Neil Young & Crazy Horse Detail New Album FU##IN' UP

There are certain albums that have an aura around them. It can't really be planned, but there is something in the way all the music performances and material comes together to set them on their own plateau. The interesting part of that equation is that there is no way to plan on the results, or even predict. They often come together as they are being recorded,  and that is the start of a wonderful journey. FU##IN’ UP, recorded in 2023, is truly a work unto itself, to be released on Record Store Day April 20, 2024.  

These nine songs from Young's ever-growing catalog are injected with the kind of audio attack that Young and Crazy Horse have been playing since they started performing in the late 1960s. It has been a constant capturing of what rock & roll is really capable of, and one that shows no sign of stopping. The Crazy Horse lineup on FU##IN’ UP includes Billy Talbot (bass, vocal), Ralph Molina (drums, vocal), Micah Nelson (guitar, vocal, piano), Nils Lofgren (guitar, vocal, piano) and Neil Young (guitar, vocal, harmonica). The sounds these five musicians achieve cannot be predicted, and allow an element of sonic surprise that is a definition of how the boundaries of bands are always up for revision, and supply the music to march into the future with an unparalleled power.

Neil Young & Crazy Horse. Photo: Joey Martinez

The old songs of this new Neil Young & Crazy Horse album break-through in all their ragged glory as a brand-new release. As time passes and musicians achieve new prowess in their playing, it gives Young and the band a way to approach what they have done in the past as something they're now able to go far beyond with an exciting approach that can only be seen as totally new. The best music never stands still, and allows the players a wide-open field to explore now. The past is gone, but offers a road into the future.

Young explains it best: "In the spirit it's offered, we made this for the Horse lovers. I can't stop it. The Horse is runnin'. What a ride we have. I don't want to mess with the vibe, and I am so happy to have this to share."

As has always been his practice, Neil Young establishes a personal timetable on how and when he releases his music. It has given him a way of offering his audience a personal participation of living with the recordings, and gathering new fans at the same time his long-time listeners remain a strong part of the family. 

There is  no other still-active artist that approaches his work like this, making sure that the music comes first for him and his listeners. There  is no distinction between the new and the old. It was, is and always will be about the NOW.

On April 20, 2024 a clear vinyl two-LP Limited Edition will include a litho print of the album cover art and will be available on Record Store Day and through The Greedy Hand Store via Neil Young Archives only, which is a unique arrangement with the Record Store Day organization to allow a release to be sold outside of participating RSD stores.

On April 26, the black vinyl, compact disc and digital edition will be released. Hi-Res digital audio is available at the Xstream Store © at NYA and most DSPs.  All Greedy Hand Store purchases come with free hi-res digital audio downloads.

In true Neil Young innovative approach, the songs on FU##IN' UP have been renamed in their ragged glory with new titles, allowing them to be here now. "Farmer John" is a song originally done by Don "Sugarcane" Harris and Dewey Terry in 1959, and soon covered in 1964 by East L.A. band The Premiers and remains as its original title.

F##KIN' UP Track listing:

1 City Life

2 Feels Like A Railroad

3 Heart Of Steel

4 Broken Circle

5 Valley Of Hearts

6 Farmer John

7 Walkin’ In My Place

8 To Follow One’s Own Dream

9 Chance On Love

In Neil Young's words in the sleeve notes: "Why do these old songs live so vividly now? They do to me."

Neil Young knows.

First published at Rhino, February 20, 2024

Paul McCartney reunited with lost bass after 52 years

Paul McCartney, left, has been reunited with his lost bass guitar after more than half a century. AP PHOTO

By Naomi Clarke in London

Sir Paul McCartney has been reunited with his bass guitar, which the Beatle used on famous tracks such as Twist And Shout and She Loves You, after it went missing more than 50 years ago.

A spokesman for the former Beatle said he is “incredibly grateful” for those who were involved in helping to locate the Hofner bass guitar, which went missing in 1972.

The Lost Bass Project launched a search to find the missing German violin-shaped bass in 2018, but traction picked up last year after further media attention.

The team, which included Nick Wass from Hofner and husband and wife team Scott and Naomi Jones, received more than 100 leads which they used to help track down the missing guitar.

Among the tip-offs, the project said they were given information that claimed the guitar had been stolen from the back of a van in 1972 in Notting Hill in London.

They later discovered the bass was allegedly sold to a landlord in the area before it was passed on until it ended up in the attic of a terraced house in the south coast of England.

The project said the owner realised they had the highly-sought-after item following the publicity last year.

The bass is still complete and in its original case but will need some repairs to make it playable again, the project added in their statement.

A post on Sir Paul’s official website read: “Following the launch of last year’s Lost Bass project, Paul’s 1961 Hofner 500/1 bass guitar, which was stolen in 1972, has been returned.

“The guitar has been authenticated by Hofner and Paul is incredibly grateful to all those involved.”

The bass had been purchased for 30 pounds in Hamburg, Germany, in 1961 by Sir Paul and was used during his time with The Beatles.

His career-long use of the guitar led to it to being dubbed the “Beatle bass”.

Sir Paul played the Hofner on the Fab Four’s first two albums, Please Please Me and With The Beatles, as well as on a slew of hits including Love Me Do.

A statement from The Lost Bass project said: “We are extremely proud that we played a major part in finding the Lost Bass.

“It has been a dream since 2018 that it could be done. Despite many telling us that it was lost forever or destroyed, we persisted until it was back where it belonged.

“We want to thank everyone who helped with the search, all those who sent us leads and ideas and many who just wanted to lend their support to us. Thank you all so very much. Very much indeed! We did it!”

Reprinted from Canberra City News, February 16, 2024

Record Store Day 2024: The 30 Must-Have Releases

Including exclusive releases from Talking Heads, David Bowie, At the Drive-In, South Park, and Siouxsie and the Banshees

Record Store Day 2024

by Scoop Harrison and Eddie Fu

Record store Day has revealed the extensive list of limited edition vinyl, box sets, and other speciality releases that will be available as part of its 2024 edition taking place on Saturday, April 20th, 2024.

This year promises exclusive wax from Talking Heads, David Bowie, At the Drive-In, South Park, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Daft Punk, 100 gecs, Blur, The Replacements, Screaming Trees, Sonic Youth, Gene Clark, Fleet Foxes, and more.

You can find specifics on some of the most notable releases below, and find many more detailed at the Record Store Day website.

A live recording of Talking Heads’ November 1977 performance at WCOZ will be available as a 2xLP collection, featuring seven previously unheard songs from the original two-track tapes.

An early version of David Bowie’s The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, dubbed Waiting in the Sky (Before The Starman Came To Earth), will be released on vinyl. This version is taken from the Trident Studio quarter-inch tapes dated December 15th, 1971, and features four songs that didn’t make the final album.

At the Drive-In’s long out-of-print sophomore album, In/Casino/Out, is being repressed on limited-edition purple and green smoke vinyl.

A live recording of South Park: The 25th Anniversary Concert will be available on vinyl for the first time. The 3xLP set is pressed on “Towelie-Blue” vinyl and features the show’s creators, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, performing alongside Primus and Ween.

Siouxsie and the Banshees will celebrate the 40th anniversary of their live album Nocturne with a 2xLP half-speed reissue featuring a new gatefold sleeve.

Daft Punk’s “Something About Us (Love Theme From Interstella 5555)” will be released on 12-inch vinyl.

Blur are reissuing Parklife on limited-edition zoetrope picture disc.

Neil Young and Crazy Horse’s newly announced album, FU##IN’ UP, will be available as a limited-edition clear double LP.

Pearl Jam’s new album, Dark Matter, will be pressed on exclusive yellow and black ghostly vinyl.

100 gecs will release their Snake Eyes EP on die-cut vinyl that’s shaped like a weed leaf.

A never-before-heard live recording of Nat King Cole’s 1953 residency at the Blue Note Chicago will be released, featuring restored audio from the original tapes.

A 10th anniversary edition of Freddie Gibbs & Madlib’s Piñata will be released with new artwork on half speed-lacquered vinyl.

Not Ready for Prime Time, a limited edition 2xLP recording of The Replacements’ original lineup performing at Chicago’s Cabaret Metro in January 1986, will be released.

George Harrison’s Electronic Sound and Wonderwall Music will be released on zoetrope picture disc to kick off a multi-year initiative to reissue the late Beatles’ entire studio album catalog.

Screaming Trees will release Strange Things Happening – The Ellensburg Demos 1986-88, featuring early recordings captured on guitarist Gary Lee Conner’s four-track machine.

A pair of previously unreleased Sun Ra performances will be unearthed: Sun Ra at the Showcase: Live in Chicago collects live recordings of the jazz musician performing live at Joe Segal’s Jazz Showcase in Chicago in 1976 and 1977, while Inside The Light World: Sun Ra Meets The OVC is a newly discovered session from 1986.

A previously unreleased recording of Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s November 1966 concert at the Grand Theatre in Limoges, France will be released. The 180-gram 2xLP was transferred from the original tape reels.

A career-spanning collection of Sonic Youth songs titled Hits Are for Squares will be reissued on Gold Nugget vinyl, featuring handpicked selections from Eddie Vedder, Flea, Radiohead, Catherine Keener, and Chloe Sevigny.

No Other Sessions (1974-2024: 50 Years of No Other) collects outtakes from Gene Clark’s fourth album, No Other, for the first time.

Sparks’ No. 1 In Heaven is being reissued on white vinyl.

Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros’ debut album, Rock Art and the X-Ray Style, is receiving a pink vinyl reissue for its 25th anniversary.

Death Cab for Cutie will release Live at the Showbox, a 17-track recording of songs performed during a three-night stand at Seattle’s Showbox in late February 2020. It marks the collection’s first-ever physical release.

Fleet Foxes will release Live on Boston Harbor, a 3xLP recording of a two-hour, career-spanning set performed in August 2022.

Sleater-Kinney will release a translucent red 7-inch vinyl containing “This Time” and “Here Today,” two bonus tracks from the original recording sessions for their latest album, Little Rope.

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds will release a 7-inch vinyl called Magic Secrets No. 2, featuring their demo tracks for “In a Little While” and “Love Will Tear Us Apart.”

Wilco will release The Whole Love Expanded, a 3xLP box set collection material from their 2011 album including  all related single, EP and bonus tracks, plus a selection from The Loft’s archive of live in-studio performances and previously unreleased alternate mixes and demos.

The Doors’ 1968 concerts in Stockholm, Sweden will be collected in a new 2xCD, 3xLP set. The recordings have been mixed and mastered from the original four-track tapes by Bruce Botnick, the band’s longtime engineer and mixer.

The Weeknd will release his first live album, Live at SoFi Stadium, which was recorded during two November 2022 concerts on his “After Hours til Dawn Tour.”

De La Soul will release a recording of their 1996 performance at New York’s famous Tramps nightclub, featuring appearances from the then-unknown rapper FKA Mos Def (now known as Yasiin Bey), Common, and the Jungle Brothers.

Finally, to coincide with Record Store Day falling on 4/20, Cheech and Chong will reissue the soundtrack for their 1978 film Up in Smoke on smoky green vinyl.

First published at Consequence Sound, February 15, 2024

Farewell to the star of the steel pan

Courtney Leiba. Photo: Steelpan Community of Australia

by Tony Magee

Canberra lost one of its most colourful, engaging and prominent musicians earlier this week.

Born in Trinidad, West Indies, Courtney Leiba joined the Esso Trinidad Tripoli Steel Band in 1964 as a percussionist, later switching to steel pans.

The ensemble toured regularly, being included in the Queen Elizabeth II Royal Command Performance in 1965, Montreal Expo ’67, appearing on the Ed Sullivan Show and a three year engagement with Liberace from 1968 to 1971. 

The band were nominated for a Grammy in 1972 under the category ‘Ethnic and Traditional Recordings’.

“Liberace was a very generous man”, Leiba commented in a 1994 interview. “Not only were we his main guest act in the Vegas shows, he engaged us to tour with him throughout the US and Canada. At the end of each tour, he would take us all to an expensive jewellery store and say ‘choose something nice for your wives or girlfriends’”.

It was in Trinidad and Tobago he met the love of his life and future wife Marion, who at the time was a vulcanologist and seismologist at the University of West Indies.

“I was just walking up the main street of our capital Port of Spain, when I heard a voice say, ‘Enjoying your holidays?’. I had to turn around and explain that just because I had white skin, it didn’t mean I was on holidays” she said.

Courtney and Marion arrived in Australia in 1977, settling in Taroona, Tasmania, where he establish a teaching practice for aspiring conga, ukulele and steel pan students, something that was relatively new in Australia at the time.

Leiba specialised in the “Invader” style of steel drum, developed in the 1940s. It is a tenor pan, and although pitched in C, is often referred to as an F sharp pan, the note being prominently placed in the centre of the instrument.

Playing various venues around Tasmania, his first steel ensemble was named Calypso Trio, then Calypso Trio Mas Uno and finally Calypso Pan-Tas-Tic, a name he used for all his ensembles from then on.

Meanwhile, Marion had secured a job in Canberra with the Bureau of Mineral Resources and later the Australian Geological Survey Organisation and the pair arrived here in 1981, settling in Kambah.

I first met Courtney in 1989, when he had established a Canberra version of Calypso Pan-Tas-Tic, which featured some of the best players available. Colin Hoorweg on drums, Tony Hayes and later Ian McDonald on bass, the late John Carrick, Wal Cooper or myself on piano with Courtney out front on pans and congas. There was no one else like him, his show was unique.

Rehearsing at the Leiba household made me realise that Courtney and Marion’s relationship was definitely founded on the old adage “opposites attract”. Marion was by now with Geoscience Australia and had seismographs operating in many rooms of the house. She once told me they were so sensitive, they could pick up not just tremor and quake movements in the Canberra region, but Australia-wide and also in some other parts of the world.

By contrast, Courtney would be grooving and panning his way around the house - congas and steel drums set up everywhere - so completely was he absorbed in his music.

He secured performing engagements throughout Canberra on so many levels - from a simple music duo entertaining passers by at the Wanniassa shops, a gig I frequently did with him on keyboards during the 90s and 2000s, to larger ensembles at Hyatt Hotel Canberra, the National Convention Centre and other venues.

A social campaigner, Leiba was made a life member of the Labor Party.

Posting on social media, the Steelpan Community of Australia, PANZ Inc said, “Courtney was a true legend within the international pan community, and his humble nature touched the lives of many. RIP our ‘Scratcher Man’”

He is survived by wife Marion, children Nadine and Kenrick and four grandchildren.

Courtney Leiba was 87.

First published at Canberra City News online edition, Feb 11, 2024

Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa dies at age 88

He was the first Asian music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra

TOKYO -- Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa, who served as the music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, died of heart failure at his home in Tokyo on Tuesday. He was 88.

Ozawa was born in the former Manchuria, now part of northeastern China. After a rugby injury, he gave up on becoming a pianist and instead went on to learn the basics of conducting under musician and professor Hideo Saito at the Toho Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo.

After graduating from Toho Gakuen College of Drama and Music, Ozawa left for Europe and won first place at the Besancon Competition for young conductors in France in 1959. He then studied under the conductor and composer Herbert von Karajan and was invited by conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein to become assistant conductor at the New York Philharmonic in the United States.

In 1973, Ozawa became the first Asian music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, also serving as music director at the prestigious Vienna State Opera from 2002 to 2010.

He formed an orchestra with fellow musicians under Saito in 1984. He began the Saito Kinen Orchestra, commemorating his former teacher's death, and led the Saito Kinen Festival Matsumoto, now known as the Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival, in the city of Matsumoto in Nagano prefecture, where he conducted the orchestra and opera.

In 2016, the album "L'Enfant et les Sortileges" ("The Child and the Spells"), a live recording of an opera performance at this festival, won a Grammy Award.

While on the podium of famous orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic and the Vienna Philharmonic, he also presided over chamber music academies and music schools, devoting himself to training young musicians. In Japan, he was very close with the New Japan Philharmonic and the Mito Chamber Orchestra.

Ozawa received numerous accolades both nationally and internationally, including the Order of Culture in Japan as well as the French Legion of Honor. In 2010, he suspended his musical activities to undergo surgery for esophageal cancer. He continued to conduct for as long as he could.

First published at Nikkei Asia, February 9, 2024