FYI, Cinnamon Girl ain't no soft ballad. In fact it's one of Neil Young's most melodic/rocking songs that made him a big hit as a solo artist. In contrast, Cortez The Killer is much softer. So now you have no excuse for not doing Cinnamon Girl, right? :)
Neil has said over the years that he sometimes wonders what on earth prompted him to write a song from the point of view of the ancient Aztecs - something he knew next to nothing about. But stylistically, the sonic mood creation this man is capable of astonishes me. He can put you into some amazing head space. Another truly atmospheric track worth checking out is 'Down by the River'. There is something just intrinsically perfect about Neil with Crazy Horse. Neil does things with that guitar - Old Black - that seem simple but are so effective. BTW, that guitar, Old Black, has its own Wikipedia entry.
"Down by the River" is a masterpiece but I would approach it by doing some other tracks off that album first. i.e. "Cinnamon Girl" and "Cowgirl in the Sand".
@@maruad7577 Nothing wrong with that approach. I think 'Down By the River' is a masterpiece of creating atmosphere with a song - that touch of obsessive madness created by a one-note lead guitar solo -- it is genius! But those other two songs are brilliant and excellent introductions to the sound of Neil + the Horse.
2 guitars, bass and drum. That's all you need if you're NY! "Organic" is the best word to describe him, from acoustic, to romantic, to grunge, to iconic folk. He does it all, and it's all good. He is also one of the few artists who might be even better live than on his studio albums. Try "Like a Hurricane," "Powder Finger," or "Thrasher." (Or, yes, "Cinnamon Girl") next. Keep going.
All three of your suggestions are great, but especially support Powder Finger, not only an atmospheric gem, but contains some of Neil's most affecting lyrics. Fantastic.
A song inspired by Hernán Cortés, a conquistador who conquered Mexico for Spain in the 16th century and the impact on the Aztec people. Deeply affecting guitar soloing on this track. I've seen him live twice, once with Crazy Horse, and they certainly can play! 'Down By The River' (he did a near 30-minute extended version of that as an encore when I saw him with Crazy Horse) and 'Like A Hurricane' are worth checking out. A musical legend, one I hugely admire for his skill, talent and the emotion in his playing, rather than being a big fan.
So glad you chose this song. A good rule of thumb is Neil Young-acoustic, Crazy Horse-electric. Neil has a huge many-colored palate. He was such a huge influence on myself and my friends growing up, you can get lost in his catalog of greatness. The whole album Harvest was a guitar player primer for all us wanna be rockstars. Peace & Love.
Honestly, some of my favorite Neil Young songs were off his second album *Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere* which featured, in addition to *Cinnamon Girl, Cowgirl In The Sand* and *Down By The River.* All best enjoyed at high volume...
Neil Young and Crazy Horse were the best musical vehicle for Neil in my opinion. Throughout the years his most iconic and epic tracks were with this group sonically and creatively.
What a killer! I love the pace of the song, almost reflexive. I may be wrong but you seem a bit surprised with the direction the song took, which is great. But if you wanna a heavier and a bit faster tune, you should check other masterpieces like Powderfinger, Like a Hurricane, Cowgirl in the Sand, Down By the River, Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black), Rockin' in the Free World and... Cinnamon Girl!
What a perfect set of recommendations - especially for someone just dipping his toe in the water. Powderfinger is my personal favorite NY song - especially if you want to do a deep dive into lyrics. I'd be lying if I told you I absolutely understand it (essays have been written about its meaning), but not too many songs bring the feels like that one. Got to see him perform it live with Crazy Horse, and it was absolutely epic - it wasn't until the song was over that I'd realized Neil had forgotten to play one of the verses - but the extended live jam more than made up for it! Oh, and if you're more in the mood for a beautiful acoustic ballad, there's at least another dozen or more starter tunes to get you going on your journey! Old Man, Needle and the Damage Done, After the Gold Rush, Harvest Moon, Only Love can Break Your Heart, etc.
@@-davidolivares There was an attractive young woman a grade ahead of me in HS who was named Ruby. She hung around with the prettiest girl in the school and another girl named Heather. I always thought of Heather as the cowgirl.
Exactly --- nobody seems to really click on this fact , it's a great song , but it's straight fantasy . As long as you know this , then you can still marvel at this incredible work .
Very true. They performed human sacrifice and took slaves as did nearly all cultures at one time or another. I've always seen this song as a lament that an ancient culture is being crushed by a greedy and cruel invaded. Not in any way to diminish the bloodthirsty nature of the Aztecs.
Zuma and On The Beach from the mid-70's are personal fave albums for me. Caught him on tour in the U.K. back in 1983. "Like A Hurricane" is an obvious, but classic, choice to have a listen to.
@@ridemfast7625 I LOVE Tonight's the Night. At first listen, it sounds like a bad garage band, but you keep listening and you dig into the lyrics and it starts to become one of the most personal and emotional records I ever heard!
@Bookhouse Boy They have to be four of the finest albums ever. Certainly my favourites. Seen him every time he's toured the UK, since the 70's. The best!
I was never a huge Neil Young fan...then I heard Rust Never Sleeps and I was blown away (especially by the Electric Version Hey, Hey, My, My (into the black)). This is a great song...raw and full of emotion. Also, check out Type-O-Negative's cover of Cinnamon Girl too! Have a great day all!!!
This happemed to me in a similar way. "Hey, hey, my, my" is only half the fun if you only hear it. You must also see it and watch the crowd go crazy. For those who don't already know it: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-w_hoW6qmeOo.html
Don't pay too much attention to the lyrics per se, This is not based on actual reality It is Neil romanticizing the situation specifically near the end when he talks about his lost love. That said, this is an extraordinary song one of dozens and dozens of Neil Young classics he's as good as it gets. Now wait until you hear Cinnamon Girl! Let's just say, these two songs do not sound remotely like but they're both immediately recognizable as Neil Young.
Neil Young is the master of all kinds of music. Great at everything he does. He does experiment all the time and has so many gems like Southern Man,The Needle And The Damage Done,Like a Hurricane,( my favorite solo guitar by Neil),Cowgirl In The Sand,Helpless Which he did with CSNY,And Comes a Time. So many more!
Best song ever. Great reaction and description. You should check out the cover of this song by indie band Built to Spill - it's awesome, like having 3 Neil Youngs on lead guitar.
Iconic song and guitar work from Neil Young. His guitar solos are quite different from most lead guitarists. One thing about Neil Young is his switching styles and experimentation. Lots of different styles, but he always seems most comfortable with his rock/ blues style like Cortez, and his rock/ country style like Harvest Moon. Try the album Harvest for some fantastic songs and a splendid album listen
Playing the feeling (Ringo as a drummer of groove and feel) that's it ! The absolute essence of great art an d a feeling predicated upon the breath feeling that which is essential to our very being. Greetings from the UK.
Love that you got around to Neil Young, my favorite Neil Young songs..Powderfinger, The Thrasher, these 2 songs, carry some more of that nostalgic emotion. I've never gotten through Powderfinger without a tear.
This song makes me cry. I forgot that. Typed before your comments… Yeah, he fudged some details but it does make the contrast more stark. You picked right, this was a great choice and great analysis, as usual. Neil’s guitar, so different, lo-fi, organic, soft, warm and heavy. Holiday party at work today, morning breakfast tacos, White Elephant exchange, too much work… good times. Rest up my brother! Peace and Teotihuacan Music Note: in college, three of us took the bus to Mexico City, chickens and crying babies driving high in the mountains on skinny roads. Did get the revenge but made it to the pyramids. Spectacular.
Funny story: my friend's wife used to work at one of the high-end jewelers in downtown San Francisco. One day this disheveled man comes into the store. My friend's wife asks one of her co-workers why they're letting a homeless man into their store. Her co-worker replies, "That's Neil Young." Seriously though, one of my favorite tracks. That album has some great gems like Danger Bird, Don't Cry No Tears and Barstool Blues. I'd recommend checking out his albums On the Beach (when I first heard the title track, I thought, "That almost sounds like a Radiohead song." Lo and behold, I found out that they have covered it.), Tonight's the Night and Rust Never Sleeps.
Don't want to go too far, but ALL of Neil Young's songs are pretty cool. Cinnamon Girl is a little more aggressive than you may think, and Cortez takes a while to get there, but it is very tough in language and form. All my brothers are getting Neil's 1978 concert film Rust Never Sleeps for Christmas, it is a great overview of Neil's career to that point. Highly recommended.
A little background on Neil. A Canadian whom first became known in the USA for the iconic sixties band Buffalo Springfield, a band most known for their hit For What It's Worth. But you can hear early Neil on the pyschedelic ballad Expecting To Fly. He later joined CSN for what became CSNY and you can really here him on their hit song Ohio. Obviously you are familiar with his solo career with the breakout album Harvest but I would encourage you to listen to some of his early music.
Young has so many great tracks. Very Moody , thought provoking , atmospheric and other big describing words of that likeness . Love the raw sound and simple recordings.
Most right-thinking Rock fans' favourite Neil Young track (joint top with Like a Hurricane) this is stylistically different from his acoustic stuff but Cinnamon Girl isn't too far away. Much varied NY for you to enjoy yet!
Great show .Neil's old black Gibson is like a stradeverios in the hand of who it was meant to be with. Neil is real in my mind , I trust him over the 55 years I've enjoyed his tunes. I really love the feeling he still keeps me wondering what's his next record going to be about.😊
Neil Young is a Canadian Treasure, though he has lived in the USA for most of his adult life. His music is deep and fantastic and you will love taking the musical journey through his vast catalogue. Live versions of his song are usually best imo. I would suggest, for starters, "Heart of Gold" and "Old Man" both from 1971, "Hey Hey My My" from Rust Never Sleeps or the 1985 Live Aid concert, and "The Needle And The Damage Done" off his unplugged concert. Enjoy the journey!!!
JP. You got it perfectly. Neil is such an emotional musician, Crazy Horse are Neils backing band of choice. I've seen him perform both solo, and with them many times since the 70's. Man they sure can raock. Hey hey, My my. Ya gotta check out 'Tonights the Night' song and album. On the Beach, song and album. A lifelong fan of Neil and his music. I envy your forthcoming journey into the music of Canada's bigest export, Neil Young. I'm a new and happy subscriber to your channel, to quote Neil, Long May You Run.
Zuma has always been a favourite Neil Young album, with a lot of variety, ballads, blues, country and epic rock songs like this and Danger Bird. Possibly his greatest song is Powderfinger on 'Rust Never Sleeps' , which has a very moving lyric, too.
That guitar has soul. Immediately looked up some live versions. It gets rawer through the years. Even more refined. Plus seeing him perform makes it even better. You compare his guitar playing to Gilmour. I would like to add Daniel Lanois to the short list.
I was so excited to see the notification for this video! I truly have come to count on you to bring me to tears of joy at least once a week! The amazing song (maybe my favorite NY song), and your enthusiastic and emotional reaction, hits really hard! LOVED it! This will be yet another of your vids that I will watch again and again! The entire album is so good! It really gives us strong examples of Neil's varying styles! For another beautiful song from this album, I strongly recommend that you do a reaction to "Pardon My Heart". Just an achingly beautiful song, with very simple lyrics that nonetheless pure and very powerful! I know you will love it! Also, if you decide to do "Cinnamon Girl", then you really MUST resolve to do the entire album ("Everybody Knows This is Nowhere"). Absolute iconic Neil album - of which there are many. Thanks for this, Justin! Started my Friday just right! :)
All i can say is, this is my fav neil young album, i was 14 when i heard it, back in 75, i am so glad he made it the way he did, and at the time i was getting history leasons about south america, spain and the english war between the 2, so it connected with me.
The radio station WLIR used to play one new album each Thursday in its entirety at 9 pm. One week this album was played. This song on first hearing was clearly a Masterpiece. I have listened to it hundreds of times since then. The poem switching from the romanticized tale of Montezuma to the woman is a mysterious turn that is absolutely beautiful.
I'm so glad you connected with this song, the guitar did indeed move me and that's very rare. For me the gist of it is the singer feels he's the reincarnation of someone that was there hundreds of years ago, maybe Cortez himself who fell in love with a native Mayan girl. That guitar creates such a longing to go back to that mythic land that wasn't perfect (human sacrifice) but pretty close. They all abandoned the area and no one knows where they went, maybe into the sky, who knows. My favorite Neil Young (he's Canadian btw) song is 'Helpless' which is on the CSNY album "Déjà Vu".
JP; just a quick follow up to this. I think it would be a great show down the road for you to hear this live. He plays it on the album "Weld" and it's much more raw and impactful and the guitar is killer. If you thought this was emotional you HAVE to hear the live version. Lastly an FYI: Mr. Young is often called the godfather of grunge so if you think he's bluesy and easy to listen too your instore for a big surprise as you listen to more of his music. When possible always go for a live version. Next up you should hear "Love and Only Love" from the same album "Weld". For me the title of the album is all you need to know about it's intensity. "Love and Only Love" is just a killer rocker and live it's pummeling (in a great way) and I could listen to him play guitar all day. His diversity in playing beautiful acoustic songs to outright gut ripping electric guitar is a wonderful attribute of his. Also from "Weld" listen to "Keep on Rocking in The Free World" (the title says it all) and "Like a Hurricane" (a Neil Young classic with beautiful and soul grinding guitar work) and lastly "Powderfinger" (my personal favorite with a great old western story as the lyrics). Keep up the great work and I'm gonna keep looking for Mr. Zappa. LOL
Great reaction. I've seen Neil alone with an acoustic and harmonica, baby grand piano and an electronic trigger setup. I've seen him quite a few times with Crazy Horse. Seen him with the International Harvesters. It pretty much didn't matter.....he was always going to kick it in it's ass.
Any song with an intro like this deserves respect. Neil Young's songs hit me right in the feels, I can't handle it sometimes. My favourite Neil Young album is probably Tonight's the Night. A tough record to listen to. Neil is not for everyone. He's a once in a lifetime talent, for sure.
Regardless if you know the back story or not - either way this song is so gripping - it just draws you in and doesn't let go. The sound is haunting. Thanks for playing this one. BTW - Get the Live Rust Video
Despite its subject matter, "Cortez the Killer" has been a favorite Neil Young song of mine. Yes, Justin, the emotion of this tune shines through. All I see is the unarmed indigenous people being cut down by the Spaniards just for gold. A very genius song.... 😢😢
So there's a live performance of this by the Dave Matthews Band and guest Warren Haynes (one of the best guitarists on the planet. Sat in for the allman bros for years !) Its the central park concert and i think it came out in 03. Curious what youd think compared with this.
You're in the deep end of the Neil Young pool. Other tracks you must check out include "Like a Hurricane", "Powderfinger", and "Sedan Delivery" to name a few.
That name is familiar. There used to be a Steelers fan on Behind The Steel Curtain with that name (from NZ iirc) but then again Foster Hewitt was Canadian.
@@maruad7577 I'm from the UK, where the name Hewitt originates from! Definitely not a Steelers fan, I'm a proper football fan played with a round ball with your feet, 😂
@@kenhewitt7357 lol. Well the Hewitts got around. As far as sportsball games, everyone to what works for them. Being Canadian, we watch more hockey than American football or even Canadian football (they are different).
IT WAS SO DAMNNNNN GOOD IT WAS BANNED FROM FM RADIO PLAY :( JUSTIN OKAY? :) CAUSE OF THE TITLE MAINLY, REALLYYYY GOOD TO SEE YOU HIT NEIL AGAIN, HE'S GOT A HUGE LIBRARY JUST LIKE ELTON DOES SO! :) PEACE MY FRIEND AND HAPPIEST OF HOLIDAYS TO COME! :)
So many great live versions of Cortez the Killer also. He really stretches out in the solos and different every time. Cinnamon Girl is also a great song, fantastic guitar driven band sound with gorgeous vocal harmonies and a savage hook, line and sinker of a chorus. Not to mention one of the greatest one-note guitar solos in music history.
The one-note guitar solo on "Cinnamon Girl" would make any overstated soloist look like stupid. Maximum effect. On the same LP, there's similar touch on "Down by the River", but with _several_ notes. Having mentioned "River", check out the rendition of The Undisputed Truth (a Motown band) on their "Cosmic Truth" LP.
Wonderful guitar, you can see the ship's prow rising up and crashing back down with the waves and spray leaping up as it ploughs its way through the water to cross over to the New World. The studio version has always done it for me.
Great reaction to a great song. Do react to Cinnamon Girl btw. It’s nothing like Harvest Moon. It was the first grunge song but played in 1969. You are so right about his guitar playing. I’d rather listen to a few notes of Neils than all the shredders. It’s that sense of space and emotion those guys can’t touch
I concur with many of the comments about the live version on Weld.It is astonishing! Also love two songs with Buffalo Springfield,"On the Way Home",and "Expecting to Fly".And Harvest is one of the greatest albums ever!
I agree completely. Neil Young is a lot like Dave Gilmour in the sense that he is not a guitarist that tries to impress you with all the notes he knows. Some soloists try to show off by playing every note known to man and inventing a few new ones. He just plays what he needs to to get the point across. Genius.
