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Neil Young and his band Crazy Horse rocked the SECC

June, 2013

Review by Pauline Keightley

His father was a writer and he told Neil – ‘Write every day, you never know what will come out.’  His advice appears to have been effective.

Young is a kicks ass, no holes barred, tells it like it is singer songwriter. He has travelled along many long highways, sometimes in vintage cars – he remembers which car he was driving when en route to record each of his albums.

A Canadian, Neil had already met former bandmate Steven Stills, when he left home in his early twenties to find that LA sound.

Young enjoys staging and from the outset the SECC concert was full of drama.  The opening, when men in white coats gathered on stage to assemble very large speakers, set a scene that forecast a quality concert – they finished with pipers playing Flower of Scotland.

For much of the show, Young,  Frank ‘Poncho’ Sampedro (guitarist) and Billy Talbot on bass hunched together in a communal heavy guitar rock in front of Ralph Molina’s drum kit.

Young performed some of his new songs such as Walk Like a Giant, from his latest album Psychedelic Pill. It was 20 minutes long and played like a storm cloud full of charged energy with the added drama of special effects, including rain.

Other well received songs included, Cinnamon Girl (1969) and long time favourite Heart of Gold, when Young took to the stage with an acoustic guitar. This went down particularly well with the large SECC audience but was really the first opportunity to sing along or to relive memories. Next he sang a sensitive version of Dylan’s Blowin’ in the Wind.

Young enjoys older instruments of character and he took to a honky tonk piano to sing his lovely new song Singer Without A Song. After this interlude it was back again to the Crazy Horse rock and the band closed the set with the thunderous guitars of Hey Hey My My. There was a lot of synergy and energy in the band’s playing and the Crazy Horse sound is heavily guitar-based, however some of their songs could have been considered a little indulgent and overly long on this Alchemy Tour.

Set List: Love and Only Love, Powderfinger, Walk Like a Giant, Ramada Inn, Hole in the Sky, Heart of Gold, Singer Without a Song, Blowin’ In The Wind, Mr Soul, Cinnamon Girl, Everybody Knows This is Nowhere, Fuckin Up and Hey Hey My My.

When Young has such an extensive array of songs to choose from, I’m not sure I understand the one token classic. I guess it depends what we expect of our musicals heroes. Where were the many classic songs? I was disappointed not to hear After the Gold Rush and Helpless.

American icon Young has a distinctive tenor voice and his back catalogue of songs is characterised by some of the most memorable songs of the early 70s. While it is good he is still rocking in the free world, and I understand Neil wants to keep things fresh and moving on, but the approach of other living legends, veterans of the 70s, who have their back catalogue of songs as the back bone of the gig, with newer material interspersed, seems to work.

However, Young makes it clear that with and Crazy Horse he has something definite in mind: “We want to show our audience who we are. It is a very special thing we have, the way we play off of one another, the real deal. But it all comes from the songs, the images in our minds and hearts, the lyrics and the way they resonate. That is the fuel in the band. That is what will make the music relevant.” 

Young is known for his clawhammer acoustic guitar playing and for music that is sometimes ragged and sometimes melodic. He is best known for folk and country rock and electric hard rock with his band Crazy Horse. Young is an outspoken advocate for environmental issues and the welfare of small farmers, having co-founded Farm Aid in 1985.

Review and photos Neil Young gig by Pauline Keightley –  http://www.musicfootnotes.com/

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