Americana That Still Resonates

Hey, Hey, My My.  Neil Young first started playing with the "garage" rock band Crazy Horse in 1968, and they have backed him on several of his greatest albums, including Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, After the Gold Rush, Zuma, and Rust Never Sleeps.   Americana, which is due out next month, will be Neil's first recording with the full Crazy Horse line-up since 1996.  

Rolling Stone reports that the songs on the album are all classic American folk songs, including "This Land Is Your Land," "Gallows Pole," "Tom Dooley" and "Clementine."  "They're songs we all know from kindergarten," Neil said, "but Crazy Horse has rearranged them, and they now belong to us."

The press release explains the concept behind Americana:

What ties these songs together is the fact that while they may 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. 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.

Here's the video for "Oh Susannah."