Fork in the Road | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | April 7, 2009 | |||
Recorded | 2008–2009 | |||
Genre | Rock, folk rock | |||
Length | 38:46 | |||
Label | Reprise | |||
Producer | "The Volume Dealers" (Neil Young and Niko Bolas) | |||
Neil Young chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Blender | [2] |
The Guardian | [3] |
musicOMH | [4] |
PopMatters | [5] |
Robert Christgau | [6] |
Rolling Stone | [7] |
Uncut | [8] |
Fork in the Road is the 29th studio album by Canadian / American musician Neil Young, released April 7, 2009, on Reprise Records. [9] The album was released on vinyl on July 26, 2009.
The album was inspired by Young's Lincoln Continental that had been retooled to run entirely on alternative energy, and Young's background with the Lincvolt project he has been working on alongside mechanic Jonathan Goodwin. The project has been to develop a viable electric energy power system for automobiles. Young's own 1959 Lincoln Continental will serve as their completed prototype. A documentary produced by Larry Johnson followed the electric car in its first long-distance trip to Washington, DC. Young also published his thoughts on the topic through a series of posts to the Huffington Post website. [10]
In November 2010, the car started a fire that caused over a million dollars of damage to a warehouse and possessions of Young stored there. Young blamed the fire on human error and said he and his team were committed to rebuilding the car. "The wall charging system was not completely tested and had never been left unattended. A mistake was made. It was not the fault of the car", he said. [11]
The song "Fuel Line" was inspired by rising fuel prices and Young's interest in alternative fuels and energy sources. Young explains in his memoir, Special Deluxe: "With gasoline priced at $2.35 per gallon, vacillating wildly from year to year on its overall steady climb, I had recorded a song called "Fuel Line," featuring the choruses 'Fill 'er up' and 'Keep fillin' that fuel line.' I was writing and performing a lot of songs about Lincvolt and the subject of electric powered cars. Fork in the Road, the album we made, was released in 2009. A lot of people were pissed that I made an album about that subject and I got bad reviews, but it was what was on my mind and I can be obsessive. Being obsessive is not such a bad thing for creativity." [12]
"The gas station is the tentacle of big oil, which reaches out and touches all of us daily. If you can eliminate roadside refueling, then whatever technology can do that will also change the way we generate power—the heat in our houses and the power that turns on the lights and all those things—and the way the world works. I really think it’s time for us to try to do that. No goal was ever met by not setting it." [13]
"Johnny Magic" was written for Wichita mechanic Jonathan Goodwin of H-Line Conversions. Young had hired Goodwin to convert his 1959 Lincoln Continental convertible to a hybrid vehicle. [14] Young had chosen one of the largest vehicles in his collection for conversion to electric power to demonstrate what was possible:
"People love their cars, especially here in America, and have a spirit that they associate with their car. They love their big cars. They love their big roads, and they're big people. So you can't sell a tiny electric car to Americans. You can sell it to some of them, but it's not an easy sell. So there are ways to eliminate roadside refueling, and what we need to do is make these ways attractive to people so they don’t lose the spirit of the car." [15]
"Cough Up the Bucks" was inspired by the 2007–2008 financial crisis and the resulting Wall Street bailout. Young explains in a 2019 post to his website: "This song is one of my all time favorites. There was a huge crash in the market. 2008. We were in Wichita building Lincvolt. The world was watching the US economy implode. It was obvious who got screwed. There is a piece of history if I ever saw one."
The album was recorded in December 2008 at Legacy Studios in New York. "When Worlds Collide" was recorded prior to the sessions in August 2008 at RAK Studios in London.
Young's vocal performance on "Fork in the Road" was nominated for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance at the 52nd Grammy Awards, 2010. [16]
All songs written and composed by Neil Young
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "When Worlds Collide" | 4:14 |
2. | "Fuel Line" | 3:11 |
3. | "Just Singing a Song" | 3:31 |
4. | "Johnny Magic" | 4:18 |
5. | "Cough Up the Bucks" | 4:38 |
6. | "Get Behind the Wheel" | 3:08 |
7. | "Off the Road" | 3:22 |
8. | "Hit the Road" | 3:36 |
9. | "Light a Candle" | 3:01 |
10. | "Fork in the Road" | 5:47 |
Recorded at: Legacy Studios, New York City RAK Studios, London England Mixed at: Blackbird Studios Nashville, TN Legacy Studios, New York City RAK Studios, London England
John Netti, Nathan Yarborough - Blackbird Studios Production Assistant: Anthony Acquilato - Legacy Studios
Music videos:
Studio videos:
A Day in the Life concert video:
Chart (2009) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (ARIA) [17] | 37 |
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [18] | 45 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [19] | 13 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [20] | 48 |
Canadian Albums (Billboard) [21] | 15 |
Danish Albums (Hitlisten) [22] | 15 |
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [23] | 23 |
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) [24] | 16 |
French Albums (SNEP) [25] | 31 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [26] | 17 |
Irish Albums (IRMA) [27] | 18 |
Italian Albums (FIMI) [28] | 36 |
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [29] | 28 |
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [30] | 1 |
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) [31] | 38 |
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [32] | 11 |
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [33] | 65 |
UK Albums (OCC) [34] | 22 |
US Billboard 200 [35] | 19 |
Greendale is the 25th studio album by Neil Young. Young and Crazy Horse's Greendale is a 10-song musical novel set in a fictional California seaside town of the same name. Based on the saga of the Green family, Greendale combines numerous themes on corruption, observation of the passing of time, environmentalism and mass media consolidation.
Sleeps with Angels is the 20th studio album by Canadian musician Neil Young, released on August 16, 1994, on Reprise as a double LP and as a single CD. The album is Young's seventh with Crazy Horse. Co-produced by David Briggs, the album is Young's last with his long-time producer, who died the following year. The title track was written and recorded as a tribute to Kurt Cobain in wake of his suicide. Although the rest of the album was recorded before that event, the album takes on a somber, subdued tone throughout. Musician and author Ken Viola described the album as one of Young's "top five records. It examines the nature of dreams — both the light and dark side — and how they fuel reality in the nineties. Dreams are the only thing that we've got left to hang on to."
Long May You Run is a studio album credited to the Stills–Young Band, a collaboration between Stephen Stills and Neil Young, released in 1976 on Reprise Records. It peaked at #26 on the Billboard 200 and was certified gold in the United States by the RIAA. The album is the sole studio release by Stills and Young as a duo.
Hawks & Doves is the eleventh studio album by Canadian musician Neil Young. It was released on October 29, 1980, through Reprise Records. It was produced by Young along with Tim Mulligan and Elliot Mazer. The first side of the album consists of previously unreleased folk-centric material recorded from 1974 through 1977, while the second side features heavily country-styled songs recorded specifically for the album in July 1980.
Silver & Gold is the 23rd studio album by Canadian/American musician Neil Young, released on April 25, 2000. Like the previous albums Comes a Time and Harvest Moon and the subsequent Prairie Wind, it largely features acoustic performances with a backing band of Nashville musicians with a long history of collaboration with Young.
Prairie Wind is the 26th studio album by Canadian / American musician Neil Young, released on September 27, 2005.
Unplugged is a live album by Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young, released on June 15, 1993, on Reprise. Recorded on February 7, 1993, the album is an installment of the MTV series, Unplugged. The performance was also released on VHS.
Broken Arrow is the 22nd studio album by Canadian-American musician Neil Young, and his tenth with Crazy Horse, released in 1996.
Homegrown is the 40th studio album by Canadian-American Neil Young. It was released on June 19, 2020, by Reprise Records. The album consists of material recorded between June 1974 and January 1975. The album was recorded after the release of On the Beach and before the sessions for Zuma. Like those two albums, much of the material was inspired by Young's relationship with actress Carrie Snodgress, which was deteriorating in 1974. The album was compiled and prepared for release in 1975. Instead, Tonight's the Night was released in its place, and Homegrown remained unreleased for decades. It was finally set for release as part of Record Store Day 2020, amid Neil Young's ongoing Archives campaign. Its release was again delayed by Record Store Day's postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic, before finally seeing release on June 19.
Chrome Dreams is the 44th album by Neil Young. It was first compiled as an acetate for consideration as an album for release in 1977. A copy of the acetate widely circulated as a bootleg in the decades prior to its release. The album was officially released on August 11, 2023 to universal acclaim from critics.
Living With War is the 27th studio album by Canadian / American musician Neil Young, released on May 2, 2006. The album's lyrics, titles, and conceptual style are highly critical of the policies of the George W. Bush administration; the CTV website described it as "a musical critique of U.S. President George W. Bush and his conduct of the war in Iraq". The record was written and recorded over nine days in March and April 2006.
Live at the Fillmore East is a live album by Neil Young and Crazy Horse featuring guitarist Danny Whitten, released in 2006. It also has the distinction of being the first album released as part of the Neil Young Archives series of archival recordings.
Live at Massey Hall 1971 is a live album by Canadian musician Neil Young. Released in 2007, the album features a solo acoustic performance by Young at Massey Hall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on 19 January 1971 during his Journey Through the Past Solo Tour. It is the second release in Young's Archives Performance Series.
Chrome Dreams II is the 28th studio album by Canadian-American musician Neil Young. The album was released on October 23, 2007 as a double LP and as a single CD. The album name references Chrome Dreams, a legendary Neil Young album from 1977 that had originally been scheduled for release but was shelved in favor of American Stars 'N Bars.
Sugar Mountain – Live at Canterbury House 1968 is a live album by Canadian-American musician Neil Young. On November 8–10, 1968, Young performed three solo acoustic shows at Canterbury House in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The album is compiled from the performances on the 9th and 10th.
Le Noise is the 30th studio album by Canadian / American musician Neil Young, released on September 28, 2010. The album was recorded in Los Angeles and produced by Daniel Lanois, hence the titular pun. The album consists of Young performing solo, mostly on electric guitar with echo effects, distortion and feedback. The sessions coincided with the death of two of Young's longtime collaborators, filmmaker L.A. Johnson and steel guitarist Ben Keith, influencing some of the lyrics. Lanois also experienced a near-fatal motorcycle accident during recording. The album is the first collaboration between the two Canadians.
Americana is the 31st studio album by Canadian / American musician Neil Young, released on June 5, 2012. The album was Young's first collaboration with backing band Crazy Horse since their 2003 album, Greendale, and its associated tour.
Psychedelic Pill is the 32nd studio album by Canadian / American musician Neil Young, released on October 30, 2012. It is the second collaboration between Young and Crazy Horse released in 2012 and their first original work together since the Greendale album and tour in 2003 and 2004. The album was streamed on Young's website on October 24, 2012, and leaked onto the Internet the same day.
A Letter Home is the 33rd studio album by Canadian / American musician Neil Young. It was released on April 19, 2014, on Record Store Day by Third Man Records. The album was produced by Young in collaboration with Jack White of The White Stripes.
Hotspot is the fourteenth studio album by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released on 24 January 2020 by the band's own label x2, through Kobalt Label Services. It is supported by the singles "Dreamland" featuring Years & Years, which was released on 25 October 2019, and "Burning the Heather", which was released alongside the album announcement on 13 December 2019. The duo planned to tour the UK and Europe in support of the album in mid-2020. The album charted in numerous countries, reaching No. 3 on the album charts in the United Kingdom, Germany and Spain.