Neil Young and Crazy Horse are streaming their brand new album, ‘Americana’, ahead of its official release on June 4.
The record is Young’s first with Crazy Horse since 2003 and the first album with the full Crazy Horse line-up of Billy Talbot, Ralph Molina and Frank Sampedro since 1996’s ‘Broken Arrow’.
The record was produced by Neil Young and John Hanlon and is entirely comprised of new versions of classic folk songs, with ‘Clementine’, ‘Gallows Pole’ and ‘She’ll Be Comin’ Round The Mountain’ featuring as well as a take on the National Anthem, ‘God Save The Queen’.
When explaining why he’d chosen to record the US folk songs featured on the record, Young said: “They represent an America that may no longer exist. The emotions and scenarios behind these songs still resonate with what’s going on in the country today with equal, if not greater impact nearly 200 years later.”
He continued: “The lyrics reflect the same concerns and are still remarkably meaningful to a society going through economic and cultural upheaval, especially during an election year. They are just as poignant and powerful today as the day they were written.”
Listen to the album in full via SoundCloud.