Old Man

What if you were just following your muse and you became a cultural icon?
What would you do?

Artists fight for fame and fortune, and when they get it, it fucks them up.
Or maybe it’s that today’s artists fight for fame and fortune first and
artistic expression second. So they’re sold out from the beginning. If you’ve
already tied in with major corporations how can your soul be affected by success?
You don’t HAVE a soul! Neil Young had a soul. He even sang about the
concept when he was in Buffalo Springfield.

But that band didn’t work out. So the man went solo. And nobody noticed.
I’d argue strongly that the very first Neil Young solo record is the best.
There’s really only one other candidate, "After The Gold Rush". Cognoscenti will
whisper about "Rust Never Sleeps". And "Tonight’s The Night". And maybe
even "Ragged Glory". And those records all have moments. But they’re artifacts,
they’re not transcendent, they don’t define the genre.

All these years later "The Loner" has been elevated to a recurrent.
Deservedly. Occasionally you’ll hear "I’ve Been Waiting For You", almost as magical
and more heartfelt than the follow-up album’s opener, "Cinnamon Girl". But
I’ve never heard "Emperor Of Wyoming" on the radio. And "The Last Trip To Tulsa"
has been forgotten. Maybe the twentysomethings who don’t get Neil would if
they just heard this almost nonsensical album closer. Maybe they’d understand
1969. When optimism died and pessimism set in.

But only fans seem to know the debut.

"Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere" survives because of the aforementioned
"Cinnamon Girl". And "Down By The River". And, even "Cowgirl In The Sand" is now
well-known. But the big breakthrough was "After The Gold Rush".

People just started paying attention. Having been alerted to Neil as a
result of his addition to Crosby, Stills & Nash. They’d grown accustomed to his
high-pitched nasal whine. They were ready for him. And he delivered. I’m not
going to put down "Southern Man". But I’ll tell you that "Don’t Let It Bring
Me Down" is my favorite. That guitar downbeat. God does it set a mood. And
"When You Dance I Can Really Love"… Is that rock and roll abandon or what.
And next I’ll go to "Cripple Creek Ferry" and "Till The Morning Comes". Just
trifles, but their inclusion draws you to the overall record. It wasn’t in
your face only. This was a three dimensional artist. With a sense of humor.

Music fans noticed Neil. He was part of the firmament.

And then he released "Harvest". Was it luck? Or did he know it would turn
him into a superstar. That it would break through from hard core fans to
casual fans. It all started with "Heart Of Gold".

You heard "Heart Of Gold" on the radio so much you hated it. You’re not
going to find a hard core Neil Young fan who says "Harvest" is his favorite album.
That’s the opinion of those not in the know. But all these years later, you
hear tracks from that record and they feel so right. What are we to make of
an album that wasn’t commercial that turned out to be? It was a moment in
time. When the left field was embraced. Something like "Harvest" couldn’t
dominate the chart today.

The laconical "Out On The Weekend" draws you in. With those lyrics you want
to disown, because they’re you.

See the lonely boy out on the weekend
Trying to make it pay

College is one of the loneliest experiences of one’s life. You’ve left your
cocoon behind. You’re still discovering who you are. You’ve got all new
friends, but can you truly COUNT ON THEM?

Turns out you can, but you’re not sure of that.

All you know is you’re hot for love, sex and highs. In whatever order. You
go to the bar. Take a pull from your beer as you hold up the wall. You drink
with your buddies while eyeing the woman across the room you can never get up
the nerve to talk to.

Can’t relate to joy, he tries to speak and
Can’t begin to say

Maybe the true loneliness kicks in during the latter half of your sophomore
year. When you realize this is it. This is life. It may not get better than
this. And you can’t tell your parents, because they’re paying. And nobody
else cares. Because life sucks. Everybody would rather just get fucked-up and
ignore it.

And that’s why "Out On The Weekend" struck such a chord. It was tired. Just
like we were in 1972. The sixties were over. We were no longer in it
together, we were individuals. Could we find our way?

How Neil got away with "A Man Needs A Maid" at the height of feminism I’ll
never know. There wasn’t a shred of backlash.

"Alabama" has a tiredness lacking in "Southern Man", but it seems a sequel.
And we always respect the original more.

"Needle And The Damage Done" is almost too heavy.

"Are You Ready For The Country" is the "Cripple Creek Ferry" and "Till The
Morning Comes" of "Harvest". A trifle. But longer than the snippet length of
the preceding two.

"Words" works. The same way the opener, the aforementioned "Out On The
Weekend", does. That exasperation, that represented our state of mind.

But all these years later the reason you can’t dismiss "Harvest" is that song
right in the middle, "Old Man".

It seemed poignant then. A conversation between us and our elders.

But, suddenly, WE’RE the elders.

"When I’m Sixty-Four" is a joke. Everybody keeps concentrating on that as
evidence of our aging. Hearing "Old Man" creeps us out more. Because it’s
life. OUR life.

Old man look at my life
I’m a lot like you were

You’ve got to understand. We’d just lived through the generation gap. The
generations couldn’t have been more different. To have a cultural icon say we
were similar was heretical. And you could not ignore the lyric, the music
wasn’t loud enough. You caught every word. And debated. Was it true?

Old man look at my life
Twenty four and there’s so much more
Live alone in a paradise
That makes me think of two

Can it be a paradise if you’re there alone?

Why don’t we ask those old buddies of ours. You know, the ones who lost
their loves and couldn’t handle being alone and ended their lives. They couldn’t
see going on.

We were bred for achievement. Women didn’t get married, for fear of fucking
up their careers. What if it was all bullshit. And life never changed.

Now we know life never changes. Our kids get married young. Women want to
take time off to have babies.

Still, what is shocking is the age of the protagonist. Twenty four sounds
like a baby. Shocking as it seems, you were once twenty four, and you thought
it was OLD! You were sophisticated, you knew EVERYTHING! Only as you got
older did you realize you didn’t know shit.

"Old Man" is laden with reflection and truth. Aphorisms like "Give me things
that won’t get lost". But what eats us alive is that one couplet:

Old man take a look at my life I’m a lot like you
I need someone to love me the whole day through

It’s sung not with resignation, but a low key ELATION! Like the singer has
finally discovered his goal, and is on a mission to find companionship and love.

All these years later, Neil Young seems to have found this.

As for us, I’m not so sure. So, every time we hear this song, we’re reminded
of who we were and must take stock of who we now are. Did we follow the path
delineated by our parents or forge our own. Did we waste decades pursuing
worthless goals. Is this really all there is, you live, love and die?

Great music sounds good. This is the defining criterion. "Old Man" scores
on this basis. But it’s the way the words are sung, world-weary, with recent
discovery providing enlightenment, that infects us. You see we’re looking for
truth.

You don’t find truth in entertainment today. It’s a commodity. Made to be
consumed and discarded. It’s not made to stick with you, it’s fodder for
corporations to sell their wares. Truth sells purely on its merits. To think that
you’d have to sell a record solely on the music, not the image, not the
marketing campaign, that’s too scary. But that’s the way it used to be.

Neil Young still plays by these rules. "Harvest" was made when Neil was at
the peak of his powers. It was so good that despite it being inherently left
field, it was mainstream.

Disillusioned with its success, Neil went on a tour where he played almost
only new music. And put out a live album of these raucous rock tunes as his
follow-up to "Harvest". We love this. That he could reject success, get close
to the flame and steer away. But, in the process "Harvest" itself has become
tarnished. By its success.

If "Harvest" had not broken through, it would eclipse all the alt.country
icons. It would be the lost album that everybody talked about. The Gram Parsons
and Son Volt of its day. But, neither of those acts, as good as they were,
were as good as Neil Young. And the public recognized this. And turned him
into a star.

We don’t need a thirty fifth anniversary celebration. "Harvest" needs no new
accolades. But, go back and play it. Although not Neil’s best work, it was
great. Its mix of disillusionment and optimism was emblematic of our
generation.

By: bob | 2005/10/26 | The Music | Trackback | Comments [RSS 2.0]

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John Boylan

Comment by John Boylan | 2005/10/26 at 18:50:30

Hey Bob,

A couple of addenda from a guy who was there:

Much of "Harvest" was recorded in Nashville at Quadraphonic Studios
which was built into an old house just south of Music Row. I was present
at both the "Heart Of Gold" and "Old Man" sessions which took place
in January or February of 1971, during a record snowstorm. Neil and his band
were in town to record and to appear on the Johnny Cash TV show.
Also in town and appearing on the show that week were James Taylor,
Linda Ronstadt (the reason I was there – I was in her band at the time),
Tony Joe White, and the Dillards.

We all stayed at the Ramada Inn on James Robertson Parkway opposite
the state capitol and next to the infamous Pit Grill. The Cash show
was headquartered there as well, so everyone hung out together,
swapping songs and helping each other musically. Neil asked Linda and
James to come to the studio and sing some backup, so we all piled
into some taxis and went to Quad.

Both of those songs were recorded with no overdubs.
The band was set up in various rooms of the old house for isolation: Kenny Buttrey on
drums, Tim Drummond on bass, Jack Nitzsche on various keyboards,
Ben Keith on steel guitar. Linda and James were in the living room. Neil
sang and played acoustic guitar at the same time. I was in the control room
with producer Elliot Mazer and engineer Gene Eichelberger.

Both of the songs were finished with very few takes. As the sound
filled the room, I wished everybody could hear music like this at the
level of fidelity that I heard it – before it was mixed down and
mastered to vinyl. There is no comparison. By the way, here’s an
exclusive tidbit for you: there is one uncredited performance on "Old
Man" that nobody knows about: James Taylor played a six-string banjo,
tuned like a guitar. I think he just found it in the studio and
decided to try it. Everyone liked it, so it stayed. You can hear it
easily if you listen.

The most vivid memory I have of the session was hearing James and
Linda’s harmonies on "Heart Of Gold." As the last notes of that
chorus came through the speakers, I remember thinking that despite
the fact that she wasn’t singing lead, Linda’s voice was instantly
recognizable. She had such a distinctive timbre that you could pick
her out immediately. I think I knew right then that she would be one
of the iconic singers of her time.

After the session, we looked out the front door of the studio and saw
that we were completely snowed in. Some of the people stayed at Quad
that night. Not me. Determined to show everyone that a guy from
Buffalo wasn’t afraid of any weather at all, I walked back through
the snow to the Ramada, a decision I regretted within two blocks of
the studio. And I remember that in the morning, fueled by the
excitement of the moment and an after-breakfast doobie, we all took
our room service trays, climbed the hill to the capitol building, and
sledded down using the trays as miniature toboggans.

A day or so later, the Cash taping was done. James had to get back to
LA and the hotel van was tied up, so I drove him to the airport in a
rental car. As I was leaving the airport, a rep from the Cash show
asked me if I would give Conway Twitty and his manager a lift back to
the Ramada. All the way back to town, Conway and his manager,
thinking I was a chauffeur, talked freely about how "the Cash show is
goin’ down the tubes ’cause they got away from country artists and
started havin’ them rock ‘n roll people." Conway told his manager:
"Johnny’s come back to his senses, and that’s why I’m here."

Cheers,
JB

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Peter Asher

Comment by Peter Asher | 2005/10/28 at 13:02:28

Dear John,

Very interesting _ I love the Twitty story.

I have been trying to reconcile the "Heart of Gold" and "Old Man" story with
my own recollections. I am quite sure you are right – but what puzzles me is
that I was certainly at the Cash show when James, Linda and Neil were on it
but I equally certainly was NOT at those recording sessions. I remember James
coming back with a tape and proudly pointing out his banjo part – but for some
reason I thought he had just been at Neil’s ranch up North. If the session
was really right around the TV show I wonder why I would not have gone. Oh
well, the answer is somewhere in the mists of time.

Do you remember James and Linda going up together to work at Neil’s at some
point? Maybe it was a separate occasion. Elliot was there but I was not.

Bob, just copying you for your curiosity – I do not mean to bore you
with two old men reminiscing!

I always enjoy reading your stuff so much. Thanks.

Peter Asher

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Elliott Mazer

Comment by Elliott Mazer | 2005/10/28 at 13:04:55

Hey Bob, A couple of addenda from a guy who was there: (I was there, I produced the record and here are some changes, Elliot Mazer)

Much of "Harvest" was recorded in Nashville at Quadraphonic Studios

(Quadrafonic Sound Studios)

which was built into an old house just south of Music Row.

(More like West of Music Row)

I was present at both the "Heart Of Gold" and "Old Man" sessions which took place in January or February of 1971, during a record snowstorm. Neil (only-no band) and his band were in town to record

(Neil was not in town to record, Elliot Roberts introduced Neil to me and Neil asked about our band Area Code 615)

and to appear on the Johnny Cash TV show. Also in town and appearing on the show that week were James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, Tony Joe White, and the Dillards… Both of those songs were recorded with no overdubs. The band was set up in various rooms of the old house for isolation: Kenny Buttrey on drums, Tim Drummond on bass, Jack Nitzsche on various keyboards,

(Jack was not there James McMahon played piano on Old Man. Teddy Irwin played second acoustic guitar on Heart Of Gold)

Ben Keith on steel guitar. Linda and James were in the (control) room. Neil sang and played acoustic guitar at the same time. I was in the control room with producer Elliot Mazer and engineer Gene Eichelberger

(Gene was the engineer at our studio but he was not there for the Harvest sessions.)

Both of the songs were finished with very few takes. As the sound filled the room, I wished everybody could hear music like this at the level of fidelity that I heard it – before it was mixed down and mastered to vinyl. There is no comparison.

(John should hear the DVD-A version of Harvest that we did a few years ago)

By the way, here’s an exclusive tidbit for you: there is one uncredited performance on "Old Man" that nobody knows about: James Taylor played a six-string banjo, tuned like a guitar. I think he just found it in the studio and decided to try it.

(That was Neil’s 6 String Banjo and Neil gave it to him to play) Everyone liked it, so it stayed. You can hear it easily if you listen…

After the session, we looked out the front door of the studio and saw that we were completely snowed in. Some of the people stayed at Quad that night. (we worked on songs until 6am) Not me. Determined to show everyone that a guy from Buffalo wasn’t afraid of any weather at all, I walked back through the snow to the Ramada, a decision I regretted within two blocks of the studio. And I remember that in the morning, fueled by the excitement of the moment and an after-breakfast doobie, we all took our room service trays, climbed the hill to the capitol building, and sledded down using the trays as miniature toboggans.

(Ben Keith walked out of the studio at dawn with Neil and me and realized it had snowed. His TR3 did not have working windscreen wipers. No problem, Ben drove home backwards looking out the window.)

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John Boylan

Comment by John Boylan | 2005/10/26 at 18:50:30

Hey Bob,

A couple of addenda from a guy who was there:

Much of "Harvest" was recorded in Nashville at Quadraphonic Studios
which was built into an old house just south of Music Row. I was present
at both the "Heart Of Gold" and "Old Man" sessions which took place
in January or February of 1971, during a record snowstorm. Neil and his band
were in town to record and to appear on the Johnny Cash TV show.
Also in town and appearing on the show that week were James Taylor,
Linda Ronstadt (the reason I was there – I was in her band at the time),
Tony Joe White, and the Dillards.

We all stayed at the Ramada Inn on James Robertson Parkway opposite
the state capitol and next to the infamous Pit Grill. The Cash show
was headquartered there as well, so everyone hung out together,
swapping songs and helping each other musically. Neil asked Linda and
James to come to the studio and sing some backup, so we all piled
into some taxis and went to Quad.

Both of those songs were recorded with no overdubs.
The band was set up in various rooms of the old house for isolation: Kenny Buttrey on
drums, Tim Drummond on bass, Jack Nitzsche on various keyboards,
Ben Keith on steel guitar. Linda and James were in the living room. Neil
sang and played acoustic guitar at the same time. I was in the control room
with producer Elliot Mazer and engineer Gene Eichelberger.

Both of the songs were finished with very few takes. As the sound
filled the room, I wished everybody could hear music like this at the
level of fidelity that I heard it – before it was mixed down and
mastered to vinyl. There is no comparison. By the way, here’s an
exclusive tidbit for you: there is one uncredited performance on "Old
Man" that nobody knows about: James Taylor played a six-string banjo,
tuned like a guitar. I think he just found it in the studio and
decided to try it. Everyone liked it, so it stayed. You can hear it
easily if you listen.

The most vivid memory I have of the session was hearing James and
Linda’s harmonies on "Heart Of Gold." As the last notes of that
chorus came through the speakers, I remember thinking that despite
the fact that she wasn’t singing lead, Linda’s voice was instantly
recognizable. She had such a distinctive timbre that you could pick
her out immediately. I think I knew right then that she would be one
of the iconic singers of her time.

After the session, we looked out the front door of the studio and saw
that we were completely snowed in. Some of the people stayed at Quad
that night. Not me. Determined to show everyone that a guy from
Buffalo wasn’t afraid of any weather at all, I walked back through
the snow to the Ramada, a decision I regretted within two blocks of
the studio. And I remember that in the morning, fueled by the
excitement of the moment and an after-breakfast doobie, we all took
our room service trays, climbed the hill to the capitol building, and
sledded down using the trays as miniature toboggans.

A day or so later, the Cash taping was done. James had to get back to
LA and the hotel van was tied up, so I drove him to the airport in a
rental car. As I was leaving the airport, a rep from the Cash show
asked me if I would give Conway Twitty and his manager a lift back to
the Ramada. All the way back to town, Conway and his manager,
thinking I was a chauffeur, talked freely about how "the Cash show is
goin’ down the tubes ’cause they got away from country artists and
started havin’ them rock ‘n roll people." Conway told his manager:
"Johnny’s come back to his senses, and that’s why I’m here."

Cheers,
JB

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Peter Asher

Comment by Peter Asher | 2005/10/28 at 13:02:28

Dear John,

Very interesting _ I love the Twitty story.

I have been trying to reconcile the "Heart of Gold" and "Old Man" story with
my own recollections. I am quite sure you are right – but what puzzles me is
that I was certainly at the Cash show when James, Linda and Neil were on it
but I equally certainly was NOT at those recording sessions. I remember James
coming back with a tape and proudly pointing out his banjo part – but for some
reason I thought he had just been at Neil’s ranch up North. If the session
was really right around the TV show I wonder why I would not have gone. Oh
well, the answer is somewhere in the mists of time.

Do you remember James and Linda going up together to work at Neil’s at some
point? Maybe it was a separate occasion. Elliot was there but I was not.

Bob, just copying you for your curiosity – I do not mean to bore you
with two old men reminiscing!

I always enjoy reading your stuff so much. Thanks.

Peter Asher

", $comment->comment_content) || ereg("", $comment->comment_content)) { ?>

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Elliott Mazer

Comment by Elliott Mazer | 2005/10/28 at 13:04:55

Hey Bob, A couple of addenda from a guy who was there: (I was there, I produced the record and here are some changes, Elliot Mazer)

Much of "Harvest" was recorded in Nashville at Quadraphonic Studios

(Quadrafonic Sound Studios)

which was built into an old house just south of Music Row.

(More like West of Music Row)

I was present at both the "Heart Of Gold" and "Old Man" sessions which took place in January or February of 1971, during a record snowstorm. Neil (only-no band) and his band were in town to record

(Neil was not in town to record, Elliot Roberts introduced Neil to me and Neil asked about our band Area Code 615)

and to appear on the Johnny Cash TV show. Also in town and appearing on the show that week were James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, Tony Joe White, and the Dillards… Both of those songs were recorded with no overdubs. The band was set up in various rooms of the old house for isolation: Kenny Buttrey on drums, Tim Drummond on bass, Jack Nitzsche on various keyboards,

(Jack was not there James McMahon played piano on Old Man. Teddy Irwin played second acoustic guitar on Heart Of Gold)

Ben Keith on steel guitar. Linda and James were in the (control) room. Neil sang and played acoustic guitar at the same time. I was in the control room with producer Elliot Mazer and engineer Gene Eichelberger

(Gene was the engineer at our studio but he was not there for the Harvest sessions.)

Both of the songs were finished with very few takes. As the sound filled the room, I wished everybody could hear music like this at the level of fidelity that I heard it – before it was mixed down and mastered to vinyl. There is no comparison.

(John should hear the DVD-A version of Harvest that we did a few years ago)

By the way, here’s an exclusive tidbit for you: there is one uncredited performance on "Old Man" that nobody knows about: James Taylor played a six-string banjo, tuned like a guitar. I think he just found it in the studio and decided to try it.

(That was Neil’s 6 String Banjo and Neil gave it to him to play) Everyone liked it, so it stayed. You can hear it easily if you listen…

After the session, we looked out the front door of the studio and saw that we were completely snowed in. Some of the people stayed at Quad that night. (we worked on songs until 6am) Not me. Determined to show everyone that a guy from Buffalo wasn’t afraid of any weather at all, I walked back through the snow to the Ramada, a decision I regretted within two blocks of the studio. And I remember that in the morning, fueled by the excitement of the moment and an after-breakfast doobie, we all took our room service trays, climbed the hill to the capitol building, and sledded down using the trays as miniature toboggans.

(Ben Keith walked out of the studio at dawn with Neil and me and realized it had snowed. His TR3 did not have working windscreen wipers. No problem, Ben drove home backwards looking out the window.)

Old Man

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