Posts Tagged ‘Promise Of The Real’

NEIL YOUNG – ” Paradox ” OST

Posted: March 15, 2018 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Neil Young has confirmed details and release information for his next album: “Paradox”, the soundtrack to a new film in which he stars, will arrive digitally and as a two-record set on March 23rd. It will be available on compact disc beginning April 20th.

According to a news release, Young recorded the music on the MGM soundstage with three different groups: Promise of the Real, an orchestra and another backing band comprised of Jim Keltner, Paul Bushnell and Joe Yankee. In addition, Paradox contains several solo passages played by Young on electric guitar. There are three sides of music on the LP, with the fourth consisting of etched artwork.

Young composed the bulk of the material for the film, which was written and directed by Daryl Hannah, his girlfriend. He collaborated on “Running to the Silver Eagle” with Promise of the Real, the band fronted by Lukas Nelson; Nelson and his brother Micah has worked with Young on “Diggin’ in the Dirt.” There are also covers of Jimmy Reed’s “Baby What You Want Me To Do?,” the Turtles’ “Happy Together,” Lead Belly’s “How Long?” and “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground.” The latter was written by the Nelson brothers’ father, Willie Nelson, who also provides narration in the opener “Many Moons Ago in the Future.”

Paradox will be screened at SXSW on Friday and will hit Netflix on March 23rd, with a limited theatrical release to be announced at a later date. A news release describes the film as a “fantasy, a loud poem and a whimsical tale of music and love,” adding that Paradox is a “sweetly idiosyncratic personal expression. Sometime in the future-past, a band of outlaws hides out high in the mountains. The ‘Man in the Black Hat’ (Young), the ‘Particle Kid’ (Micah) and ‘Jail Time’ (Lukas) and a band of cowboys and outlaws pass the days digging for treasure while they wait for the full moon to bring its magic, the music and let the spirits fly.”

Check out the trailer below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy0HcssirNk

NEIL YOUNG & PROMISE OF THE REAL – ” The Visitor “

Posted: December 8, 2017 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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“Rage takes many forms in the new songs of Neil Young. If, by chance, you don’t connect with the relatively even-tempered opening track “Already Great” which celebrates the US as “the promised land” & “the helping hand,” perhaps something in the key of caustic sarcasm suits you better? That would be track two, & the bone-rattling, inspired-by-Funkadelic groove “Fly By Night Deal.” On it, Young alternates between the role of a pipeline project manager barking orders like “Move those animals out of here” & an outraged citizen who screams “No more” & laments “no one sees what’s getting lost…”

Sometimes the 72-year-old Neil Young is tender and philosophical about the developments that anger him. Consider “Almost Always.” One minute he’s musing allegorically about birds; the next he’s castigating the sitting U.S. president as a “game show host who has to brag and has to boast about tearing down the things that I hold dear.”

Sometimes Young lets the music do the snarling: Though “When Bad Got Good” has a refrain borrowed straight from Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign – “Lock him up!” – Young doesn’t lean too heavily on it. He often mutters the chant under his breath, like a wily old sage, while he and the musicians of Promise of the Real work out the fine points of a swamp-rock groove that distills rage into delicious high-octane sonic abrasion. And sometimes, particularly on the pasted-together production number “Children Of Destiny,” Young disguises his rage behind the bright sing-song cadences of animated Disney films.

It’s followed by a comically grandiose fanfare played by a 56-piece orchestra, and that’s followed by a large mixed chorus singing flag-waving phrases like “Stand up for what you believe.” Those who thrilled to Young’s 2003 rock opera Greendale will find much to love here.

“Children Of Destiny” is the only overwrought and over-thought moment on The Visitor, Young’s 39th studio album — the album he’s using to launch his exhaustive online archive. The remaining nine tracks offer laments, fervent exhortations and heated diatribes about the rapidly changed world in the aftermath of the last U.S. presidential election. Young has always been quick to indignation, but on The Visitor he is careful to vary his tone, if not the target of his ire. (The quietly competent, and open-minded, musicians of Promise of the Real, now in their third collaboration with Young, help greatly with this.)

Viewed one way, the album amounts to a diverse compendium of tactics an artist might employ to express complex emotions (disbelief, fear, betrayal) upon discovering, as Young puts it on “Stand Tall,” that one’s way of life has been “turned upside down.” In the months since the election, pop culture pundits have talked about the response to Trump from the arts, usually in the form of general questions like “Where are the protest songs?” Neil Young weaves the rhetoric of protest into the stanzas of The Visitor — “Already Great” ends with the galvanizing chant “Whose streets? Our streets!” — and a few songs about man’s stewardship of nature certainly meet the basic definition of protest music.

Official Music Video For Neil Young + Promise of The Real’s “Almost Always” from the new album ‘The Visitor’

NEIL YOUNG and PROMISE OF THE REAL – ” Farm Aid ” Burgettstown, Pennsylvania 2017

Posted: September 20, 2017 in FESTIVALS, MUSIC
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Neil Young’s name may have been on this years line up for this year’s Farm Aid, but until he walked onstage at the KeyBank Pavilion in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania it was impossible to know for sure if he’d even make it. Neil Young hasn’t missed a single Farm Aid since the original event back in 1985 and he sits on the board, but this is also the same year he cancelled a festival appearance in Australia, Cancelled a tour of South America and Japan. He also put the Bridge School Benefit on hold, he hadn’t stepped foot on a stage the entire year.

But for Farm Aid 2017 he came roaring onto the stage like a feral beast finally let out of his cage and delivered a 45-minute set of unbelievable passion and energy. Backed by Promise of the Real (who he first met at Farm Aid in 2014 and has used as his primary backing band ever since), “Thanks for coming to Farm Aid,” he said in the only moment of the set where he paused long enough to speak.

He opened up with a blistering “Fuckin’ Up” that lead right into a hypnotic “Cortez The Killer” that stretched out to nearly eleven minutes. He didn’t even sing a note of it until four and a half minutes in as he built up a haunting intro on his battered guitar Old Black, grinned from ear to ear and reveled in the effortless interplay he’s developed with guitarists Lukas and Micah Nelson. Near the end, he seemed to remember he had a ticking clock and he quickly wrapped it up and called out for “Cinnamon Girl,” forcing the band to scramble for the right instruments as he pounded out the opening chords.

Young then strapped on a harmonica and acoustic guitar for singalong renditions of “Human Highway,” “Heart of Gold” and “Comes a Time,” before seeming to again call an audible, this time for “Like a Hurricane.”

It didn’t give Micah enough time to get behind the keyboard for the intro, but once the band locked in it almost felt like Crazy Horse was on the stage too. By this point, the crowd was in a state of complete hysteria, which only got crazier when Young mouthed the words “Rockin’ In The Free World” to the band and they kicked into it Ramones-style, not pausing for even a split second after the abbreviated end to “Like a Hurricane.” They had a bit over four minutes on the clock, not giving them enough time to even get to the third verse, but Young milked what time he had for everything it was worth. Somehow or another, he managed to cram a three-hour Neil Young concert into 45 minutes that will surely go down as one of the greatest sets in Farm Aid history.

For more information about Farm Aid, visit: https://farmaid.org Farm Aid’s performances are donated by the artists in order to raise funds and raise awareness for family farmers. They’ve raised their voices to help — what can you do?

Farm Aid was started by Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp in 1985 to keep family farmers on the land and has worked since then to make sure everyone has access to good food from family farmers. Dave Matthews joined Farm Aid’s board of directors in 2001.

the setlist  Fuckin’ Up , Cortez the Killer,  Cinnamon Girl,  Human Highway, Heart of Gold, Comes a Time , Like a Hurricane, Rockin’ in the Free World.

NEIL YOUNG and PROMISE of The REAL – ” Children of Destiny “

Posted: July 9, 2017 in MUSIC
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Sometimes, often for that American audience, any semblance of subtlety or doubt in your motives much be removed. With cancelled appearances and speculation of his health swirling, new Neil Young material is somewhat unexpected – even if the protest and uplifting outrage of “Children Of Destiny” (Reprise) is absolutely identifiable as his. Throw in a 56-piece orchestra, and the ideally named Promise Of The Real as the backing band

Friends
Thanks so much for your response to Children of Destiny! This is a heartfelt message to people all around the world, our home. We hope this song resonates with you and gives you strength to know that you are not alone. Resist those who lash out against our positive message with violence, name calling and negativity. We are concerned for our Democracy, Environment and Freedom. Nothing will ever stop us from standing up. We gathered together on the full moon to record our song. Here is a new video of that moment!
Love and Respect,
Celebrate Interdependence!
Neil

NEIL YOUNG and PROMISE Of The REAL – ” Cortez The Killer “

Posted: October 30, 2016 in MUSIC
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At the June 15th stop on Neil Young and Promise of The Real‘s current European Tour, the legendary rocker treated fans in Lyon, France to his first “Cortez The Killer” encore in three years. A few days later, while in Spain on June 20th, Neil Young and the band whose membership includes Lukas Nelson and Micah Nelson delivered another scorching “Cortez The Killer” encore. High quality, audience-shot footage of the 17-minute “Cortez” finale has surfaced.

Like other tour stops, Young’s appearance at Poble Espanyol in Barcelona, Spain began with a solo acoustic set during which he played “After The Gold Rush,” “Heart Of Gold,” “Comes A Time,” “The Needle And The Damage Done” and “Mother Earth.” After being joined by Promise Of The Real for “Out On The Weekend,” the rest of the main set showcased favorites such as “Alabama,” “Words (Between the Lines of Age),” and the set closing “Rockin’ In The Free World” as well as lesser-played selections like “Revolution Blues” and “Vampire Blues.”

And then you have Cortez The Killer.

The summation and conclusion to all of this; a song about a man who was “not able to sleep well” (Neil’s description) due to the crimes he committed. We see flashbacks of all these other varied antagonists who carelessly allowed greed to control them, to destroy their own peace of mind and the world around them. Cortez represents them all. He takes off his mask and reveals more than one face; and a mirror.

It’s a proper cinematic climax, the type Neil Young has so obviously been enamoured with for so most of his career.

As so often happens, Neil tells us a story with this tour, and Cortez brings this particular story to a befitting conclusion.

100 Greatest Guitar Solos: No. 39

“Cortez the Killer” hails from the album Zuma, one of Neil Young’s most overlooked albums, often lost in the shuffle of its predecessor, the much-praised Tonight’s the Night, which came out just five months prior. But there’s really a very simple explanation for the song’s high rating. Just take it from Young himself, who once proclaimed that, “ ‘Cortez’ is some of my best guitar playing ever!”

Remarkably, the song’s structure was largely shaped by an accident—a power failure which occurred in the midst of recording a perfect, transcendent take of the song. Rather than recut the tune, Neil Young just plowed forward and later he and producer David Briggs went back and did some creative editing, which required the lopping off of several verses. “They missed a whole verse, a whole section!” Young says. “You can hear the splice on the recording where we stop and start again. It’s a messy edit…incredible! It was a total accident. But that’s how I see my best art, as one magical accident after another. That’s what is so incredible.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-b76yiqO1E

“Cortez the Killer,” about the Spanish explorer who conquered Mexico with bloody success, is also a prime example of Young’s physical style of lead playing. Also check out the beauty of this acoustic version.

“I am a naturally very destructive person,” he says. “And that really comes out in my guitar playing. Man, if you think of guitar playing in terms of boxing…well let’s just say I’m not the kind of guitarist you’d want to play against. I’m just scarred by life. Nothing in particular. No more scarred than anyone else. Only other people often don’t let themselves know how damaged they are, like I do and deal with it.”

NEIL YOUNG – ” Live At Desert Trip Festival ” 15th October 2016 at Empire Polo Field in Indio

Posted: October 22, 2016 in MUSIC
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No set felt more crucial this weekend than Neil Young’s on Saturday at sundown, achieved as much by its perfectly timed moments as its political impact (his anti-Monsanto organic seed free-for-all was hilarious) and sheer sonic force. Save for a 6-song solo acoustic intro (which kicked off at Golden Hour with “After the Gold Rush” and “Heart of Gold”), Young was in full-on guitar god mode, playing louder and more furiously than anyone in the Stones or Dylan’s band the previous evening. And his backing outfit, the Promise of the Real (featuring Willie Nelson’s sons Lukas and Micah) was no less mind-blowing. During extended jams (Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young’s “Helpless,” Crazy Horse’s “Powderfinger” and 17-minute epic “Cowgirl in the Sand”), Lukas went head-to-head with the 70-year-old master, channeling a bit of his dad’s erratic picking, some Jimi Hendrix-esque freakouts and Stevie Ray Vaughan’s finesse.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8I5Vt-5ZtsY

Clearly, the younger fellas keep Young on his toes. And they had a blast in the process, particularly apparent when Young joked “We only have so many songs,” then pulling out a set list the size of a small human, allowing the camera to grab a close-up while his finger teased over more than 100 possible tunes like a Ouija board needle running rampant. It was a badass rock star move that revealed just how impressive this band is – they’ve rehearsed for countless classic cuts.

But Young owed his overall one-up to the moon, which rose – full and almost-orange like a humongous, cratered pumpkin – as the sun set behind the mountains opposite it. Of course, he had a hand in its impact: “Harvest Moon” appeared one song sooner than it did Weekend 1 – while the moon was at its biggest and brightest, like a second blazing sun – so that it hung just above the stage as Young crooned “But there’s a full moon risin’/ Let’s go dancin’ in the light/ We know where the music’s playin’/ Let’s go out and feel the night.” As wizard, astronomer, living legend – effortlessly encompassing a bit of each – Young’s music imbued the desolate desert with magic, vitality and harmony.

INDIO, CA - OCTOBER 15: Musicians Lukas Nelson, Corey McCormick and Neil Young of Neil Young & Promise of the Real perform onstage during Desert Trip at The Empire Polo Club on October 15, 2016 in Indio, California. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Desert Trip)

NEIL YOUNG and PROMISE Of The REAL – ” Live at the Outlaw Fest ” 18th September 2016

Posted: September 23, 2016 in FESTIVALS, MUSIC
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On Sunday at the inaugural Outlaw Music Festival held at Montage Mountain in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The lineup featured Lee Ann Womack, Chris Robinson Brotherhood, Sheryl Crow, Willie Nelson, Neil Young & Promise Of The Real and more. Sunday was Neil & POTR’s sixth U.S. performance this year as they spent the summer tearing up Europe. Young and his young backing band delivered an impressive 95-minute performance in Scranton and audio of the entire set has surfaced.

Neil started his set with a handful of solo classics including “Heart Of Gold,” “Out On The Weekend” and “Harvest Moon.” Promise Of The Real emerged to back Neil Young on the back half of the set. The biggest surprise was the return of “Welfare Mothers” off the Neil Young & Crazy Horse album Rust Never Sleeps. Young had never performed the song with Promise Of The Real in the past and Sunday’s version marked the first in the U.S. since 2003 as he did play “Welfare Mothers” with Crazy Horse in Australia and Belgium during their 2013 tour together.

Young & POTR ended their performance with a run of beloved gems from Neil’s songbook starting with “Cowgirl In The Sand.” Next up was “Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere,” before the band showed off their improvisational prowess on a 15-minute “Cortez The Killer.” The group brought their Outlaw set to a close with “Fuckin’ Up” and “Rockin’ In The Free World.” On September 30th, Neil Young & Promise Of The Real will play their first of two shows at Town Park in Telluride.

Neil Young + Promise of the Real at The Pavilion at Montage Mountain September 18th, 2016, Scranton PA

    • Heart of Gold  
    • Out on the Weekend  
    • Unknown Legend  
    • Human Highway  
    • Harvest Moon  
    • Hold Back the Tears  
    • Powderfinger  
    • Welfare Mothers  
    • Cowgirl in the Sand  
    • Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere  
    • Cortez the Killer  
    • Fuckin’ Up  
    • Rockin’ in the Free World

Promise Of The Real
Neil Young – vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, harmonica
Lukas Nelson – electric guitar, piano, vocals
Micah Nelson – electric guitar, electric charango, piano, synthesizer, vocals
Corey McCormick – bass, vocals
Anthony Logerfo – drums
Tato Melgar – percussion

NEIL YOUNG – ” Live at Farm Aid 2016 ” With Promise of the Real

Posted: September 18, 2016 in FESTIVALS, MUSIC
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Neil Young and the Promise of the Real performs their seventh song at Farm Aid 2016 at Jiffy Lube Live in Bristow, Virginia, on September 17th.

“There’s a revolution starting!” Neil Young told the crowd early on in his set at the 31st annual Farm Aid. “It’s called eating good food that your neighbors made for you. … Let the earth bring us all together, back to the roots. Eat good food. You don’t need the drugs anymore. It took us a long time to get this far. We have a long way to go. But with people like you, we’re going to make it!”

Neil Young + Promise of the Real performs their second song at Farm Aid 2016 at Jiffy Lube Live in Bristow, Virginia, on September 17th.
Farm Aid was started by Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp in 1985 to keep family farmers on the land and has worked since then to make sure everyone has access to good food from family farmers. Dave Matthews joined Farm Aid’s board of directors in 2001.

The packed bill featured a mixture of young acts (Insects vs. Robots, Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats), country stars (Jamey Johnson, Margo Price) and, as always, the four members of the Farm Aid board (Dave Matthews, John Mellencamp, Neil Young and Willie Nelson.) It was a lot to cram into a single day,

Farm Aid was started by Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp in 1985 to keep family farmers on the land and has worked since then to make sure everyone has access to good food from family farmers. Dave Matthews joined Farm Aid’s board of directors in 2001.

Neil Young is the one Farm Aid board member that always delivers an unpredictable set. Last year he tested the patience of the audience by playing unfamiliar new material like “Seed Justice” and “A Rock Star Bucks a Coffee Shop.” (He also did “Alabama” for the first time since 1977.) In 2013, his set was mainly covers. This time around, he opened with “Heart of Gold” and largely stuck to songs everyone knew, including “Harvest Moon” and “Out on the Weekend.” He first played with Lukas and Micah Nelson at Farm Aid in 2014 and they’ve been his band ever since. Papa Willie came out for a duet of “Are There Any More Real Cowboys?” before Neil strapped on Old Black and led the band through ferocious renditions of “Powderfinger” and “Rockin’ in the Free World,” complete with three false endings. It was a mere tiny slice of the amazing shows they’ve been playing during the past couple of years. If they come anywhere near you, check them out. With the very large exception of Crazy Horse, this is one of the best bands he’s ever worked with.

Neil Young Goes With the Hits

NEIL YOUNG – ” Old Man / Like An Inca ” Live At Bercy Paris Paris 23rd June 2016

Posted: June 26, 2016 in MUSIC
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Neil Young continued his current European tour with current backing band Promise of the Real on Thursday night with a performance at AccorHotels Arena in Paris, France. Promise of the Real, which includes Willie Nelson’s sons Lukas and Micha Nelson, has been touring with Neil Young since last year in support of their collaborative 2015 album The Monsanto Years, their third studio album and Young’s thirty-sixth.

While Young had performed his hit song “Old Man” a handful of times on this tour during the solo portion of the performances, Thursday’s show was highlighted by the first live rendition of the song by Neil Young with the full support of Promise of the Real. The band also tackled “Like An Inca” (from Young’s 1982 album Trans) in the encore slot, laying into the band with tight improv for just its second outing since 1982.

You can watch fan-shot video of “Old Man” and “Like An Inca” from the Paris show