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Year of the Horse - The Album

Jump down to...
--> A Review by GRUMPY FROM THE HIPPIE HYPERSPACE
--> Serge MoMo Gironnay's Review
Also see...
--> Lost Dog's anticipatory story
--> The I Magazine review - they love it!
--> Pathfinder review - 4 (out of 5)
--> Jam review - 4 (out of 5)
--> Wall of Sound review - 81 (out of 100)
--> Q review - 3 (out of 5)
--> AllSTAR review - 6 (out of 10)
--> Addicted To Noise review - "Pretty Good"
--> NME review - 2 (out of 5)
--> Johnny One-Song -- a review in the Boston Phoenix
--> Trollmann og bråkebøtte -- a Norwegian review
--> DOBBELT HYLDEST TIL ET ROCKBANDA -- a Danish review
--> MSN Music Central rating (vote) - currently 4 1/2 (out of 5)
--> A lousy review by Tom Perlich

(Other reviews to be added...)


Year of the Horse, Exclusive First Review

by GRUMPY FROM THE HIPPIE HYPERSPACE

I've just received a promotional copy of YOTH double CD. I've just finished listening to it.... GREAT!

The track list is the one we all knew (no Change Your Mind and no substitute for it). And I can tell to you and all the Neilheads in the world that it is PURE NEIL & THE HORSE AT THEIR BEST.

It lasts 85 minutes (as a double LP) and has wonderful, never heard before (outside the concert hall), live versions of Danger Bird (13 minutes -- AWESOME!), Mr. Soul (acoustic -- but with The Horse), Human Highway (acoustic with The Horse -- much better than the one on the Comes A Time album), Pocahontas (Electric!! Same mood as Country Home) and others.

Here for you are my brief notes.

CD 1
Neil introduces the album by saying:
"They all sound the same. It's all one song."

  1. When You Dance I Can Really Love
    Slower but more powerful & stoney than on Live Rust. Great solo at the end.

  2. Barstool Blues
    In a different key (lower) than on Zuma. At the end Neil's solo wanders around on the same chord as on the album version of Loose Change.

  3. When Your Lonely Heart Breaks
    Hypnotic, nude rendition of the melody that once was only on the Life LP. Poncho on synth and a great "Ennio Morricone style" melody in the guitar solo.

  4. Mr. Soul
    Same mood as on the Unplugged album (with that bluesy harmonica), but with Pancho on acoustic guitar and Billy & Ralph on rhythm section. GREAT!!

  5. Big Time
    Very similar to the Broken Arrow version. Anyway, the more I listen to it, the more I believe it's a marvellous song....

  6. Pocahontas
    Electric version with a Country Home mood. I still prefer the acoustic rendition on RNS, but the song is one of my favourites.

  7. Human Highway
    In my opinion one of the highlights of YOTH. Great acoustic, slower, dramatic & emotional version. Much better than the country & western flavour it had on CAT. Wonderful heavenly harmony vocals provided by The Horse.
CD 2
  1. Slip Away
    11 minutes of pure heaven.... The song that probably could replace Cortez in the all-time-favourites of the fans. Neil is wandering around with passion, heart & soul & everything else. Very slow, with some explosions inside. It has a very ethereal melody and a very roughy sound, but seems like the quiet before the deluge.

  2. Scattered
    Very much slower than on BA, I prefer this version. Seems like the song is going to break at every step of the way but it leads you to....

  3. Danger Bird
    Emerges from the feedback and goes on through more than 13 minutes. MASTERPIECE! This song really can carry everyone to the stratosphere....

  4. Prisoners of Rock'n'Roll
    It rocks. And more, and more, and more. Neil's Old Black seems like it's howlin' like a hyena in the end. (In the final coda, Neil plays a melody that sounds like With a little help from my friends). I felt the earth move under my feet....

  5. Sedan delivery
    Neil introduces this by saying:
    "Smell the horse on this one."
    And you certainly will!! The best version ever heard of this song. This rendition put to shame every punk-rocker in the world. More than 7 minutes of speedmetalbarnrock.
That's all folks...

MR. GRUMPY


YOTH...It's all one song

by Serge MoMo Gironnay

Just got YOTH, just listened to it once, but it's all one song ....

When You Dance -- Let's go to Neil's galaxy. It's just like a takeoff, like a mountain that's growing, a river that rolls, let me come over I know you know."

Barstool Blues -- The drums are clicking, the horse is still galloping, the solo is pouring in all Malibu's bars, Ralph is the barman, "let me see your face again before I have to go."

When Your Lonely Heart Breaks -- The bass is playing memories, "what's your problem she's gone." Cleo, a comet is born with the first notes of the guitar, but with the final notes she's gone away.

Mister Soul -- The comet is coming again but I can't see where she goes. "Is it strange I should change? I don't know, why don't you ask her?"

Big Time -- The galaxy is all over you, each note is a comet, and The Horse is galloping. "Talk about eternity..." Yes for sure the Milky Way is not so far....

...And the comet met Pocahontas, Marlon Brando, and they talked of the Astrodome and the first teepee...

Human Highways -- The comet is coming down, she is settling down on your shoulder and she is saying in a murmur: "I come down from the misty mountain, I got lost on the human highway."

Slip Away -- The galaxy is asking for the comet again. "And when the music started, she just slipped away." The guitar is just like a wave, moving her away, just some stressed notes are showing you where she is.

Scattered -- The comet is in the galaxy, it's cool. "No more sadness, no more cares, let's think about living, let's think about life, like a comet painted on the sky..." A silence followed by the last notes like the last twinklings.

But, Caesar, The Danger Bird is coming now, and some notes are really like a bird cry. Neil's guitar tries and tries to get this bird to fly, fly away in the Milky Way...

Just some notes from a bar!!! Oops, we are landing on Earth now. Prisoners of Rock'n'Roll -- I never heard Neil's guitar like that on that song, he is really a prisoner who wants to escape....

Smell the horse on this one (and you really hear Neil sniffing !!!!)

Sedan Delivery -- Gotta get away, you're no longer a Prisoner of R&R. "I recall how Ceasar and Cleo made love in the Milky Way..." The guitar leaves the sound groove and stops.

Where am I ?

Hey Neil...

    How is your finger ?
Atchao

MoMo


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