For Neil Young’s upcoming album, Storytone, there will be two versions of the ten-song set: the two album deluxe package will include one album in which Young performs the songs himself, and another in which he is accompanied by an orchestra.
The orchestral version was cut live with no overdubs. Young sang in the same room as the musicians. The album will be released on November 4, 2014.
“It’s the most different thing that I’ve ever attempted,” Young told Rolling Stone.
Back in early September I reported that the album would be called Storytone.
According to a Warner Bros. press release: Standout tracks from the album include the bittersweet album opener “Plastic Flowers,” the bluesy swing of “I Want To Drive My Car,” the aching “Tumbleweed,” or the heartfelt “When I Watch You Sleeping.” Each song evokes an entirely different feel within the context of its presentation.
More from the Rolling Stone story:
The orchestral Storytone is the first Young album where he plays no guitar or piano – he let other musicians take on instrumental duties so he could focus on his vocals. Two music-industry vets, Michael Bearden and Chris Walden, conducted, arranged and co-produced the album. He took himself out of his comfort zone,” says Bearden, who worked with Michael Jackson and is currently Lady Gaga’s musical director. Young gave the arrangers considerable freedom: “He basically told us to do what we felt,” says Bearden. Young had originally planned to take the concept even further, recording the orchestral versions with a single microphone, but he relented on that point.
More from the press release: All of the Storytone music was produced by The Volume Dealers (Neil Young and Niko Bolas), recorded and mixed by Al Schmitt with additional co-production, arrangements, orchestration, and conducted by Michael Bearden and Chris Walden.
The songs:
1. Plastic Flowers
2. Who’s Gonna Stand Up?
3. I Want To Drive My Car
4. Glimmer
5. Say Hello To Chicago
6. Tumbleweed
7. Like You Used To Do
8. I’m Glad I Found You
9. When I Watch You Sleeping
10. All Those Dreams
Three versions of “Who’s Gonna Stand UP?”
Orchestral:
Acoustic:
Live with Crazy Horse:
—
[I just published my rock ‘n’ roll novel, True Love Scars.” Rolling Stone has a great review of my book in a recent issue. Read it here. There’s info about True Love Scars here.]
— A Days Of The Crazy-Wild blog post —