Search - Neil Young :: Prairie Wind [CD/DVD]

Debra M. from MELBOURNE, FL
Reviewed on 10/27/2006...

CD with case only.....ex library CD

0 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.

A Beautiful Album

Norm | Montana USA | 10/01/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Its been a while since a new album has caused as many immediate repeated listenings for me as Prairie Wind. I guess its inevitable to compare this recording with Neil Young's very best songs and albums because it stands up well in that context. Many songs have touching, reflective lyrics, and maybe a philosophical maturity that is beyond anything he has written before. Several songs are standouts, and the melody that I find running through my mind later seems to vary among those. "Its a Dream" is so touching and absolutely beautiful; I think anyone who has experienced significant personal loss will be moved by such an accepting interpetation of our own mortality.



I'm delighted with the accompanying dvd in this package. What a great concept, being able to see the entire album being recorded exactly as you hear it on the cd. It causes me to ponder 'what if' scenerios of similar documentation of any of my all-time-favorite recordings. The upgrade to this duo-disk set is well worth the few dollars more."

...and it even FEELS like the original HARVEST !

The Aeolian Kid | WAMESIT | 11/03/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Neil Young: Prairie Wind (Limited Edition CD/DVD)...



AUDIO DISC:



...TRACK #1: The Painter ... A Slow One. A pleasant tune about inspiration and focus, responsibility and remembrance, reminiscent of 'Are You Ready For The Country?' from Harvest (and maybe 'Mansion On The Hill' from Ragged Glory). A nice, calm beat with lilting peddle-steel by Ben Keith in the left channel, and that broomstick-snare sound that keeps you in the mellow groove. Get prepared for the best, by-the-pot-belly-stove, intimate, acoustic, musical get-together you will have experienced in many a blue moon! You'll think that the whole cast of Northern Exposure might show up to sing along at any moment (as Neil's music fits right in with the atmosphere of that good old program)! This song sounds like it could have been a great Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young tune. It also kinda reminds me of the live version of 'On The Way Home' from 4 Way Street when Neil sings, "It's a long road..." It's got that 'and I miss you now' feel to it. I can't take this album out of my discman! I just want to keep on playing it. It's that great.



... TRACK #2: No Wonder ... A Medium One. This one reminds me of the 'World On A String' vocal melody from Tonight's The Night. A haunting song, especially between the verses when Ben Keith is playing that spooky slide lick on that sweet and soulful peddle-steel guitar of his. This one sticks to your ribs. It's that good! This one could have been a real rocker. You really gotta give Neil Young credit for sticking to his guns and intentionally focusing on creating a folk-rock album instead of a Crazy Horse hard-rock album. Any of these songs could have been turned into rockers, but they would have lost the beauty created by this particular ensemble of musicians who are a huge part of Neil's past, present, and future. The magic of Harvest has been resurrected... and it even FEELS like the original Harvest - the album cover as well as the music! (In fact, if you go to Neil Young's website, NEIL'S GARAGE, you can even order a copy of the album as a Gatefold Double LP.) The vocal and organ interplay is beautiful. Another ecological manifesto; the theme echoes the same sentiments expressed in 'Be The Rain' from GREENDALE. 'SAVE ALASKA!' Captain Beefheart would be proud of this one, a song that partly serves to protect the beauty of what he calls "God's Golfball." Indeed, the U.S. Senators are selling us ALL down the river, and the waters are in danger of being polluted even more because of the current, anti-environmental, political climate in Washington, D.C.. Right-On!, Neil Young, for expressing something we all feel so strongly. The fiddles at the end evoke the spirit of Native American Plains Indian music. Beautiful.



...TRACK #3: Falling Off The Face Of The Earth ... A Slow One. This song showcases the sensitive side of Neil Young, up-close and personal. Wonderful harmony vocals that really add a touch of sweetness and airiness to the mix. In fact, the harmony vocals on this whole album are outstandingly beautiful. You hardly even notice that there's a back-up band playing behind Neil - and on this song, that's the way it should be. The words and the vocals are what matter the most here. It's like Neil is whispering a sweet song in your ear. (Thank God for quality mic-preamps and compressors!) Real intimate and pretty.



...TRACK #4: Far From Home ... A Fast One. A rockabilly song with a good beat and tasty horns the way Van Morrison uses them; not overdone. Funky, dobro lap-steel work from Ben Keith on the left - with Piscean soul! (Yeah, that's right, you heard that word 'prairie' again in this song, too. Are you getting it yet?) Almost autobiographical. This one could have been on the This Notes For You album, or the Old Ways album, but it works better here. Come on, everybody! Let's get up and wag our tails!



...TRACK #5: It's A Dream ... A Slow One. You'll swear Neil's gonna start singing 'After The Gold Rush' when you hear the piano intro. Neil sings "on the roof" in that just-woke-up, slurry, 'Tonight's The Night' voice that kind of sounds like a sober Tom Waits. The strings are breathtakingly beautiful and echoe the string work on 'There's A World' from Harvest (the song, I believe, that Bob Dylan told Neil he thought was wonderful - or was that, 'A Man Needs A Maid'?) A song about days gone by and a way of life that has come to an end. Mayberry R.F.D. comes to mind. Neil was made for singing this kind of stuff. He loves both trains and Indians (even though it was the building of the railroads that was a major contributor to the destruction of the Indians' way of life), the real romantic character that he is. The beauty of the west comes to life!



...TRACK #6: Prairie Wind ... A Medium One. Entering Dreamland - the way only Neil Young can take you there! The acoustic guitar is strumming hard on this one, and the harmonica blows out a funky melody. (You'll think of GREENDALE). Again, the harmony vocals really shine here. The organ on the right comes in at the right times, and there's also a very tasty tambourine on the right. (The high-end of the audio spectrum is so well-defined here that it makes you wonder if they are using Apogee analog-to-digital converters at Redwood Digital when they transfer the analog, multi-track masters into the digital domain. It sounds so real!) The image on the album cover comes from this song. At one point, the lyrics remind me of Pink Floyd's 'Learning To Fly' video - the first one - with the Native American Indian shaman teaching the young man how to fly in dreamtime. (Hey, Don Juan!) Neil's singing in that storytelling voice he can get into. Real cool. The brass is tasty and perfectly placed in the mix. I guess Neil wanted to keep this one authentic, down-home, and live-sounding, as he even left in what possibly sounds like a minor, guitar, chord-change flub-up after he sings, "I don't remember what he said." I love the way he sings, "it may be a mirage." This man has PASSION!



...TRACK #7: Here For You ... A Slow One. This one has the feel of Old Ways, and could have been on that album. In fact, this whole album will remind you of Silver & Gold, Harvest Moon, Old Ways, Comes A Time, and Harvest - but, to me, it is closest in spirit and sound to the original Harvest and Comes A Time, which is really great if you love those records like I do. The harmonica is real pretty, and the peddle-steel on the left will soothe your aching bones and weary heart. Neil is singing like he's almost going to cry on the choruses: "You might say, I'm here for you." It's real raw, like Joni Mitchell on her Blue album.



...TRACK #8: This Old Guitar ... A Slow One. Man, if this don't sound just like 'Harvest Moon' with new words, I'll be damned! But hey, if Peter Townsend can milk the hell out of Tommy for all it's worth, who are we to judge Neil Young for recycling a good tune from his own repertoire? Even the piano riff on the right sounds similar. It works for me, and it's a great song. (Maybe this was Neil's intent all along? Frank Zappa called it: Conceptual Continuity! Hey, even Dave Grohl admitted that Nirvana's song, 'Rape Me', if I'm not mistaken, is the same lick as 'Smells Like Teen Spirit,' only inverted.) Even the intentional flub-up that Neil puts in after he sings, "searched for gold," is there to add perfection to the lyric of the song when Neil then sings, "It can't be blamed for my mistakes." It's like the archetypal idea of perfection: in order for anything to be truly 'perfect,' it must include some intentional imperfection, so as to be humble in 'the eyes of God' or something. It's like the master, Navajo rug weavers leaving an odd strand in there somewhere, or a Tibetan Buddhist sand painting being destroyed by its makers after it has been completed in order to represent the impermanence of existence in this human realm / bardo of reality. By doing that, Neil speaks volumes! I love this song like I love 'Winterlong' from DECADE. Emmyloy Harris really shines here. You'll think of Comes A Time, for sure, as well as American Stars 'N Bars. Also, the subtle percussion in the left channel is real tasty! Listening to this touching song makes me wonder who'll be playing my guitar when I'm gone. Johnny Cash once gave Bob Dylan a treasured acoustic guitar of his. In 1993, Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter took an ancient Gibson A-40 mandolin of his down off the wall of his home and handed it over to guitarist Christopher Thorn of Blind Melon. One wonders who will end up playing this guitar of Hank Williams that Neil has honored so eloquently with this soulful song, a guitar which Neal carefully puts to rest with a gentle hand after he finishes playing it, as you will see on the DVD part of this album. He truly cherishes this guitar.



...TRACK #9: He Was The King ... A Fast One. Musically, this harks back in spirit to Neil's Everybody's Rockin' album released in 1983. I love the studio banter intro and outro between Neil, Ben, and the band. This one's a real hit! This is the one that will stick in your head! If this ain't the best song ever written about Elvis Presley, I'll be damned! Neil really nailed it on this one. He covers Elvis's whole career in a wide sweep that moves from verse / vignette to verse / vignette in a real rockabilly style that pays tribute to Elvis's raw, rock and roll, early days (as well as his Vegas days, with the horns!) of hayride, flat-bed truck performances with Scotty Moore and Bill Black when they called themselves Hillbilly Cat and the Blue Moon Boys - before Colonel Parker got a hold of him and changed everything. You know these guys were having fun in the studio when they recorded this one. This is Neil relaxed - fun, funny, free, and breezy. This is not the INTENSE, live-on-stage, 'Like A Hurricane' delivery - but it's just as passionate just the same. There's a nice dobro here, too. Even the last, off-the-beat, snare-drum, back-beat hit fits in with the whole spirit and concept of this song, as well as this down-home album. It has that live feel. Damn the pro-tools, fix-it-in-the-mix, digital overdubs! This one ROCKS! Wait till you hear this song! You'll be singing it in your head for days on end. Love it.



...TRACK #10: When God Made Me ... A Slow One. This is Neil Young's 'Imagine,' the anthemic John Lennon song from John's Imagine album that Neil chose to sing during the America: A Tribute To Heroes 2-hour telethon, live broadcast on TV on September 21, 2001 produced to raise funds for the families of the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C.. It is that good! It is also the song he recently played during the "Shelter from the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast" performance that aired on TV on Friday, September 9th of this year which has so far raised an estimated 30 million dollars for The Salvation Army, The Red Cross, and USA Freedom Corps to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina. (That concert also featured Dr. John The Night Tripper, as well as the Foo Fighters appropriately belting out a beautiful cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival's 'Born On The Bayou.') This song - 'When God Made Me' - is one of the most beautiful songs ever written by Neil or anyone else. In its beautiful simplicity, the melody matches the lyrics perfectly. It's a great gospel tune, and spiritual in the true sense of the word. I can see this song being sung in every Unitarian Universalist church in the land and at High School graduation ceremonies the world over. This song - and whole album - is a real epiphany. Bravo, Neil Young! Thank you for this musical masterpiece. ... YOWZA! - The Aeolian Kid ...



VIDEO DISC: This is a real treat. You can watch the actual, recording studio performances of all ten songs as they were being performed and recorded onto analog tape. The performances are presented in a multiple, split-screen format like the movie WOODSTOCK was presented, with solos featured in the center of the screen at times. The sound is pristine, as it is of the highest quality, 24 BIT / 96 kHz DVD Audio sound commercially available at this time. Some believe this to be better than the SACD 1-Bitstream medium, as DVD Audio is less prone to digital jittering and more stable as an archival medium. Speaking of archives, those of us who have been waiting for 'DECADE TWO' all these years can't wait for Neil Young's ARCHIVES to finally be released! The very first thing you see on the DVD is a white sheet blowing in the breeze, hiding the words of the MENU options behind it. It soon gets blown away by the nightime prairie wind. The MENU choices are: Sessions Movie, High Resolution Audio Info, and More. Sub-Menus include: Play, Song Selection, Audio Info, Songs - all 10 of them, Sessions Audio Information, Player Setup Tips, Color Bars: Shakey Pictures Logo with Color Bands (a hoot!), Biographies / Discographies, and DVD Credits - all of which are accompanied on the screen with photos of Neil Young's studio. The Biographies / Discographies section is really detailed, thorough, chronologically accurate, and interesting. It includes information on all the players on the album: Neil Young (Neil's Discography has things in there I never even heard about, let alone heard; things like: "Elyse" released in 1968 by Elyse.), Ben Keith, Rick 'The Bass Player' Rosas, Karl Himmel, Spooner Oldham, Chad Cromwell, Wayne Jackson, Diana Dewitt, Gary Pigg, Anthony Crawford, Grant Boatwright, Emmylou Harris, and, of course, Neil's wife, Pegi Young. (Rick and Chad both played with Neil on ELDORADO!) It's very well done, and was obviously put together with great care and precision. The whole DVD is a labor of love, for sure. Watch it and feel the wonder! ... YOWZA! - The Aeolian Kid





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