Neil Young & Crazy Horse Live: Year of the Horse (1997)

inetvideocom dishonest

I was happy with this DVD. Any true Crazyhorse fan will be happy with this purchase. One thing though, I ordered and was charged for a new DVD. It was obvious that the DVD sent was used. There was no defect and it was very watchable. It's not worth the trouble sending it back. Be leary of this shady company, inetvideocom from Canada. Ironic, that's Neil's home country. August 17, 2007

Would anyone....

...tell Neil Young to only use the newest hightech-equipment and only record live performances where every single note is hit correctly, no crackling noises or whatsoever? No? So why hassle around with this Jarmusch-film in the above manner? His film takes a similar approach as Neil Young does with his music, Mr. Young appreciates the product, I shure do too and so should you. In case anyone hasn't noticed: it's all about rock'n roll. Nuff said. November 30, 2005

Jim Jarmusch and Neil Young Collaborate Again

The method of Jim Jarmusch has worked, to this point, to minimalize the actor's environment as means of accentuating the spoken word. Relationships are shared usually between the audience and an intimate few; 3 (Stranger Than Paradise), 2 (Night on Earth, Coffee and Cigarettes), 1 (Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai). Banter usually focuses on juxtaposing decisions made in the past with the decisions, although often not apparent, that are to be made within the quagmire of what is routine. Transient characters use expression and subsequent argument as the auteur's mouthpiece to confront this routine. Year of the Horse is Jarmusch's exception; rockumenting the band Crazy Horse and their lead man Neil Young on their 1996 world tour.

Jim Jarmusch, after teaming up with Neil Young for the soundtrack to his 1995 film Dead Man, has collaborated with Neil again, under the guise of Shakey Pictures, Neil Young's pseudonym and label, to document Crazy Horse's Broken Arrow tour. Old tour footage (1976 tour footage was directed and filmed by One West, the 1986 footage was taken from the film Muddy Track, a Shakey Picture, directed and filmed by Bernard Shakey) is included as means of juxtaposing the band's transition in sound, set design and apparel, a testament to their consistency. The band - Neil Young (guitar/vocals), Ralph Molina (drums/vocals), Frank "Poncho" Sampedro (guitar/keyboards/vocals), and Billy Talbot (bass/vocals) - question Jarmusch's ability to capture the essence of what truly is Crazy Horse as their tenure as grunge gods with an iconic leading man cannot be easily summarized. Or can it? "Some artsy-fartsy New York director gonna ask a bunch of stupid questions and pretend like you're explaining what's been a 30-year relationship." Or can it?

As Crazy Horse's tour meanders through the United States and Europe, Jarmusch's camera documents each step of the way, the highlights of which allow the audience to witness a tour bus fight regarding the harmonies on the song Cortez the Killer, a hit off of the 1976 album Zuma. In fact, many of the references, and subsequent song and footage selection revolve around Zuma. Their 1976 tour/footage was captured while promoting the album, and the songs Barstool Blues and Stupid Girl both appear on the Year of the Horse setlist, and are played admirably well some 20 years later. Jarmusch decided to use Super 8mm film stock to capture their 1996 concert footage, an obvious testament to the raw edginess to the band's music. Behind the scenes footage is by way of interview, working as an homage to lives lost and as a celebration of continued success.

In an interview with Emmanuel Tellier from "Les Inrockuptibles" magazine, Neil intimates that with Year of the Horse "you can really feel the personal view of a film maker, and above all the movie is about the band. It's more than a simple story; it's an impression, a succession of feelings. I had the idea of doing this movie - I like this kind of stuff and I like to have a camera with me, but Jim made it possible...With Crazy Horse, we always work hard. Sometimes, people don't understand how hard it is. Jarmusch's film really shows that."

The film's setlist, like its footage, is a blend of old favorites and new(er) tracks off of the bands 1996 Broken Arrow album. Neil says in the film that he "always hated calling the band Neil Young and Crazy Horse...we together are Crazy Horse." The iconic frontman has wavered very little from his aptitude for great songwriting, leadership that has kept this grunge band in check and sounding great for over twenty years.

1997
Directed by Jim Jarmusch
106 Minutes

Setlist:

1. @#$%^&* Up
2. Slip Away
3. Barstool Blues
4. Stupid Girl
5. Big Time
6. Tonight's the Night
7. Sedan Delivery
8. My Girl
9. Like a Hurricane
10. Music Arcade
January 27, 2005

this is a masterpiece

One bandmate jestingly complains that some artsy filmmaker from NYC can't get to the essence of Crazy Horse (and what they've gone thru for 30 years) , but Jim Jarmusch gets as close to it as you can in 107 minutes. The band members open up, each individually interviewed in a basement with a washing machine in the background, in their hotel rooms, and on the tour bus. And the concert footage from different eras is often stunning. Some of the complaints below are essentially that the film is non-linear but these critics miss the point because this is an artists depiction of fellow artists and the artists he's depicting are masters of the psychedelic experience. It's NOT supposed to be linear. My favorite parts were Jarmusch's visual dipictions to go along with the music (far better than any MTV videos), they are simply stunning compositions, they are as true to the music as can be, they add to the music. This is a must for those into the artistic psychedelic experience. Roll one up, have a few bottles of wine, strap yourself in and enjoy the trip! August 16, 2003

By the album instead

Although die-hard Neil Young fans will no doubt embrace every song in the movie, casual fans may become a bit bored. The song selection here does offer a few choice cuts that are not on the live Neil Young album of the same name, such as the rarely heard "Stupid Girl". And that's a good thing. However, a couple of cuts on this video, such as the the brash and tired "F*&kin Up", may make you reach for the remote.

As for the "documentary" side of things, the interviews between the songs tend to quickly become dull. Fans will learn nothing new, and casual viewers may be confused as to who these people are that are being referred to. The guitarist Poncho states snidely (and I am paraphrasing here), "You think you can learn everything about this band from this short documentary?" Then the camera cuts away leaving the viewer with nothing at all. Later in the film, he says almost the exact same line to the camera, perhaps forgetting that he said it before. The answer clearly is, "No, I won't learn very much at all from this documentary."

A saving grace for the video comes in a few short clips of documentary footage from the '70's and '80's. These clips show the band sometimes unaware of the camera, sometimes hamming it up. They're a great depiction of Neil Young and his band in their prime. They also represent everything a documentary film should be. Sadly, there are too few of these moments in this film.

The director does manage to sneak himself into the picture several times, along with the name of his production company (I think they're even in the trailer.) This should make it easier to avoid his documentaries in the future.

Buy the DVD "Rust Never Sleeps" if you want a concert movie, or buy the album "Year of the Horse" to get the music from this film instead. September 27, 2002

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