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.  

MAVIS STAPLES "YOU ARE NOT ALONE"

Mavis Staples' album You Are Not Alone is one of the albums I was really looking forward to this year, and it doesn't disappoint. I loved her last two albums, 2007's We'll Never Turn Back (produced by Ry Cooder) and 2008's Live: Hope At The Hideout.

You Are Not Alone was produced by Jeff Tweedy of Wilco, and I think it holds up to some of his finest work.   The title track, which he wrote, is I think his greatest song.  Listening to it brings a tear to my eye. Obviously, he wrote it a while ago, but hearing it just makes me think of Tyler Clementi and other young men and women who despair because they feel like they don't fit in.

That's the thing about a great song, it could have been written at anytime, about anything.  And it seems to fit many different situations.  But I think Mavis sings it better than Tweedy ever could (with all due respect).

Anyway.  The rest of the album has updates on some Staples Singers songs, and an incredible cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Wrote A Song For Everyone." Now, you know I love me some Creedence, but I'll say that her version might be better than the original.  It's a wonderful album, if you love rootsy gospel music, you need to check this one out.

YOU ARE NOT ALONE: JEFF TWEEDY PRODUCES MAVIS STAPLES

Earlier this year, I wrote about Wilco's Jeff Tweedy producing the upcoming album by Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Mavis Staples. It's one of the records I'm most excited about. 

Mavis has been singing since 1950 - back then, she was in the family band, The Staple Singers. Their big hits were "Respect Yourself" and "I'll Take You There." She's also been making solo records since 1969.  A couple of years ago, she signed to Anti- Records, the label owned by punk label Epitaph. Anti- has also put out albums by Tom Waits, Solomon Burke, Bettye Lavette, Merle Haggard and Joe Strummer.  It's probably one of the coolest record labels of all time. Needless to say, they let artists do their thing, and don't try and make them trendy or contemporary.  The results are always great. Teaming Mavis with Jeff Tweedy was especially inspired. A recent press release (announcing the 9/14 release date and the title, You Are Not Alone) contains this Tweedy quote:

"I have almost everything she's ever recorded, and I dug back through very thoroughly when I was given this job to do.  I thought that if I refreshed myself about where she's been, it would help her figure out where she wanted to go. I wanted to be sure that we were making a record that she really wanted to make."  He wrote the title track for her.  The press release says that the song could apply to anyone - a lover, a sibling, a friend - but Mavis got teary eyed singing it, she had her father, Pops Staples, in mind when she sang it. 

So it sounds like it is going to be a great album, hopefully it will get a lot of attention for Mavis. That said, the album will have a hard time living up to her last one, 2006's We'll Never Turn Back, produced by Ry Cooder.  That is a classic which you should check out, and I also highly recommend 2008's Live: Hope At The Hideout.

TOMORROW ON OUTQ: MICHAEL JACKSON, THE JACKSON 5 AND SONGS FOR HAITI

For those of you who are new to No Expiration, every Wednesday morning at 9 am ET I go on the SIRIUS XM channel OutQ. I am a weekly contributor to The Morning Jolt with Larry Flick. We talk about - surprise! - music. I am usually on for a half-hour, but tomorrow I will be on for an hour.

First, I will be talking about The Jackson 5. Universal/Motown has just reissued the band's last bunch of albums for the label before they left for Sony, including the soundtrack to their 1971 prime-time TV special Goin' Back To Indiana, as well as 1972's Lookin' Through The Windows, 1973's Skywriter, 1973's G.I.T. (Get It Together) and 1975's Moving Violation. Talk about boys to men: the brothers changed a lot in this four years. These albums don't have their biggest hits, but they are worth having for sure.

I'll also be talking about the Michael Jackson concert film, This Is It, which came out on DVD this week. I haven't seen it, but if you have, please call in! I do have some of the tracks from the film, including the title song, co-written by Michael and Paul Anka. It also has a really, really sad demo version of "She's Out Of My Life," with Michael singing accompanied only by an acoustic guitarist. Stunning.

Finally, I'll be talking about various songs you can download to raise money to help fund relief efforts in Haiti, which I've already written about. I can add another one to the list I already posted: Wilco is offering "free" downloads of two concerts from the summer of 2009 on their website, but they ask that if you download them, you donate at least $15 to either Oxfam or Doctors Without Borders. Of course, you should donate what you can to the people of Haiti in thier hour of need - but it's nice that you can get some cool music in return for your generosity!

JEFF TWEEDY TO PRODUCE MAVIS STAPLES

A press release that just came out announcing some of Wilco's 2010 plans (tour, working on new songs) also happened to mention that frontman (and one of No Expiration's Best Of The '00s artist) Jeff Tweedy is going to produce Mavis Staples' next album. Like her last two,  2007's classic We'll Never Turn Back and 2008's Live: Hope At The Hideout which is up for a Grammy this year, it will be coming out on Epitaph imprint Anti- Records this year.

It's an interesting combo, and it reminds me of Joe Henry's production projects.  Like Jeff with Uncle Tupelo and Wilco, Joe was part of the roots-heavy "alt.country" scene, and then moved into doing more abstract music. But as a producer, Joe has worked on great albums by Solomon Burke and Bettye Lavette, among others. Hopefully this collaboration will be just as good as those.

TOMORROW ON OUTQ: THE GRAMMY NOMS (or, MAXWELL IS ABOUT TO GET A SALES BUMP!)

I’m going on OutQ again tomorrow on The Morning Jolt with Larry Flick to discuss tonight’s Grammy nominations. Last year, I really liked the way the Grammys panned out, with Robert Plant & Alison Krauss winning five for their classic album Raising Sand. I loved that album, and felt it deserved all the recognition it got. It was a victory for art. Sorry Lil Wayne. I don’t feel as enthused this year: Beyonce leads with ten nominations and Taylor Swift has eight. I enjoy songs by both ladies, but I’m not passionate about either. I was, however, glad to see Maxwell with six for his BLACKsummer’snight album. Some people didn’t even know he was back! His album came out in July and debuted at #1, but that doesn’t mean what it used to, and anyway, it didn’t seem to make an impact on the culture at all, and it disappeared pretty quickly. So, I’m glad that this will help him out. The Black Eyed Peas and Kanye West both got six also: I enjoy both artists, but I don’t like either of their new albums. Lady Gaga got five. I don’t object to her, but I’m not passionate about her music either. In fact, I don’t feel very opinionated about any of the “big four” categories. I was hoping that Willie Nelson would get more nods than he did: he got just three. I thought he would do better than that, given that he released two very different and very good albums, Willie & The Wheel and American Classic. My favorite album of the year, Bob Dylan’s Together Through Life, got two nods.

I don’t have huge opinions about the Pop field, and I probably won’t vote in Dance. I usually skip Traditional Pop, but I may vote there this year, since Willie has a nomination there.

Rock has some good stuff: Best Solo Rock performance pits Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, Prince and John Fogerty against each other. (I will vote for Dylan). Other rock nods went to Green Day, AC/DC, Alice In Chains, Metallica, Pearl Jam (glad to see “The Fixer” get props), U2 and overrated band of the year Kings Of Leon. The thing is, I have to admit I was ultimately not blown away by Bruce, U2 and Green Day’s albums. They were all solid, but not as good as their prior albums. I will probably skip the alternative field, which features David Byrne & Brian Eno (zzzzz…), Death Cab For Cutie, Depeche Mode, Phoenix (who I can’t stand) and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

R&B will require me to buy a lot of new music, there’s a lot of not-well-known-by-the-mainstream artists in the field, including Melanie Fiona, Lalah Hathaway, Ledisi, Jazmine Sullivan, Anthony Hamilton, Musiq Soulchild, Robert Randolph, as well as Beyonce and Maxwell.

Rap is pretty good this year. It surprises me to hear myself say that, because I’m not a huge fan of contemporary hip-hop. But I really actually like Jay-Z’s songs, “Death of Autotune” and “Run This Town” (with Kanye West and Rihanna). I also really like nominated songs by The Beastie Boys with Nas, Kid Cudi with Kanye and Common, T.I. with Justin Timberlake, and Mos Def. And Lonely Island featuring T-Pain. I was really glad to see Q-Tip’s super-underrated The Renaissance getting a nod as well.

I don’t have a huge opinion on this year’s country artists, but I was glad to see nods go to Miranda Lambert, Jamey Johnson and Patty Griffin (!).

My favorite category overall is Best Americana Album. Three of my favorite albums of the year are nominated: Dylan’s Together Through Life, Willie’s Willie & The Wheel and Levon Helm’s Electric Dirt, along with Wilco’s Wilco (The Album) and Lucinda Williams’ Little Honey. I’ll vote for Dylan.

While I’m not a huge fan of Bruce’s Working On A Dream album, “The Wrestler” was probably my favorite song of last year, and I’m glad it is up for Best Song from a Movie. But that will probably go to A.R. Rahman’s “Jai Ho” from Slumdog Millionaire.

I guess there are some things I'll be "rooting" for: Pearl Jam's "The Fixer," Bruce's "The Wrestler," Q-Tip and Willie, but there's no way I'll be as into it as I was last year. I do hope Jay-Z, Rihanna and Kanye peform "Run This Town." It would be great to see Rihanna have a triumphant return to the Grammys after last year's horrible mess.

BEST OF THE '00S: JEFF TWEEDY

Longtime readers of No Expiration know that I'm generally cynical about the artists that the media and indie bloggers go crazy over. It's sometimes like England's NME: the band is exciting for a moment, but people move on to the next thing so quickly. But when it comes to Wilco, grow me an beard, put me in skinny jeans and move me to Brooklyn! Ha ha, just kidding, don't, I'm cool in the suburbs.  But really, Wilco should be considered a "classic rock" band in the sense that they are a rock band with a pretty incredible catalog of albums (which is still growing, the band probably aren't even at their halfway point yet).

And so, I have to give it up to Jeff Tweedy (the band's leader), he is definitely one of the artists of the decade. Start with their 2002 classic, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and the accompanying documentary, I Am Trying To Break Your Heart. The album was, in some ways, like Aimee Mann's Bachelor No. 2 in that it was famously rejected by a major label, and is recognized by almost anyone with any taste as a classic. It became the kind of thing where a vote for the album = your vote against the major label system. I'm sure lots of records have been rejected with great reasons, but these are two high profile blunders.

Tweedy really stuck by his artistic guns, and risked alienating some of his older fans, who liked Wilco (and his pre-Wilco band, Uncle Tupelo)'s so-called "alt-country" sound. He really created something that sounded original.  I shouldn't make it sound like his decade is just about Yankee Hotel Foxtrot: the followup, 2004's A Ghost Is Born is also amazing, as is the live album from that tour, Kicking Television: Live In Chicago. And I can't forget 2000's collaboration with Billy Bragg, Mermaid Avenue Vol. 2. Admittedly, I'm not as big of a fan of 2007's Sky Blue Sky or this year's Wilco (The Album).

While Wilco is a band, it really is largely about Tweedy and whoever he wants to work with. Plus, this decade he's also worked with his side projects Golden Smog and Loose Fur, and done solo tours. He also contributed to Neil Finn's new album.

I got to interview Tweedy when YHF first came out, and it was interesting, there was a lot of electricity around the band because everyone knew something big was happening with them. But something seemed ... a bit "off." I later found that he was addicted to painkillers. I was surprised, he didn't seem like that kind of guy.  Some rock stars have the type of personality that seems like they'd be prone to addiction problems. But I guess it can happen to anyone. Anyway, I got to interview him again when AGIB came out, and he seemed like a totally different guy. So, it's nice that in the midst of releasing all of this great music, he was also able to conquer his personal demons.  Anyway, Tweedy is definitely one of my "Artists of the '00s," and I wouldn't be surprised if he becomes one of my "Artists of the '10s" also.

More Best Of The '00s: Bob Dylan
Willie Nelson
Aimee Mann

NEIL YOUNG TRIBUTE CONCERT LINEUP ANNOUNCED

Over the summer, I mentioned that NARAS had announced that the great Neil Young would be honored as their MusicCares Person Of The Year in 2010. The concert/event will take place January 29 at the L.A. Convention center, and will probably cost a ton of money (albeit, going to a good cause, MusicCares does some good stuff).

I've read online (but not at the NARAS site) a list of performers, so I don't know if it offiical, but if it is, this is a great lineup: The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Emmylou Harris, Sheryl Crow, Norah Jones, k.d. lang, Dave Matthews, Ozomalti, James Taylor, John Mellencamp, Crosby Stills & Nash, Wilco, Jackson Browne, Josh Groban(!) and some new band called Everest. Fans rarely get to see these shows (even on TV) which is too bad, especially this year.

SEVEN WORLDS COLLIDE... AGAIN

Neil Finn of Crowded House is reactivating his 7 Worlds Collide project: it's basically a collective with him at the center. This time around, it's Neil with returning members Ed O'Brien and Phil Selway of Radiohead, Johnny Marr and Lisa Germano. This time, Eddie Vedder isn't involved, but Wilco's Jeff Tweedy and Glenn Kotche are, as is KT Tunstall. I don't know if they album will come out in the U.S. though.

TOMORROW ON OUTQ

No real theme this week, just a bunch of albums that I thought might be of interest. Regina Spektor's Far (if Larry doesn't like Tori Amos, I'm not sure how he'll feel about Regina, but I'm a bigger Tori fan anyway). Todd Snider's The Excitement Plan, which features a cougariffic duet with Loretta Lynn, and a song about Doc Ellis' legendary no-hitter on acid. Wilco 's Wilco (The Album), which, inevitably, includes "Wilco (The Song.)" They may be too clever for their own good, but it's a pretty good song. They are one of the bands that the indie folk adore that I also like. Mos Def's The Ecstatic, which may be his best album since Black On Both Sides (although I feel like most of his albums don't live up to his potential). Street Sweeper Social Club's debut album, which I like a lot. And Pete Yorn's latest, Back & Fourth, which was produced by indie-darling Mike Mogis of Bright Eyes. I like the songs that I've heard so far, although I don't think he's ever lived up to the promise of Music For The Morning After.

JAY BENNETT, R.I.P.

Former Wilco member Jay Bennett recently passed away. He died in his sleep. I'm not an expert on him, or the hardest core Wilco fan, but it is sad news, and it's too bad that he died in conflict with his former bandmate(s). 

BONNAROO: SPRINGSTEEN, PHISH, BEASTIES AND NINE INCH NAILS

I did a search for "Bruce Springsteen" on a well known mainstream web site and the latest headline I found was "Springsteen, Phish, Beasties, NIN Set For Bonnaroo" and the first few lines included mentinons of Wilco, Al Green, Snoop Dogg and Elvis Costello. But when I clicked to see the story, it was "no article found." But the Bonnaroo site says the announcement will be tomorrow. Seeing how Bruce and Phish have been heavily rumored to be playing the festival, and it definitely fits into Bruce's tour schedule, this makes sense.

NEIL YOUNG AT MSG

This photo, as many of my Neil photos, comes from the great Neil-centric site Thrasher's Wheat.

Yes, I'm a bit behind in my blogging, sorry about that.

Anyway, so I went to the Neil Young/Wilco concert at Madison Square Garden (night one only) and it was a really good show.

Wilco was great. I'm not the hugest fan, so I actually enjoyed seeing an abridged version of their show. I saw them a few years ago at Radio City Music Hall, and felt they were a bit overindulgent (just my take, and clearly I was in the minority, excuse the pun), but I really enjoyed thier set at MSG, even though half of it was taken by "Spiders (Kidsmoke)." Which is cool, I love that song.

Neil opened with seven rocking songs, six of which were by Crazy Horse, which made me wonder why he doesn't just tour with The Horse again. I mean, "Cinnamon Girl" and even "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere" work for lots of Neil's bands, but "Love And Only Love" and "Hey Hey My My (Into The Black)" seem like songs he should reserve for The Horse. Neil's band was pretty much the same one he used last year: Ben Keith on steel guitar, guitar and keyboards and Rick "The Bass Player" Rosas on bass, and they were occasionally joined by Neil's wife Pegi Young on vocals and piano and Anthony Crawford on vocals and guitar. The only change was Crazy Horse drummer Ralph Molina was replaced by Chad Cromwell, who has played on most of Neil's recent albums anyway.

Anyway, the band did a great job on the Crazy Horse stuff, and were probably better suited to some of the more acoustic stuff, like "Oh, Lonesome Me" and the Harvest material.

But I wouldn't rate the show as classic, and I'm sorry to say that that's mainly because of the fact that he played eight new songs. I don't mean eight songs from his latest album, last year's Chrome Dreams II (which I liked), eight songs from his upcoming album. And I was excited going into the show hearing that he would be debuting lots of new material. But like "Let's Roll" and the Living With War album (and "Ohio," for that matter), these songs were inspired by recent events and have an immediacy to them. But I just didn't think that they were great songs. After playing about four new ones, he told the audience that he was "auditioning" for the record company, "So cheer for the new songs even if you don't like them." I'm sure lots of readers of Thrasher's Wheat would disagree with me, but I just wasn't feeling most of the songs. Still, I will pick up the album the day it comes out, and I hope after a few listens, I change my mind.

NEIL YOUNG: FARM AID WRAP UP, BRIDGE CONCERT LINEUP

Yesterday was Farm Aid 2008. I went last year when it hit New York, and the year before in Camden, New Jersey. This year is was in Boston, but I didn't have to bucks to make the trip. Plus, I saw John Mellencamp earlier this summer, and I'm going to see Neil Young and his current band later this year. Of course, Willie Nelson played (his Farm Aid sets are usually a bit messy), as did Dave Matthews (as a duo with Tim Reynolds, as they did last year). Also on the bill was The Pretenders (who have a cool album out that I'll be writing about soon), Jerry Lee Lewis, Kenny Chesney (as the token mainstream country act on the bill), Jakob Dylan and the great patriot Steve Earle. Farm Aid is a great event, you should catch it if you can.

Neil has also announced the lineup for this year's Bridge School Benefit concert. Neil of course is headlining, Pegi Young is also on the bill, as well as Norah Jones, Jack Johnson, Wilco, Death Cab For Cutie, Cat Power and opera singer Josh Grobman. For real. One night, ZZ Top will be playing, the other night it will be "The Smashing Pumpkins." I always say that I'm going to go to The Bridge School Benefit concert, but this is not one of the more exciting lineups (although I'd like to see ZZ Top "unplugged"). It is, of course, a great cause to support regardless of who is playing in any given year.

A COOL LIVE CSNY CLIP

Aquarium Drunkard is a cool blog that focuses on indie rock and roots rock. I prefer the latter, of course. They just posted a cool clip of Crosby Stills Nash & Young performing Neil Young's "Down By The River" in 1969. Check it out here. 

In other Neil news, I just got tickets to see Neil at MSG in December with Wilco opening. Pretty much with the same band I saw him with last year: it was a great show, and hopefully it will be even better this time. 

NEIL YOUNG TOUR!

As I've mentioned before, it's a great time to be a Neil Young fan. Neil is touring again this fall, with pretty much the same band he used last year. The difference is that Crazy Horse drummer Ralph Molina is out, Chad Cromwell, who played on Prairie Wind and Living With War, is in. Chad has been on the European tour, which has seen Neil play some (seemingly) brand-new songs. This tour will be hitting arenas (instead of small theaters): in NYC, they're playing Madison Square Garden, with Wilco opening. And the floor is all general admission. That's pretty cool, I'll definitely be going to this show. Get more details, as always, at Thrasher's Wheat.

Although I still hope for a Neil Young & Crazy Horse tour.