The two bands Neil Young always wanted to work with: “I’d love to”
Neil Young needs no introduction. Nor does he really need any collaborators. Save for The Chrome Hearts, his new backing band as of 2024, including Spooner Oldham, the organist on Harvest Moon, Micah Nelson, the son of Willie Nelson, and Corey McCormick and Anthony LoGerfo from Promise of the Real’s rhythm section, Young has always been able to thoroughly hold his own.
Young broke out onto the Winnipeg scene in the 1960s, before moving to Los Angeles to co-found the folk-rock band Buffalo Springfield. He eventually achieved major success as a solo artist. Though his solo offerings, such as Harvest and After the Gold Rush, show a man at the top of his game, he dabbled in groups such as Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.
With this in mind, the star was asked about collaborations in 1995 with Mojo. The interviewer levelled with him, explaining that there “was apparently serious talk about you recording with Sonic Youth, possibly for the album that became Sleeps With Angels“. At first, Young was pretty resistant to the idea. “With Sonic Youth? Well, that sounds like it came from a news story that was in fact wrong.”
However, most probably realising that Mojo could spin that line to villainise him, he quickly added, ” Hell, if they wanted to play, I’d be there. It sounds like too much fun to pass by. Sonic Youth are great.” A collaboration between the noise-rock legends and Young’s own folk-inspired hard-rock might have led to sounds we couldn’t dream of even today, when the genre is quickly becoming obsolete.
“Sonic Youth are great.” It’s a big compliment coming from such a prolific virtuoso, but it’d be a punch to the gut if Young didn’t say something positive about the Kim Gordon-led band, seeing as they supported Young in 1991. Also, they did have an issue or two, as Sonic Youth felt that Young’s crew kept them playing much quieter than they preferred on the tour. Eventually, they said fuck it and were going to walk until they told Young face-to-face.
Back to the point. Back in the 1990s, Young confessed he had another band in mind on his list of potential collaborations. “Same with REM,” he confessed, “I’d love to work with those guys if the right conditions prevailed.” Young had to wait three years for this wish to come true, for in 1998, the alternative titans finally joined forces.
At the Bridge School Benefit Concert, REM and Young performed the 1991 REM song ‘Country Feedback’ together; the recording was later released on the Bridge School Concerts 25th anniversary compilation in 2011. The annual charity concert was held from 1986 every year (except 1987) until 2016. It was the brainchild of Young’s wife, Pegi, so it was inevitable he’d be in attendance and ready to serve up some musical treats on stage.
