Rolling Stone’s Andy Greene posted a flashback to 1977 when Neil Young covered “Sweet Home Alabama,” just weeks after Lynard Skynard’s tragic plane crash.
Green wrote: (According to legend, Ronnie Van Zant was buried in a Tonights the Night T-shirt, though this remains a hotly disputed topic.) Just weeks after the accident, Young played a show in Miami to raise money for a children’s hospital. Near the end, he played a medley of “Alabama” and “Sweet Home Alabama” as a tribute to the band. There’s no video, but you can hear an audience tape right here.
Young has not played “Alabama” a single time since that night. “‘Alabama’ richly deserved the shot Lynyrd Skynyrd gave me with their great record,” Young wrote in his 2012 book, Waging Heavy Peace. “I don’t like my words when I listen to it today. They are accusatory and condescending, not fully thought out, too easy to misconstrue.”
It must be nice to be Associate Editor Andy Greene at Rolling Stone who gets to write about Neil Young a lot, seeing the legendary musician is so prolific on many fronts.
Since we feature so much of Greene’s writing, here he is.
Sometimes writing is a thankless job, so thanks Andy, for your good work bringing Zumans and Rusties so much Neil Young news. We like it.
Greene writes about “Live at the Cellar Door” without a gazillion adjectives.
“After 44 years in the vault, the recordings are finally coming out on December 10th on CD gram vinyl. The set mixes Buffalo Springfield classics like ‘Flying on the Ground Is Wrong’ and ‘I Am a Child’ with new songs like “After the Goldrush” and ‘Tell My Why.’ Young plays ‘Cinnamon Girl’ on piano for one of the very few times in his long career. The shows also featured the live debuts of ‘Old Man’ and ‘See the Sky About to Rain.
These performances by Neil are epic in their intimacy, his connection with the audience, and the quality of Young’s voice. It feels like the sky about to rain. Listen to “Flying on the Ground is Wrong” and it feels like you are in the room.
You can listen to the new release at the Rolling Stone link below:
“Pearl Jam is a band I have a lot of respect for. Nirvana and Sonic Youth I feel the same way about. Mumford & Sons, My Morning Jacket, Wilco, Givers, and Foo Fighters are just some of my favorites. I respect bands that give me something of themselves that I can feel. (\"Posing\" bands turn me off generally speaking.) It all has to do with a feeling I have about them. That is what music is to me, a feeling. It\'s similar with people too.” by ? Neil Young, Waging Heavy Peace: A Hippie Dream
Neil Young on Tour
Sugar Mountain setlists
Tom Hambleton provides BNB with setlists, thankfully. His website is the most comprehensive searchable archives on the Internets about anything Neil Young related setlists. Goto Sugar Mountain.