The Times (2020)

The world came to a standstill in March 2020. For a relentless touring musician like Neil Young, it’s quite a dilemma. He took it very seriously, decamping with Daryl to Telluride, Colorado, where he worked on the Archives, and occasionally filmed some half hour performances in the yard dubbed Fireside Sessions. Amongst chickens, dogs, horses…and a llama named Laz, these rustic performances culminated in the selectively political “Porch Episode,” which is the source of this EP, The Times. All of the songs in this set are political in some way, except for the sweet “Little Wing.” A few of these songs, like opener “Alabama,” are rarely heard on acoustic (Sugar Mountain says it was only played on acoustic 4 times before). Or for “Campaigner,” it’s only been played 24 times total. One of my favorite songs, “Southern Man” only has a few published live renditions and it’s a different experience to hear it acoustic.

“The Times They Are A-changin” is a a little on nose, but it’s always nice to hear Neil do a cover. He follows that with “Looking for a Leader 2020,” an update of the Living with War anti-Bush anthem. This time it’s Trump that Neil criticizes while holding the candle for Obama (in the original, Obama was just a oblique possibility). New lyrics reference “his big new fence” and Black Lives Matter. It’s a pretty successful update, especially when he delves into corruption and the importance of elections and voting.

While the performances are not recorded with traditional equipment (just an iPad), there’s a warmth and intimacy to The Times more akin to the Official Bootleg series of releases. I think that’s nice, especially for a release during a time in which everyone was at home and trying to appreciate a forced break from the rat race. Everyone reacted differently to quarantine. As a homebody, I had no problem with adapting to the temporary isolation. I feel like it brought priorities into focus and highlighted what’s important. The Times is a short soundtrack to that feeling of solidarity in the face of uncertain events. More than the politics, this collection is about humanity and how we need to support each other.

As for the prior Fireside Sessions…the basic process was Daryl filming Neil on an iPad. My understanding is that they would just leave the iPad for NYA to pick up an upload. It’s very low rent, but as intimate as it gets. They give you the sense of what’s it’s like to sit around the fire with a musicians who has hundreds of songs at his disposal. We are introduced to his makeshift harmonica stand made out of fireplace tools and horseshoes. Nothing is mic’d, just raw voice, guitar, harmonica, and piano. Neil takes a few seconds once in awhile to give a short “spontaneous observation” (I assume this was suggested to him in a letter or comment at some point), which are slightly like what happens when you turn a camera on your grandpa and he wishes everyone “out there” well.

I appreciate how he takes this opportunity to experiment with his songs. The hushed, bluesy rendition of “Vampire Blues” is a side of this song you don’t get from On the Beach, for instance. An acoustic “Words” is a treat in the second session. A piano version of “Throw Your Hatred Down” while a dog naps in the foreground is just adorable. The first ever live performance of “Through My Sails” from Zuma (“I can never get it right. Seems like a simple little song…”). Neil singing “Homegrown” to the chickens is one of those things you’ve never expected to see but feels just right (“Thank you” is the icing). The chickens quiet down for “Harvest,” which…I don’t know, really makes me think they were liking the show. As he took to doing during the “Polar Vortex” shows, he frequently thanks his “sponsor”: water, complete with fake commercials interspersed throughout by Daryl. All in all, these are fun Neil takes on the “at home” performance phenomenon that cropped up during quarantine.

Despite releasing two studio albums with Crazy Horse since these 2020 sessions, they are the last live performances Neil has had. Here in 2023, he seems to be less concerned with Covid, and laser focused on making future tours as green as possible. It’s still unknown if there will ever be another live performance at this time. One can hope. I’d like to see him one more time.

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