Neil Young and Crazy Horse to Record New Album

Young says they are "about to enter the studio with 11 new ones"

BY Calum SlingerlandPublished Apr 9, 2019

After getting back together for a series of theatre dates last year, Neil Young and Crazy Horse are preparing to enter the studio to record their first full-length album since 2012.

Young confirmed the news through his Neil Young Archives website, in response to a listener's question concerning future recording plans. Young wrote, "Crazy Horse is about to enter the studio with 11 new ones."

While Young didn't divulge a timeline or expected release date for the album, it would mark the band's first full-length effort since 2012's Psychedelic Pill. That same year, Young and Crazy Horse also released the folk-indebted album Americana.

The news of the new album shortly follows the announcement of Neil Young's Vancouver concert on May 15, when he will perform solo following a set from Elvis Costello.

Last year's run of theatre dates also saw guitarist Nils Lofgren return to Crazy Horse, joining the group in place of longtime guitarist Frank "Poncho" Sampedro. The performances marked the group's first without Sampedro since 1975, and no explanation has been given for the guitarist's absence, though he did experience a hand injury in 2013.

"I'm 70 and I'm retired now and want to stay home," Sampedro told Uncut [via Rolling Stone]. "People say, 'Isn't it sad you're not in Crazy Horse?' I don't think of it that way. I'll always be in Crazy Horse. I'm as big a part of Crazy Horse as anyone that's ever been in it."

Lofgren is no stranger to working with Crazy Horse, having contributed to Young catalogue staples such as After the Gold RushTonight's the Night and Trans.

"It's been a beautiful opportunity to play with dear friends that are still alive and well," Lofgren told Rolling Stone earlier this year in reflecting on last year's shows. "Look, I hope there's more, but I'll take it a gig at a time right now."

Young also hinted last year at the planned release of "four or five Crazy Horse albums that have never been heard."
 

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