Neil Young with Crazy Horse – Barn (LP Vinyl)
Review
Barn didn’t have to be this good. More than 50 years after the first Neil Young & Crazy Horse album, the all-time rock classic Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, the group decamped to a restored 19th century barn in the Rocky Mountains during the summer of 2021 to lay down a new collection of songs. The fresh, crisp air did them well: Barn is a clear-eyed, righteously ragged, emotionally piercing rock-and-roll record. It’s almost unbelievable to think that a half century on, this collection of rock stalwarts can still crank it up this much. And yet, these 10 songs perfectly encapsulate the spirit of the genre: loose, loud, swaggering and fun. Barn kicks off with first single “Song of the Seasons,” the only real descendent here of, say, Comes A Time. (Most of these tunes share more DNA with 1990’s Ragged Glory.) It’s a lovely acoustic folk tune, with backing harmonies from his Crazy Horse compatriots. But the album really lights up beginning with “Heading West”—from that first raw, jagged guitar tone, you can tell Young is having a wild time. Same goes for “Canerican,” a ripping rocker with Young looking back on his long, winding history: “I was born in Canada, came south to join a band/ Got caught up in the big time, travelin’ through the land,” his voice (and guitar solo) every bit as proud and raging as in decades past. Barn could’ve been made by a young rock-and-roll band, and it’d be well-received. But to have been created by a crew of rock lifers in their 70s— clearly having a blast making music together—it should be celebrated.
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— Justin Jacobs, jambands.com
Product Details
Crazy Horse has always been Neil's most honest band, the one that lets the ragged edges breathe and the feedback linger just a little longer than it should. After Colorado in 2019, this Colorado-recorded follow-up finds Young and the Horse leaning deeper into the loose, unhurried interplay that defined Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere and Rust Never Sleeps. Some bands manufacture spontaneity; these four have never had to.
BARN, the new Neil Young/Crazy Horse album was recorded in a remote, restored, 19th century log barn. This musical family has played together for a half century, yet they continue creating new music. Neil and the Horse fans have long shouted for “more barn” and here it is… 10 new songs that capture the wild, rock and roll spirit, the idiosyncratic raw sound and the lyrical beauty that epitomizes a classic NYCH collaboration. The last song appeared on the last morning and was recorded just an hour later during a pounding hailstorm and during the full moon.
The album was recorded this summer over a handful of days. The ten new songs encompass all that Neil Young with Crazy Horse are known for, beautiful romantic acoustic ballads, powerhouse electric rockers and insightful rollicking tunes that stick with you.
Niko Bolas was parked adjacent to the barn, in an exquisite analog mobile recording truck, Le Mobile ready to capture and mix the album on the spot. Produced by The Volume Dealers – Neil Young and Niko Bolas, the album will be released on vinyl, CD, cassette and digitally. There will also be a deluxe edition that will include the LP, CD. and Blu-ray film.Special edition of the album includes 6 photographs from the Barn sessions.
Tracklist
Side A
Side B
UPC: 093624878445
Label: Reprise / Wea
Release Date: 12.10.21
Format: LP Vinyl