Danger Bird (Neil Young song)

Last updated

"Danger Bird"
Song by Neil Young
from the album Zuma
ReleasedNovember 10, 1975
RecordedJune 3, 1975
Studio Point Dume, California
Genre
Length6:54
Label Reprise
Songwriter(s) Neil Young
Producer(s) Neil Young
David Briggs

"Danger Bird" is a song written by Neil Young. It was first released on his 1975 album with Crazy Horse, Zuma . A live version was also released on the 1997 album Year of the Horse .

Contents

Music and lyrics

"Danger Bird" was recorded in two different sessions several weeks apart that were put together by co-producer David Briggs. [1] It and the more famous "Cortez the Killer" are two songs on Zuma in which Young and Crazy Horse return to the style of songs like "Down by the River" with long feedback-heavy guitar passages. [2] [3] It is styled as a slow folk song in a minor key. [4] [5] The music provides an intense, brooding atmosphere. [6] [7] In some of the verses a member of Crazy Horse takes the lead vocal while Young provides a backup vocal singing different words. [5]

The lyrics to "Danger Bird" reflect the disintegration of Young's relationship with Carrie Snodgress. [1] [7] [8] Some of the lyrics, including the lines "'Cause you've been with another man/There you are and here I am," were originally written for an unreleased song titled "L.A. Girls and Ocean Boys" that was inspired by a trip Young made to visit Snodgrass in which he found out she had been cheating on him. [8] [1] Music critic Johnny Rogan interprets the titular bird as a "metaphor for a doomed relationship." [6] Rogan finds some hopefulness in the final lines "And though these wings have turned to stone/I can fly, fly fly away." [6] Music journalist Nigel Williamson is reminded of imagery from Young's 1968 song "The Loner" by the line "Danger bird, he flies alone." [7] Music author Ken Bielen finds additional themes in the song as the comfort we find in complacency and our fear of being vulnerable, for example in line in which the titular bird sings that "freedom's just a prison." [5]

Young said of "Danger Bird" that "that's a wild song. It's so slow and great. Isn't it slow? Briggs always wanted to remix it. I like the mix. A combination of two songs. 'L.A. Girls and Ocean Boys' I never recorded, but it's part of 'Danger Bird.' Hey, sometimes that's what happens—one song doesn't come out, I'll be writin' another and say 'Oh, that fits.' Bang! Drop it right in." [1]

Reception

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame guitarist [9] Lou Reed considered the guitar playing on "Danger Bird" to be the best he had ever heard, stating "It makes me cry, it is the best I have heard in my life. The guy is a spectacular guitarist, those melodies are so marvelous, so calculated, constructed note to note… he must have killed to get those notes. It puts my hairs on end!”. [6] [10] [11] David Downing suggests that this may be an overstatement but that the performance is nonetheless "remarkable." [10] Downing praises the intensity produced by the "straining and stretching notes" that Young plays "almost in slow motion." [10] Downing especially notes the accompaniment to the final line about flying with stone wings, where Downing feels that the guitar playing allows the listener to feel how heavy those stone wings are but still makes the listener believe that the bird will find a way to fly with them anyway. [10] AllMusic critic Matthew Greenwald describes the guitar solos by Young and Crazy Horse rhythm guitarist Frank Sampedro as being "exquisite." [4]

Williamson describes the song as representing Young and Crazy Horse "at their brooding best." [7] Young biographer Jimmy McDonough describes "Danger Bird" as "perhaps the most unsettling song Young has created, a soundtrack worthy of those ten-cent portraits of Hell found in a Coffin Joe flick," and also "a masterpiece, a trip inside the darkest recesses of Shakey's mind." [1] Pitchfork contributor Rob Mitchum describes the song as a "triumphantly moody, electric epic" which provides "spacious opportunities for Young to revive his trademark lacerating guitar tone." [3] Neil Young FAQ author Glen Boyd, comparing it to "Cortez the Killer," calls it an "equally stunning, if somewhat more underrated contender for a Neil Young and Old Black hall of fame. [2] Rolling Stone Album Guide contributor Paul Evans describes "Danger Bird" as a "standout" track on Zuma. [12] Village Voice critic Robert Christgau describes the song as "sprawling blockbuster cut" which he considers compromised to some extent by its "relative neatness and control." [13]

A 2015 reader poll by Rolling Stone ranked "Danger Bird" as Young's 7th best "deep cut." [14] A year earlier the editors of Rolling Stone rated "Danger Bird" to be the 24th best Neil Young song of all time. [8]

Live performances

Young almost never plays "Danger Bird" live unless he is performing with Crazy Horse. [14] A live version appears on the 1997 live album Year of the Horse . [14] [15] Bielen describes the guitar playing at the beginning of the song to have an "industrial wah-wah sound" before proceeding to "distorted power chords." [5] This version lasts more than 13 minutes as a result of a lot of jamming. [5]

Related Research Articles

"Sedan Delivery" is a song written by Neil Young that was first released on his 1979 album with Crazy Horse, Rust Never Sleeps.

<i>Zuma</i> (Neil Young & Crazy Horse album) 1975 studio album by Neil Young and Crazy Horse

Zuma, the seventh studio album by Canadian/American musician Neil Young, was released on Reprise Records in November 1975. Co-credited to Crazy Horse, it includes "Cortez the Killer", one of Young's best-known songs.

"Cortez the Killer" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young from his 1975 album, Zuma. It was recorded with the band Crazy Horse. It has since been ranked No. 39 on Guitar World's 100 Greatest Guitar Solos and No. 329 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

"Out on the Weekend" is a song written by Neil Young that was the opening song of his 1972 album Harvest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Sampedro</span> American musician

Frank "Poncho" Sampedro is an American retired guitarist and member of the rock band Crazy Horse, known mainly for his longtime collaboration with singer-songwriter Neil Young. Sampedro has played and recorded with Young in many other configurations aside from Crazy Horse and earned co-writing credits on several Young songs. Out of all Young's musical collaborators, Sampedro has perhaps proven the most adept at working with the mercurial artist.

"Cowgirl in the Sand" is a song written by Neil Young and first released on his 1969 album Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere. Young has included live versions of the song on several albums and on the Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young album 4 Way Street. It has also been covered by The Byrds on their self-titled album. Like three other songs from Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, "Cinnamon Girl", "Down by the River" and the title track, Young wrote "Cowgirl in the Sand" while he was suffering from the flu with a high fever at his home in Topanga, California.

"Powderfinger" is a song written by Neil Young, first released on his 1979 album Rust Never Sleeps. It subsequently appeared on several of Young's live recordings. A 2014 Rolling Stone special issue on Young ranked it as Young's best song ever.

"Tired Eyes" is a song written by Neil Young that was first released on his 1975 album Tonight's the Night.

"Pocahontas" is a song written by Neil Young that was first released on his 1979 album Rust Never Sleeps. It has also been covered by Johnny Cash, Everclear, Emily Loizeau, Crash Vegas, Gillian Welch, Trampled By Turtles, and Ian McNabb.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Will to Love</span> Song by Neil Young

"Will to Love" is a song written by Neil Young that was first released on his 1977 album American Stars 'N Bars. A promotional single of "Will to Love" was released, backed with a live performance of "Cortez the Killer."

"The Old Laughing Lady" is a song written by Neil Young that was first released on his 1968 debut solo album Neil Young.

"Harvest" is a song written by Neil Young that was the title song of his 1972 album Harvest.

"From Hank to Hendrix" is a song written by Neil Young that was first released on his 1992 album Harvest Moon. Young has frequently included it in live sets and it has been included on a number of live and compilation albums.

"Unknown Legend" is a song written by Neil Young that was first released on his 1992 album Harvest Moon. Although it was not released as a single, it reached #38 on the Billboard Magazine Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

"I Believe in You" is a song written by Neil Young that was first released on his 1970 album After the Gold Rush. It has also been covered by other artists, including Linda Ronstadt, Robin Zander and Rita Coolidge. Coolidge's version was released as a single and was a minor hit in Canada.

"Crime in the City " is a song written by Neil Young that was first released on his 1989 album Freedom, although Young had performed longer versions in concert earlier. It was not released as a single but reached number 34 on the Billboard Magazine Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. It is a lengthy song, with a released version of almost nine minutes, but earlier versions were more than twice as long. It has been characterized as a document of moral rot in urban regions of the United States in the late 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (song)</span> Neil Young song

"Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere" is a song written by Neil Young that was originally released as the title track of his 1969 album with Crazy Horse, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere. The song was written earlier, and a different version was originally considered for Young's 1968 solo debut album Neil Young.

"Country Girl" is a song written by Neil Young that was first released on Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's 1970 album Déjà Vu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Come On Baby Let's Go Downtown</span> Song written by Danny Whitten

"Come On Baby Let's Go Downtown", also known as "(Come On Baby Let's Go) Downtown" or "Downtown", is a song written by Danny Whitten, possibly in collaboration with Neil Young, that was first released on Crazy Horse's 1971 album Crazy Horse. A live version was later released on multiple Neil Young albums, most famously on his 1975 album Tonight's the Night, and then on his 2006 album Live at the Fillmore East. Phish has covered the song in concert.

"Tonight's the Night" is a song written by Neil Young that was first released on his 1975 album Tonight's the Night. Two versions of the song bookended the album, with one version as the first song, and the other as the last. "Tonight's the Night" has also appeared on some of Young's live and compilation albums.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 McDonough, Jimmy (2003). Shakey: Neil Young's Biography. Anchor. pp. 447, 487, 491. ISBN   9780679750963.
  2. 1 2 Boyd, Glen (2012). Neil Young FAQ: Everything Left to Know About the Iconic and Mercurial Rocker. Backbeat Books. ASIN   B008RYZ7WM.
  3. 1 2 Mitchum, Bob (September 13, 2016). "Neil Young: Time Fades Away". Pitchfork . Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  4. 1 2 Greenwald, Matthew. "Danger Bird". AllMusic . Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Bielen, K. (2008). The Words and Music of Neil Young. Praeger. pp. 32–33, 90. ISBN   9780275999025.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Rogan, Johnny (1996). The Complete Guide to the Music of Neil Young. Omnibus Press. p. 64. ISBN   978-0711953994.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Williamson, N. (2002). Journey Through the Past: The Stories Behind the Classic Songs of Neil Young. Hal Leonard. p. 62. ISBN   9780879307417.
  8. 1 2 3 "The 100 Greatest Songs". Neil Young. Rolling Stone. 2014. p. 79.
  9. ↑ "Lou Reed". Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Downing, D. (1994). A Dreamer of Pictures: Neil Young, the Man and His Music . Da Capo. p.  122. ISBN   9780306806117.
  11. ↑ "The 10 Best Solos of Neil Young". Guitars Exchange. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
  12. ↑ Evans, Paul (1992). DeCurtis, Anthony; Henke, James (eds.). The Rolling Stone Album Guide: Specially Abridged to Accompany 25 Years of Essential Rock (3rd ed.). Straight Arrow Publishers. p. 336. ISBN   978-0679737292.
  13. ↑ Christgau, Robert. "Neil Young". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  14. 1 2 3 Greene, Andy (June 3, 2015). "Readers' Poll: The 10 Best Neil Young Deep Cuts". Rolling Stone . Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  15. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Year of the Horse". AllMusic . Retrieved October 7, 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.