All you kids still love Neil Young, right?  I hope so because, If not, that means that guy-liner and neon warpaint has finally won and that you’re generation is officially worthless.

Although it’s credited with an internet leak on September, 18th, Young‘s latest album received it’s officially release just date two days ago on the 28th.  Titled Le Noise, due to it’s production efforts by Daniel Lanois, it is only 8 tracks in length with a total running time of about 38 minutes.  Daniel earns the credit honored to him through the title/pun with some solid production work that preserves Neil‘s trademark strengths and earnest voice, while providing a new spin and dimension to his sound.  The project has a very stripped down feel to it, as it is completely devoid of overdubs or any additional players.  Lanois describes it simply as, “a man on a stool and me doing a nice job on the recording“.  I’ve personally been listening to it for the last couple of days and it has a really powerful sound to it.  Sure, it’s “sparse”  but there’s still a lot to it and there’s space for wind to blow through and breath life into the tracks.  From the very first chord on the opener, “Walk with Me“, Young comes shattering through like some kind of sonic kaiju.

Most of the care regarding the audio was put in beforehand, versus a lot of studio tricks and post-production work being utilized.  Lanois, further elaborates on the process through the following quotes:

“Neil was so appreciative of the sonics that we presented to him,”

“He walked in the door and I put an acoustic guitar into his hands — one that I had been working on to build a new sound. That’s the multi-layered acoustic sound that you hear on the songs ‘Love and War’ and ‘Peaceful Valley Boulevard.’ I wanted him to understand that I’ve spent years dedicated to the sonics in my home and that I wanted to give him something he’d never heard before. He picked up that instrument, which had everything — an acoustic sound, electronica, bass sounds — and he knew as soon as he played it that we had taken the acoustic guitar to a new level. It’s hard to come up with a new sound at the back end of 50 years of rock and roll, but I think we did it.”

Although we recommend picking up a copy of Le Noise, there are quite a few versions of the album slated to be released.  Everything from a standard CD, vinyl, and digital download to a deluxe CD/DVD have been assembled, and it has even been announced that a Blue Ray version will be released by REPRISE in November.  “DVD?  BLUE RAY?”  Yep… which brings me to the primary reason for this post.  Every one of the tracks featured on Le Noise were recorded in the producer’s beautiful home and captured on video by cinematographer, Adam Vollick, who also provided the cover art.  The result is more than just a collection of music videos or even a collection clips with Neil sitting in a sterile soundbooth with headphones pinned to the side of his skull.  The “8 black and white films” featuring the 8 corresponding tracks from the album have just been released by Young today and, in true internet-age fashion, we have simply swiped and embedded them below for your viewing pleasure.
[Full track list featured under the video.]

“I was very privileged to be involved in an uninhibited way to capture these raw performances on film”
– Adam Vollic

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wU5B53b9ntQ[/youtube]

Tracklist

Walk With Me
Sign of Love
Rescue Me
Love And War
Angry World
Hitchhiker
Peaceful Valley Blvd.
Rumblin’

More video footage, including that of Lanoise speaking about the project, can be found HERE