Old Ways

For other uses, see Old Ways (disambiguation).

1985 studio album by Neil Young

Old Ways

Studio album by

Neil Young

Released| August 12, 1985
Recorded| January 1983 – April 1985
Venue| The Opry, Austin, Texas
Studio|

* House of David, Nashville
* The Castle, Franklin, Tennessee
* Pedernales Recording, Spicewood, Texas

Genre|

* Country
* country rock

Length| 36:43
Label| Geffen
Producer|

* Neil Young
* David Briggs
* Ben Keith
* Elliot Mazer

Neil Young chronology
| Everybody's Rockin'
(1983)  | Old Ways
(1985)  | Landing on Water
(1986)

|
|

Singles from  Old Ways

1. "Are There Any More Real Cowboys?" / "I'm a Memory"
Released: 1985
2. "Get Back to the Country" / "Misfits"
Released: September 1985
3. "Old Ways" / "Once an Angel"
Released: February 1986

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
AllMusic| [1]
Robert Christgau| B[2]
Kerrang!| [4]
Rolling Stone| (favorable)[3]

Old Ways is the 15th studio album by Canadian-American musician and singer-songwriter Neil Young, released on August 12, 1985, on Geffen Records.

## Background

[edit]

Young first made an attempt at a country album in the 1980s in January 1983. He recorded several songs at producer David Briggs' Nashville recording studio House of David with longtime collaborators Ben Keith, Tim Drummond, Karl T. Himmel, Spooner Oldham and Rufus Thibodeaux, who had all previously backed Young on Comes a Time from 1978. The songs "Old Ways", "Depression Blues", "California Sunset", "My Boy", "Are There Any More Real Cowboys?" and "Silver and Gold" all date from these sessions. After turning in Trans and the unreleased Island in the Sun in 1982, Young's record label, Geffen, objected to a country album, asking Young for a "rock 'n roll" record, which Young gave them in the form of 1983's Everybody's Rockin'. "Depression Blues" later appeared on Young's Geffen-era compilation Lucky Thirteen, while "Silver and Gold" appeared as the title track of an album in 2000. Young describes this first effort in a June 1988 Rolling Stone interview with James Henke:

> There was a whole other record, the original Old Ways, which Geffen rejected. It was like Harvest II. It was a combination of the musicians from Harvest and Comes a Time. It was done in Nashville in only a few days, basically the same way Harvest was done, and it was co-produced by Elliot Mazer, who produced Harvest. There's Harvest, Comes a Time and Old Ways I, which is more of a Neil Young record than Old Ways II. Old Ways II was more of a country record – which was a direct result of being sued for playing country music. The more they tried to stop me, the more I did it. Just to let them know that no one's gonna tell me what to do. I was so stoked about that record. I sent them a tape of it that had eight songs on it. I called them up a week later, 'cause I hadn't heard anything, and they said, "Well, frankly, Neil, this record scares us a lot. We don't think this is the right direction for you to be going in." ... They didn't look at me as an artist; they looked at me as a product, and this product didn't fit in with their marketing scheme.[5]

In 1984, Young toured with the band from the 1983 sessions. The tour included an appearance on the Austin City Limits TV show and would eventually be chronicled on the live album A Treasure in 2011. Young saw country music and his adopted country music persona as a respite from his then-waning career in rock music, the demands of his record company, and his struggles to record the rock album that would become Landing on Water. He explained to the Melody Maker's Adam Sweeting in a September 1985 interview:

> In some ways rock 'n' roll has let me down. It really doesn't leave you a way to grow old gracefully and continue to work. If you're gonna rock you better burn out, 'cause that's the way they wanna see you.[6]

## Writing

[edit]

Many of the songs on the album reflect a sense of contentment with family life. "Once an Angel" is a tribute to his wife, Pegi while "My Boy" is an ode to his son, Zeke. In a 2020 posting on his Archives website, Young describes "My Boy" as "probably the most soulful recording I have ever made." The outtake "Amber Jean" celebrates the birth of his newborn daughter. Another outtake, "Silver and Gold" also reflects his seeming satisfaction with family life, while "California Sunset" is dedicated to his adopted home.

"The Wayward Wind" is a cover of a 1955 Gogi Grant song that Young remembers, in a version by Frankie Laine, from his childhood in Ontario;[7] the song brings back important memories for him: "I always remember that same stretch of road, the railroad tracks, the whole thing—every time I hear that song, it comes right back. That feeling when you're young and open, you have all these ideas. Real wide view. I dug the song a lot. You can really get lost in it."[8]

"Misfits (Dakota)" offers surreal lyrics about space station astronauts and Muhammad Ali. Young explains how quickly the song came about in a 1985 interview with Adam Sweeting for the Melody Maker: "It only took me a few minutes to write it. I picked up my electric guitar one night in the studio, I was by myself and I turned it up real loud and started playing and, I wrote it just that night."[9]

"Bound for Glory" is a ballad that tells the tale of an affair between a long distance truck driver and a lone hitchhiker. Young recounts in a 1986 interview with Bill Flanagan: "I wrote that one on a little word processor in the back of my bus while I was rolling. I wrote it with a couple of beers and a little smoke. The bus was rolling down the road and I typed it out and I knew the melody in my head already. That's my favorite one on the Old Ways album."[10]

## Recording

[edit]

In Spring 1985, Young returned to the studio to record a country music album. During sessions at various Nashville studios, over a dozen new songs were recorded with both his longtime collaborators and local studio musicians as well as Waylon Jennings. The sessions featured many of the musicians from the earlier Harvest and Comes a Time albums. Additionally, Willie Nelson added vocals and guitar to the 1983 recording of "Are There Any More Real Cowboys?" at his Lake Travis recording studio, making the song into a duet. Outtakes from the 1985 sessions include "Amber Jean", "Beautiful Bluebird" and "Let Your Fingers Do the Walking", among others.

## Promotion

[edit]

"Are There Any More Real Cowboys" was released as a video with Young performing the song as a duet with Willie Nelson.[11]

The partnership with Willie Nelson and Young's delve into the country world would have a lasting impact on the artist's interest in the financial plight of small scale family farmers. Young, Nelson and John Mellencamp would found the Farm Aid organization, performing benefit concerts almost every year in the subsequent decades. Young made plans to release an EP to promote the Farm Aid cause, but the idea was rejected by Geffen Records.[12] Some of the songs from the project were eventually released on A Treasure.

## Track listing

[edit]

### Side one

[edit]

All songs by Neil Young, except where indicated

1. "The Wayward Wind" (Herb Newman, Stanley Lebowsky) (3:12) - duet with Denise Draper
* Recorded at Castle Recording Studios, Franklin, Tennessee, 4/22/1985.
2. "Get Back to the Country" (2:50)
* Recorded at Castle, 4/20/1985.
3. "Are There Any More Real Cowboys?" (3:03) - duet with Willie Nelson
* Recorded at House of David, Nashville, 1/28/1983 with overdubs at Pedernales Recording Studio, Spicewood, TX, 4/15/1983.
4. "Once an Angel" (3:55)
* Recorded at Castle, 4/20/1985.
5. "Misfits (Dakota)" (5:07)
* Recorded at Castle, 4/30/1985.

### Side two

[edit]

1. "California Sunset" (2:56)
* Recorded live on Austin City Limits, 9/25/1984
2. "Old Ways" (3:08)
* Recorded at Castle, 4/20/1985.
3. "My Boy" (3:37)
* Recorded at House of David, Nashville, 1/28/1983.
4. "Bound for Glory" (5:48) - duet with Waylon Jennings
* Recorded at Castle, 4/21/1985.
5. "Where Is the Highway Tonight?" (3:02)
* Recorded at Castle, 4/20/1985.

## Personnel

[edit]

* Neil Young – guitar, banjo-guitar, harmonica, vocals
* Waylon Jennings – guitar, vocals
* Willie Nelson – guitar, vocals
* Rufus Thibodeaux – fiddle
* Ben Keith – pedal steel guitar, dobro
* Tim Drummond – bass
* Karl Himmel – drums
* Joe Allen – electric & upright bass
* Ralph Mooney – pedal steel guitar
* Hargus "Pig" Robbins – piano
* Gordon Terry – fiddle
* Joe Osborn – bass
* Anthony Crawford – mandolin, vocals
* Terry McMillan – harmonica, jew's harp
* Béla Fleck – banjo
* Bobby Thompson – banjo
* David Kirby – guitar
* Grant Boatwright – guitar
* Johnny Christopher – guitar
* Ray Edenton – guitar
* Gove Scrivenor – autoharp
* Farrell Morris – percussion
* Marty Stuart – mandolin
* Carl Gorodetzky – violin
* Spooner Oldham – piano
* Larry Byrom – vocals
* Rick Palombi – vocals
* Doana Cooper – vocals
* Denise Draper – vocals
* Gail Davies – vocals
* Betsy Hammer – vocals
* Pam Rose – vocals
* Janis Oliver-Gill – vocals
* Mary Ann Kennedy – vocals
* Kristine Oliver-Arnold – vocals
* Leona Williams – vocals
* Strings:
* Carl Gorodetsky – leader
* George Binkley
* John Borg
* Roy Christensen
* Virginia Christensen
* Charles Everett
* Larry Harvin
* Mark Hembree
* Lee Larrison
* Betty McDonald
* Dennis Molchan
* Pamela Sixfin
* Mark Tanner
* David Vanderkooi
* Gary Vanosdale
* Carol Walker
* Stephanie Woolf
* JT Cantwell – assistant engineer

Recording personnel

* Neil Young – producer
* Ben Keith – producer
* David Briggs – producer
* Gene Eichelberger – engineer
* Keith Odle – second engineer
* Clark Schleicher – recording assistant
* J.T. Cantwell – recording assistant

## Chart performance

[edit]

Chart (1985)  | Peak
position

|

Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[13] | 31
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[14] | 25
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[15] | 17
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[16] | 29
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[17] | 13
UK Albums (OCC)[18] | 39
US Billboard 200[19] | 75
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[20] | 24

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Ruhlmann, William. "Neil Young Old Ways review". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2011-08-27.
2. ^ Christgau, Robert (1987). "Neil Young 'Old Ways' review". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 2011-08-27.
3. ^ "Neil Young Old Ways". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on August 21, 2007. Retrieved 2011-08-27.
4. ^ Johnson, Howard (17 October 1985). "Neil Young 'Old Ways'". Kerrang!. Vol. 105\. London, UK: Morgan Grampian. p. 20.
5. ^ Henke, James. 1988. "Interview: Neil Young." Rolling Stone. June 2, 1988. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/interview-neil-young-79380/.
6. ^ Neil Young: Legend Of A Loner (part 1). By Adam Sweeting
7. ^ Kent, Nick. "I Build Something Up, I Tear it Right Down". Mojo Magazine.
8. ^ McDonough, Jim (2002). Shakey: Neil Young's Biography. Jonathan Cape. ISBN 978-0-224-06914-4.
9. ^ Legend of a Loner, Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, September 7, 1985
10. ^ Written In My Soul: Rock's Great Songwriters Talk About Creating Their Music: Neil Young by Bill Flanagan - Contemporary Books Inc., Chicago: 1986
11. ^ Willie Nelson & Neil Young: Are There Any More Real Cowboys (Music Video 1985) - IMDb
12. ^ Durchholz, Daniel, and Gary Graff. 2012. Neil Young: Long May You Run : The Illustrated History. Minneapolis, Mn: Voyageur Press.
13. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0581". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
14. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Neil Young – Old Ways" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
15. ^ "Sisältää hitin: Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1960: Artistit X Y". 2015.
16. ^ "Charts.nz – Neil Young – Old Ways". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
17. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Neil Young – Old Ways". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
18. ^ "Neil Young | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
19. ^ "Neil Young Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
20. ^ "Neil Young Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 8, 2024.

* v
* t
* e

Neil Young

* Crazy Horse
* The Stray Gators
* Promise of the Real

Studio albums|

* Neil Young
* Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
* After the Gold Rush
* Harvest
* On the Beach
* Tonight's the Night
* Zuma
* American Stars 'n Bars
* Comes a Time
* Rust Never Sleeps
* Hawks & Doves
* Re·ac·tor
* Trans
* Everybody's Rockin'
* Old Ways
* Landing on Water
* Life
* This Note's for You
* Freedom
* Ragged Glory
* Harvest Moon
* Sleeps with Angels
* Mirror Ball
* Broken Arrow
* Silver & Gold
* Are You Passionate?
* Greendale
* Prairie Wind
* Living with War
* Living with War: "In the Beginning"
* Chrome Dreams II
* Fork in the Road
* Le Noise
* Americana
* Psychedelic Pill
* A Letter Home
* Storytone
* The Monsanto Years
* Peace Trail
* The Visitor
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* Barn
* World Record
* Talkin to the Trees

EPs|

* Eldorado
* The Times

Live albums|

* Time Fades Away
* Live Rust
* Weld
* Arc
* Unplugged
* Year of the Horse
* Road Rock Vol. 1
* Earth
* Noise & Flowers
* Before and After
* Fuckin' Up

Soundtracks|

* Journey Through the Past
* Where the Buffalo Roam
* Philadelphia
* Dead Man
* Paradox

Compilations|

* Decade
* Lucky Thirteen
* Greatest Hits

Archives series|

| Box sets|

* The Archives Vol. 1 1963–1972
* Neil Young Archives Volume II: 1972–1976
* Neil Young Archives Volume III: 1976–1987

|

Performance series|

* Live at the Fillmore East
* Live at Massey Hall 1971
* Sugar Mountain – Live at Canterbury House 1968
* Live at the Riverboat 1969
* Dreamin' Man Live '92
* A Treasure
* Live at the Cellar Door
* Bluenote Café
* Roxy: Tonight's the Night Live
* Songs for Judy
* Tuscaloosa
* Return to Greendale
* Way Down in the Rust Bucket
* Young Shakespeare

Special release series|

* Hitchhiker
* Homegrown
* Toast
* Chrome Dreams
* Odeon Budokan
* Early Daze

Songs|

| 1960s|

* "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing"
* "Mr. Soul"
* "Broken Arrow"
* "Expecting to Fly"
* "Sugar Mountain"
* "The Loner"
* "I've Been Waiting for You"
* "The Old Laughing Lady"
* "Cinnamon Girl"
* "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere"
* "Down by the River"
* "Cowgirl in the Sand"
* "Dance, Dance, Dance"

|

1970s|

* "Helpless"
* "Country Girl"
* "Ohio"
* "Tell Me Why"
* "After the Gold Rush"
* "Only Love Can Break Your Heart"
* "Southern Man"
* "Don't Let It Bring You Down"
* "When You Dance I Can Really Love"
* "I Believe in You"
* "Bad Fog of Loneliness"
* "Out on the Weekend"
* "Harvest"
* "A Man Needs a Maid"
* "Heart of Gold"
* "Are You Ready for the Country?"
* "Old Man"
* "The Needle and the Damage Done"
* "War Song"
* "L.A."
* "Tonight's the Night"
* "Come On Baby Let's Go Downtown"
* "Tired Eyes"
* "New Mama"
* "Danger Bird"
* "Cortez the Killer"
* "Will to Love"
* "Like a Hurricane"
* "Love Is a Rose"
* "Lotta Love"
* "Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)"
* "My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)"
* "Pocahontas"
* "Powderfinger"
* "Sedan Delivery"

1980s and later|

* "Rainin' in My Heart"
* "Grey Riders"
* "Rockin' in the Free World"
* "Crime in the City (Sixty to Zero Part I)"
* "No More"
* "Wrecking Ball"
* "Harvest Moon"
* "Unknown Legend"
* "From Hank to Hendrix"
* "Downtown"
* "Let's Impeach the President"
* "Angry World"
* "A Rock Star Bucks a Coffee Shop"

Films and videos|

* Journey Through the Past
* Human Highway
* Neil Young in Berlin
* Solo Trans
* Muddy Track
* Weld
* Year of the Horse
* Neil Young: Silver and Gold
* Greendale
* Neil Young: Heart of Gold
* CSNY/Déjà Vu
* Neil Young Trunk Show
* Neil Young Journeys
* Paradox

Books|

* Waging Heavy Peace: A Hippie Dream

Related|

* Discography
* The Squires
* The Mynah Birds
* Buffalo Springfield
* Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
* The Stills–Young Band
* The Ducks
* The Bridge: A Tribute to Neil Young
* Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi
* Pono
* Old Black
* Farm Aid
* Bridge School Benefit
* Pegi Young
* Daryl Hannah
* Carrie Snodgress
* Elliot Roberts
* Pearl Jam

* Category

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

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