FYI

Neil Young Surveys ‘Greendale’
NEW YORK (Billboard) – Neil Young has set an Aug. 19 release for his next Reprise album, “Greendale.”
The 10-song set chronicles the life and times of the Green family, residents of the fictional town from which the album takes its name. “Greendale” will be bundled with a bonus DVD of Young performing the album in sequence during a recent solo acoustic show in Dublin.
In his review of the show for Billboard.com, Nick Kelly said the Green family seemed to “represent the best of America — they’re by turns kind, loyal, creative, rebellious, and self-possessed. We heard tales of Grandma and Grandpa Green and it’s almost as if we were back on Sugar Mountain or at home with the Waltons.”
Young is backed on the album by Crazy Horse drummer Ralph Molina and bassist Billy Talbot. The artist is right at home as the all-knowing narrator of the stories, which run the gamut from “Carmichael” (where one character murders a policeman after being caught with drugs in his car) to “Bandit,” marked by the bittersweet lament: “someday you’ll find everything you’re looking for.”
“Greendale” will also exist as a stand-alone film, directed by Young under his alias Bernard Shakey. No dialog is included in the movie, which features a number of Young’s family members and such longtime associates as musician Ben Keith and “Greendale” album co-producer L.A. Johnson. Young himself cameos as entertainer Wayne Newton.
The “Greendale” film will premiere in September at the Toronto Film Festival and will be released as a separate DVD in the fall. The “Greendale” acoustic concert will air on local cable television stations in more than 100 markets in August, as well as on DirecTV.
On the same day “Greendale” is released, Reprise will reissue the long out-of-print Young albums “On the Beach,” “American Stars ‘N Bars,” “Hawks & Doves” and “Re.ac.tor,” which were originally slated for June 24.
Young and Crazy Horse are in the midst of a summer North American tour, which hits Auburn, Wash. Wednesday. Young will also play Farm Aid on Sept. 7 in Columbus, Ohio.