Lesson In Balance (Light Lyrics, Heavy Guitar): Neil Young - Albuquerque

Admittedly; Neil Young's music is fairly new to me...and though this new-found love occurred very happenstance, I am hooked...

I have been dieting on "Tell Me Why" & "On the Beach" for months now. As this is being typed, it is now hour-two of tonight's musical journey, to Albuquerque...on rotation, serenading a sleepy-head (my God, that pedal-steel, it just rips me up)...lying in bed closing my eyes for the night before I finally decided to jump out & purge what's on my mind...

Lyrics...when done right, they are THE direct circuit to the Soul. And that's what I need in music; this connection with mine. I believe that Neil Young is quickly becoming my favorite lyricist; he is definitely up their with John Lennon. They are incomparable though. Their lyrical-styles are completely different: unique but equal in relevance & both totally unfiltered: John, he was just completely fearless; brave. He was also naturally witty & intelligent. This is who he was, truthfully & without effort...and his lyrics reflect this (his very nature). Neil on the other hand is just so direct & succinct in his honesty: their is no attempt on his part to be clever, sarcastic or metaphoric...there is no "your (add vehicle here) is like the (add tenor here), where it (add cliche/adjectives that gives the simile merit)". That's not kind of lyrical poet he is...no, he cuts straight through with his lyrics, spilling his heart & thoughts out unguarded. So in his own right, he is just as brave & audacious. Perfect example: I was forever trying to write out/explain, with a superlative amount of words, exactly what I want in a relationship with a woman, when I heard EXACTLY what I was exasperatingly trying to explain, expressed with 9 simple words that Neil sang (in the opening verse on Down by the River): "Be by my side, I'll be by your side"...no more needs to be added to this, it's perfectly put!

Now as familiarity goes, I am at my nascent stage of being a fan; his catalog is my new-found discovery & each song is a gem to behold... Within the song Albuquerque specifically, embodied in the live performance above, is the perfect complement to Neil's vocals via his guitar work: completely open/honest lyrics as well as his yearn-filled, soothing voice, both belie the deep-boom & rumble added to the dynamics of the guitar; like a counterweight giving perfect balance to the heavy chords. I use the word heavy as a double-meaning: the high E-string is down-tuned, giving weight to the low end & overall feel of the song, making each chordal strike sound more massive, as heard (rather, felt) in the guitar passage that quotes the chorus at minute 0:32, which ends with a bombastic note at minute 0:41 before continuing on gently...also, the guitar work is emotionally heavy: it is very, very rare in a song when the guitar alone can make me cry: his playing is filled with such deep, heartfelt sadness, I can't help but be moved in sympathy with the notes.

Juxtaposed perfectly with this are light lyrics, such as "find some fried eggs & country ham" which allows for just enough space/time to take a breathe & gather myself: I can very easily drown in the blissfully beautiful melancholic mood (as is my wont). Even before I was a fan of Neil's work, I had come to find a specific lyrical passage to be gripping & subconsciously made me take notice to it: for some reason as a kid, when I heard "There's one more kid who will never go to school, never get to fall in love, never get to be cool", I was profoundly moved. I shed a tear & felt an overwhelming sense of sympathy for the subject of this verse...it still moves me today...

What's more; Neil is just such a seasoned, master-craftsman with the instrument, I never knew this about him: his strumming dynamics & sense of timing; his selection of delectable, choice-notes in just the right places. He also has just the right amount of overdrive dialed in through his vintage Fender Bassman to where he can control the gain amount with his volume knob & his hands...pure tone and emotion just dripping from his fingers & strings...i.e. @ 1:35, He starts the 2nd verse by palm-muting the chords while delicately strumming. He then lets up on the strings with his right hand just a bit, adding dynamics by striking single-note stabs in the midst of a light arpeggio & in between each lyrical line, perfectly complementing his soft vocal phrasing by accenting the hammer-on note on the up-beat (on "2 and") of each measure, while lightly choking the string with just the right touch; making the guitar sound like it's got a lump in the back of its throat, as if the Telecaster is trying to talk while choked up teary eyed: I love when a musician can make the guitar sound so very human.

Bottom line, I am coming to find that Neil & his music are genius, & I thank God for both.