. More on making of Neil Young's Greendale and Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man film.

  
  Leo's 100th Concert and Meets Neil

• Leo, Mr Muddy Track, attends his 100th Neil Young concert and meets Neil afterward. More photos on muddytrack's galleries. Congratulations Leo!

  It's Thrasher's Wheat's latest Link of the Moment.

  
  Inside Greendale Preview

• Inside Greendale can be previewed on Shakey's Garage. More on the making of and being inside Greendale.

  
  Greendale Sales

• Here at Thrasher's Wheat we do get the occasional email. With the tour finally over, it's time to start cleaning up the backlog. A couple of mails over the past few months have been inquiring about the sales figures for the Greendale CD. Well, it seems to be hard to come by reliable CD sales figures these days. I suppose the record industry doesn't have much good news on the revenue side these days.

  So the best info that Thrasher is aware of comes from of all places -- Amazon. It's actually pretty fascinating what Amazon collects and then makes available on their site. (Caution: Privacy Alert ahead.)

  According to Amazon.com, Greendale is ranked #139 in all album sales. Not too bad for an record that's been out 8 months.

  And you can even find out where Greendale record sales are the strongest:

  • Latin America (#17)
    
  • Missouri (#16)
    
  • South America (#11)
    
  • Australia (#12)
    
  • Italy (#12)
    
  • Israel (#20)
    
  • Monterey Bay Metro Area (#9)
    
  • Santa Barbara Metro Area (#17)
    
  • South Africa (#3)
    
  • Raleigh, NC (#18)
    
  • Singapore (#4)
    
  • Shawnee Mission, KS (#4)

  It looks like the tour helped Greendale sales because before the tour started, Greendale was ranked #392 in early February. Of course, not that Neil really cares about these sorts of things...

  While we're on the subject, here are the top 5 selling Neil Young albums on Amazon:

  1. Greendale (Bonus DVD)
  2. On the Beach [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]
  3. Decade [BOX SET]
  4. After The Gold Rush
  5. Harvest

  Lastly, for those that need to know all about the turnstiles, this from SUITE: LORRAINE.COM from POLLSTAR on the top 100 tours of 2003, Neil Young and Crazy Horse were # 47 & CSN logged in at #59. Here's Neil's Greendale concert tour gross data:

  ARTIST: Neil Young
  RANK: 47
  GROSS: $12.7 million
  AVG TIX PRICE: $49.32
  AVG SALES: 6602
  TOTAL TIX SOLD: 257,502
  AVG GROSS: $325,641
  

  And that's For The Turnstiles. More on Greendale album sales.

See news of March 2004 for more information on Neil Young's Greendale Concert Tour shows with set lists, photos and reviews.

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