Happy birthday to Neil Young

[metirish]

I think one of the most consequential artists of our time , probably just about every kid that picked up an acoustic guitar tried playing Neil Young songs

From Buffalo Springfield to CSNY to his solo work he has an immense catalog

Favorite song or album ?

I have always loved Sugar Mountain

79 today

[kcmets]

I think one of the most consequential artists of our time , probably just about every kid that picked up an acoustic guitar tried playing Neil Young songs

And, played them better than Neil within two weeks.

*buh dumm chingg*

I basically like all of the stuff he has touched over the years
but this song is one of the more rockin' ones...

[kcmets]

Rumor has it that Les Paul rolled over in his grave multiple
times when he first watched that incredible video...

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Here's a good 'un

[Marshmallowmilkshake]

I like Neil's "Freedom" album because it is all over the place stylistically. "Wrecking Ball" is a slower one, but one of my faves.

[metirish]

I was surprised to learn a while back that he is married to Daryl Hannah

[Fman99]

I'm a huge fan. I have many favorites and I play a lot of his songs at my gigs. Though I drop them all down, vocally, to a place where I can do them.

I have a buddy, Mark, who I run with, who plays and sings them in the original key. He plays at the open mic nights that I host and he's pretty great, particularly when covering Neil Young songs. I think he should be doing a 2 hour Neil set, personally.

I've been stuck on this one, most recently. Good alternate tuning song.

[Frayed Knot]

SUGAR MOUNTAIN is a good one and I think I remember him claiming that he wrote it on his sixteenth birthday (or was it 19th ... you can't be 20 on Sugar Mountain)
So, if accurate, I guess it's the song's birthday too.

OLD MAN is tough to beat but it's also the one you hear all the time so that knocks it down a few pegs just from a repetition standpoint.

I tend to favor some of his long drawn out ones -- COWGIRL IN THE SAND; DOWN BY THE RIVER -- with their intense verses separated by lengthy musical breaks.

The HELPLESS version from 'The Last Waltz' is a gem with an off-stage Joni singing the background ... even though I'm not sure how sober he was.

Tends to get covered by female artists a lot, more so than male ones it seems to me. Maybe it's just that women find it easier to emulate his high tenor.
Linda's 'Love is a Rose', Nicolette Larson '(Gonna Take a) Lotta Love' are a couple of many. And I think know 'Wrecking Ball' more from the Emmylou version than his.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Tends to get covered by female artists a lot, more so than male ones it seems to me, maybe because it's easier for women to emulate his high tenor.
Linda's 'Love is a Rose', Nicolette Larson '(Gonna Take a) Lotta Love' are a couple of many. And I think know 'Wrecking Ball' more from the Emmylou version than his.

And this one, too from Annie Lennox:



(The long drawn out ones are my own faves).

[Edgy MD]

And I think know 'Wrecking Ball' more from the Emmylou version than his.

Of course, his harmonies on that are higher than her lead vocals.

[Marshmallowmilkshake]

And I think know 'Wrecking Ball' more from the Emmylou version than his.

Of course, his harmonies on that are higher than her lead vocals.

Had no idea it was a cover!

[Frayed Knot]

It's his song, hers is the cover. I think I just heard her version first and seem to hear it more often.
Emmylou could sound good singing the phone book and, here, she adds a great world weary voice to the effort.

[kcmets]

I was surprised to learn a while back that he is married to Daryl Hannah

This came up in another thread not all that long ago but
I can't remember which one or why at the present time...

[Frayed Knot]

Yeah, that was me. I also just learned it in the last few months*.
Seems kind of quaint when two celebs can get married and have it fly under the radar but I kind of like that it did (at least for me).



* Mid-March of this year. See: 'Didn't Know Until Just Now 2024' thread

[Edgy MD]

And I think know 'Wrecking Ball' more from the Emmylou version than his.

Of course, his harmonies on that are higher than her lead vocals.

Had no idea it was a cover!

I think there's only one original song on Wrecking Ball. Most of it is covers, and when available, producer Lanois had the original composer join in on the track.

It's an album (like pretty much all Lanois productions) that never gets old to me. My wife had an encounter with Emmylou, and had the gumption to pitch her a song and got the brushoff, so she kind of gets pissed if I ever play it when she's in the house.

But we was talking about Neil ... .

[Marshmallowmilkshake]

Loving the "Wrecking Ball" info. Thanks for sharing that!

My other favorite song on Freedom is "Crime in the City." It reminds me of Bob Dylan's "Hurricane." It skips along, with a lot of restraint.



But, the live version is intense. Faster, heavier, more urgent. He omits the verse about the music producer, which really doesn't fit with the rest of the song anyway. Neil is shouting the lyrics instead of the near whisper in the studio version. I love them both.

[Fman99]

Here's one from a recent gig. I play it a bit more upbeat than the original so it's more lively.

[metirish]

That's awesome Fman , sweet sounding guitar 🎸

[Fman99]

That's awesome Fman , sweet sounding guitar 🎸

Thanks for listening !

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Neil young is one of those guys with a massive catalog that can be difficult to get your arms around unless you were there to receive them when they came. My knowledge of NY records is like a 3.5 on a scale of 10. I know a handful pretty well only

[cal sharpie]

I've been a fan for over 40 years and have seen him a number of times (including with CSNY and playing with Bob Dylan and the Band). He's made some bad albums (Greenville, Everybody's Rockin', a few others) but has made so many good ones you forgive him his experiments.

His version of A Day in the Life is pretty awesome.

[Edgy MD]

Seems weird, if you've got Paul there, to not let him sing the bridge on his own.

Fman's lovely "AtGR" reminds me to share this stunning version, because when you're Neil, it isn't enough to just have one legendary American female country/western voice do your song.

[Fman99]

Seems weird, if you've got Paul there, to not let him sing the bridge on his own.

Fman's lovely "AtGR" reminds me to share this stunning version, because when you're Neil, it isn't enough to just have one legendary American female country/western voice do your song.

Thanks for the compliment. I've heard that version before and while the vocals are nice they also unnecessarily changed the lyrics in that rendition, which is lame.

[Fman99]

Tends to get covered by female artists a lot, more so than male ones it seems to me, maybe because it's easier for women to emulate his high tenor.
Linda's 'Love is a Rose', Nicolette Larson '(Gonna Take a) Lotta Love' are a couple of many. And I think know 'Wrecking Ball' more from the Emmylou version than his.

And this one, too from Annie Lennox:



(The long drawn out ones are my own faves).

As heard in the film American Beauty, if I recall

[kcmets]

Forum relevant info: Neil Young is/was a Ramones fan.

And on a good day....