Neil Young's new CD full of steel

Webb Kline · Post by **Webb Kline** » 21 Oct 2005 7:06 pm

Well, keeping in Neil's tradition of minimalism, there's not much in the line of fancy steelin' on his new record, but it's full of steel nonetheless which is more than I can say for a lot of what's coming out of Nashville these days. There's steel on about every cut.

In fact, it's kind of refreshing to my ears to hear those old simple country rock fills. It's right out front in the mix too.

Anyone know who it is?

Mike Winter · Post by **Mike Winter** » 21 Oct 2005 8:10 pm

Some of the same guys from Harvest and Harvest Moon:

Ben Keith - pedal steel guitar
Spooner Oldham - keyboards
Rick Rosas - bass guitar
Chad Cromwell - drums
Karl Himmel - percussion

John Macy · Post by **John Macy** » 22 Oct 2005 10:35 am

There is a version out that comes with a second disc, a DVD shot while they were recording the record. It's only about 5 bucks more. Mine is on the way...

Chris LeDrew · Post by **Chris LeDrew** » 22 Oct 2005 11:48 am

I agree that this is a very good record with a lot of sweet, subtle steelin'. The steeler is Ben Keith, who coincidentally co-produced it. He's produced w/ Neil before. He's been on most of Neil's laid back country stuff since the early 70's. Neil seems to really trust his ear, and obviously gives him some say in the mix.

Bobby Lee · Post by **Bobby Lee** » 22 Oct 2005 3:12 pm

I really like this new CD of Neil's. The steel playing isn't fancy, but it supports the songs well. It reminds me of "Harvest", Neil's first country-sounding LP.

On first listening, I thought the songs were sort of lame, but the second time through I realized that they were brilliant. Neil Young is still one of my favorite recording artists.

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Webb Kline · Post by **Webb Kline** » 22 Oct 2005 4:25 pm

Bobby, my sentiments exactly.

I can't imagine what else could be done with those songs that could do them more justice than what Ben has done. And it does remind me a lot of Harvest, which had the same growing effect on me.

I really like it now. For anyone who grew up in the country rock era, this CD is a must have. He's a genius as a songwriter.

Chris LeDrew · Post by **Chris LeDrew** » 23 Oct 2005 6:51 am

"When God Made Me" sounds like a church hymn. That song was no doubt a result of his near-death experience with the aneurysm. Actually, the whole album has a bit of that feel, almost like he's looking at the world from a more appreciative perspective, but with that same talent for songwriting very much still intact.

Steinar Gregertsen · Post by **Steinar Gregertsen** » 23 Oct 2005 7:44 am

There's a very interesting interview with him in Time Magazine, you can find the whole story here.

Here's some of it, reflecting what Chris posted:

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>AT ANY POINT WERE YOU THINKING, "THIS MIGHT BE MY LAST SONG," AND IF SO, DID YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT ONE WAS, YOU KNOW, REALLY GOOD?

I was thinking about things like that, and it's kind of too bad that people know about this, because it's like, "The only way he could make a good album is if he had an aneurysm," or something. I feel a little funny about it, because I know I would have made an album anyway, and I don't feel like I'm slowing down, but these things happen. Yeah, there's a lot of reflection. [Grudgingly] It affected all the songs.

YOU WERE OBVIOUSLY WORKING FAST, BUT SONGS LIKE FALLING OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH HAVE BOTH URGENCY AND CLARITY. DID YOU HAVE TIME TO ACTUALLY CRAFT LYRICS?

Most things just came pouring out, but that song's unique because a lot of it came from a voice-mail message. A friend of mine called, knowing I was going through this, and left me a voice mail that was, "Thinking about you--just want to tell you that you mean a lot to me," that kind of stuff. So I wrote it all down and made up this kind of bass-ackwards melody. With songwriting, the key thing is not to have any preconceptions, to be wide open and never worry about whether it's cool or not. Use whatever you can, and worry about cool after you finish the record.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Highly recommended reading.

Steinar

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www.gregertsen.com

[This message was edited by Steinar Gregertsen on 23 October 2005 at 08:46 AM.]

Lefty · Post by **Lefty** » 27 Oct 2005 1:50 am

Ben Keith's steel parts always seem so simple and restrained, but then you think what would the song be without the steel part.
Harvest or Old man are good examples.
I must get this CD.
Lefty

Jody Cameron · Post by **Jody Cameron** » 27 Oct 2005 4:45 am

What's the name of the new CD?

Mark Eaton · Post by **Mark Eaton** » 27 Oct 2005 10:37 am

"Prarie Wind"

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Mark

Brett Day · Post by **Brett Day** » 27 Oct 2005 4:50 pm

Ben Keith recorded a Christmas cd called "Seven Gates; A Christmas Album by Ben Keith And Friends" and it features a lot of steel, also vocals by singers like Johnny Cash. It starts with a beautiful version of "Ave Maria" on steel. I loved the songs that Neil Young wrote and recorded. Brett, Emmons S-10, Morrell lapsteel, GFI Ultra D-10