I'll still listen to him on CD but never again live after this year's Hop Farm Festival.  He couldn't have been worse.  Sounded like Tom Waits covering Bob Dylan with very little enthusiasm.  Just lucky Damien Rice, Patti Smith, Randy Crawford and Joan Armatrading had been so awesome before hand or I would have felt pretty cheated.  Actually Damien Rice who I have wanted to see for ages was even better than I could have imagined.

you have to liveslives

It warms my heart to see the average rating on this one below a 6.  The Jerry Douglas solo is very nice, but that's about it. I still don't get the Mumford & Sons phenomenon.

some of the guitar riffs sound like Neil.  I like that.  

I think it is a somewhat derogatory reference to a transgendered person. Not a transvestite. Different things.
It so happens there is an RPeep who is transgendered and is a talented woodworker/cabinetmaker. She works in a small factory. I think of her as a dear friend, which is why that line bothers me no end. Nobody wants to hear their friend insulted for just being herself, right?

That said, I like Martha Wainwright, her brother, and even their Dad. Doesn't make that line bother me any less though.

Peace,
c.

For an otherwise stellar track the church/pipe organ in the middle sixteen sounds out of place, like he's trying to beatify the song. It pops up out of nowhere and disappears forever. Strange.

Exquisite bowing, and super piano accompaniment, sooo mellow. More of these please, thanks.

The opening paragraph of Langdon Winner and John Morthland's review of Santana in Rolling Stone, October 18, 1969: 

"Maybe it's just a coincidence that Santana and speed become popular at the same time. Maybe not. At any rate their 'long awaited' album is definitely a speed freak's delight—fast, pounding, frantic music with no real content. For those of who hoped that the second generation of San Francisco bands would be an improvement over the first, this record along with those of the Sons of Champlin and It's a Beautiful Day should destroy such fantasies forever. In the post-psychedelic era all of the bands have their styles down pat. But like methedrine, which gives a high with no meaning, the dazzling rock styles offer us music with virtually no substance."

Nice to reflect that in its infancy even Rolling Stone got things wrong. Instructive, also, that the "no substance" charge—so prevalent in Santana's various RP threads and with which I disagree—has dogged him from the beginning.

BTW, this was the same issue that featured the notorious The Masked Marauders review.

Agree...and thanks for the research.

Yer man sounds an awful lot like that gravedigger turned (inexplicably) pop star, Rod Stewart. Which is a very bad thing indeed. Instamute.

Love the ragtime Darth Vader March sample at the start! (And this was 97? Seemed earlier than that...)

I wonder if this is one of those songs you need to hear in the context of the whole album. On its own it's not turning my crank. Ho Hum

thanx for playing this. i always wanted to hear the original. i am so use to pigpen singing this.

On average, 0.061% of the people hearing this one click PSD.

Agreed, neither have I.

It's all real......Neil rules !!    Although he does look a little scary on stage these days.

If they record a club performance, will the album be named "Live Dead Can"?

Massey Hall in 71 live recording is a great album.
Neil's voice is so young (no pun intended) in that recording.
It was recorded right when Harvest was being released, so no one clapped for all the hits on it. 

 bendame wrote:  Or not.

Isn't Eric Clapton one of the guitarists working as a studio musician on this mash up?

Precisely.... Ryan Adams doing a heartfelt tribute sound to the Dead. Seemless transition.

I heard Elyza's version first...think I kinda like it better still, too.

One of the finest songs ever written.

A younger member was first introduced to it by Frankie Valli and his falsetto.  Would love to hear that version on RP.

Are you residing in a nursing home?
I can only see it being a big hit there, can't really see anyone with an average testosterone level liking this unless they are all fk'd up on Quaaludes or very depressed.

For some reason, it's nice on the ears during an overcast day like today.  Thanks for playing it! 

The definitive alt-country band is Neil Young and Crazy Horse. Everything else is just derivative. Uncle Tupelo owes a lot to Young's early work. Check it out.

I saw this show (at Neil Young's annual Bridge School Concert). Great stuff.  Tweedy had appeared earlier in the day, and Jones mentioned that she and her bad loved Wilco...hope this one will be released as part of the Bridge School Concerts series someday.

Norah Jones - Wilco's "Jesus, Etc." Live (2008):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCqStZClHiY

I love the new album, but if I had to chose I would rate this my least favorite song of them all.

What a classic; I suspect that haunting guitar (or synth?) sound inspired the house of love and a slew of other bands

Eliza knocked this one out of the park, but I still like this one too, it's just that well written.

saw their concert http://www.fabchannel.com/calexico_concert/2008-10-15 a couple of weeks ago. one of the best I ever experienced.

Never heard this version before. I like it!

Amazing melody, great drumming, power chords and meaningful lyrics.

10.

Bill should play this one after "Woodstock" to catch all of Neil's irony....

Folk Music

I've never heard this before . . . outstanding.

Nice relaxing background tunes ... easily forgettable though.

I'm liking the droney indianish (two made up words in one sentence!) sound.

Second that.

Some say Neil is a great songwriter and that very well may be true (I have a hard time digesting the lyrics because it requires listening to him "singing" them)... But couldn't he have gone out and hired a good singer to sing his lyrics?

How do I get past the redundant keyboards and the screeching voice of the beginning to appreciate the rest of the song?

I'm surprised at RP's chosen cuts from this album. "I Will Possess Your Heart" is a given, but "No Sunlight" and "Long Division" are weak compared tracks like "Cath", "Grapevine Fires", and "Twin Sized Bed" IMO.

I didn't get Radiohead until I saw Thom Yorke live, acoustic, solo, at the 2002 Bridge School Benefit.

After that it all made sense.

(nd I agree with other posters that this album really grows on you.)

This has a very similar melody to The Blood of the Lamb from Billy Bragg and Wilco's Mermaid Avenue Volume 2.

The lyrics to the two Mermaid Avenue albums were written by Woody Guthrie, but he never wrote music for them. Guthrie's widow asked Billy Bragg to do that.

This song is growing on me. A bit overplayed on commercial radio though. His performance on David Letterman was very subdued, which actually added to the tone of this song.

c.

That's truer than you might think.

When Wilco submitted Summerteeth to Warner Bros., "Can't Stand It"
wasn't on the album; the album was otherwise as released,
with "She's A Jar" batting leadoff and all else following.
The company rejected it, saying it needed a grab-you pop song,
something that could be released as a single (they felt it had no singles).
Wilco whipped up "Can't Stand It" out of nothing, pronto, on demand.
The company approved, the album got released, and when
the whole stupid dance happened all over again with the next album,
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Wilco bought out their contract and left Warner.

His singing's good, but my favorite thing about him is his laconic sense of humor.

....It does me righteous first thing in the morning.

but if you are going to get really technical about it the album concludes with Her Majesty...

That explains why the score was not nominated. It doesn't explain how Eddie failed to get a much-deserved nom for Best Song ("Society" might be my pick but there is not a weak track on the album).

Wow. Could be a decent song, but it sounds like crap.

Yeah, I like this version but the Trinity version is a little slower and thicker, which I think fits the song perfectly.

Does anyone know why no songs from the soundtrack were nominated for best song. Hard sun???

Downloaded the entire album from iTunes. On this particular song there is about a minute of silence right in the middle. Haven't heard it played on R.P. as yet so don't have that as a reference.

Is this a problem with my download or is this there by design?

Read the book several years ago and saw the movie last night. Both are a tribute to this young man's short life.

I find it interesting how many commenters here decry "corporate music" and "overplayed pop" and wish out loud for something different. Then, when something different comes along, some of the same people trash it for being too different.

Me, I like stuff like this! So silly you gotta love it.

His goal in life was to be an echo
The type of sound that floats around and then back down

Like a feather.

Great song by a great artist who can sing like few can. So she has more than a few pretensions. Listen to the voice.

...

lame, lame, lame

...

second that.

I'd like to hear the aqcoustic version, which is VERY good in my opinion, with the background beat from this laid on it.
Could be interesting.

I love it when he plays everything he knows all at the same time.

Here is Ed again!!
Great album, a bit short unfortunatly.

YAY! Sandinista has some gems on it, amidst much of the noise. Definitely underrated.

The undying humanity of Neil Young shines through on this. Contrast this with "crippled inside" by the equally brilliant John Lennon.
Unlike the narcissistic Beatle, Neil Young is capable of empathy.

Sounds pretty cool to me.

So how long do you think it will be before Harley uses this in a commercial?

That didn't suck at all

hey kids....this is Neil Young...this is history...nuff said

I will say that it is the most consistently good album I've heard this year. It would be great to hear some other songs from it like "Me & Mr. Jones".

AAMOF, I don't (can't) even listen to the original anymore. It's fallen into the Stairway To Heaven and Layla category, unfortunately.

I still like her but I feel similarly about the concert thing, although I wouldn't quite say slowest tiresome thing..getting near maybe. I could have just listened to the albums again and saved myself the ticket price! She was however, warm and kind of naturally goofy (jet lag?) and personable on stage.

Dreck.

kinda
daniel lanois meets the grateful dead
ish

I like it

I'm an Oasis fan --- they're one of the best live bands out there --- but for my money Ryan Adams did the definitive version of this song.

So it's a demo. That still doesn't disprove that is not better than that overblown dirge on the White Album. I'm also not saying George Martin wasn't a brilliant musician. His string quartet in Eleanor Rigby is one of my favorite pieces and probably prepped me for Beethoven's later string quartets, which are the work of pure genius, like a lot of the Beatles' works, except for maybe, "Why don't we do it in the road?"

Bill,
Thanks again for treating us to some truly amazing music. Your ability to find a band's best songs and variations of them is unique.
Thanks so much.

Great song (8), but not unplugged (5).

I've been fascinated by and impressed with what you write since I came to RP but you have just hit the stratosphere with this one.

I heard WGO growing up. I was a little girl and liked it just fine. I very recently had occassion to hear it anew. This time, there was something about it that I couldn't quite put my finger on but knew was important, essential, something fundamental and sublime. You just brought it to the surface with your post. Strange feeling to have you rattling around in my gut, pulling out the words I can't find for myself.

It's been 35 years and one week since What's Going On was released. Feel the flow.

I have looked everywhere for a copy of this song and cannot find it anywhere. I think I would want this played at my funeral! Has anyone had any luck with finding it?

If you doubt the talent behind Timbuk 3, you should check out Pat MacDonald's 'Sleeps With His Guitar'. Pat was the driving force behind this husband and wife duo, and is quite the musical and lyrical genious.

This drummer is out of his mind.

In a dream
You were sitting there waiting by the door for me
And I got the opportunity
To experience the experience once again
How it could have maybe been

But in real life
You're in another world
You're with another guy
Who doesn't have to cheat
And never has to lie
And all that stuff I didn't get
Comes so easy to him
He doesn't even have to try

But do you ever ask yourself
How it could have maybe been

I haven't been that bad
But I haven't been that good
Overmisunderstood
Oh I wish I really could
Enjoy the warming sun
Enjoy a warm someone
And end the need to hide
Away alone inside

No I haven't been that bad
But I haven't been that good
Overmisunderstood
Oh I wish I really could
Enjoy the warming sun
Enjoy a warm someone
And end the need to hide
Away alone inside

In a dream
You were sitting there waiting by the door for me

the best song on a so-so album.

Sounds better with every turn...one of those songs that's interesting over and over again.

What they said.

His words...Just keeps getting better and better...

It's excellent.... took a few listens before I appreciated it. Turning point was a fat joint, studio headphones and a rainy day. Since then, it's the only album I've been listening to.

This has always been one of my favorite NY songs. When I was a pretty tiny kid, apparently I used to ask my parents to play this (8 track) tape in our Dodge Van because I wanted to hear "the Big Bird song". I thought Neil was mentioning Big Bird from Sesame Street. All grown up now and still love this song for true meaning, but also just because nice sentimental song for me.

this album *does* take a few listens......

Yeah, Lee Perry produced the original, but it is properly credited to the singer, Junior Murvin. That said, the original is sweet and almost sad compared to how the Clash amped up the anger and frustration in the song. It's a wonderful, classic even, cover of a fantastic reggae tune that might have been forgotten otherwise.

Maybe I'm just a simple country boy, but I'm really trying to think of a single thing that Nirvana changed about the face of music. Maybe you had to be there.

Haven't played this CD in quite a while, time to give it another listen, forgot I liked this song.

Thom has admitted that the song is about Dr. David Kelly's death, but he didn't want to talk about the issue further at the time. Here's one blog post about the song's background.

I think John Lennon did not mean it as literally as Elvis Costello interpreted it. IMHO John refers to posessions as attachments whether it be material, idealogical etc. You can be welathy and have no "posessions" at the same time

I suppose in a perfect world the members of Fleetwoood Mac would get some good therapy and then get back together and continue making really solid pop albums. This is a damn fine band and I wish they could find their way back to making records.

any chance of hearing Thin Blue Flame from this album? c'mon it's only about 10 minutes long.

great stuff.

Solution suggestion: put away the transistor radio :-) save it's batteries for weather alerts

Is it me, or does RP really have a hard on for Peter Gabriel?

This one's not bad. Their singing does not irritate me like it does on "This is Us" . Colorado radio plays that one into the ground.

Neil Young truly is the master of subtlety. He's almost as subtle as this album is good!

This one's a wee bit too self-concious, too precious for me. And some of the lyrics make it difficult to keep my breakfast down.

The Mugro Doctrine applies here and tells us that this song sucks.

Mugro Doctrine:

In order for a cover song to be worthy of wasting precious airwaves (or bandwith), it must do one of the following:

1. Be a completely taken out of one genre and put into another (the Red Hot Chilis taking on Steveie Wonder's Higher Ground, for example; another example is Hendrix's version of All Along the Watchtower)

2. Be a completely new song through the sheer talent of the cover artist. Examples of this are Jeff Buckley's version of Hallelujah, or the Allman Bros covering Stormy Monday.

This cover is not a new genre from the World Party version, so this cover's only hope is under #2. This artist cannot qualify for overwhelming talent, so the World Party version must stand as the only acceptable version of this song.

You should see the illustrations on the inside, for each song. Interesting stuff, don't know exactly what to make of it (much like Bird's lyrics, for me).

Ironic that it's what is probably the worst voice here--Young's--that makes the sound. Wonderful stuff.

THANK YOU for playing this all together each time, as it so completely deserves!!! Love you, love you, love you...

florida------uncle tupelo---love the banjo work. ala neil young songs banjo played by james taylor.

I love this song, it made my best of 2005 compilation cd, glad to see it here on RP!

"i know we're going to meet some day
in the crumbled financial institutions of this land
there will be tables and chairs
there'll be pony rides and dancing bears
there'll even be a band
cause listen, after the fall there will be no more countries
no currencies at all, we're gonna live on our wits
we're gonna throw away survival kits,
trade butterfly-knives for adderal
and that's not all
ooh-ooh, there will be snacks there will
there will be snacks, there will be snacks."

THis song is great. It's simple and honest about 2 old drinking buddies getting back together and seeing what's happened.

Always liked this song, heard it many times already, but never commented on it. So here goes: I like this song.

The appeal of this band completely escapes me.

This guy sings so poorly he makes Neil Young sound like Pavarotti.

Listening to this in the background I got a distinct hint of Elmer Fudd. Or was that just me?

Hey look everyone! a wabbit!

My least favourite Beatle but probably one of the best bassists in rock'n'roll history (at least amoung the big names). Even though I'm not a huge McCartney fan, this song deserves to be played much more then it is.

the lesson of the moth

i was talking to a moth
the other evening
he was trying to break into
an electric light bulb
and fry himself on the wires

why do you fellows
pull this stunt i asked him
because it is the conventional
thing for moths or why
if that had been an uncovered
candle instead of an electric
light bulb you would
now be a small unsightly cinder
have you no sense

plenty of it he answered
but at times we get tired
of using it
we get bored with the routine
and crave beauty
and excitement
fire is beautiful
and we know that if we get
too close it will kill us
but what does that matter
it is better to be happy
for a moment
and be burned up with beauty
than to live a long time
and be bored all the while
so we wad all our life up
into one little roll
and then we shoot the roll
that is what life is for
it is better to be a part of beauty
for one instant and then cease to
exist than to exist forever
and never be a part of beauty
our attitude toward life
is come easy go easy
we are like human beings
used to be before they became
too civilized to enjoy themselves

and before i could argue him
out of his philosophy
he went and immolated himself
on a patent cigar lighter
i do not agree with him
myself i would rather have
half the happiness and twice
the longevity

but at the same time i wish
there was something i wanted
as badly as he wanted to fry himself

- archy

(aka Don Marquis)

When I first heard Neil Young solo, I said "This guy can't sing." I've long since gotten over that. When I listen to this song carefully, it's clear that Neil really can sing. He's in those harmonies, and he fits in just fine.

I agree. Who wrote this stuff?? The music is alright, but the lyrics drove this song down.

I thought it was The Indigo Girls as first

I almost thought it was the original

He loves to torture us this way.

gotta love the eels, but that album cover is gonna give me nightmares

I don't like this, it does nothing for me. With that being said I still wouldn't give this a 1. Who are these people that insist on rating songs 1? A song has to truly earn a 1.

Anyways, I'll give it a 4.

Agree that this is, once again, a solid effort from Neil, but this is not, by far, the best track on the album. I love #3, can't think of the title right now....
Can see the Harvest connection, but my friend and I rather think of this album as Silver and Gold #2.

Best Dylan song ever? Hard to say given that his music can be approached from so many perspectives: Performance, Political, influential, inspirational, historical, comedic, to some even spiritual. So I'll just say this:

I enjoy hearing this Dylan song more than any other.

I'd say this is the case of a song whose style sounds pretty dated nowadays but which is a great song nonetheless.

man, the minute I hear those horns kick off this tune, I just gotta sit down and smile. God bless Johnny Cash.

Anyone hearing the Dead on this one?

One of his best songs .... what can you say? Its HENDRIX.

I heard Neil has a vault full of unreleased material. I can't wait to hear it all one day.

Well, nothing wrong with a new approach of a great song, every now and then, but it's obvious to me this song really starts happening when Dolly Parton comes in. Mindy's voice sounds rather flat from than on, IMO. But that's what makes it more contemporary, I guess :-k

It's the first time I've heard this - not listening to RP enough, I suppose. I thought it was rather beautiful - I'd certainly like to hear it again.

Great song from a great Albuquerque band. My CD version seems like it's mixed better.

A nice song, but it gets played far too often on RP. Let's give this one a rest for a while.

True. Bowie's version rocks. However... Nirvana's rendition of the song is great too. And it sounds "cleaner" than Bowie's...

It also got a bit of Steve Miller's feel and way of producing songs (without being retro). Take the Money and Run and songs like that. Nice, though, as someone mentioned, highly depending on what weather and mood I'm in.

wow - pretty harsh comments hahahaha. well i guess bill or rebecca (maybe both) liked it enough to add without any LRC votes at all. although thom yorke rarely covers anything like this, it was at the Bridge School Benefit Concert (organized by Young and his wife) so that's why he covered it, before he played this he said "This is piano is Neil Young's Piano, and this piano is making me do this..."

i thought it was a good cover. :-k

well maybe my second upload will make people happier...

I love NY but this rendition is way too slow and boring. Oriniginal is much better.

Now we're all on the same page! ;)
"My Back Pages"! :nodhead:

It's worth viewing the DVD collection of How The West Was Won to really appreciate the musicianship of LZ.

I, too, am sick of these bands squeezing the extra buck for commercials (The Clash broke my heart) but unless y'all bitch to Jaguar, Cadillac et all, the trend will continue.

I dread the day a Nirvana tune will be used to sell a Jeep or something. :? :?

There was a profound culture clash between hard rock and hippie music - folk rock, psychelia, even Hendrix were politically correct. The Beatles released St. Pepper and even the Stones did Her Satanic Majesty.

The term "hard rock" wasn't even a factor until LZ blazed the trail. While liking some of the music, in the politically tuned spirit of the time, Led Zep in '69 was almost as politically incorrect as disco would be six years later. While appealling to teen-age anger they weren't mobilizing the "masses" like Airplane or CSN&Y to oppose the War and establishment. And of course, almost all of the hard rock bands that emerged in their wake were attrocious - until the genre evolved into punk.

Today I also appreciate Zep more than ever. First there's the sheer talent behind their music. Then there's the evolution of rock music. The line to punk not only makes Zep among the most influential of all rock groups, it also gives them a claim to helping create the politically powerful music of the Sex Pistols et al. In retrospect, Zep's music was revolutionary in every sense. They are among the few groups, popular in their time, that become even more significant as time goes on.

Prince rules. I got dragged to a Bare Naked Ladies show (not a fan of BNL), they covered this and it was the highlight - don't likt BNL but they had the taste to do a really good cover. Ani DiFranco does an ok one as well. This album is great. I wanna hear "Darling Nikki"!

Two thumbs up tp RP for playing some Tom Verlaine / Television

Wow, I'm totally surprised at all the negative comments on this one. I think this is such a beautiful, joyful love song. One of my all-time favorites.

I saw Wilco play this a couple of weeks ago at an outdoor concert under a sky of Pennsylvanila stars. I liked the new songs that they played that night but this song was definately the highlight of the night for me.

This makes me feel suicidal..

Lucinda is as great a singer/songwriter as there is for the last 15 years. This a another from a long list of great tunes by her.

Feels just like every other country song to me... Fake.

Jim White is great fun live!! Definately try to see him if you can... :)

Something about the vocals struck me as sounding like Al Stewart ("Year of the Cat"). I know, probably just me.

Originally rated it a 2, but upon hearing it again, I had to change that...to a 1. Please, please, please reduce the amount of Tull played on RP!

Call me crazy, but I find this song unlistenable because it should be "None Of Us Is Free".