I'm spending about half my time on music and family," Neil Young says from a stop on his current arena tour. The rest is devoted to converting a 1959 Lincoln Continental into an experimental superefficient car but even at half capacity, he's getting a lot of music out there. With a massive box set a few months away, Young is also preparing to put out a revelatory 1968 solo acoustic album and a Crazy Horse disc that's been shelved since 2000.
On the road, Young has been playing his most hits-packed sets in years, with a versatile band that can channel the ragged, fuzzed-out energy of Crazy Horse (on tunes like “Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)" and “Cinnamon Girl") as well as the hushed acoustic vibe of Harvest-era gems ("Old Man," “Heart of Gold"). “I haven't done a tour like this in 15 years," says Young. “With this band, there's no limit to what kind of music I can make." The players all go back at least 20 years with Young and include pedal steel legend Ben Keith, bassist Rick Rosas and drummer Chad Cromwell. “My other bands were always one thing or another," says Young. “This band can handle anything."
Rolling Stone sat down with Young and got the scoop on his upcoming projects.
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