A recording that Neil Young describes as being like “something that I’ve never done before” will arrive in June. It’s his 37th album and his second in collaboration with Promise of the Real (POTR), the young band that features Willie Nelson’s sons Lukas and Micah, who also played on his 2015 release, The Monsanto Years.
Young spoke about the upcoming album during and after his interview with film director/music journalist Cameron Crowe last Monday (February 29th) during his “An Evening with Neil Young” showing of his films “Human Highway” and “Rust Never Sleeps” that was digitally broadcast to movie theaters nationwide (see our item on that here). The 70-year-old veteran classic rock icon describes the new as-yet-untitled recording’s creation as “effortless” and enthuses, “I feel really good and amped and energized.”
“It’s like a live show, but it’s not like a live show,” Young cryptically explains. “Imagine it’s a live show where the audience is full of every living thing on earth – all of the animals and insects and amphibians and birds and everybody – we’re all represented. And also they overtake the music once in a while and play the instruments. It’s not conventional… but it is based on live performance.
“In critical other ways, it’s like nothing that I’ve done. It’s more like a giant radio show. It has no stops. The songs are too long for iTunes, thank God, so they won’t be on iTunes.” says Young, who has been critical of online streaming services. “I’m making it available in the formats that can handle it.
“I feel really good and amped and energized. It’s not just music. It’s a soundscape. It’s kind of like flying around listening to things with your eyes closed.”
Young and POTR will spend June and July touring Europe, but do have three U.S. shows on their current itinerary: the Whitewater Amphiteater in New Braunfels, TX on April 26th, Beale Street Music Festival in Memphis, TN on April 29th and New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on May 1. Click here to purchase tickets.
