Neil Young recording with Daniel Lanois-"Le Noise" out 9/28*

True enough - I'm not a big fan of his work, apart from the Dylan LPs.

 

$30 for a single LP with 8 tracks? No thanks.

 

I hear you, BUT, I already have so much of his stuff on vinyl AND I really love this album so I'm sorely tempted. I suspect if I stumble upon it on one of my trips to the record store I'll talk myself into buying it.

 

I'm hoping this album will be a grower. At the concert I saw in the spring I was very excited about the new material, but on first few listens, the songs I liked the most live - Rumblin and Sign of Love, leave me flat so far. Not sure why.

 

I've heard it more than once now. All the songs are allright, except the last one. I wish his voice wasn't so drenched in reverb at times, but overall the album has a neat sound.

 

that's the same way his concert was... voice drenched in reverb, except most of the time instead of some of the time. he also did this weird guitar effect that totally overtook his reverb drenched voice.

 

Just ordered it through Amazon ca, have not heard any clips yet and will make up my mind on it once the needle hits the vinyl! From the talk of late, I am not going to be disappointed!

 

Fantastic album...Right now I'm on track seven...the penultimate one.

 

Get ready with the repeat button, then...

 

Agreed. Fantastic song. Somehow it reminded a bit "in atmosphere" of Society, as performed by Eddie Vedder.

 

Saw it on their web site for $29.99, went to the store and saw the sticker said $35.99. So I left, as I was in a rush and couldn't dick around with going to the register for a price check (isn't there an iphone app for that?).

Went back today and was going to get the price check, but all of the copies were gone. So I picked up the CD for $9.99. I see the CD is also mastered by Bellman. Something is also in the credits about digital editing. I know there's digital and then there's digital. Nonetheless, I think I might just stick with my $10 CD, which sounds great on my new Sony XA5400ES.

 

So far there isn't anything to not like, aside from some "iffy" lyrics at times. Neil did a song with just electric guitar on Fork In The Road. That was okay, but on Le Noise, the absence of sound is produced as an instrument. I guess this is Lanois' influence. On a couple tracks, particularly "Walk With Me", I hear a song that would seem to need drums. I'll probably play along with it at some point. That's just a more traditional Neil song, I think. Most of the other songs play with the lack of structure in ways that seem to render drums and/or bass unnecessary. I'm kind of surprised at how well this has worked out. The songs sticking out for me are "Love And War" and "Angry World". I get those melodies stuck in my head. The others are a little more involved, so I need more time with them.

I'm still thinking about "Hitchhiker". Who is being addressed in this song? Who is "you"? I think it's clearly Carrie when he says they had a child but didn't stay together. I see the relationship between the external events in Neil's life and his drug intake to accompany those events. I don't, however, know who the song is addressed to. It seems like in the first verse, he is attempting to cut himself down to someone, as if to suggest that while he may be considered a source of strength by "you", he was also taking a bunch of drugs to get himself through. Also, when he wrote the song in 1976, it doubtlessly did not end with a line about his wife, particularly since these were Neil's bachelor years - post Carrie, but before Pegi.

As I've fallen behind on what is going on in popular alternative music, where does this album fall? Is it still old geezer music? Or is it comparable, or holding it's own with contemporary acts. Excuse my ignorance on the matter. Perhaps, another way to ask the question, how does it fit in with the Pitchfork crowd? I didn't see a review on the site, by the way. Clearly, it isn't the James Taylor album of cover songs.

 

I think 'Neil Young' is probably a valid genre now. It feels that way.

 

Since I'm one of the ones who "miss it", apparently, I'm sticking with my half a good album assessment.

Allmusic gives it 3 stars, and calls it a "minor mood piece" that promises more than it delivers.

 

I think Le Noise is one of those albums that will be a head-scratcher for a lot of people when it first comes out but will be critically revised as time passes. Much like Tonight's the Night and Exile on Main Street.

 

Liked it so much on first listen that i had to play it through a few times more over the last couple of days just to make sure i wasn't being slightly over exhuberant and eleavating to something its not.

Now i am confident its his best since Sleeps With Angels and near to top tier. Have enjoyed his last few albums but none of them were what i would call Neil at his best. This is great. I love the distorted electric guitar on some of these tracks, it sounds cavernous and exhilerating.

 

i miss it as well and i saw a lot of it performed live a couple nights ago. give me "mule variations" any day.

 

I feel the same way when I listen to "Walk With Me." That's about the only one where I feel like a full band treatment would have been nice.

I didn't like "Angry World" when I first heard it, but find myself singing that one a lot now. Maybe it was some of the "iffy" lyrics in there.

As far as the Pitchfork/indie crowd goes on this album, I'm not sure but I really think Neil is one of the few "classic rock" artists that really has any cachet with that scene.

 

Most of the casual NY fans want Harvest remakes for every new NY album. I think it's great that after 40+ years he's not afraid to experiment. What if the Beatles kept making Meet the Beatles over and over?

 

The 39 minute film of Le Noise.

 

So I'm guessing that this is what will eventually be released in the CD/DVD edition?

 

Yep, that is my guess also, along with the audio files in 24/96.

Just watched the whole 38 minutes.

Thought that the dancing girl looked a lot like Carolina Cerisola in Angry World and found out at the end it was...

 

the "yeah"'s in "Angry World" kind of ruin it. it sounds lazy and out of place.