Neil Young - Greendale

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Veitchy
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Neil Young - Greendale

Post by Veitchy » Sun Oct 25, 2020 5:32 pm

Upon hearing the news that Neil Young is planning to release a live recording and video of Crazy Horse touring Greendale from a few years back (https://guitar.com/news/music-news/neil ... cert-film/), I've been collecting my thoughts on this record. The album doesn't seem to have split listeners largely down the middle, especially interesting as Young's more recent output with Crazy Horse has been fairly well received.

I for one really like the album. Yes, a lot of the riffs are monotonous (intentionally, I believe) and the songs are pretty long too - it isn't an album of singles, that's for sure. That said, I really like the rambling nature of the album - it has this feeling of the story being retold by an average local bar blues band. The music being so narratively focused gives it a, dare I say it, somewhat Homeric feel. Furthermore, Having spent my youth in the country, and now find myself living in a little seaside town off of a highway the setting especially resonates with me (we definitely have fewer murders though).

I'm wondering if anyone else has any thoughts on this one.

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Re: Neil Young - Greendale

Post by rank » Sun Oct 25, 2020 5:45 pm

I'm a big Neil fan & do like the record but there was a "limited edition" CD that came with a bonus DVD of him performing the songs solo acoustic. I found it mesmerizing. Way better than the actual album in my opinion.
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Re: Neil Young - Greendale

Post by Veitchy » Sun Oct 25, 2020 6:11 pm

rank wrote:
Sun Oct 25, 2020 5:45 pm
I'm a big Neil fan & do like the record but there was a "limited edition" CD that came with a bonus DVD of him performing the songs solo acoustic. I found it mesmerizing. Way better than the actual album in my opinion.
I didn't know about that release. I'll have a dig around and see if anyone's uploaded any of it.

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Re: Neil Young - Greendale

Post by i love sharin foo » Thu Oct 29, 2020 4:41 pm

I've LOVED Greendale since it first came out! All these years later and I still feel the same way. It is just a great story that pulls you in and holds your attention. No, nothing is mind blowing, but it is very consistent and solid through and through.
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Re: Neil Young - Greendale

Post by Joey Ace » Thu Nov 26, 2020 6:57 am

Agree, Greendale was a major milestone in Mr. Young's development.

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Re: Neil Young - Greendale

Post by adamrobertt » Fri Nov 27, 2020 8:39 am

I'm a big Neil fan and I have somehow never heard this record. Listening now, I'll let you know how it goes. 8)

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Re: Neil Young - Greendale

Post by wingnutkj » Sat Dec 05, 2020 3:40 am

Veitchy wrote:
Sun Oct 25, 2020 6:11 pm
rank wrote:
Sun Oct 25, 2020 5:45 pm
I'm a big Neil fan & do like the record but there was a "limited edition" CD that came with a bonus DVD of him performing the songs solo acoustic. I found it mesmerizing. Way better than the actual album in my opinion.
I didn't know about that release. I'll have a dig around and see if anyone's uploaded any of it.
I have this, and ended up ripping the audio of the DVD so that I could listen to it as an album in its own right. The final two songs work especially well in the live acoustic versions (but I think you need to be familiar with the full album to get the full context of the intros):

Luckily, YouTube provides the audio (but sadly not the video, so you don't see Neil's panning megaphone contraption):
Sun Green: "Next morning Sun got up and packed her bags and took off...
Be The Rain: "...the Imitators started playing, and Sun picked up her megaphone..."
Kenny

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Re: Neil Young - Greendale

Post by Veitchy » Sun Dec 06, 2020 1:47 pm

wingnutkj wrote:
Sat Dec 05, 2020 3:40 am
Veitchy wrote:
Sun Oct 25, 2020 6:11 pm
rank wrote:
Sun Oct 25, 2020 5:45 pm
I'm a big Neil fan & do like the record but there was a "limited edition" CD that came with a bonus DVD of him performing the songs solo acoustic. I found it mesmerizing. Way better than the actual album in my opinion.
I didn't know about that release. I'll have a dig around and see if anyone's uploaded any of it.
I have this, and ended up ripping the audio of the DVD so that I could listen to it as an album in its own right. The final two songs work especially well in the live acoustic versions (but I think you need to be familiar with the full album to get the full context of the intros):

Luckily, YouTube provides the audio (but sadly not the video, so you don't see Neil's panning megaphone contraption):
Sun Green: "Next morning Sun got up and packed her bags and took off...
Be The Rain: "...the Imitators started playing, and Sun picked up her megaphone..."
Oh shit, that is great. Cheers for these - I'll dig into them after work today I reckon.

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Re: Neil Young - Greendale

Post by wingnutkj » Sun Dec 06, 2020 3:26 pm

Kenny

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Re: Neil Young - Greendale

Post by Singlebladepickup » Fri Mar 05, 2021 10:57 pm

Finally got around to listening to Greendale, love it. I especially enjoy albums like this where I can put it on and be satisfied from start to finish. It's the type of stuff if you tried to show someone one song, they might not be impressed, but it's way more than the sum of its parts. This is up there with my other favorite, Time Fades Away.

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Re: Neil Young - Greendale

Post by whitewatersky » Mon Mar 08, 2021 2:26 am

Some mates and I watched a performance of Greendale at the Greek Theatre in LA back in’03. Was so good. Love the album

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