Neil Young - the guru of folk, country, hard rock, acoustic ballads and whatever else he gets his hands on – has revealed today that his latest collaboration with Crazy Horse will be titled Psychedelic Pill, and is to be released as both a double-CD and a triple vinyl this October. An update on Young’s website also mentions that videos will be made available for each song through iTunes, or on Blu-ray if you really want to see every facet of Young’s stoney face in high-definition.
The album will be the first original collaboration between the two artists for nine years, although it follows in the footsteps of this June’s Americana, a series of re-imagined folk classics. I made it no secret in my Americana review that, while Crazy Horse retained their wonderful mix of refreshingly old school jamming, I felt that the album fell victim to its own concept, becoming bogged down in repetitive vocal refrains.
And it seems that, with the album out of the way, the band have agreed to keep the album’s tracks away from live performances, playing only the encore of ‘Jesus’ Chariot’ in their tour this summer. As Guitarist Frank “Poncho” Sampedro told Rolling Stone: ”I told Neil that I thought it was a lot of fun playing them and they’re great songs, but our soul and our hearts aren’t in them”. Psychedelic Pill then, will hopefully prove a better demonstration of the gritty brilliance that is Young and Crazy Horse’s collaboration.
A tracklist has not yet been announced, but it the album will presumably include material from the band’s recent tour, to be resuming this autumn. A likely choice is the 20 minute ‘Walk Like A Giant’ – a track that explains why the album will be on multiple discs, yet draws in to question how a 66 year old can manage to sing and play for so damn long.
We're looking for writers and editors to join the team. Interested? Apply today!
Let’s Be Friends!