Toast (Neil Young & Crazy Horse album)

Last updated

Toast
Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Toast.png
Studio album by
Neil Young and Crazy Horse
ReleasedJuly 8, 2022 (2022-07-08)
Recorded2000-2001
Length51:59
Label Reprise
Producer Neil Young
Neil Young chronology
Barn
(2021)		Toast
(2022)		 Noise & Flowers
(2022)
Crazy Horse chronology
Barn
(2021)		Toast
(2022)		 World Record
(2022)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The Observer Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Pitchfork 6.3/10 [2]
The Telegraph Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [3]

Toast is the 44th studio album by Canadian-American singer-songwriter Neil Young and Crazy Horse. [3] One of Young's several "lost" albums, it was recorded in 2000-2001 but shelved in favor of Are You Passionate? , and was finally released on July 8, 2022. [2] [1] It is Volume 09 of Neil Young Archives' Special Release Series.

Contents

Background

The album was recorded in late 2000 and early 2001 at Toast Recording Studios (a facility that previously housed the venerable Coast Recorders, utilized by the likes of Nat King Cole, John Coltrane and Creedence Clearwater Revival) in San Francisco. At that time, Young had trouble writing songs amid a difficult period in his marriage to then-wife Pegi, which largely influenced the somber mood of the material that ensued. [4] According to guitarist Frank "Poncho" Sampedro, "It felt like there was something wrong."

In the middle of the tumultuous sessions, the group took a break to play their first shows in Brazil and Argentina; Sampedro claimed that when the reinvigorated band came back to the studio, everything "had a Latin feel." [5] However, Young said he wasn't satisfied with the results and ultimately decided to abandon the sessions: "The songs of Toast were so sad at the time that I couldn't put it out. I just skipped it and went on to do another album in its place". [4] According to Young, Rick Rubin often sat in on the Toast sessions as a guest in the control room, although it remains unclear if he made any substantive production contributions.

Instead, Young made the critically maligned Are You Passionate? with Sampedro and Booker T. & the M.G.'s, re-recording "Quit", "How Ya Doin'?" (as "Mr. Disappointment") and "Boom Boom Boom" (as "She's a Healer") from scratch; "Goin' Home" was the only Crazy Horse recording from the Toast sessions to be included in its original form. The title "Gateway of Love" also appeared on Are You Passionate?' sleeve, but the song itself wasn't included.

Over the next years, Young reappraised the album. In April 2008, Toast was announced for an imminent release as the first installment of the new Special Release Series of Neil Young Archives, with Young comparing it to "a down-played Tonight's The Night " due to its "ambient atmosphere, foggy, blue and desolate." [6] The release failed to materialize, but in the following years Young would periodically talk about Toast in interviews and articles on his website, as well as in his memoir Special Deluxe. It was finally released on July 8, 2022, via Reprise Records on vinyl, CD and digitally.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Neil Young

Toast track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Quit" (Neil Young, Frank Sampedro)5:24
2."Standing in the Light of Love"4:18
3."Goin' Home"7:52
4."Timberline"4:10
5."Gateway of Love"10:10
6."How Ya Doin'?"7:00
7."Boom Boom Boom"13:05

Personnel

Engineering and production

Charts

Chart performance for Toast
Chart (2022)Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [7] 7
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [8] 11
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [9] 17
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [10] 18
French Albums (SNEP) [11] 77
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [12] 4
Irish Albums (IRMA) [13] 76
Italian Albums (FIMI) [14] 97
Scottish Albums (OCC) [15] 4
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) [16] 37
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [17] 34
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [18] 8
UK Albums (OCC) [19] 23
US Billboard 200 [20] 198

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References

  1. 1 2 Empire, Kitty (July 10, 2022). "Neil Young and Crazy Horse: Toast review – brooding 'lost' set from 2001". The Observer . Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  2. 1 2 Cush, Andy (July 7, 2022). "Neil Young / Crazy Horse: Toast". Pitchfork . Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  3. 1 2 McCormick, Neil (July 8, 2022). "Neil Young revisits marital woe, James Righton creates a lockdown alter ego – the week's best albums". The Telegraph . ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  4. 1 2 "TOAST - THE STORY". Neil Young Archives. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  5. ↑ Greene, Andy. "Neil Young and Crazy Horse's Frank 'Poncho' Sampedro on New Live LP, Why He Left the Band". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  6. ↑ "Neil Young set to release new album". NME. Archived from the original on April 4, 2008. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Neil Young with Crazy Horse – Toast" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  8. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Neil Young with Crazy Horse – Toast" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  9. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Neil Young with Crazy Horse – Toast" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  10. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Neil Young with Crazy Horse – Toast" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  11. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Neil Young with Crazy Horse – Toast". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  12. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Neil Young with Crazy Horse – Toast" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  13. ↑ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Neil Young". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  14. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Neil Young with Crazy Horse – Toast". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  15. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  16. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Neil Young with Crazy Horse – Toast". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  17. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Neil Young with Crazy Horse – Toast". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  18. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Neil Young with Crazy Horse – Toast". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  19. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  20. ↑ "Neil Young Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
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