YOU MAY HAVE MISSED: NEIL YOUNG TRIBUTE DVD

This was released a few weeks ago, without too much hype, but you need to know about it: A Musicares Tribute To Neil Young.

Shot January 29, 2010 at the NARAS 2010 Musicares Person Of The Year event, the show featured some pretty incredible artists paying tribute to Neil.  Some of the highlights included Norah Jones' "Tell Me Why," Ben Harper's "Ohio," Wilco's "Broken Arrow," James Taylor's "Heart Of Gold" (I think he actually sang backing vocals on the original version) and John Mellencamp's "Down By The River." Also a sort of supergroup: Elton John, Leon Russell, Sheryl Crow and Neko Case doing "Helpless." I think it was the first time Elton and Leon performed together.

Also on the bill: John Fogerty, Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum, Dave Matthews, Dierks Bentley, Booker T. Jones, Josh Groban (!), Jackson Browne, Elvis Costello, Crosby Stills & Nash. I think The Red Hot Chili Peppers performed for the first time with new guitarist Josh Klinghoffer ("A Man Needs A Maid") but it's not on the DVD.   Neil was there also, he just sort of gave a thank you speech (if you've seen his speeches at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, you know what his speeches are like), he didn't perform at all.

The event, and the DVD, raises money for NARAS' MusiCares, which "offers a safety net of critical assistance for music people in times of need," including "financial medical and personal emergencies." Learn more about MusiCares here.  

WOW: NEIL YOUNG HONORED AT NARAS MUSICARES EVENT

Wow, I really wish I had been there. Every year, two nights before the Grammys, NARAS has its annual MusiCares Person of the Year tribute show. MusiCares "offers a safety net of critical assistance for music people in times of need," including "financial medical and personal emergencies." This year, Neil Young was honored.  I found a good account of the show at, where else?  The great Neil Young blog, Thrasher's Wheat.

I'd read that the show's highlight was Ben Harper's version of "Ohio." But reading over it, there were lots of performances I wish I'd seen: John Mellencamp's "Down By The River," Stephen Stills and Sheryl Crow's "Long May You Run," Norah Jones' "Tell Me Why," "Comes A Time" by Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Willians and Patty Griffin, Wilco's "Broken Arrow," "Rockin' In The Free World" by John Fogerty, Keith Urban and Booker T. Jones, Elvis Costello's "The Losing End," Dave Matthews' "The Needle And The Damage Done," Elton John, Sheryl Crow, Neko Case and Leon Russell's "Helpless" and the debut of the new version of The Red Hot Chili Peppers (with new guitarist Josh Klinghoffer) doing "A Man Needs A Maid." Neil himself was there, but didn't perform.  I know that these events are usually kept as an "industry" event, but I would love if there would be some way to buy or even stream some of these performances.

MORE ARTISTS ADDED TO NEIL YOUNG TRIBUTE CONCERT

The Neil Young MusiCares 2010 Person Of The Year concert (taking place during Grammy week) keeps getting better. The lineup already boasted The Red Hot Chili Peppers (perhaps their first performance with new guitarist Josh Klinghoffer), T-Bone Burnett, Sheryl Crow, Patti Griffin, Emmylou Harris, Elton John, Crosby Stills & Nash, Norah Jones, Dave Matthews, John Mellencamp, James Taylor, Wilco and Jack Black (!), and Booker T. Jones, Ben Harper and Lucinda Williams have all just been added. For the first time, performances from the concert will be streamed at the Grammys website.

Meanwhile, there's another Neil Young tribute taking place at Vancouver's Queen Elizabeth Theatre on February 18, hosted by Hal Wilner, who co-hosts Lou Reed 's SIRIUS XM Radio Show on The Loft. That show will feature Lou, as well as Iron & Wine, Ron Sexsmith and some other indie rock artists.

Finally, Thrasher's Wheat, my main source for all things Neil, points out that it is the fifth anniversary of their petition to get Neil to finally re-release his awesome 1973 album Time Fades Away. I have it on vinyl and I did get mp3s of it.  I don't know that it was ever available on cassette or 8-track, much less on CD. But if you like Neil, you should seek it out, it's worth your trouble.

MORE ARTISTS ADDED TO NEIL YOUNG TRIBUTE CONCERT

Last month, I wrote about the lineup of artists that will be performing at the NARAS MusiCares 2010 Person Of The Year ceremony, paying tribute to Neil Young. They've just announced that Elton John has joined the bill, along with T-Bone Burnett, Leon Russell, Patty Griffin and country-pop group Lady Antebellum. So far, no one has mentioned that The Red Hot Chili Peppers won't be there, so maybe this might be their first performance with new guitarist Josh Klinghoffer.

In other Neil news, the Archives Vol. 1 isn't his only box set out!  He has quietly released remastered versions of his first four solo albums: 1969's Neil Young, 1969's classic Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (featuring Crazy Horse), 1970's classic After The Gold Rush and 1972's classic Harvest. You can get a box set with all of them on vinyl.