Fu##in' Up (2024)
ragged redux
I love Ragged Glory. On any given day, I’d call it my favorite Neil Young & Crazy Horse album. Whether or not that’s nostalgia from it being the first Neil album to be released after I got into him, who can say? After going through his entire discography, it was one of the albums that fired my enthusiasm the most. Only Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, Massey Hall, and On The Beach approached that level of fervor for me. So I was very jealous to read last year that Neil and the new Horse (Micah Nelson in combination with Nils Lofgren joining Billy Talbot and Ralph Molina) played the entirety* of Ragged Glory at a surprise birthday party** in a small Toronto club. What! Neil, what!
Playing the entirety of an album is new but not unprecedented for Neil. After his solo Coastal tour in 2023, he played back to back nights at the Roxy’s 50th anniversary. The setlist for those shows were also full albums (Tonight’s the Night and Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere), but that was to celebrate the fact that the Roxy was where Tonight’s the Night debuted originally. Neil and the Horse had also played the majority of Broken Arrow at Old Princeton Landing once or twice in 1996. And, of course, Greendale was presented as a full piece during that tour. Those last instances were all debuts of new material, not old favorites. Full album performances of older albums are something of a “reunion” event with bands these days, and Neil has never been one to follow trends. Seemed like they really enjoyed it, though. Fu##in’ Up is the document of that Toronto show and Neil has been singing the praises of the show ever since it happened. I’m really glad to hear what he was so excited about.
As with Before and After, the songs are presented without much of any break between them, so the album is unrelenting. This show was one of the first times Neil had played after having some laser surgery on his hand, and he talked a bit about how much freer he felt playing guitar. Old Black is wild here! It’s one of the things I notice first. Ragged Glory is a tight album, all things considered. His guitar on that original album soars and locks in the pocket really well. By contrast, Fu##in’ Up is more like the garage band flip side, perhaps reflecting what some of the unselected takes for Ragged Glory may have sounded like.
Like they did at the Roxy shows, this is actually a five piece. Since Frank “Poncho” Sampedro retired after the Alchemy tour, the second guitarist for Crazy Horse has been Nils Lofgren. However, when the Roxy shows were scheduled, Nils was supposed to be on tour with Bruce Springsteen. Bruce had to postpone some dates when he came down with COVID, so Nils was able to join the Roxy show. However, by that time, Neil had already drafted Micah Nelson*** aka Particle Kid aka Willie Nelson’s son to play second guitar. Micah had been playing with Neil as part of the Promise of the Real era, although he was a bit buried under all the noise of that big band. In Crazy Horse, he is taking a much bigger role.
This same five piece arrangement applied to the Toronto show, with Nils and Micah trading off guitar and piano throughout. Of course, Ragged Glory has no piano on it, so that’s one sonically different aspect to these songs…I wonder if that’s really why the songs have all been retitled? Oh yeah, all the songs (except “Farmer John”) have new titles based on lyrics in the songs. They also have numbers before the songs that don’t match the track order. Neil has not been forthcoming on any of these choices. The stream of consciousness, but very heartfelt, note that accompanies the album does not elucidate. I’m going to refer to the original song titles so as not to be too confusing.
I am so happy to have this to share. It is my life. Not perfect. Not always kind. Flat. Mistakes…but deep deep love. (Neil Young, Fu##in’ Up liner notes)
“Country Home” is practically a Neil Young and Crazy Horse anthem and this new rendition of it shows that the Horse was shaking off a little dust (rust?). It takes them a couple minutes to settle into the groove and Neil throws off a few lines without actually singing them. The Ragged Glory version is like a huge exhale to me and this is not quite as smooth of a breath. Likewise with the very rough and rowdy “White Line” version here. Like “Country Home,” this song is a gorgeous, easy feeling type of song in it’s original incarnation. Here it’s tough, a real roller. I daresay the energy of the youngest, newest member is pushing Neil a fair amount. Listen to the positively punk attitude of this “Fuckin’ Up” for proof. As always, Billy’s hypnotizing bass line anchors the song, but Micah’s rhythm guitar is giving it the razor sharp edge that makes this song so memorable. Looking at the credits, apparently Nils is playing another guitar on this one, too. No wonder it feels so big.
One of my favorite and most underrated songs, “Over and Over,” is a joy to hear in this new rendition. You can even hear the joy in the playing (NYA members can check out video of this song for proof). Sure the chorus doesn’t sing quite as much and Neil’s solos are squelchier than the sublime original, but it’s hard to argue with the passion heard here. When Nils’ piano kicks in during one of the solos, it reminds me of some of that old Stray Gators-era jangly accompaniment that we haven’t heard for a long time. I wish the piano was a little higher in the mix, to be honest. That would give this album an even more unique place. “Love to Burn” has always been one of the best guitar workouts on Ragged Glory, and Neil takes the opportunity to get really bluesy here. It’s one of the more intricate songs on the album, and lets Micah play off a lot with Neil, showing his considerable chops and sheer chemistry Neil. Neil has always fed off that second guitar chemistry. Micah shows himself to be a bit more akin to Danny Whitten than Poncho.
Micah and Nils trade places for the next two, as “Farmer John” takes us into the second half the album. I’ve never been a big fan of “Farmer John” but the band clearly loves playing this cover. The piano adds a lot again, and Neil’s solos are suitably down and dirty, but there’s just not a lot to the song after the first minute. There’s also something very David Byrne about Neil’s vocals on this performance, almost like he’s putting on a voice for it. By contrast, “Mansion on the Hill” is a cool take, with prominent piano from Micah right from the start and a fun solo piano intro. Then he keeps right on the riff throughout with twinkling flourishes. What a fun update to this catchy tune.
“Days That Used To Be” has Nils back on the piano, and Neil adds in harmonica. The harmonica works to tie this song even further back to the “old folky days” that Neil is referencing here. That said, I wish the band was more understated on this one, as it feels too much. This song should have some elegance to it instead of the bar band roller it is here. Fu##in’ Up comes to a close with an epic 15 minute “Love and Only Love,” one of the songs from Ragged Glory that has been a touring favorite. I think it’s because Neil likes the simple message, and the chance to stretch out. He certainly goes places on this performance. The lightning rod sounds he wrenches out of Old Black in the first solo are classic Weld style and he just keeps ramping it up from there. That laser surgery has sure freed his fingers up, and he’s lost none of his mastery of the sonic qualities of his setup. He knows his guitar and amp setup (custom red footboard to the Whizzer controlling his old Fender Tweed amp) so well that he can still get the most delicately crafted feedback and distortion from it. It’s great to hear he is still fascinated by this sound. To be honest, this is one of the best versions of “Love and Only Love” I’ve heard. The band rides the groove while Neil goes on a journey that is bluesy, funky, and metal all at the same time.
All in all, Fu##in’ Up is a worthy variant of Ragged Glory. I’m happy to hear the Horse in this new configuration and the energy that a younger member is providing to these venerated rockers. It’s notable when the last and longest song is the best performance of the recording. They may have a little dust on their bones, but the act of playing, the chemistry they’ve built for 50+ years, it all comes roaring back. And they don’t stop…
As I’m typing this, Neil and the Horse have embarked on their Love Earth tour of the US and Canada. Here’s a YouTube playlist of pretty much the entire first night in San Diego. I have to say…they sound pretty damn good in this environment. Starting your new tour out with “Cortez the Killer” is a bold move, especially with that seven minute intro and the “new” verses inserted at the end. And listen how hard they go at the end on “Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)!” I’ll be pretty pleased if this is close to the energy they have when I see them in about a month. Long live the Horse!
*”Mother Earth (Natural Anthem)” was omitted, which is fine, because it wasn’t actually recorded at the same time as the rest of Ragged Glory originally.
**The birthday party was for Canada Goose CEO Dani Reiss, which is certainly a choice for Neil Young, but hey, if I had the money, I’d try to get Neil to play a private party for me, too.
***A note about Micah Nelson. I’m seeing a lot of Rustie chatter online about how “it’s not Crazy Horse without Poncho” and frankly, fuck that. Poncho wasn’t even in the original Crazy Horse when that Horse sound was first created for Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere. He’s not on any of the Ditch trilogy albums that Rusties mythologize. And most importantly, he retired! It was his choice to get off the saddle. I get that Poncho is a fan favorite member, but if you listen to Fu##in’ Up and honestly say Micah Nelson is ruining the legacy of the Horse at the same time complaining about the slower tempos or Neil’s aged voice, then you are the worst kind of gatekeeping fan.