Neil Young & Crazy Horse play Budweiser Stage, Monday

Neil Young & Crazy Horse return to Toronto for a show at Budweiser Stage on Monday night. Watch their recent show in Phoenix.

Neil Young, Nas, Bombino, Pokey LaFarge to play Ottawa BluesFest, July 4-14

As usual, there ain't much blues at the Ottawa BluesFest but Pokey LaFarge, Nas, Killer Mike & Bombino are welcome surprises.

   

Neil Young asks Who's Gonna Stand Up And Save The Earth?

Greatest Misses: Eddie Hodges

Here's an unjustly overlooked 1965 version of The Water Is Over My Head sung by former child actor Eddie Hodges. Although the ace Al Kooper-penned gem was creatively arranged by Jack Nitzsche – employing the backing vocals talents of L.A.'s Danny & The Memories – most people never even bothered to check the flipside of Hodges' charming cover of Bob Dylan's Love Minus Zero. Sadly, Eddie's appearance in suit and tie on Hollywood A Go-Go lip-synching the A-side did little to further his music career aspirations and both The Tokens and The Rockin' Berries had greater success with The Water Is Over My Head.

All was not lost however for Danny & The Memories. It wasn't long before Danny Whitten and his harmonizing pals Billy Talbot and Ralph Molina decided to give up the session work to focus on writing and recording their own songs as The Rockets. And then one day, Danny's gal pal Autumn brought a shy Canuck strummer over to Whitten's place to play them his tune Mr. Soul. Whitten and Talbot were impressed enough with this Neil Young character to head over to his place in Topanga Canyon with Molina when our man needed a rhythm section to flesh out a new composition called Down By The River. But enough about Neil Young and Crazy Horse, check out The Water Is Over My Head by Eddie Hodges below...

Happy Birthday Neil Young!

0:00 Out On The Weekend
04:31 Old Man
08:20 Journey Thru The Past
13:12 Heart Of Gold
17:22 Don't Let It Bring You Down
20:18 A Man Needs A Maid
24:17 Love In Mind
26:29 Dance, Dance, Dance

Neil Young revisits kindergarten for Americana

It was announced yesterday that Neil Young's new album Americana would be released on June 5. The good news being that for the new project Young has reunited the entire Crazy Horse line-up of Billy Talbot, Ralph Molina and Frank "Poncho" Sampedro – which hasn't happened since 1996's Broken Arrow. However, the bad news is that he got everyone together to record traditional tunes like Tom Dooley, My Darlin' Clementine, Oh Susannah and oh yeah, God Save The Queen. It should make  Greendale look like an epic work of creative genius by comparison.

Assuming that this isn't some kinda contractual obligation ruse, you have to wonder just how tapped of original song ideas Neil must be at this point for an absurd concept like cutting an album's worth of "songs we all know from kindergarten" to seem like a viable option. This being a crucial election year in the US at a time of global economic turmoil and catastrophic environmental upheaval, there doesn't appear to be a shortage of relevant subject matter. Yet perhaps Neil figures the world could really benefit from hearing him reprise She'll Be Comin' 'Round The Mountain with a children's choir.

On the upside, Bob Dylan beat Young to the studio with Froggie Went A-Courtin' (for 1992's Good As I Been To You) so that one won't be on Americana (see track listing below). So far there's no word about whether the other record Young is reportedly working on with Crazy Horse will be Canadiana – a bi-lingual collection of Canadian traditional songs, but I'd enjoy hearing what Neil could do with I's the B'y, Ah! Si Mon Moine Voulait Danser! and that old Klondike fave When the Ice Worms Nest Again.

Americana  –  Neil Young & Crazy Horse

Oh Susannah
Clementine

Tom Dooley
Gallows Pole
Get A Job

Travel On

High Flyin’ Bird

She’ll Be Comin ’Round The Mountain
This Land Is Your Land

Wayfarin’ Stranger

God Save The Queen