“He came dancing across the waters, Cortez, Cortez.”
The website “Cover Me” has compiled a list of artists who offer their own renditions of Young’s historical-fiction epic song.
Cover writes:
In 1975, Neil Young released Zuma, one of several albums he recorded in the ’70s which contained a single song that pretty much eclipsed the rest of the album. In Zuma’s case, it was “Cortez the Killer,” a three-chorder rumored to have been written to make it easier for Crazy Horse guitarist Frank Sampredo to play along on rhythm guitar. Young hadn’t played with Crazy Horse for several years, and during that time Sampredo had taken the place of founding guitarist Danny Whitten, who had died of a drug and alcohol overdose. Clocking in at over seven minutes, “Cortez” was originally even longer — it famously had to be faded out because tape ran out during the session. (Upon learning the song’s last verse didn’t get recorded, Young shrugged and said, “I never liked that verse anyway.”) Bands who have covered the song have been been tacking minutes onto it ever since.
“… OK, that’s enough of the in-depth scientific approach to cocktails. Let’s get down to a serious drink. How does Cortez the Killer sound to you?
“The drink is named after the Neil Young song of the same name, mainly because of its fluid, meandering guitar solo,” says Brent Butler, bartender at Blackbird on Market Street, and creator of this cocktail.
He’s been making batches of the drink and aging them for four weeks in a Hudson rye barrel. The recipe includes Bonal, a French aperitif wine infused with gentian, cinchona and various other herbs found in the Chartreuse Mountains in eastern France. There’s no real substitute for Bonal, I’m afraid, but it can be found at good wine stores. And it can be found at Blackbird, too, in Brent’s barrel-aged Cortez the Killer cocktails.
Cortez the Killer
Serves 1
Adapted from a recipe by Brent Butler of Blackbird in San Francisco.
2 ounces Lunazul blanco tequila
3/4 ounce Bonal aperitif wine
1/4 ounce creme de cacao
1 small orange twist, as garnish
Instructions: Place all ingredients except the garnish in a mixing glass. Add ice and stir for 15 seconds. Strain into a chilled coupe. Add the garnish.
Gary Regan is the author of “The Joy of Mixology” and other books. E-mail comments to him and full article at:
2011-04-15, Durham PAC, Durham, North Carolina, USA
Solo
01. My My, Hey Hey (Out Of The Blue) (acoustic guitar)
02. Tell Me Why (acoustic guitar)
03. Helpless (acoustic guitar)
04. You Never Call (acoustic guitar w/ pickup)
05. Peaceful Valley (acoustic guitar w/ pickup)
06. Love And War (acoustic guitar w/ pickup)
07. Down By The River (electric guitar – Old Black)
08. Hitchhiker (electric guitar – Old Black)
09. Ohio (electric guitar – white falcon)
10. Sign Of Love (electric guitar – white falcon)
11. Leia (piano)
12. After The Gold Rush (pump organ)
13. I Believe In You (piano)
14. Rumblin’ (electric guitar – Old Black)
15. Cortez The Killer (electric guitar – Old Black)
16. Cinnamon Girl (electric guitar – Old Black)
—
17. Walk With Me (electric guitar – white falcon)
“\"It\'s not really a memoir, at least not in the traditional sense. It\'s not chronological and it covers a lot of areas - from the past to the present day, so it\'s like a diary. But it is a memoir, and part of it\'s a projection and a fantasy. It\'s a hippie dream really (laughs). I really enjoy writing. My father was a writer, so I\'ve always known about authors and writing, and now it\'s my time to do it.\"” by --ny on Waging Heavy Peace
Neil Young on Tour
Sugar Mountain setlists
Tom Hambleton provides BNB with setlists, thankfully. His website is the most comprehensive searchable archives on the Internets about anything Neil Young related setlists. Goto Sugar Mountain.
memphish on 
Albert Stromann on 
liza on 
Baz on 
