STORYTONE: DELUXE – Neil Young
released 11-4-2014
Storytone is a record I made for myself. It was a tumultuous time in my life, with my marriage of 35 years crashed on the rocks. Yet miraculously, I had found love and was beginning again, sorting out the intricacies of a huge change.
Some of my oldest friends turned on me, apparently for their own gains, a surprising and game changing turn of events that guaranteed I would not be continuing with one of my life long musical associations.
Many things cannot be said. They have to be expressed in other ways. ‘I’m Glad I found You’, and ‘Plastic Flowers’ tell parts of my story. But only parts. Dealing with the untruths in a private way, so as to not make them bigger than life, was a balancing act.
Many listeners were unaware of the depth of the subject they were hearing. Many disliked me singing with an orchestra. The release was largely buried by those wise enough to know there was little in the way of money to come from this, my latest uncommercial effort.
In this unorthodox ‘Storytone’ release, I included an extra disc of solo versions of each song. Originally the solo versions were to appear before the orchestral versions in each case, but that was unfortunately changed on the advice of others. That decision was a moment of weakness on my part that I wish I had not made.
‘Storytone’ is one of those recordings that causes me to be labeled “inconsistent” by my self appointed labelers. Such is life. I continue on the path music has set for me and feel good, if uncomfortable, about this record.
‘Chicago’ is a song about a particular night. I started reading poetry onstage that night, but did not finish the poem. As the train cars rumbled by the theater, outside on the ‘L’, the pages of storytone were turning. I was landing in a new life.
Since that time, rejuvenation and rebuilding of the spirit with my love has been my life and I am so thankful and happy for it.
2014, In Washington, I was visiting the ‘Cowboy and Indian Alliance’ . . . . on the green lawns of the Capitol when an arm slipped under mine and my new life began.
ny