Neil Young has been making music since the late ‘60s, and, as one of the most prolific songwriters of his, or any, generation, there were bound to be songs, even popular ones, that fell by the wayside. You can’t do eight-hour shows all the time… unless you are Bruce Springsteen. Young is currently on tour, and in the process, he has trotted out a couple songs that haven’t been heard live in a little while. That is to say, they haven’t been played live in more than 40 years.
Last week in Eugene, Oregon, Young played the song “Vampire Blues” for the first time since 1974. It’s an anti-oil industry song, so it’s kind of surprising that the ever-political Young has kept it on the shelves for so long. On a Wednesday night show in Los Angeles, he played “Vampire Blues” again, so it would appear that he’s a bit angry about oil right now, but he also played “L.A.” for the first time since 1973.
Why Young decided to bring these two songs back into the rotation may not be entirely clear, but considering the fact that the bulk of the audience had likely never heard these songs live, it’s pretty cool to see it happen. Young also launched a new website to provide information on environmental, sustainable farming, and social justice organizations, because he remains, forever, Neil Young.
(Via Stereogum)
