Jazzfan,

I just selected MusicGiants from the down arrow in the upper right hand corner of WMP 10, typed in "Neil Young" in the search box, came up "43 albums" clicked on that and it took me directly to his new release, for the fairly reasonable price of $12.90.

RG

Jazzfan,

You are correct

Yeah, I think it's a stinker as well. To me, it sounds like he used 1 mike to capture the entire band and vocals. Well, to be fair, maybe 2 mikes...one in front of the guitar amplifier and one hanging from his belly button for the vocals.

The person seemed pretty clear he thought Young was second to Dylan, not as good as Dylan, so I'm not sure where that Quayle thing came from. I'm not a huge Young fan, I vastly prefer Dylan, but his great albums are "After the Gold Rush", "Tonight's the Night" (my personal favorite) and some other of the ditch records, and "Rust Never Sleeps". Most fans don't like Harvest much. I think that, not being able to cite these suggests you haven't given the guy a serious listen.

And what's with the whole day late and a dollar short thing? Have you ever actually listened to that song? Is your point that he's a day late because he didn't prevent his friend from OD'ing in time? The song seems like its about regret to some extent, or more his feeling of loving someone who's fate was predetermined, not really sure how it compares to being late to the antiwar camp, seems like a reach...

BTW, last I heard Dylan was also firmly in antiwar rant mode. I guess he also never heard that classic Frog/Scorpion yarn.

"Face the Music" section?

Donde?

Right here!

So bengrbm,

Do tell us what you think of Neills new release. Politics aside, its lyrical and musical qualities. Where will it rank among his greatest, in your book?

RG

Hi RG -

I actually though it was kind of dull personally, though I haven't given it enough of a listen to rank it in his "cannon", which is why I avoided the topic a bit. I tend to find some of his snarly guitar stuff boring, particularly in the last 20 yrs (personal taste) and this album did not hook me on initial listening.

I just thought he was getting burned a bit as an artist in this thread and that he did have a sustained period (66-ish-80) which produced several great songs and albums. His output has been sporadic in quality since them and at times flat out bad, IMO. I think comparing him directly to Dylan is silly, but saying he ranks 2nd to Dylan in the singer/songwriter category strikes me as a reasonable claim, though I'd personally have to think it over for my book...

I'm also not against the principle of writing a protest album or even a pro-war album for that matter, regardless of my opinions on the subjects. I also would rather leave politics for another venue. I just think that, when you hitch your wagon to a movement, your songs better be good or people will ignore the message. In this case, so far, I think the songs aren't very good, and I don't think anyone who's on the fence over the situation is going to get hooked into these songs and change their mind, which I'd assume was part of his goal. I think people who are firmly anti-war will probably overrate this album, and people who are pro-war will think it stinks. Those who give it a fair listen will probably err on the side of it being not very good, but again, I have barely listened to it. - Ben

As far as an artist staying musically relevant over a nearly 40 year period, I'm happy that people mention Neil or Dylan!

They're both deeply imbedded in the fabric of modern music.

Last I checked, they weren't in competition, so I choose both.

I think it's even fair to mention the two Bruces, Cockburn and Springsteen, in the longevity club. I'll even save a seat for Paul Simon at this table.

I wish Zappa were still with us, I'm sure he'd have had great fun with this administration.

Say, since 1965, what other singer/songwriters have remained vital over at least 30 of those years?

I'm having a mind-blank since asking myself the question.

I wish Joni Mitchell was still active on the scene.

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As far as the timing of this recording goes, I'm OK there, as well. I figure ol' Neil just finally reached the point where he was so pissed off that this exploded out of him.

Seriously, this recording has lost some impact for me because back in the days before the "Con Tract With America," the notion of impeachment was a rare and serious issue. Now we live in times where trying to weasle out of admitting to getting a delectable in the Oval Office is considered a high crime; and if we can impeach someone over that, then we really have no recourse but to impeach every damn subsequent President, regardless of party affiliation or transgression.

Lying, ineptitude, prevaricating, wrapping oneself in the flag while touting private agendas, thumping to appeal to the LCD, misdirecting policy; ain't none of that new.

I think Neil should be most upset over the lack of balance in our impeachment criteria!

I think he should be singing, "Let's appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the President...where the Hell is Archibald Cox when we need him..."

Yeah, I think I'd like that better!

I really liked Johnny Cash's late work with Rick Rubin, and that even made waves on the pop charts and MTV. Pretty astonishing for a guy who was at Sun Studios. His stuff took a dip in parts of the 70s and 80s, but he made waves through parts of 5 decades (though he started before the period you mentioned). He even had a video at the MTV awards recently!

You mentioned Mitchell, who seemed like someone who could have pulled it off, the real tragedy is Lennon for me. His early 80's stuff had a lot of great energy and I think he'd have stayed vital. Needless to say I'd be surprised if he wasn't active about current politics.

Hey Ben:

I'm really glad you brought Johnny Cash to this party. People forget that he sang protest music, too. He recorded Dylan way early and sang "All God's Children Ain't Free" -- and people forget that he became the man in black over inequality and the war in Vietnam. Yeah, I'd say he belongs in the pantheon.

I'd also add Dave van Ronk, who not only gave Bobby Zimmerman guitar lessons, but a sofa to crash on when he first came to NYC. He remained politically committed up to his death -- and continued to judge the Bob Dylan impersonators contest at Folk City until that establishment closed down in the '90s. And his early LPs are still demo quality, which means something to us old fart audiophiles.

Thanks Wes,

I wasn't even bringing up the protest music point, which is a big one, so I'm glad you did. I was just focusing on the amazing number of highs the man had over 50 yrs musically. That cover of "In My Life" he did with Rubin in 2002 tore me up like nothing else at the time.

His politics are really interesting to me. He seemed able to transcend any poltical catagories. I mean the guy sang at Billy Graham rallies and, at the same time, collaborated with the Beastie Boys producer, covering Rolling Stones and gospel tunes, having Dylan and Neil Young on his show with country greats, playing in prisons along the way. So when he took a stand, it really resonated. I don't know of anyone quite that transcendant anymore, we could all use a few more of them...

Quote:
Thanks Wes,<snip>. I don't know of anyone quite that transcendant anymore, we could all use a few more of them...

Here's to those like him. Except there ain't any like him.

Well, there ya go.

The minute I try to think about it, I can't remember. Then I see your post and say, "D'oh!"

As I sit here, Willie Nelson and John Prine come to mind.

Does Roger Water's "Amused to Death" fit? I heard that over at Walt Liederman's house (Underwood HiFi) years back as my first experience with Quad's, and I was just knocked out by both the Quads and the music.

Listening with a Jolida JD 1000 EL34 based 100 watt/ch integrated amp with the JD 100 CD players was super magical to me. Walter did not have it set up this way at his house for nothing.

As I was listening to the Quads then I realized that there is some gear that is equal to all the hype. To me the Quads are all that and more. To own those and love music is not foolish in my book.

Regards,