On Neil Young’s 68th Birthday American Songwriter looks back on a 2011 Cover Story “Neil Young & Daniel Lanois Love and War.”
It’s a well-written, thoughtful Q & A with the legendary songwriter, and a nice issue for collectors of Neil memorabilia.
Does he really look like Gregory Peck?
Meanwhile fans are looking forward to Young’s 4-day acoustic concert series at Carnegie Hall in New York come January, with hopes for a U.S. Tour.
The interview starts:
“Serious, intense, with hooded blue-gray eyes that always seem capable of pinning you to the wall, Neil Young looks like a man who has forged an uneasy peace with himself and the choices that he’s made.
“Gone is much of that early restlessness and ire; the kind of discontent that found him pitching televisions out of third story windows into southern California canyons, or scowling onstage amid a 15-minute version of “Down By The River,” without ever acknowledging his audience.
“Two months from his 65th birthday, there is an air of quiet acceptance about him as he sits with perfect posture in his smart white Panama hat, trimmed beard and green military jacket. His lived-in features – chiseled and defined – give him the air of an aging leading man, and as you take a step back and squint, he resembles no one so much as Gregory Peck, with the same mixture of obsession and righteousness.”
“We are sorry for any inconvenience this causes to our fans or the festivals where we were scheduled to appear,” … “As you must be, we too are disappointed at this unfortunate turn of events.”
~Neil Young
“It took Gordon Lightfoot, the dean of Canadian songwriters and as close to a living legend as it gets, to knock the elephant off the stage of the third annual Greenbelt Harvest Picnic,” writes thespec.com.
Cathie Coward, The Hamilton Spectator
According to the Hamilton Spectator, False rumors, fueled by the presence of Young’s wife Pegi in the Picnic lineup, persisted throughout the park, even into Saturday evening, that Neil would make a surprise visit. It didn’t happen, never was in the cards.
Instead, on Saturday, the 10,000 Picnic goers got Lightfoot. Normally a bucket-list item for any lover of Canadian music, Lightfoot was stepping into potentially hostile terrain. Let’s face it, at 74, his voice doesn’t even come close to what it was in its heyday. And Lightfoot’s understated delivery is light years away from the fiery garage guitar jams currently being served up by Crazy Horse.
“I would like to thank Mr. Lanois and Mr. Young for inviting us on this show,” he humbly told the crowd from the stage. “Thank you very much for having us.”
It didn’t satisfy all those angry Neil Young fans. Early in the day, one woman heckled Lanois, demanding he “come clean” and provide a full refund. She was quickly shouted down by those in the crowd around her.
Neil Young and his band Crazy Horse will join Emmylou Harris and Daniel Lanois at the third annual Greenbelt Harvest Picnic at Christie Lake Conservation Area.
The 67-year-old Canadian rock icon will headline the daylong music, food, and fun fest that takes place Saturday, Aug. 31 at the conservation area in rural Dundas.
Young will conclude a European tour Aug. 21 at London’s O2 arena and then return with Crazy Horse to North America for the Harvest Picnic, his only southern Ontario stop of the summer.
“As I look at this year’s lineup for Greenbelt Harvest Picnic,” said Lanois, “I can say that my dream has come true. I’m surrounded by artists who I love, many of whom I’ve made records with. This year’s Harvest is truly a homecoming.”
Lineup: Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Emmylou Harris, Daniel Lanois, Whitehorse, Rocco DeLuca and Trixie Whitley (more to be announced in upcoming weeks)
Associated Press file photo
Tickets go on sale Saturday, June 1 at 10 a.m., with general admission prices of $139.50 (children 10 and under get in free; for youth 11 to 15, it’s $19.50). Gauthier said the first 1,000 ticket buyers would receive a discounted price of $129 on general admission.
“I have to go through a lot to make sure people won\'t perceive it as just a Neil Young record, because everybody thinks they know what that is. The challenge is to remind them that they have no idea what the hell that is.” by Neil Young, Wired Mag interview with Ted Greenwald, March 2004.
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.
The interview starts:
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