“When the dream came | I held my breath | with my eyes closed
I went insane | Like a smoke ring day | When the wind blows”
I’ve been out of the blogging business for a while, haven’t I? Apologies to avid followers. What started as a short hiatus turned into a dismissed routine. Truth is: I went through a bit of a musical drought. Nothing was motivating me to write. No earworms to share with the world. A lot has happened since December-whatever-it-was… 21st birthday in February (at the height of my disappointment with music) brought Neil Young knocking in the form of his latest box set, The Neil Young Archives Vol. 1. I’ve been so impressed by the quality of the live performance that I could honestly write a dozen unique posts. Everything from the tuning dialogue to the subtle variations to the little imperfections make this 8-disc set utterly addicting.
I’ll start with “On the Way Home,” and “Don’t Let it Bring You Down” off of Live at Massey Hall (1971). Massey Hall is a museum of rock and roll in downtown Toronto, right around the corner from Yonge and Dundas Square where, yesterday afternoon, a crowd of thousands and thousands erupted as Crosby buried one behind Miller in Gold Medal OT. If hockey is Canada’s sport, Neil Young is Canada’s musician. I was so moved by this album that I went out and bought an acoustic guitar — I’ve slowly been working my way through each song. With these songs, I too am on my way home… the past two weeks have been a well-needed surge in patriotism. Congratulations, Canada.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Post a Comment