Neil Young and his Performance Series releases from the Neil Young Archives is “Bluenote Café” released on November 13th via Reprise Records. The album collects various performances captured during Neil’s 1988 tour.
The album is volume eleven in Young’s Archives Performance Series, and features performances from Young’s 1987–88 American tours with his then-backing band, The Bluenotes (renamed here as Bluenote Café ), with whom he recorded his seventeenth studio album, “This Note’s for You”.
Aside from live versions of “This Note’s for You” songs, the album features a number of songs that weren’t released at the time; “Welcome to the Big Room”, “Hello Lonely Woman”, “Bad News Comes to Town”, “Crime of the Heart” and “Doghouse” make their first appearances on any official Neil Young release (“Doghouse” was covered in 2011 by Young’s then-wife Pegi on her album “Bracing for Impact”. Two of the album’s tracks, “This Note’s for You” and “Ain’t It the Truth,” previously appeared on the compilation album “Lucky Thirteen”. The album received positive reviews,”generally favourable reviews”. Chris Gerard of PopMatters gave the album nine stars out of ten, stating: “Bluenote Café” is essential Neil Young, and further evidence that Young’s 80s work has more value than many would expect.
This superb live 2-CD, 4-vinyl LP set documents one of Young’s most funky and heartfelt periods and features seven unreleased songs: and a searing 19+ minute version of the immortal “Tonight’s the Night” from The Pier in New York City.
The Bluenote Café Band:
Neil Young – guitar & vocals
Rick Rosas – bass,
Chad Cromwell – drums
Frank Sampedro – keyboards
Steve Lawrence – lead tenor saxophone
Ben Keith – alto saxophone
Larry Cragg – baritone saxophone
Claude Cailliet – trombone
Tom Bray – trumpet
John Fumo – trumpet
Billy Talbot – bass
Ralph Molina – drums
The Fat Angel Sings 