Neil Young experienced a bout of musical hysteria through most of the 1980s. Desperate to get out of his contract with Geffen Records, Young released a string of gonzo albums that spanned Krautrock, rockabilly and straight-faced country. Returning to Reprise Records in 1988, Young seemingly had one more clunker left in his system; the blues-funk opus This Note's for You. A quarter-century later, Warner found it necessary to document this era with the release of Bluenote Café.
Recorded live on tour with his backing band, the Bluenotes, this 23-track LP features mostly new material and unreleased tracks, with the exception of a 19-minute rendition of "Tonight's the Night" that finds Young and his bands coming off like a slick 1980s talk show band. The decision to release Bluenote Café was most likely due to the high number of unavailable material from the era, but even die-hard fans will find this as nothing more than a masochistic curiosity.
(Warner)Recorded live on tour with his backing band, the Bluenotes, this 23-track LP features mostly new material and unreleased tracks, with the exception of a 19-minute rendition of "Tonight's the Night" that finds Young and his bands coming off like a slick 1980s talk show band. The decision to release Bluenote Café was most likely due to the high number of unavailable material from the era, but even die-hard fans will find this as nothing more than a masochistic curiosity.
