Weld | ||||
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Live album by | ||||
Released | October 22, 1991 | |||
Recorded | February – April, 1991 | |||
Genre | Hard rock | |||
Length | 121:49 | |||
Label | Reprise | |||
Producer | Neil Young, David Briggs, Billy Talbot | |||
Neil Young and Crazy Horse chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [1] |
Robert Christgau | A− [2] |
Weld is a live album by Neil Young and Crazy Horse released in 1991, comprising performances recorded on the tour to promote the Ragged Glory album. It was initially released as a limited edition three-disc set entitled Arc-Weld, with the Arc portion being a single disc consisting in its entirety of a sound collage of guitar noise and feedback. Arc has since been released separately.
Weld consists of rock and roll songs by Young and Crazy Horse, duplicating seven that had appeared on either Rust Never Sleeps or Live Rust from twelve years earlier. It also echoes those albums as Young, in both cases having spent most of a previous decade pursuing different musical avenues, returned to straightforward rock and roll via the Ragged Glory album with Crazy Horse, then celebrating that return with an accompanying live document and concert film.
The album includes Young's "Gulf War" version of Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind", which has air raid sound effects. The tour coincided with the Gulf War, which had an impact on how the band played the songs, and influenced Young to make changes to the setlists, adding the violence themed songs "Cortez the Killer" and "Powderfinger". Young explains in a November 1991 interview with David Fricke for Rolling Stone:
"We were there all the way through it, and to me, that's what Weld is about. It's very brutal, especially the songs with the big endings. I was trying to create the sound of violence and conflict, heavy machinery, outright destruction. We were watching CNN all the time, watching this shit happen, and then going out to play, singing these songs about conflict. It was a hard thing. And I feel there was nothing else I could do. Whatever could bring people together was more important than me playing a new song. We couldn't go out there and just be entertainment." [3]
Weld was recorded by David Hewitt on Remote Recording Services' Silver Truck.
Neil Young states that he permanently damaged his hearing while mixing this album. [4]
There was a brief release of the concert on VHS and laserdisc. The mix on the video is by longtime Young collaborator David Briggs and is a harder-edged, superior mix, according to biographer Jimmy McDonough in his book Shakey. [5] The video was re-released in May 2009 for digital download. [6]
All tracks written by Neil Young except where noted.
Chart (1991) | Position |
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Australian Albums (ARIA) [9] | 90 |
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [10] | 46 |
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [11] | 12 |
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [12] | 33 |
UK Albums (OCC) [13] | 20 |
US Billboard 200 [14] | 154 |
Organization | Level | Date |
---|---|---|
BPI – UK | Silver | November 1, 2002 |
Neil Percival Young is a Canadian and American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining the folk-rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the beginning of his solo career, often with backing by the band Crazy Horse, he has released critically acclaimed albums such as Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (1969), After the Gold Rush (1970), Harvest (1972), On the Beach (1974), and Rust Never Sleeps (1979). He was also a part-time member of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, with whom he recorded the chart-topping 1970 album Déjà Vu.
Tonight's the Night is the sixth studio album by Canadian / American songwriter Neil Young. It was recorded in August–September 1973, mostly on August 26, but its release was delayed until June 1975. It peaked at No. 25 on the Billboard 200. The album is the third and final of the so-called "Ditch Trilogy" of albums that Young released following the major success of 1972's Harvest, whereupon the scope of his success and acclaim became so difficult for Young to handle that he subsequently experienced alienation from his music and career.
Crazy Horse is an American rock band best known for their association with Neil Young. Beginning in 1969 and continuing to the present day, they have been co-credited on a number of Young's albums, with 15 studio albums and numerous live albums being billed as by Neil Young and Crazy Horse. They have also released six studio albums of their own, issued between 1971 and 2009.
Rust Never Sleeps is the eleventh album by Canadian American singer-songwriter Neil Young and American band Crazy Horse. It was released on June 22, 1979, by Reprise Records and features both studio and live tracks. Most of the album was recorded live, then overdubbed in the studio, while others originated in the studio. Young used the phrase "rust never sleeps" as a concept for his tour with Crazy Horse to avoid artistic complacency and try more progressive, theatrical approaches to performing live.
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. Co-produced by David Briggs, the album is Young's seventh with Crazy Horse.
Live Rust is a live album by Neil Young and Crazy Horse, recorded during their fall 1978 Rust Never Sleeps tour.
"Hey Hey, My My " is a song written by Canadian-American musician Neil Young. Combined with its acoustic counterpart "My My, Hey Hey ", it bookends Young's 1979 album Rust Never Sleeps. The song was influenced by the punk rock zeitgeist of the late 1970s, in particular by Young's collaborations with the American art punk band Devo, and what he viewed as his own growing irrelevance.
"Sedan Delivery" is a song written by Neil Young that was first released on his 1979 album with Crazy Horse, Rust Never Sleeps.
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.
Ragged Glory is the 18th studio album by Canadian / American singer-songwriter Neil Young, and his sixth album with the band Crazy Horse. It was released by Reprise Records on September 10, 1990. Ragged Glory was voted the 36th best Grunge album of all time by Rolling Stone Magazine in 2019.
David Manning Briggs was an American record producer best known for his work with Neil Young and his band Crazy Horse.
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.
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 proven perhaps the most adept at working with the mercurial artist. "Most people turn a corner. Neil ricochets," says Sampedro.
"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.
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.
John Hanlon is an American record producer and recording engineer.
Return to Greendale is a live album from American-Canadian folk rock musician Neil Young and American rock band Crazy Horse recorded in 2003 while touring to promote the album Greendale.
Way Down in the Rust Bucket is a live album and concert film from Canadian-American rock musician Neil Young and his band Crazy Horse, released on February 26, 2021. It is Volume 11.5 in the Performance Series of Neil Young Archives.
"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.