Neil Young Journeys Through the Past at Idaho Tour Kick-Off

Last night, Rock Daily thought we hit the jackpot when Bruce Springsteen played "Meeting Across the River" and "Jungleland" at Madison Square Garden, but little did we know that in Boise, Idaho, Neil Young was kicking off his tour with one of the craziest setlists of his entire career. Playing no less than four songs from various unreleased mid-Seventies albums, Young also dug out super rarities "Ambulance Blues," "Campaigner," "Bad Fog of Loneliness" and "A Man Needs a Maid," which he hadn't touched in thirty-one years. Only four songs from his forthcoming Chrome Dreams II were performed. What inspired the nostalgia-adverse Young to reach so far back? Might he be going through his mid-Seventies tapes in preparation for Archives Volume 2 — even though Volume 1 has yet to see the light of day? With this guy you never know. The complete setlist is below.

The first part of the show was performed solo acoustic, the second with a small band containing pedal steel guitarist Ben Keith, bassist Rick Rosas, Crazy Horse drummer Ralph Molina with Anthony Crawford and Young's wife Pegi on background vocals.

10-18-2007, Velma V. Morrison Center For The Performing Arts, Boise, Idaho:
"From Hank To Hendrix"
"Ambulance Blues"
"Sad Movies"
"A Man Needs A Maid"
"No One Seems To Know"
"Harvest"
"Campaigner"
"Journey Through The Past"
"Mellow My Mind"
"Love Art Blues"
"Love Is A Rose"
"Heart Of Gold"
---
"The Loner"
"Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere"
"Dirty Old Man"
"Spirit Road"
"Bad Fog Of Loneliness"
"Winterlong"
"Oh, Lonesome Me"
"The Believer"
"No Hidden Path"
---
"Cinnamon Girl"
"Tonight's The Night"

• 
  MUSIC 100 Greatest Debut Albums
• 
  MOVIES 'Star Trek' Is Crazy Good
• 
  TV 10 Shows to Watch This Summer
• 
  POLITICS No Price Big Banks Can't Fix

Song Stories

“1999”

Prince | 1982

“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.

More Song Stories entries »

Twitter