Chart-a-thon Final Day, Final Release! C3 NYE Bash!
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I’m on my second to last release, and it is absolutely one of the best charted vocals I’ve done that features three part harmonies. Since there is no “lead singer” in this one, I kept true to the band and the instruments they play when they sing, so it may seem off that the bass player starts out the song whistling, but that is exactly how the band plays it. I hope you love…
The Dead South – In Hell I’ll Be In Good Company
DOWNLOAD LINK | VIDEO PREVIEWAlthough this song debuted in 2014, it didn’t make its splash until 2017 when a YouTube video of the song was released and piqued the interest to any who caught a glimpse. The catchy bluegrass number features four musicians from Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada (yup, Bluegrass is alive and well in Canada) whose instruments and harmonies together are as smooth as baby oil on porcelain. You just HAVE to grab two other people and sing this one harmoniously as it is as much fun as you can have singing in Rock Band. There is actually no drums in this song, but I charted the kick drum to the snapping to make it a full band journey.
If you download this catchy Canadian bluegrass number, why not log it as part of your tally of songs from this event and consider giving at least the $10 minimum at chartathon.com.
Song Count: 209
NEXT UP! In the spirit of keeping it Canadian, yaniv297 is bringing an Canadian artist whose only ever had a single #1 Hot 100 hit, despite a very robust catalog (and yes, that #1 will be in the mix, as it’d be crazy not to).
Hello everybody!
After a long while, I’m finally Going Back to charting my favorite musician of all time. My number one. The one guy whose music I’ll take to a desert island, if I had to choose. In my opinion, the best there ever was. Neil Young.
So let me take you to a Journey Through the Past, a journey through the career of this legendary musician – with a lot of customs!
We start our story in 1970. Our Neil has done quite a lot of stuff for a young boy.
He was a member of cult band Buffalo Springfield, who had one major hit with Stephen Stills “For What it’s Worth” (the only Young song who made it to be official RB DLC). He was a part of CSNY hit album “Deja Vu“, and contributed some classics to the band like “Helpless” and the raging “Ohio” (charted by Nunchuck).
And he released two solo records – the second of which, “Everybody Knows This is Nowhere“, is an absolute classic that introduced the world to Crazy Horse – Neil’s unique, unhinged, kinda bad but totally legendary backup band. Crazy Horse are maybe best introduced through quotes:
Joni Mitchell: “They should not be elevated to concert level”.
Bob Dylan: “They got a good beat, but can’t play”.
David Crosby: “They should’ve never been allowed to be musicians at all. They should’ve been shot at birth. They can’t play. I’ve heard the bass player muff a change in a song seventeen times in a row. “Cinnamon Girl” – all those years and he still can’t play it right! I’d say to Neil, ‘What the fuck are you doing playing with those jerks?!’. He said ‘they’re soulful’. I said ‘Man, so is my dog, but I don’t give him a set of drums'”.
Nobody really understood Crazy Horse, but somehow those guys are the backing group to some of the best rock music ever made. And they’re fucking brilliant at it. Their debut record have included quite a few classics: “Cinnamon Girl” (charted by MrPrezident), “Everybody Knows This is Nowhere“, and the brilliant 10-minutes guitar jam “Down by the River” (charted by mrcoupdaet).
Which brings us to 1970:
Musically, “After the Gold Rush” is kinda all over the place. An attempt to combine the Horse with CSNY, a weird mix of solo acoustic performances, loud guitar jams, CSNY harmonies and a Don Gibson cover, it really does have a bit of everything. But man, pretty much every single song on this record is a classic. Absolute classic.
And this song certainly is. With CSNY style harmonies (that actually feature Stephen Stills himself, alongside Crazy Horse members, and future Bruce Springsteen bandmate Nils Lofrgen), this is a beautiful, touching ballad inspired by the breakup of Graham Nash and Joni Mitchell. This song was Neil’s first top 40 hit, and was covered by a long line of artists – most famously synth-pop band Saint Etienne.
Fun fact: the piano on this song is played by guitarist Nils Lofrgen. Neil liked Lofrgen a lot, but thought his guitar style was too virtuoso for the simple sound he wanted. His solution? Neil decided that Nils will join the band as a piano player, an instrument he never played. Poor Nils – who was given about a week’s notice for that – had to frantically learn and practice the piano almost 24/7 to get ready for recordings. Neil would pull similar tricks in the future – such as making slide guitar player Ben Keith play Saxophone on several of his songs.
Authored by Bansheeflyer and me. Thanks Banshee for the custom and the following writeup!
Part of Neil’s opus magnum After the Gold Rush, “Don’t Let it Bring You Down” is a bittersweet theme of not letting the bad get to you, although the song appears to come off as sarcastic as much as it is meaningful. Amusingly the track was introduced by Neil on CSN&Y‘s Four Way Street album as, “Here is a new song, it’s guaranteed to bring you right down, it’s called ‘Don’t Let It Bring You Down’. It sorta starts off real slow and then fizzles out altogether.” Neil often plays this live as an acoustic arrangement (Live at Massey Hall 1971 is an excellent example).The song has been covered many times from artists like Wolfmother, Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, Chris Cornell, The Hold Steady, Guns N’ Roses, and arguably most famously, Eurythmics’s former singer Annie Lennox.It’s composed of many complex chords and tunings (the guitar is tuned to double drop C) and, while sounding hauntingly beautiful, was a pain in the butt to chart pro keys for. Generally easy to play but being an older folk-ish song it tends to not know whether it wants to swing or not so you’ll have to pay attention to when you need to hit those notes!
Next came “Harvest“. The best selling album of 1972 in the US, it was a huge, insane hit that made Young a national superstar. Harvest was created spontaneously – Neil just happened to be in Nashville, where he met producer Elliot Mazer, who wanted to produce Neil’s next album. Neil agreed, but on one condition – that recording will start tonight.
Mazer scrambled to find Neil a band in several hours notice, and a group of Nashville session players who just happened to be available that Saturday night – got their names down in music history. “Old Man” (charted by MrPrezident) was recorded in the very same night. Neil dubbed his new band The Stray Gators.
Hardcore Neil fans tend to look down on the Harvest album. It’s the mainstream favorite, it has all the hits. It’s polished, played with slick session musicians rather than the wild Crazy Horse. But not even the biggest Neil snob can resist this beautiful title track. Quite easily the best song on the record – Neil said it’s “one of my best songs, certainly the best thing on Harvest”, this is a tender, touching, sensitive ballad, featuring some beautiful piano and slide guitar playing. It will not be difficult to play, but I swear to you – you will not find many songs as beautiful in Chart-a-thon.
Updated with permission from a custom by SpinDoctor and Sideshow.
This one surely needs no introducing, right? Neil’s only number one hit and one of his signature songs. This is an updated version of an old custom by SpinDoctor and Sideshow – it now features pitched vocals, harmonies, keys , an updated guitar chart (as the old one had harmonica played on guitar) and improvements to bass and drums. So thanks SpinDoctor!
So Neil was now a superstar, but his life was falling apart. The tour was difficult for him, his relationship deteriorated, and the grim reaper knocked on his door. Crazy Horse guitarist Danny Whitten, who became addicted to heroin, has died, which Neil felt partly responsible for. Shortly after, roadie and friend Bruce Barry also lost his life to heroin. Those events inspired the “Ditch Trilogy” – a succession of three dark, difficult, sad and amazing albums Neil released. “On the Beach” featured “Walk On“, “Revolution Blues” and a breath-taking second side, while “Tonight’s the Night” – the darkest, and in my opinion the best album Young made in his life – featured “Mellow My Mind” among many other songs I will someday chart.
Fast forward to 1975:
After the difficult ditch trilogy, the first line of the album sets the tone of Zuma: “Don’t cry no tears around me”.
The sunshine was getting back to Neil’s life, and it shows. Zuma is also the comeback album of the Horse – with a new guitarist, Frank “Poncho” Sampedro (who couldn’t really play all that great either), added to the lineup.
Zuma is mostly known for the monstrous “Cortez the Killer” (charted by MrPrezident), but “Barstool Blues” is a huge gem in there. A song Neil doesn’t even remember writing because he was too wasted, a melody completely stolen from Dylan’s “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue”, somehow it manages to be an unforgettable, and thoroughly original tune. Neil Young’s biographer had written: “If God asked for a definition of beauty, I’d play him ‘Barstool Blues‘”. Who am I to disagree?
This great tune is now available for you to rock out to, and scream along to the iconic lyrics: “Once there was a friend of mine who died a thousand deaths”. And did I mention it has two guitar solos…?
By 1978, it was clear: Neil Young does whatever the fuck he wants. He shied away from commercial success, released a bunch of weird albums, put demos out rather than actual recorded versions, quit tours in the middle because he “didn’t feel it”. Everyone around Neil learned to expect the unexpected, but then in 1978 he shocked them all again – by doing exactly what they wanted for years. 6 years on, Neil have finally delivered “Harvest 2”.
“Comes a Time” was originally an acoustic solo album, but when played to studio executives, they suggested adding a full band. To everyone’s shock, Neil – who loathed anyone interfering with his music, let alone record company executives – agreed. Maybe that was his way of repaying the studios who put up with his incredibly noncommercial behavior for years. Or maybe he just happened to be in a good mood.
Anyway, Neil went back to Nashville and hired a full ensemble – no less than 35 (!) players were hired to overdub over his acoustic demons, including a full strings section. Most of the Harvest band made a comeback. Studio executives couldn’t believe their luck – in one month, “Comes a Time” would outsell all 6 records since “Harvest”.
And musically? Well, needless to say “Comes a Time” isn’t as emotional, experimental or brilliant as his Ditch Trilogy, but it’s still an ultra-beautiful album, full with amazing melodies and gracious arrangements. To my ears, it’s better than Harvest. The title track, charted here, is quintessential Neil and has become one of his signature tunes. It also includes the ultra beautiful “Lotta Love” – which actually uses an acoustic version of Crazy Horse, doing their best impression of the Stray Gators.
Fun Fact: An hilarious lack of communication in Young’s camp led to 8 different guitarists being hired for the Nashville sessions. Neil’s solution? “well, let’s just use them all”. And indeed, no less than eight guitar players (outside of Young himself) are credited on the record – all of them playing at the same time.
Thanks HighFlyingBirds for assisting with guitar charting!
By 1978, Neil Young (33) was considered an old-timer, in fear of becoming irrelevant. Punk-rock was the new thing around, and while it sounded different, it had the same attitude rock and roll used to have, before it became commercialized arena tours and radio stations (as the Clash said, “Phony Beatlemania has bitten the dust”). While many of his fellow old-timers hated punk, Neil embraced it – he recognized their realness, and briefly, he embraced their sound. For the “Rust Never Sleeps” tour, Neil has turned on the distortion all the way up again.
“Rust Never Sleeps” was recorded live, on the road. The electric side of the record only has 4 songs – two of them are fairly mediocre by Neil’s standards – but it was one hell of a statement. One of them, “Hey Hey, My My” (charted by Nunchuck) would became a rock and roll anthem. One line – “it’s better to burn out than to fade away” – was very controversial, criticized by many included John Lennon* and ended up being quoted in Kurt Cobain’s suicide note. The other song, “Powederfinger“, remains one of Neil’s greatest works.
“Powderfinger” is the story of quick, pointless and young death. It tells the story of a young man, who attempts to protect his family from an approaching gunboat, but is shot in the head before he could fire a single shot. Nobody seems to agree what it’s about – is it set in the Civil War? is it about the mafia and organize d crime? Does it criticize gun laws and violence in the American society? Neil surely wouldn’t embrace any political/historical connection (“it shows the futility of violence. Guy’s gonna take a shot but gets shot himself. It’s just a scene, y’know?”).
Nevertheless, it’s a highly affecting, beautiful song, with a very emotional last verse. Musically, it’s pure rock and roll, with two brilliant guitar solos and the Horse at their unstable best. In 2014, Rolling Stone magazine has named it as the greatest Neil Young song of all time. It’s definitely up there.
*Not-so-fun fact: Here’s Lennon’s complete quote on that line: “I hate it. It’s better to fade away like an old solider than to burn out. I don’t appreciate the worship of dead Sid Vicious or dead James Dean or dead John Wayne. Making them heroes is garbage to me. I worship the ones who survive – Gloria Swanson, Greta Garbo. I don’t want Sean worshiping dead John Wayne or Sid Vicious. What do they teach you? Nothing. Death. Sid Vicious died for what? So that we might rock? It’s garbage. If Neil Young admires that sentiment so much, why doesn’t he do it? Because he sure as hell faded away and came back many times, like all of us. I’ll take the living and the healthy”.
Of course, this quote became very tragic. as this turned out to be Lennon’s last interview – he was murdered just three months after it.
The 80’s were very complex for Neil Young, a series of experimentation, personal troubles and musical mediocrity. But unexpectedly, in 1989 he made a huge comeback with the biggest hit of his career – “Rockin’ in the Free World” (converted from GH by TrojanNemo). “Ragged Glory” – A brilliant, hard rocking album with Crazy Horse followed, and a collaboration with Pearl Jam began – which will yield, among others, “Downtown” (Charted by MrPrezident). Neil reinvented himself as “the Godfather of Grunge” – before making yet another sharp turn, and getting back to his gentle, folky sound with “Harvest Moon“.
“Harvest Moon” have seen almost the entire original Harvest band back – plus Nils Lofrgen, this time on guitar. The title track is one of the most romantic Young has written in his career, and it’s straight up gorgeous. A tribute to his wife Peggi, it’s a simply, gentle and dreamy song that captures the essence of romance. It became a huge hit as well, and became one of Neil’s biggest hits, a staple of his career and a classic love song.
Fun Fact: this song was performed in Neil’s Unplugged set, where guitar engineer Larry Cragg have joined the band – playing a broomstick.
So that’s it! Hope you made it all the way. If you did, here’s one last thing: a suggestion for the perfect Neil Young RB setlist! In true Neil Young fashion, and like many shows over his career, it’s split in two sets: an acoustic set and an electric set. So you can pick either set, or play the whole thing in a row!
Set 1 – Acoustic:1. Comes a Time3. Harvest4. Lotta Love6. Harvest Moon7. Old ManSet 2 – Electric:9. Walk On11. Barstool Blues12. Ohio13. Revolution Blues14. Winterlong15. Downtown16. Mellow My Mind17. Powderfinger18. Cinnamon GirlEncore:SONG COUNT: 217
Well, that’s it! I hope you have enjoyed the journey. Next up is another Canadian – MrPrezident – but this time bringing you an Australian band.
That’s a lot of Neil, thanks!!
Keeping the content Canadian since 2017!
SomeOldGuys: https://db.c3universe.com/songs/all/__user/someoldguys
MrPrezident: https://db.c3universe.com/songs/all/__user/MrPrezident
Little River Band “Lady”
Regarded by some as one of the greatest soft rock songs of all time, “Lady” was the second top 10 hit from Australia’s Little River Band, following “Reminiscing”. “Lady” was part of the band’s fourth album; they released one every year from their founding in 1975 until 1979, with each one more successful than the last.
By the beginning of the 1980’s, the band was poised to become folk legends – a well rehearsed backing unit, sparkling Brian Wilson-esque harmonies, and a catalog of top 10 hits. Unfortunately, success was fleeting, and the lack of follow-up material coupled with long-brewing personality conflicts saw their legacy decline from a worldwide arena tour in 1980, to complete abandonment and breakup by 1985.
Song Count: 218
Up next, a special release by the very talented GreenPanda12.
Keeping the content Canadian since 2017!
SomeOldGuys: https://db.c3universe.com/songs/all/__user/someoldguys
MrPrezident: https://db.c3universe.com/songs/all/__user/MrPrezidentGreat song Prez! And thanks everybody – hope you enjoy your Neil Young jam sessions
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