In December 1989, when Neil Young had decided it was time to leave the genre-ghetto and pick up a mainstream audience again, he granted Richard Skinner an extended interview on Radio 1's Rock On programme. Why isn't a full transcript available online? This is 2010, people: where is the fan who's going to undertake the unpaid labour of love of typing it all out in return for a few virtual tips of the hat from fellow die-hards? Please don't say it has to be me. Anyway, after observing how the release of Freedom had fallen neatly between Tiananmen Square and the fall of the Berlin Wall, Skinner cited the release of The Bridge as further evidence that Neil's currency was, at long last, on the rise. At the end of the interview, he asked Neil to choose one track from the album. And here's the bit I can provide a transcription of, from memory, twenty years later: "Play Lotta Love — that oughta get 'em going out there," he replied.
Dinosaur Jr's version of Neil's wettest song is the reprieve I mentioned eight months ago, turning everything up to eleven and almost giving it a spine in the process.
This was one of the first tribute albums I ever came across. The Various Artists collections almost always fall a bit flat. The
Carpenters one
was half-decent, as I remember. Charlotte Greig's Lal Waterson one
is great in parts.
The Bridge is more interesting than Out of the Blue. It's the first time I heard of The Flaming Lips and Bongwater. It depends less on Sonic Youth for its original material than The Carpenters album or Sergeant Pepper Knew My Father), but you kind of expect more from Pixies and Nick Cave.
MusicBrainz entry for this album
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