Neil Young & Crazy Horse Prove Relevance in 2019 on "Colorado"

Neil Young & Crazy Horse have returned with their first album in 7 years. Colorado beholds the rock n roll miracle: Neil and the Horse, shaking the dust off their instruments and re-charging their power 3500 feet above sea level. In the album's companion documentary, Mountaintop Neil Young, & Crazy Horse: bassist Billy Talbot, drummer Ralph Molina, and Nils Lofgren venture to Telluride Colorado - deep in the Colorado Rockies for an 11 day studio Marathon with producer John Hanlon & Neil at the helm. They huff futuristic Oxygen canisters to acclimate to the altitude, and play in spurts of turbulent sonic groove driven sound - swarming around each other in a formation similar to a Crazy Horse live concert. All while Hanlon, and his assistant scramble around a wonky console trying to keep up with the ferocity of a band who, even in their 50th year - seem unfazed by their age. Music has kept their spirits young.

"Mountaintop" Trailer

The album shifts between raw uncut improvisations like "She Showed Me Love", a 13 + minute environmental protest epic, to tender acoustic and piano driven ballads "Green is Blue", "Think of Me", "I Do", all songs he debuted live on his acoustic tour earlier this year and with other band, Promise of the Real. He gave fans a live taste of "Milky Way," and album finale "Rainbow of Colors."

"Colorado"

Lyrically Neil Young appears to have taken the mantle of the Bernie Sanders of rock n roll. His message, like his music, largely hasn't changed since the '70s, yet he sounds more relevant to 2019 than ever. "Green is Blue" envisions the story of the earth told by future generations; explaining to their children the extinction of polar bears, coral reefs, tornadoes and floods, and how they were powerless to stop it. "Shut It Down" comes as a cry to shut down the fossil fuel industry, and its contracts with the government in order to save the planet from environmental collapse.

"Shut it Down"

Themes shift to "A Rainbow of Colors", which plays like a new national anthem counter to the Trump Administration's policies on immigration, and their stoking of White Nationalism in America: "There's a rainbow of colors in the old USA, No ones gonna white wash these colors away." It's a powerful song with a simple message. In fact, all of these songs share a true unbridled spirit, one that conveys a powerful message.

"Milky Way"

The Horse 50 years down the road, and Neil Young 39 albums later, is more relevant and better than ever.

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Last updated: 28 Mar 2024, 19:56 Etc/UTC