{"id":2535,"date":"2025-06-09T13:45:22","date_gmt":"2025-06-09T13:45:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/neil-young-and-the-chrome-hearts-talkin-to-the-trees-150046\/"},"modified":"2025-06-09T13:45:22","modified_gmt":"2025-06-09T13:45:22","slug":"neil-young-and-the-chrome-hearts-talkin-to-the-trees-150046","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/neil-young-and-the-chrome-hearts-talkin-to-the-trees-150046\/","title":{"rendered":"Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts \u2013 Talkin To The Trees"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div class=\"post-preview\">\n<p>WHEN <strong>Neil Young<\/strong> cut short last summer\u2019s tour with <strong>Crazy Horse<\/strong> \u2013 owing, it later transpired, to exhaustion \u2013 you could have been forgiven for thinking that one of music\u2019s most restless and hyper-productive artists would finally be forced to slow down. As if. Just a few months later, Young unveiled the <strong>Chrome Hearts<\/strong>, a new band who perhaps coincidentally share the same initials as their illustrious forebears. Ostensibly pulled together to honour existing commitments at last autumn\u2019s <strong>Farm Aid 2024<\/strong> and <strong>Harvest Moon Gathering<\/strong> benefit, the Chrome Hearts have since become Young\u2019s latest creative allies \u2013 rescuing him from a period of writer\u2019s block to produce <strong>Talkin To The Trees<\/strong> and, soon, his first world tour for six years.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content google-ld-json\">\n<div class=\"editable-content\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-width wp-block-button__width-100 is-style-3d\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-vivid-green-cyan-background-color has-background wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/little.getsquirrel.co\/best-deal\/244\/13207257\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Buy Talkin To The Trees here<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"height:100px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<p>WHEN <strong>Neil Young<\/strong> cut short last summer\u2019s tour with <strong>Crazy Horse<\/strong> \u2013 owing, it later transpired, to exhaustion \u2013 you could have been forgiven for thinking that one of music\u2019s most restless and hyper-productive artists would finally be forced to slow down. As if. Just a few months later, Young unveiled the <strong>Chrome Hearts<\/strong>, a new band who perhaps coincidentally share the same initials as their illustrious forebears. Ostensibly pulled together to honour existing commitments at last autumn\u2019s <strong>Farm Aid 2024<\/strong> and <strong>Harvest Moon Gathering<\/strong> benefit, the Chrome Hearts have since become Young\u2019s latest creative allies \u2013 rescuing him from a period of writer\u2019s block to produce <strong>Talkin To The Trees<\/strong> and, soon, his first world tour for six years.<\/p>\n<p><strong><strong><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/shop.kelsey.co.uk\/single-issue\/uncut-magazine\/352\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">THE JULY 2025 ISSUE OF UNCUT IS AVAILABLE TO ORDER NOW: STARRING NICK DRAKE, A 15-TRACK NEW MUSIC CD, THE WHO, BLACK SABBATH, BRIAN ENO, MATT BERNINGER, PULP, BOB WEIR AND MORE<\/a><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u2018New\u2019 band? Well, the Chrome Hearts comprise guitarist <strong>Micah Nelson<\/strong>, organist <strong>Spooner Oldham<\/strong>, bassist <strong>Corey McCormick<\/strong> and drummer <strong>Anthony LoGerfo<\/strong>. Oldham, of course, is a veteran of Young\u2019s bands, whose credits include (tellingly, as we shall discover) <strong>the Stray Gators<\/strong> lineup who recorded <strong>Harvest Moon<\/strong>. As members of <strong>Promise Of The Real<\/strong>, meanwhile, Nelson, McCormick and LoGerfo are relative newcomers, having backed Young on 2015\u2019s <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uncut.co.uk\/features\/reviewed-neil-young-the-promise-of-the-real-the-monsanto-years-69153\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Monsanto Years<\/a><\/strong>, 2016\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uncut.co.uk\/features\/neil-youngs-earth-reviewed-77462\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Earth<\/strong><\/a> and 2017\u2019s <strong>The Visitor<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"squirrel_div\" data-squirrel-id=\"13207257\" data-loaded=\"false\"><script async src=\"https:\/\/squirrels-gen.getsquirrel.co\/scripts\/01b9822bc6df10cc54883d3ee4415d0c.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"youtube-embed\" data-video_id=\"SIKxvzY8sJs\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"neil young and the chrome hearts - big change (Official Video)\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/SIKxvzY8sJs?feature=oembed&amp;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Those three POTR collaborations were released on the cusp of <strong>Donald Trump<\/strong>\u2019s first presidency; <strong>Talkin To The Trees<\/strong> arrives early in Trump\u2019s second. The first two tracks released presented Young in full combat mode: \u201c<strong>Big Change<\/strong>\u201d, released days before Trump was sworn in as president for the second time, now resembles nothing less than a grim prophesy, howled over banks of roaring guitars; \u201c<strong>Let\u2019s Roll Again<\/strong>\u201d, an electric vehicle anthem modelled on <strong>Woody Guthrie<\/strong>\u2019s \u201c<strong>This Land Is Your Land<\/strong>\u201d, found Young taking aim at Elon Musk: \u201c<em>If you\u2019re a fascist, then get a Tesla<\/em>\u201d. Further, Young\u2019s recent activities included an appearance at <strong>Bernie Sanders<\/strong>\u2019 Anti-Oligarchy LA rally in April, suggesting that this might be one of his pointedly political records.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"youtube-embed\" data-video_id=\"DQm2q2KbJL8\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"neil young and the chrome hearts - Lets Roll Again (Official Music Video)\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/DQm2q2KbJL8?feature=oembed&amp;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>As it transpires, Talkin To The Trees finds Young largely preoccupied with matters closer to home. \u201c<strong>Family Life<\/strong>\u201d begins as an open-hearted acoustic address to his children \u2013 until a jarring reference to his grandchildren, \u201c<em>who I can\u2019t see<\/em>\u201d. He follows this with \u201c<strong>Dark Mirage<\/strong>\u201d, a glowering ball of knotted noise, which heavily implies a falling out with his daughter <strong>Amber Jean<\/strong>, following the death of her mother <strong>Pegi Young<\/strong> in 2019: \u201c<em>Well, I lost my little girl now \/ To the darkness inside \/ Her mama is gone now \/ And there\u2019s nowhere to hide<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The mood shifts with \u201c<strong>First Fire Of Winter<\/strong>\u201d, a hymn to domestic happiness in Colorado with <strong>Daryl Hannah<\/strong> and the first of three gorgeous country tracks on the album. Modelled on \u201c<strong>Helpless<\/strong>\u201d \u2013 to quote Young himself: \u201cIt\u2019s all one song,\u201d right? \u2013 its rolling, graceful shuffle is cushioned by soothing harmonica notes and gliding pedal steel. His voice sounds terrific, incidentally: warm and mellow. Never one to miss a trick, Young returns to \u201c<strong>This Land Is Your Land<\/strong>\u201d for \u201c<strong>Silver Eagle<\/strong>\u201d, a love letter to his tourbus, seen recently in Hannah\u2019s on-the-road documentary <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uncut.co.uk\/reviews\/neil-young-coastal-149500\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Coastal<\/a><\/strong>, before the rackety two-fingered two-fer of \u201c<strong>Let\u2019s Roll Again<\/strong>\u201d and \u201c<strong>Big Change<\/strong>\u201d.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"youtube-embed\" data-video_id=\"DEeTii9iNyY\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"neil young and the chrome hearts - Talkin to the Trees - (Official Audio)\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/DEeTii9iNyY?feature=oembed&amp;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Abruptly, the discordance stops with \u201c<strong>Talkin To The Trees<\/strong>\u201d, delivered in a kind of hushed wonder about an arboreal amorata glimpsed by Young, while waiting in line at the farmers\u2019 market, \u201c<em>standing there looking for the breeze<\/em>\u201d. A reference to \u201c<em>Bob<\/em>\u201d and \u201c<em>all the songs he was singing \/ All that time he was wanting to say hello<\/em>\u201d feels like a big moment for the Rusty\/Bobcat crossover fanbase. Slightly underused up until now, <strong>Spooner Oldham<\/strong> provides a beautiful organ accompaniment to Young\u2019s acoustic reverie.<\/p>\n<p>Oldham shines further on the next two tracks, which are like nothing else in Young\u2019s catalogue. \u201c<strong>Movin Ahead<\/strong>\u201d has the cock-eyed rhythms of a <strong>Tom Waits<\/strong> song, with Young yelping in full street preacher mode over Oldham\u2019s stabbing organ, Nelson\u2019s jerky guitar riffs and LoGerfo\u2019s clattering percussion.<\/p>\n<p>By contrast, \u201c<strong>Bottle Of Love<\/strong>\u201d is faintly amorphous, a jazz-flecked track complete with a vibraphone. \u201c<em>All your tears are saved in a bottle of love<\/em>\u201d, Young sings at the top end of his range, his voice wavering during the chorus. The album ambles amiably towards its end with \u201c<strong>Thankful<\/strong>\u201d, a close cousin to \u201c<strong>Harvest Moon<\/strong>\u201d, where Young takes stock: \u201c<em>I\u2019ve been piling on the years \/ Full of laughter, sometimes tears<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>As \u201c<strong>Thankful<\/strong>\u201d fades away in a bucolic  glow, how should we understand <strong>Talkin To The Trees<\/strong> at this point in Young\u2019s career? Is it a means for him to communicate with those closest to him \u2013 and perhaps find some deeper understanding of his personal situation along the way? Is this Young, who turns 80 later this year, giving us his last hurrah? Or is this simply Young doing what he wants right now, with something else coming round the corner? As Young told <strong>Uncut<\/strong> in 2012, \u201cYou can\u2019t worry about what people think. I never do. I never did, really.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stuff.tv\/about-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Here\u2019s how it works<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"squirrel_div\" data-squirrel-id=\"13207257\" data-loaded=\"false\"><script async src=\"https:\/\/squirrels-gen.getsquirrel.co\/scripts\/01b9822bc6df10cc54883d3ee4415d0c.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uncut.co.uk\/reviews\/neil-young-and-the-chrome-hearts-talkin-to-the-trees-150046\/\">Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts \u2013 Talkin To The Trees<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uncut.co.uk\/\">UNCUT<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WHEN Neil Young cut short last summer\u2019s tour with Crazy Horse \u2013 owing, it later transpired, to exhaustion \u2013 you could have been forgiven for thinking that one of music\u2019s&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[90,47,88],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album","category-neil-young","category-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2535"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2535\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}