Lanois on recording the new Neil Young album

[Jeff da Weasel]

Great stuff here. Enjoy!

 

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[UstadKhanAli]

Interesting, thanks!

[UstadKhanAli]

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129955938 Have a listen to the album.

[Jeff da Weasel]

Been listening all day. Love it.

[UstadKhanAli]

[blue2blue]

I think he would have done a lot better with Rick Rubin, a real acoustic guitar, a stereo mic in a nice room -- and none of those hokey FX.

 

I really don't care for the sound of all that crap fuzz and ludicrous reverb and echo at all. I really do not like this at all.

[Mudcat007]

I just listened to this on the NPR link and like the way Lanois produced it. As they say, "Different strokes..."

[blue2blue]

I just listened to this on the NPR link and like the way Lanois produced it. As they say, "Different strokes..."

Indeed, they say that.

 

 

No such thing as objectively bad music, of course. If something brings someone pleasure, then, for them, it's good music.

[Mudcat007]

Indeed, they say that. ... .

 

 

Forgot to mention that while I do really like what Lanois did with Young on this, I think I would also like to hear Rubin do a stripped down production with him as well.

[blue2blue]

Forgot to mention that while I do really like what Lanois did with Young on this, I think I would also like to hear Rubin do a stripped down production with him as well.

Slap 'em back to back -- something for everyone!

[Ed A.]

 

I think he would have done a lot better with Rick Rubin, a real acoustic guitar, a stereo mic in a nice room -- and none of those hokey FX. I really don't care for the sound of all that crap fuzz and ludicrous reverb and echo at all. I really do not like this at all.

 

 

As much as I usually like the electronics processing stuff from Lanois, Eno, Neil's own "Trans", etc., I agree that it doesn't work well here. I would also rather hear these songs in a stripped-down production.

[Jeff da Weasel]

I think he would have done a lot better with Rick Rubin, a real acoustic guitar, a stereo mic in a nice room -- and none of those hokey FX.

 

I'll never argue with a guy's opinion on music, and especially with a guy whose opinions I generally respect.

 

I will say this, though: why would a guy who's been recording for 45+ years want to do the same {censored}ing thing, over and over again, for his entire life? You have a great background in the history of pop and rock, so you already know that NY has constantly strived for new sounds, new vibe, new feel. Sometimes this goes over well, sometimes it doesn't. I'm no "Neil Young can do no wrong" fanboy; he's done some really worthless albums from time to time. But it's my honest belief that this is not only the best album he's done in at least 10 years... it might be in his top five albums of all time.

 

Had he hooked up with Rubin (who very well may have thrown up a mic and went back to nap on the couch in the control room), I can't imagine that the songs would be presented in a more exciting way.

 

I really don't care for the sound of all that crap fuzz and ludicrous reverb and echo at all. I really do not like this at all.

 

You are well within your rights to not like it. On the flip side of this, I absolutely LOVE it. I just wrote a ridiculously long review after spending much of the last 24 hours listening to the album. I think that if it's not named as one of the top albums of 2010, there is no justice in the world.

 

Here's my War And Peace-length review, if you have a half hour to read it.

[blue2blue]

 

As much as I usually like the electronics processing stuff from Lanois, Eno, Neil's own "Trans", etc., I agree that it doesn't work well here. I would also rather hear these songs in a stripped-down production.

 

I love pretty much everything from Neil up through Zuma. I mean, I really love it.

 

I've really tried to like "Long May You Run." I wanted to like the albums after that -- whether it was the 'punk' influenced stuff or the eletronic influenced stuff -- and I'm sure there are some gems hidden away but every time I drop the needle in those later albums, it doesn't usually take more than a song or two (if that) before I'm jumping to something else. I think I need to go through his later stuff and make a playlist that avoids all the stuff that rubs me wrong. But I'm really not looking forward to that. I find a lot of the later stuff pretty depressing because I like Neil so much.

 

 

BTW, have you guys heard that there's a Buffalo Springfield reuninion (Young, Stills, and Furay) apparently being planned with Modest Mouse on the bill as well? That sounds like a great pairing that seems to acknowledge the continuity I've always felt between BS and MM.

[Jeff da Weasel]

 

BTW, have you guys heard that there's a Buffalo Springfield reuninion (Young, Stills, and Furay) apparently being planned with Modest Mouse on the bill as well?

 

 

It's this year's Bridge School Benefit. I have always wanted to go, and never have.

 

Keep in mind regarding the Springfield that Bruce and Dewey have both passed away, so I don't know who the rhythm section will be, but it is the first reunion performance of Neil, Richie, and Stephen in a long while.

 

Here's the lineup. For those who don't know, the Bridge School was founded by Neil and Pegi Young to help severely developmentally disabled kids. Their son Ben, who has cerebral palsy, was the basis for the school's start 24 years ago.

 

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[blue2blue]

I'll never argue with a guy's opinion on music, and especially with a guy whose opinions I generally respect. I will say this, though: why would a guy who's been recording for 45+ years want to do the same {censored}ing thing, over and over again, for his entire life? You have a great background in the history of pop and rock, so you already know that NY has constantly strived for new sounds, new vibe, new feel. Sometimes this goes over well, sometimes it doesn't. I'm no "Neil Young can do no wrong" fanboy; he's done some really worthless albums from time to time. But it's my honest belief that this is not only the best album he's done in at least 10 years... it might be in his top five albums of all time. Had he hooked up with Rubin (who very well may have thrown up a mic and went back to nap on the couch in the control room), I can't imagine that the songs would be presented in a more exciting way. You are well within your rights to not like it. On the flip side of this, I absolutely LOVE it. I just wrote a ridiculously long review after spending much of the last 24 hours listening to the album. I think that if it's not named as one of the top albums of 2010, there is no justice in the world. Here's my War And Peace-length review, if you have a half hour to read it.

Well, it's only music. As they say. And I wouldn't say my taste in music is particularly respect worthy. That's not a burden I would seek or gladly accept. My taste in music... just is.

 

I'm absolutely agreed that Neil's restlessness is one of his more endearing traits.

 

And I'm all for people pushing forward, adopting new approaches.

 

(That's why I thought Raising Sand was such a landmark for both Bob Plant and Alison Krauss... it took them both out of their familiar contexts and brought out sides of them we'd never really had much of a chance to explore -- and it did it in a way that both resonated with the past but had a number of contemporary approaches and textures. It wasn't all equally successful, of course -- I had to create a playlist skipping a couple of tracks that annoyed me [although I've learned to kind of just tune them out] -- but, for me, it was really a welcome synthesis of musical strains, not unlike the Dillards' groundbreaking Wheatstraw Suite, in some important ways.)

 

But, you know, I can admire the attitude behind something but still not like its execution. And the execution, specifically, the production, really turned me off. (As noted. )

[Jeff da Weasel]

Oh, and Blue: Lanois' production has already sparked furious debates in the Neil Young community, and the damn album's not even out yet.

 

That's a good sign.

[blue2blue]

Oh, and Blue: Lanois' production has already sparked furious debates in the Neil Young community, and the damn album's not even out yet. That's a good sign.

That certainly didn't surprise me. There were already a number of comments on the NPR page when I revisited it after hearing the album, probably running about 3-to-1 in favor of the album. It seems that the people who take issue with Lanois' approach really take issue with it, citing the same basic stuff as me (fuzz, goopy, cheap sounding reverb and even faker sounding echo).

[Jeff da Weasel]

Yup, there are three camps going.

 

a) I love it!

b) I like the songs, but I'd like to hear all the stuff stripped down and get the raw tunes.

c) This sucks!

 

You know, a lot of people thought Tonight's The Night was complete {censored} when it came out. I'm just saying.

[UstadKhanAli]

I'm not sure where I am with this album yet. I haven't heard the whole thing, and I certainly haven't digested it yet. I like some of the delays/reverbs, and generally really like Lanois' production. Young's songs generally sound really good. But I'm gonna reserve judgment until I've heard it more.

[blue2blue]

Let's just say I'm waitin' for the Rick Rubin remix.

 

 

 

I looked in on the comments thread at NPR later in the day and it looked like there were a lot more folks who liked it coming in to comment, so, once again I find myself in the curmudgeonly minority.

 

And stay off my lawn, Danny Lanois, you young whippersnapper!

[Jeff da Weasel]

And stay off my lawn, Danny Lanois, you young whippersnapper!

 

He's 59, ya know.

 

Neil kept referring to Lanois as "young" in interviews, and I'm like, "Dude, he's only six years younger than you, Neil."

[blue2blue]

He's 59, ya know. Neil kept referring to Lanois as "young" in interviews, and I'm like, "Dude, he's only six years younger than you , Neil."

What month was Lanois born in? That'll decide who gets to yell at whom.

 

 

If it makes you feel any better, you seem young to me. :D

 

 

(How do you like being on that slippery slope? )

[Jeff da Weasel]

If it makes you feel any better, you seem young to me. :D

 

Well, you just made my day.

 

In some utopian world, I'd be able to have the satisfaction one hopefully achieves in their 40s, along with the physical health and appearance one has in their 20s. And just stay like that forever.

 

Back on topic: I decided to listen to the album another 20 times to see if I'd start hating it. Hasn't happened, though I did develop a nasty earworm while trying to get to sleep last night and hearing the tunes echoing around my brain. Not that this should affect my ability to enjoy music or not, but Neil's willingness to go out on a limb (potentially alienating some of his more conservative fans) and do something more adventurous than be an old guy strumming an acoustic guitar is thrilling to me. Moreover, I just dig the songs and I dig the sounds... and (most important) I think I'd feel the same were this not a Neil Young album. I just like it.

[blue2blue]

Well, Neil is Neil, and I appreciate that it's a whole package.

 

Of course, it's not that Neil is experimenting -- I love old faves who experiment, come up with something new -- that works... I loved Leonard Cohen's then surprising move into Eurodisco-flavored cabaret music. I really liked Robert Plant and Alison Krauss's Raising Sand venture.

 

But I didn't like Neil's 'punk' venture. (It didn't help, perhaps, that it was a genre I was then fairly intensely involved with.) Nor did I like his synth pop excursions. Why? Because, God love him, he just didn't seem to get it. It wasn't that those attempts were too punk or too new wave -- it was that they weren't good punk or new wave, to my thinking.

 

But this is more vexing, since if there's one thing that Neil once seemed to understand, it was getting the right amount of harsh/distortion in a given context. Listen to his work with Crazy Horse, like the Everybody Knows album. There was a man who knew how to push an amp just enough. And when he does that wacked out fuzz aria at the end of "Cinnamon Girl," it's just the right brevity/texture. Another few dB or another 8 bars and he would have been dangling over the Crabby Appleton/Frigid Pink abyss.

[Jeff da Weasel]

I really liked Robert Plant and Alison Krauss's Raising Sand venture.

 

Me too.

 

But I didn't like Neil's 'punk' venture.

 

It wasn't so much a punk venture than a punk interpretation as filtered through Neil's unique brain. "Sedan Delivery" is a great freakin' song. I'm sure it caused many Harvest fans to wig the hell out at the time.

 

But this is more vexing, since if there's one thing that Neil once seemed to understand, it was getting the right amount of harsh/distortion in a given context. Listen to his work with Crazy Horse, like the Everybody Knows album. There was a man who knew how to push an amp just enough . And when he does that wacked out fuzz aria at the end of "Cinnamon Girl," it's just the right brevity/texture. Another few dB or another 8 bars and he would have been dangling over the Crabby Appleton/Frigid Pink abyss.

 

But again, you're missing the right Neil comparison. Check out the end of the song "{censored}in' Up", or the morass of distortion on live versions of "Hey Hey, My My (Into The Black)". I mean, this goes back to the mid 70s in some cases. Mondo-Distorto Neil isn't a new thing.

 

I'm quite pleased (bordering on smug) to see that critics seem to be hearing what I'm hearing here. Today, Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune gave it 4/4 stars... only one of two albums in 2010 that got the honor. I'm pretty sure that in the next few days, as we see other publications talk about this album (none of whom have been too kind to Neil for the last 20 years or so), I'll get a little more validation.