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Author Topic: Neil Young  (Read 14944 times)
henrymoon
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« Reply #25 on: January 24, 2006, 10:04:37 AM »

BTW the latest Neil buzz is his solo gig at the Massey Hall, Toronto, on January 19th 1971. The soundboard recording is getting rave reviews - both for sound and performance - but it seems this is a leaked item due for release in the Archives (first instalment due in a few months). Ever vigilant, Dimeadozen pulled the torrent today...

While you're waiting, go see the Jonathan Demme film "Heart Of Gold"
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al
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« Reply #26 on: January 24, 2006, 10:14:21 AM »

Eldorado was also released in Australia (as well as Japan)  and I managed to get a vinyl copy when it came out on import. THAT was when I knew he was back. As I've mentioned before, the Eldorado stuff is much better on the EP than on Freedom as they mixed the noise down quite a bit, and they sound flatter.

Apart from Landing On Water I did like all of his 80's albums when they came out, it was just a while later that you can put them into proper context and realise that he was in a dip. Even Life had some good songs.

Last I heard the Archives were being mooted for an 'autumn' release -so they've gone back again! Let's see if they make it out this year.

To do quotes just find the post you want to quote from and pres the 'quote' button on the top right. You can then edit the text inside the start and end brackets.
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henrymoon
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« Reply #27 on: January 24, 2006, 10:25:03 AM »

To do quotes just find the post you want to quote from and pres the 'quote' button on the top right. You can then edit the text inside the start and end brackets.

Thanks, Alan. And hold on to Eldorado. They're getting rarer than i'vebeenaminerforaheartofgold dust!
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I. Spaceman
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« Reply #28 on: January 24, 2006, 10:48:03 AM »

One of my best posts and no response. That's why I only post bullshit here and do all my serious writing at the SmiLE Shop.
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Evenreven
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« Reply #29 on: January 24, 2006, 10:52:00 AM »

Seriously, I'm sorry you feel that way, I don't know much about 80s Neil, if I did I would have answered. It was a great post.
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al
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« Reply #30 on: January 24, 2006, 11:17:05 AM »

One of my best posts and no response. That's why I only post bullmerda here and do all my serious writing at the SmiLE Shop.

Can't speak for the USA but I only just got back from work and am having a quick trawl before I get called downstairs! I won't have time to do more of a response till later! - Its 7.15 pm here and I often don't get time to post much until my wife falls asleep later!

Dunno - I look at both and this board seems to have more activity at the moment than the SMiLE shop, but I love both equally!
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zelilgirlI1cenu
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« Reply #31 on: January 24, 2006, 11:19:29 AM »

Nothing beats "Zuma."

Greendale does IMHO, I used to think nothing beat Zuma.

and Ian I am catching up here but I do know that your Neil Young reviews and your Bob Dylan article are certainly one the best things I ever read about music.
« Last Edit: January 24, 2006, 11:21:35 AM by zelilgirlI1cenu » Logged

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Bubba Ho-Tep
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« Reply #32 on: January 24, 2006, 11:20:36 AM »

I couldn’t stand Greendale.

I tried.
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Bubba Ho-Tep
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« Reply #33 on: January 24, 2006, 11:22:00 AM »

One of my best posts and no response. That's why I only post bullmerda here and do all my serious writing at the SmiLE Shop.

You're so hurtful.
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zelilgirlI1cenu
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« Reply #34 on: January 24, 2006, 11:23:52 AM »

I couldn’t stand Greendale.

I tried.


I know you did ;-)
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« Reply #35 on: January 24, 2006, 11:28:48 AM »

I couldn’t stand Greendale.

I tried.


Me too. I like Bandits. After that ...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz......I still try thinking it will get better, so far, nothing!

What Dylan article?Huh?? Ian???
« Last Edit: January 24, 2006, 12:10:13 PM by alan brightmore » Logged
zelilgirlI1cenu
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« Reply #36 on: January 24, 2006, 11:30:10 AM »

It should be still posted at the Smile Shop.
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« Reply #37 on: January 24, 2006, 11:41:52 AM »

I love “Life”. The album, I mean. Well, I do love life too. Most of the time. Okay, part of the time. Okay, never. I hate life. Satisified?

I bought "Life" at Caldors for $7.99 on LP. Wasn’t expecting much, but got a pretty good record. You could tell that Neil was on the verge of something big(Freedom). Mideast Vacation has one of Neil’s best lyrics. Pretty funny, too. Long Walk Home could have come from any of his 70’s efforts, if you take away the synths and the sound effects.  Around The World  has a great chorus. It sounds dated now, but it pretty catchy. Prisoners Of Rock 'N' Roll is another classic cut. Unfortunately when it appeared on the live “Year of the Horse” it was overlong and sluggish, just like the rest of that album. The songs are good, its just the 80’s production style that weakens this record.
 
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I. Spaceman
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« Reply #38 on: January 24, 2006, 12:27:51 PM »

One of my best posts and no response. That's why I only post bullmerda here and do all my serious writing at the SmiLE Shop.

You're so hurtful.

Not as hurtful as you and others have been to righteous guys like Jon and John.
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« Reply #39 on: January 24, 2006, 12:37:27 PM »

I’ve never said a bad thing about either of them in my life.
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I. Spaceman
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« Reply #40 on: January 24, 2006, 04:44:08 PM »

But you have made repeated statements about this being the REAL Smile Shop and the other board being garbage, when the musical analysis there is about a million streets ahead of this board, and you should be most welcome there. And you know that. I can't see the reason for the harshness from you regarding that. I could only read it as hostility towards those guys, in a passive-aggressive manner.
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halleluwah
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« Reply #41 on: January 24, 2006, 06:24:57 PM »

One of my best posts and no response. That's why I only post bullmerda here and do all my serious writing at the SmiLE Shop.
Well, I mostly agree with you about Neil's 80s stuff, except that I think Life is actually half-decent, and that Everybody's Rockin' is, and always will be, a complete embarrassment to both Neil Young and, well, music in general.  If archaeologists from the distant future find copies of that record in an effort to understand our culture better, it's not gonna make us look too good.

That aside, you're right; Neil started the 80s in fine and characteristically eccentric form.  All three of his first 80s albums have stretches of greatness and stretches of mediocrity-to-suckiness, but he'd never been immune to that.  The first half of Hawks and the electronic parts of Trans are indeed among Young's best work ever.  Then, to my ears, it gets damn scary for a while.  Neil's next three albums sucked so hard that Life, which only really has an ep's worth of good stuff on it, and even that is poorly produced, sounds almost like a comeback album to me.  Nobody has ever provided me with a convincing reason to go out of my way to hear This Note's For You, so I still haven't (I've seen the video, and it is admittedly pretty hilarious, though). 

Ian's right.  The real public unveiling of Neil's artistic rebirth was the SNL performance where he did "Rockin' in the Free World" with Poncho and the bass player with the freakin' hilarious Sideshow Bob hair.  That moment at the end, where Neil bent his Bigsby back so far that all of his strings snapped, is probably the second-greatest live television rock and roll moment ever (behind only Keith Moon's drumset explosion on the Smothers Brothers show.  Of course.).  I was only 8 years old, and it would be several more years before I became interested in rock and roll at all, let alone Neil Young, so I didn't care yet.  But I can imagine that for a fan who had suffered through the wilderness of Neil's mid-late 80s work, that TV performance must have looked like the second coming of Christ.
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cta
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« Reply #42 on: January 24, 2006, 08:13:23 PM »

Shakey rocks.  Just when you've got him pinned down, he does the unexpected.   Seems like a very caring person with balls big as churchbells.   

I figure people like him know the real deal of good hearted people versus people who act nice for the sake of social harmony.   

His music isn't ALWAYS real interesting, but him always being unpredictable adds to his charm, intensity and integrity. 

He also stands up for what he believes in and has no reservations about putting cockswinging swagger cowboy wannabes in their rightful places. 
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I. Spaceman
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« Reply #43 on: January 24, 2006, 11:03:39 PM »

One of my best posts and no response. That's why I only post bullmerda here and do all my serious writing at the SmiLE Shop.
Well, I mostly agree with you about Neil's 80s stuff, except that I think Life is actually half-decent, and that Everybody's Rockin' is, and always will be, a complete embarrassment to both Neil Young and, well, music in general.  If archaeologists from the distant future find copies of that record in an effort to understand our culture better, it's not gonna make us look too good.

That aside, you're right; Neil started the 80s in fine and characteristically eccentric form.  All three of his first 80s albums have stretches of greatness and stretches of mediocrity-to-suckiness, but he'd never been immune to that.  The first half of Hawks and the electronic parts of Trans are indeed among Young's best work ever.  Then, to my ears, it gets damn scary for a while.  Neil's next three albums sucked so hard that Life, which only really has an ep's worth of good stuff on it, and even that is poorly produced, sounds almost like a comeback album to me.  Nobody has ever provided me with a convincing reason to go out of my way to hear This Note's For You, so I still haven't (I've seen the video, and it is admittedly pretty hilarious, though). 

Ian's right.  The real public unveiling of Neil's artistic rebirth was the SNL performance where he did "Rockin' in the Free World" with Poncho and the bass player with the freakin' hilarious Sideshow Bob hair.  That moment at the end, where Neil bent his Bigsby back so far that all of his strings snapped, is probably the second-greatest live television rock and roll moment ever (behind only Keith Moon's drumset explosion on the Smothers Brothers show.  Of course.).  I was only 8 years old, and it would be several more years before I became interested in rock and roll at all, let alone Neil Young, so I didn't care yet.  But I can imagine that for a fan who had suffered through the wilderness of Neil's mid-late 80s work, that TV performance must have looked like the second coming of Christ.

Right on, brother. I would say 3rd greatest TV rock moment, after The Who and a certain dude from Memphis playing some bloody rockabilly in a Burbank TV studio in 1968.
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zelilgirlI1cenu
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« Reply #44 on: January 25, 2006, 02:04:04 AM »

Neil Young has put himself in a unique position of being to release music which is not systematically excellent. A rare position for an artist to be in, in a commercial environment. When Neil releases an average record, people just know this is not a sign of lack of inspiration or whatever, quite the opposite, it is rather a sign that Neil is on a new trail, looking for new sounds, always within the boundaries of his own sound. The fact that he is so inlov with his own sound is also a characteristic of his work and gives his music a huge scope for expansion and exploration. To my me, Greendale is certainly an example of this, as a new exploration of the musical themes from within (Zuma) and from without (Greendale is an effort to pear down somes of the most powerful rock riffs). Prairie Wind is an album which I dont care much for for, but I do recognize its importance in Neil's work, nothing is superfluous ever, and of course there is that last song "When God Made Me"......

My,my, Hey Hey
Rock and Roll is here to stay
« Last Edit: January 25, 2006, 02:09:02 AM by zelilgirlI1cenu » Logged

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Bubba Ho-Tep
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« Reply #45 on: January 25, 2006, 06:00:21 AM »

But you have made repeated statements about this being the REAL Smile Shop and the other board being garbage, when the musical analysis there is about a million streets ahead of this board, and you should be most welcome there. And you know that. I can't see the reason for the harshness from you regarding that. I could only read it as hostility towards those guys, in a passive-aggressive manner.

I don't think I said "garbage". But I've checked it out and just don't find anything that I feel that strong about to respond to. Also, a lot of the time the same topic is over here, and I don’t see the point of posting the same thing on two sites. Besides, I'm mostly interested in The Beach Boys, and that board is all over the place, topically. I just took a look and still don't see anything to respond to. I'm not putting down the site; I'm just saying it isn't for me. I like this one better, and that is my opinion and my right. I said what I said about this site being the "real" Smile Shop because this site has maintained the vibe of the original "Smile Shop" while the "Smile Shop" has mutated into something a bit different. I don’t feel it’s as focused on Brian Wilson and Smile as this one is, and that’s my interest. I have no aggression against the Smile Shop. I don’t go there and badmouth the contributors because they don't respond fast enough to me, or saying that one is intellectually superior to the other, like what you just did.

Let's get back to talking about Neil, eh?
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Evenreven
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« Reply #46 on: January 25, 2006, 06:42:44 AM »

Quote
I don't think I said "garbage".
I think you did.

Quote
I'm not putting down the site; I'm just saying it isn't for me. I like this one better, and that is my opinion and my right.
Except that you said that it was "cold" and "sterile." It looked "commercial", whatever that means. Well-programmed? Well-designed? Beats me.

Quote
Let's get back to talking about Neil, eh?
Let's. I'm through with this nonsense now.
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Bubba Ho-Tep
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« Reply #47 on: January 25, 2006, 07:10:44 AM »

Wow, you guys are really keeping tabs on me. How do you remember this stuff?

I’m sorry if I offended anyone with my comments at the time.
I respect what they have done over there and will not put down people’s hard work.
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