Drummer reacts to "Powderfinger" by Neil Young & Crazy Horse

[@stpnwlf9]

The line that gets me: "Big John's been drinkin' since the river took Emmy Lou." There's like an entire novel in that one line that helps build the narrator's sense of isolation.

[@StevenTyree-sl2nx]

An entire novel and at least 6 more songs. Neil can definitely use a relatively few words to maximum effect. Love me some Neil Young

[@paulkingartwerks7981]

My favorite Neil Young track. "And I saw black and my face splashed in the sky". What a line. Many believe that this story is based upon what is known as the Battle of Batoche, when Canadian soldiers converted a steamboat into a gunboat and sailed up the South Saskatchawan River, where a gun battle ensued between the Metis settlers and the troops. I believe this song is a fictional account of the death of one of the Metis settlers during the Battle of Batoche.

[@stpnwlf9]

I've heard theories about the American Civil War or revenue agents vs. moonshiners, but I had never heard that nugget of history and I really like it! We occasionally tend to forget Neil is a gift from Canada and that's a great little slice of Canadian history. Thanks!

[@rachelpsmith3129]

"My face splashed in the sky." What a line.

[@L33Reacts]

Yeah Neil is a prolific writer… he has some amazing lines.

[@bobcorbin3294]

Was it because of the powder in my finger?

[@DENVEROUTDOORMAN]

Shut up​@@bobcorbin3294

[@charliecochran3035]

That's such a clever bit of imagery that someone had to point out the meaning to me. He's falling headfirst from the dock and into the water.

[@rachelpsmith3129]

@bobcorbin3294 Yes

[@jpksilver]

Crazy Horse started out as an a cappella vocal band. They were singers. They learned instruments after the British Invasion. Then they met Neil.

[@silvialopes2623]

❤❤❤ Every time I listen to THIS I cry😢 it's just a masterpiece of my idol Neil Young

[@jmleyland]

Was? I saw Neil & Crazy Horse live just a few weeks ago. They played Powderfinger and it was awesome!! 🔥🔥🔥

[@mevdinc]

Neil Young is one of those rare talents, who is able to make his guitar sing/cry. Such an underrated guitarist. He is one of the top song writers and certainly, one of my favourite artists along with John Lennon, David Bowie and Roger Waters.

[@ra7968]

Dude, those backup singers are Crazy Horse. Only Four Dudes including Neil in the band. The interplay. The lyrics. The instrumententals. This is a giant tune.

[@spazimdam]

"Shelter me from the powder and the finger..." Neil Young yes, a force of nature. Very good performer, songwriter, storyteller, producer. He and Crazy Horse are just the best.

[@jaycmacg]

Neil and Joni grew up in the same part of Canada, at the same time, made the scene together...incredible tornado of uniqueness and brilliatness!

[@perrymalcolm3802]

Just know this album tour was fantastic and is one of my top 5 concert films

[@geob3963]

Neil’s guitar sounds like I’ve felt many times in my life. And then those background vocals come in. Damn.

[@AKR8810]

Great choice of song. One of my favorites from NY. Great lyrics, storytelling, vocals, instrumentation, and Neil always comes up with great guitar riffs that perfectly complement his songs.

[@edwardlea3413]

This and Like a Hurricane are Neil gold.

[@johnmavroudis2054]

This entire album is a stone cold masterpiece. I think it's Young's best album... and this song is certainly one of Young's all-time bests. The song "POCAHONTAS" from this album might be his greatest lyrical triumph.

[@sherilynkd]

Saw him during this tour ( and others) Excellent!!

[@DennisCharles-l9d]

Been waiting for you to get to this one. There are better guitar players but nobody ever got more emotion out of a guitar than Neil.

[@philhunter9134]

It's not a contest between songs. This happens to be a great one.

[@rikurodriguesneto6043]

one of my favorites.. i recommend will to love ❤

[@DENVEROUTDOORMAN]

Love and Only Love Neil Young from Ragged Glory

[@hongfang2348]

Rust Never Sleeps was also a concert movie, a must see for Neil Young fans.

[@jonholcombe]

Thanks for playing my favortie Neil Young song. Dive into the lyrics on this one. And you are correct, he was the artist of the 70's.

[@lathedauphinot6820]

I love this song. You hear something new every time, even after 100 listens. I’ve seen Neil Young 5 times: acoustic, electric, and country, with and without Crazy Horse, and the only songs he played every time were this and “Needle and The Damage Done”.

[@dandare42]

Rust Never Sleeps was the culmination of everything he'd been doing in the 70s. Neil could do no wrong in that decade but his songwriting was unbelievably consistent throughout and started to peak close to the end of the decade. It was a watershed as he then saw a dropoff in the 80s thanks to a combination of record company issues and family life (ie his second son being born with severe cerebral palsy).

[@andymccracken4046]

I had forgotten how good this is.

[@stevenparker4684]

Love Neil Young and Crazy Horse, I'd have to say "Down by the River " live is my favorite track

[@DENVEROUTDOORMAN]

Yup but too many wimp boys only listen to top 40 garbage rock that never play it...Check here on KZbin for his Ragged Glory album that almost noone plays

[@ktwebbdevil]

Supposedly Neil intended to offer this song to Ronnie Van Zant for Lynyrd Skynyrd to record but before that could happen Skynyrd had their plane crash so Neil recorded it himself.

[@bobschenkel7921]

Something bad DID happen, the character telling the story got shot by the White Boat on the river. Billy, Frank and Mr. Molina on the backing vocals. "Powderfinger" is very popular among his fans, and other musicians. A story of tragedy.

[@heartoftherose]

My favorite Neil Young and Crazy Horse song! Looking forward to this!

[@jaybo2023]

I gave a thumbs up to your comment. But if I'm telling the truth... depending on the day my favorite song or version of a song changes... more than I brush my teeth... I'm a three to four times a day brusher if that helps...lol

[@heartoftherose]

​@jaybo2023 haha - same!

[@theeloquentbaby]

I’ve always loved Neil’s expressiveness.

[@leekitchen8390]

Such a great tone.

[@fan123casual8]

This is a great album. Some of it is recorded live (with some overdubs in the studio) but then he recorded the tour for this album and released it as “Live Rust.” So I think there’s a version of Powderfinger on both albums. They also filmed it, and that movie is fantastic. I might go dust off my VHS copy and fire up the old VCR.

[@stevedahlberg8680]

That's funny because when this was brand new and I was in high school, by then my favorites were exactly the same as the two that you mentioned. But it didn't take long before I became fixated on this song, and I have felt for a long time now that it might be one of his absolute best songs. And once you read the comments that will tell you what you missed about the plot, you will be profoundly moved next time you listen to it, I'm pretty sure

[@stevedahlberg8680]

Before Powderfinger became my favorite song, it was Down By the River, hands down. And really, I liked all of his stuff. But for some reason, I'm more likely now to just randomly go listen to Powderfinger or Keep On Rocking In The Free World, for example.

[@davidbutterworth877]

Neal and crazy horse is so bad ass love all of his music 🎵

[@Johan-ew3ot]

Saw Neil and the horse on Mothers day in Jersey do this sounded so good

[@hongfang2348]

I saw Neil Young in concert (only once). It was a college basketball arena, lots of people. But Neil made the venue as intimate as possible. He had 2 pianos on stage. For one song he said, applaud if you want to hear the song on this piano. Then applaud for that piano. He played the piano that got the loudest applause. At another time in the concert,, Neil said, there's a guy yawning. Well, that's ok. You paid to get in. You can sleep if ya want to!

[@richeaton5752]

Another of the ticket stubs I found not long ago. October 8, 1978. (eta- just looked it up. 11 days before this recording. time keeps on tickin'...) And I have 2 stubs for that day; there was a NASCAR race at Charlotte Motor Speedway that afternoon, then Neil & Crazy Horse that evening. First time to see wireless guitars and mics. Long, but great day. "chemicals and sacred roots" got us home...

[@jploev]

The live version from "Weld" is even better! But, heck, this is still killer. 🔥

[@DrStrangelove3891]

The protagonist dies at the end of the 3d verse, before he even had a chance to fire his dad's rifle. The 4th verse is sang from the perspective of someone who's already dead. Very fascinating lyrics. Who's in the white boat? Pirates? The cops? I don't know.

[@robertmoraga1501]

I imagine a Union gunboat heading down South on Ole Miss and opening up on a Reb farm during Sherman’s scortched Earth run. Such a sad war. Bro vs bro

[@stevedahlberg8680]

I picture something quite similar to you, but because of the line about "red means run son", I always assumed it was a Confederate boat attacking a farm in the Union.

[@hippiechic723]

I can’t wait for you to hear this ❤. The story behind it and the guitar is superb 🤘🤘🤘

[@GiannaEmme]

One of my Favourite songs by Neil Young is Hey hey my my...both acoustic and rock version (rock version a bit more)... could you react to it?thanks

[@alpetrocelli4465]

This is one of the greatest live albums of the ‘70’s. Neil & Crazy Horse at their rockin’ best! ✌️❤️🎶

[@DENVEROUTDOORMAN]

Nope good but best nope

[@Beatlejamie]

Actually “rust never sleeps“ is predominantly a studio album with a couple of live tracks overdubbed in the studio. Later the same year he released “live rust“ which was a live album recorded during his “rust never sleeps“ tour

[@alpetrocelli4465]

@@Beatlejamie I must be thinking of Live Rust.

[@rodneygriffin7666]

I absolutely love this song.

[@jerrybush9486]

his output in the 70s is stiil unmatched to this day

[@JohnLedger-g4i]

How does he make that guitar sound like a fiddle !!! Class

[@silentwanderer-movies]

Actually he thought of, or did offer this song to Lynyrd Skynyrd. Glad he kept it

[@seansmith4015]

This is the gold standard song for NY+CH. Cortez is a close second, but my god this just sums it all up.

[@JB-Deadskins]

Check out Live Rust for an earlier, and Weld for a later, version of this song. Hear the evolution

[@mojorider8455]

"And I just turned twenty-two, I was wonderin' what to do...:" My gawd, who hasn't felt that way at some point in life? Daddy's gone, big John's stuck in grief and drinking and useless, where all of a sudden you're in having to grow up real fast and be in charge. Man....oh, and yeah, give this one a few more listens and it might change your mind and make this a home run

[@richardwilley3246]

If you haven't already, check out Cortez the Killer and Like a Hurricane. My favorite Neil.

[@-R.Gray-]

A great Neil Young performance on video : SNL Rehearsal of "Rockin' In The Free World"(1989). Another SNL treasure : George Harrison and Paul Simon - "Here Comes The Sun" and "Homeward Bound".

[@bobsavage3317]

There's a beautiful live cover of this song by the Cowboy Junkies.

[@DENVEROUTDOORMAN]

Yup though the lead sing sounds like she s on drugs like nothing affects her

[@brianvernon249]

And once yer gone you can never come back. When yer out of the blue, and into the black.

[@stevenparker4684]

Neil Young the Canadian Bob Dylan ❤

[@randyjohnson6960]

Let's GO🎶🎵🎸🔥👊❤️

[@rickandgen]

Recommend doing the first track and the last track from this album back to back. My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue) followed by Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)

[@DreamJeanne1111]

One of my favorite Neil Young albums. My favorite two songs are Thrasher and Pocahontas. I'm certain you know that Neil Young is an American Indian. Thrasher is a lyrical masterpiece of disillusion and setting out on your own. I really enjoy your channel. Thank you so much.

[@tonyde6423]

Thought you doing reaction to powderfinger the band my bad cheers

[@brettv5967]

Great song. I’ve always preferred the grittier sound of the version on the Live Rust album.

[@Cheryworld]

A good follow up would be REVOLUTION BLUES. From the On the Beach album. Neil Young. David Crosby plays guitar. Rick Danko (bass) Levon Helm (drums) from the Band, back it all up. And the lyrics and the story by Neil. Scary Neil. He had some associations in his life

[@cornellrosiu8818]

On The Beach, great album- look forward to L33 rxn to it someday. Ambulance Blues" fav

[@bookhouseboy280]

@@cornellrosiu8818 "An ambulance can only go so fast." This at album's end... deep ditch knowing.

[@mythicsin3083]

One of my favorite Young songs. Loved him since Buffalo Springfield.

[@DENVEROUTDOORMAN]

Ragged Glory just as Good

[@mythicsin3083]

@@DENVEROUTDOORMAN Ragged glory is great. I still have it docked up on my old iPod lol. Bought it the day it came out too.

[@Hartlor_Tayley]

Look out Mama

[@Jakeellwood]

I don't know any other songs like this. His best?

[@thescrewfly]

I always kinda thought Powderfinger was set during the civil war. After all, why would a gunboat (with numbers on the side) be coming up the river towards the family's farm? But, yeah, enigmatic...

[@rachelpsmith3129]

The whole album is just great. My favorite Neil album. Every song is cool as fuck, even the funny ones. Side one is acoustic and side two hard rock or punk and/or grunge. My other favorite Neil album is Tonight's the Night. Closer to the earlier classic Neil that you mention as best. Bear in mind these are my favorites because they were the only two Neil Young records I had when I was in high school. If I'd had two different albums they'd have been my faves instead. Thrasher on side one of Rust Never Sleeps is about the best song writing ever. Cheers, great reaction. Sex Pistols. They should be next. ❤

[@L33Reacts]

Thank you Rachel! I appreciate that so much. I can’t wait to hear the rest of his catalog! So far he has absolutely exceeded every expectation I had

[@L33Reacts]

I’ll keep them in mind :)

[@SpuzzyLargo]

To me "Barstool Blues" has a similar sonic flavor. Check it out.

[@silentwanderer-movies]

Next: Big Time with Neil Young and the horse. From Broken Arrow album. :) kzbin.info/www/bejne/q4KxfGepi9aoeJY

[@russallert]

Rust Never Sleeps wasn't so much a "reunion" for Crazy Horse as it was just another go-round. Neil and the Horse have often come together and then split off again over the decades - sometimes amicably, sometimes not so. Neil has said that playing with the Horse is special, and that he doesn't want to wear it out by doing it too frequently.

[@DENVEROUTDOORMAN]

It was a tour but a great album...not real out of ordinary but never played on top 40 garbage rock station

[@richgaluppo4417]

Thanks, and why do you not use video versions instead of merely audio versions? Zappa etc. fun to watch.

[@L33Reacts]

I do both. Videos are usually blocked more and take away from the first listen (I know from experience lol) and can be distracting. And it’s also a whole different copyright claim on top of the claim for the audio. There’s a few reasons.

[@michael7191]

RALPH Molina!!!

[@charliecochran3035]

I hope that at some point you get around to Ragged Glory. A lot of the guitar on that is similar to this, but there is a lot more of it. Edit...by the way, hes still a good guy. He has an odd manner in conversation but when you get past it his stories and humble, deadpan sense of humor are oretty hard not to like. Hes intensely interested in things that dont sound particularly interesting until you listen to him talk about it.

[@sharondavid-melly1498]

👍😍

[@Rich_N_1]

FWIW my own favourite of this song is fellow Canadian's "Cowboy Junkies" version, link below. kzbin.info/www/bejne/mZDJlaqnmNmgrck

[@DENVEROUTDOORMAN]

No not Neil s best song but still a great song

[@JohnLedger-g4i]

Keep Rocking in the Free World !!!

[@DENVEROUTDOORMAN]

Not as good...not nearly as good as Ragged Glory Love and Only Love but Wimpboys never hear the goodstuff

[@DavidRold-pt3ng]

Great song, but like you said, no where near his best imo. It's looks like you've hit a lot of my favs already, but there's still so many greats by him. If you haven't hit it yet, Kortez the Killer. Southern Man Alabama The Needle & The Damage Done Only Love Can Break Your Heart After The Gold Rush Walk On Hey Hey My My

[@Beatlejamie]

Why did you say Neil Young’s been given a bad rap lately? The man is a God! At least here in Canada. I’m intrigued… who is saying disparaging things about Neil?

[@Beatlejamie]

Unless you’re talking about his politics… In which case he never has held back. He has always spoken out against injustice. Southern Man, Ohio, Cortez the killer, rockin in the free world, this note’s for you, the list goes on and on that’s one of the coolest things about him!

[@James-hd6ez]

​@@BeatlejamieWell it's about time he spoke out about the genocide going on in Gaza!😮21,000 children slaughtered by the brave Idf.

[@Beatlejamie]

⁠ he speaks about what he wants to speak about. He’s a musician. I’m sure if somebody asked him his opinion about Gaza he would talk about it.

[@debjorgo]

Yeah, I think you missed the pivotal line. It was right before you said, "Sounds like something bad's about to happen."

[@KevinBerus]

Sad what Neill became