Watch Neil Young Play New ‘Storytone’ Track With a Full Orchestra
Neil Young has made folk, grunge and R&B, and in the early Eighties he released synthpop and rockabilly albums back-to-back. For his new Storytone, however, the songwriter ditched both guitar and piano in order to record with a 92-piece, in-studio orchestra. ”It’s the most different thing that I’ve ever attempted,” he recently told Rolling Stone.
Above, watch Young make it look completely natural, wearing a backwards cap as he sings and plays harmonica through “When I Watch You Sleeping,” a late-night reflection that strikes as he watches his partner toss and turn.
Arranged, conducted and co-produced by Michael Bearden and Chris Walden, Storytone will be released tomorrow as both a single and a double LP, the latter containing both solo and orchestral versions of all the songs. ”He took himself out of his comfort zone,” Bearden told Rolling Stone. ”He basically told us to do what we felt.”
Both versions of the record can be pre-ordered here.