Staff Reviews

Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Americana

Review by Aaron Lavery

Solid if rarely spectacular, with the Crazy Horse rumble making a welcome return to Neil Young’s modern day repertoire.»

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neil young and crazy horse release a very special album titled 'americana'. 'americana' is the first album from neil young and crazy horse in nearly nine years. crazy horse is: billy talbot, ralph molina, poncho sampedro, and neil young. as you'll see from the track-listing, 'americana' is collection of classic, american folk songs. in their day, some of these may have been referred to as 'protest songs', 'murder ballads', or campfire-type songs passed down with universal, relatable tales for everyman. some of these compositions, like 'tom dula' and 'oh susannah', were written in the 1800s, while others, like 'this land is your land' (utilising the original, widely misinterpreted 'deleted verses' and 'get a job', are mid-20th-century folk classics. it's also interesting to note that 'god save the queen', britain's national anthem, also became the de facto national anthem of sorts before the establishment of the union as we know it until the adoption of 'the star spangled banner', which has been recognised for use as early as 1889 and made the official us national anthem in 1931. each of these compositions is very much part of the fabric of the american heritage; the roots of what we think of as 'americana' in cultural terms, using songs as a way of passing along information and documenting the past. what ties these songs together is the fact that while they may represent an america that may no longer exist, the emotions and scenarios behind these songs still resonate with what's going on in the country today with equal, if not greater impact nearly 200 years later. the lyrics reflect the same concerns and are still remarkably meaningful to a society going through economic and cultural upheaval, especially during an election year. they are just as poignant and powerful today as the day they were written. 'americana' was produced by neil and john hanlon along with mark humphreys, and engineered by john hanlon with john hausmann and jeff pinn. it was recorded at audio casa blanca by john hanlon.
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