It’s a happy, happy day for Neil Young & Crazy Horse fans.
That’s because the group has announced that “Americana”, their first album in over 15 years with the full Crazy Horse line-up – Billy Talbot, Frank “Poncho” Sampedro and Ralph Molina – has been slated for release on June 5.
Back in January, Young revealed he was working with the band on two new albums while promoting the upcoming Jonathan Demme documentary “Neil Young Journeys” at the Slamdance Film Festival.
True to its title, “Americana” will see the group interpreting several classic American folk songs including “Oh Susannah”, “She’ll Be Comin ‘Round the Mountain” and “This Land Is Your Land”.
“What ties these songs together is the fact that while they may represent an America that may no longer exist,” said the press release detailing the new album. “The emotions and scenarios behind these songs still resonate with what”s going on in the country today with equal, if not greater impact nearly 200 years later. The lyrics reflect the same concerns and are still remarkably meaningful to a society going through economic and cultural upheaval, especially during an election year. They are just as poignant and powerful today as the day they were written.”
The album was produced by Young and his frequent collaborators John Hanlon and Mark Humphreys. Humphreys also worked on Young’s 2003 concept album “Greendale”, which represented the singer-songwriter’s last partial teaming with Crazy Horse (guitarist Frank Sampedro didn’t play on the record, though he did go on the road with the group to promote the LP).
Young and the band played together for the first time since 2004 at last month’s MusicCares tribute to Paul McCartney. No concert tour has yet been announced.
You can check out the album art and full tracklisting below.
Tracklisting:
“Oh Susannah”
“Clementine”
“Tom Dooley””
Gallows Pole”
“Get A Job”
“Travel On”
“High Flyin” Bird”
“She”ll Be Comin “Round The Mountain”
“This Land Is Your Land”
“Wayfarin” Stranger”
“God Save The Queen”
Are you looking forward to the new album? Will you see the group in concert if they decide to hit the road? Sound off in the comments!