Neil Young Begins to Map Out Solo Acoustic Tour With Bert Jansch

Information is just beginning to trickle out, but it looks like Neil Young is launching a solo acoustic American theater tour in May with Scottish folk legend Bert Jansch opening. Only five dates have been announced of what apparently is being billed as the Twisted Road tour, though many more are likely to come.

Young toured American theaters in the fall of 2007 with a half-solo-acoustic/half-full-band show. He last embarked on an entirely solo acoustic tour in 1999. His choice of opener Jansch is appropriate as Young has often cited the songwriter as one of his greatest influences. "Bert Jansch is on the same level as Jimi Hendrix," Young said in 1992. "That first record of his is epic. It came from England, and I was especially taken by 'The Needle of Death,' such a beautiful and angry song. That guy was so good... And years later, on On the Beach, I wrote the melody of 'Ambulance Blues' by styling the guitar part completely on 'Needle of Death.' I wasn't even aware of it, and someone else drew my attention to it." In 2006 Young and Jansch played "Ambulance Blues" together at the Bridge School Benefit. Watch a very shakey video of the performance above.

According to the Louisville Courier Journal, tickets will cost $245, $125 and $85. The known tour dates are below. We'll update when we know more:

May 26 - Louisville, KY @ The Louisville Palace Theatre
May 29 - Atlanta, GA @ Fox Theatre
May 30 - Spartanburg, SC @ Spartanburg Mem Auditorium
June 1 - Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
June 2 - Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium

Related Stories:
• Neil Young Honored by Wilco, Chili Peppers, Dave Matthews and More at MusiCares Gala
• Neil Young Brings Chris Martin, No Doubt to Bridge School Benefit

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Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

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