Neil Young

Squonk

Just been listening to Neil Youngs "Live at Massey Hall 1971"

The album was supposed to be released before "Harvest" but I think the record company held it back because it might ruin the sales of "Harvest"
He does a lot of "Harvest" during the set.

It's a brilliant solo, acoustic album and just has me in awe of how good he really was.

Has Neil Young inspired you at all?

If I have to browse all of the data in my brain, I would have to say that listening to songs like "Old Man", "Heart of Gold" "Helpless" "Cowgirl in the Sand" "Like a Hurricane" etc etc were most probably the reason I started playing guitar.

I was a prog rock fan and loved Floyd, Genesis, Yes, King Crimson, Kevin Ayers, Soft Machine etc, but I think the accessibility of Neil Young got me going down the guitar route.

A salute to Neil Young :yup:

Bob-Dubery

I like some of Neil's stuff a lot but

a) he made some real stinkers too. Especially in the 80s when he was experimenting a lot

b) he's not a great player, but he plays with a great attitude.

I have Harvest, but I think it's a bit of a curate's egg. After The Gold Rush is much more consistent and cohesive. Young seems to have mixed feelings about Harvest, and he seemed to be trying to shatter his own image for a while after. I thought he made some great albums in that period, notably On The Beach and Tonight's The Night. I thought he did one of the best of the MTV Unplugged records.

If anybody inspired me to take up the guitar then it's Dylan really.

JoEllis

Neil Young is one of my biggest influences. He's a true artist and one of those guys who has more mojo in one note than many have in their entire life. I love the way he seems to work a guitar like a piece of farming equipment when he plays. I wonder if he's a fairly large dude - a Les Paul looks like a pretty chunky guitar on most people but it looks small on Neil.

Anyway, I also learnt a lot from his school of playing: If the note you're playing now isn't right, the one next to it probably is.

[deleted]

JoEllis wrote: I love the way he seems to work a guitar like a piece of farming equipment when he plays.
Anyway, I also learnt a lot from his school of playing: If the note you're playing now isn't right, the one next to it probably is.

LOL X2 ?

Yes, very messy, very I-don't-care-about-this-farming-implement...but full of chutzpah. There's that moment in The Last Waltz when Clapton walks on for the jam, then decides, actually, he's not going to be forced to dominate and walks off again. So Young takes over, and it's awful. He just stomps all over the dynamics with some frankly woeful soloing. But therein lies the appeal of Young for me, too - he's not a shrinking violet, and he's got something to say. And he has penned some fabulous melodies.

I forget the name of it now, I think it's called Weld, but the recorded show he did with Crazy Horse, running the gamut of all his mostly electric stuff, really did inspire me quite a lot when I first saw it and was learning to play the guitar. I also enjoy his acoustic stuff, but he sometimes needed a Rick Rubin quite desperately...

Bob-Dubery

Young made me think twice about country music. He's done some lovely country and country-ish songs, if not whole albums, and that enticed me to revisit my views on that genre.

Which reminds me: I really must get myself some Hank Williams. Neil did a great version of Hank's "Oh Lonesome Me" on After The Gold Rush.

JoEllis

+1 on the country thing (and on getting more Hank Williams, incidentally)

Along with The Band and "outlaw" country artists like Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash, Neil Young got me into country music. Not the poppy mainstream type thing they call country music now - the real thing. Whiskey drinkin' music.

[deleted]

My brother introduced me to Neil Young when I was about 16. At first I thought "oh dear, my brother's lost it", but the second time round I realy enjoyed him. I kind of approach listening to Neil Young like taking medicine. I'm very apprehensive at first, but I feel better afterwards.

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I wonder, was he realy 24 when he wrote "Old man", or does it just rhyme with 'more'?

Bob-Dubery

Viccy wrote: I wonder, was he realy 24 when he wrote "Old man", or does it just rhyme with 'more'?

He was born late 1945. He wrote that song some time in 1970 after buying a ranch and then having a meeting with the retired couple who were caretakers on that ranch.

aubs1

Viccy wrote: I wonder, was he realy 24 when he wrote "Old man", or does it just rhyme with 'more'?

Well.......Steve Winwood wrote "Gimme some Loving" and other song long before he was 20!!! AFAIR, he was about 17 or 18 with the Spencer Davis Group!!!

BTW. I have liked Neil Young from the days of Buffalo Springfield......awesome musician and singer......also liked the story of when he was recruited into Crosby, Stills and Nash...he does'nt take no from anyone...... ? ....he's a bit strange, (but then so are we to a greater or lesser degree) but awesome.......

Bob-Dubery

aubs1 wrote:
Viccy wrote: I wonder, was he realy 24 when he wrote "Old man", or does it just rhyme with 'more'?
Well.......Steve Winwood wrote "Keep on Running", a major hit when he was only 15, with the Spencer Davis group!!! No 1 in the UK and 76 in the US, how's that??

Sang it, but didn't write it. He did have a hand in "Gimme Some Lovin'".

Winwood was not much of a lyricist. Didn't write many songs by himself.

But to SING like that at that age. Not just the timbre of his voice, but the mannerisms, the timing, the phrasing, the whole lot...

aubs1

Bob, was busy modifying, and you beat me to it .......AGAIN!!!!!!! ? ? Never ever try my hand at "Trivial Pursuit" with you......!!! ☹
You correct, but still, he was 15......

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I don't think it's so unique to be writing songs at 24. It just got me thinking. Last time I listened to the song I was under 24, and now I'm over 24. I was just trying to compare my state of mind at that time to his.

Gearhead

The "Heart Of Gold" stuff was golden - but what amazes me is that he wrote "Rockin' In The Free World" only in '89, some 20 years after. And, that's it's so much cooler and more straight up than the arty farty sixties stuff.

aubs1

Viccy wrote: ............. I was just trying to compare my state of mind at that time to his.

All depends what you smoke Viccy, Neil Young looks permanently goofed/and in a "creative" state of mind to me........ ? ?

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Gearhead wrote: The "Heart Of Gold" stuff was golden - but what amazes me is that he wrote "Rockin' In The Free World" only in '89, some 20 years after. And, that's it's so much cooler and more straight up than the arty farty sixties stuff.

My dad must play Heart of Gold every time he picks up a guitar. Its one of my favorites..

I still say "they dont make music like they used too"

Lindisfarne is one of my ancient favorites!! also from the 70's.. ?

Squonk

It was also a different world in the late 60's and early 70's.

I was 24 in 1987, and it was a bit of a plastic generation, no one was angry enough ?

24 in the new Millenium, a whole different set of circumstances, technology driven etc.

But Neil was definately goofed most of the time. Remember the "last waltz" where he ironically sings "Helpless" and can barely stand without help.
?

Squonk

Brentcgp wrote:
Lindisfarne is one of my ancient favorites!! also from the 70's.. ?

Haven't heard them mentioned on this forum Brent. ?
I had a couple of albums, one of the first songs I ever played after "House of the rising sun" was "Lady Eleanor"

[deleted]

'Like a hurricane' and 'Piano man' were the first songs I tortured my fellow boarders with. Whether they liked it or not they'd start singing along. Ha Ha, the power of music.

I was 24 in 1987, and it was a bit of a plastic generation,

It feels like we're in the plastic generation now. Either way, 24 wasn't so long ago for me, but I remeber being so so very rushed. I had to have done everything yesterday. Luckily that's passed. Now I give myself a good 10 years to accomplish things, just to be on the safe side.

Squonk

Take it slowly Viccy, It took me forever to get to 24, but about 6 minutes to get to 46. ?