Living With War
Encyclopedia
Living with War is the twenty-ninth Grammy
and Juno Award
-nominated studio album
by Canadian musician
Neil Young
, released in 2006. The album's lyrics, titles, and conceptual style are highly critical of the policies of the George W. Bush administration
; the CTV
website defined it as "a musical critique of U.S. President George W. Bush and his conduct of the war in Iraq". Written and recorded over the course of only nine days in March and April 2006, its lyrics are in line with the early 1960s albums of folk
artists such as Phil Ochs
and Bob Dylan
, though it is set to what Young calls "metal folk protest music" courtesy of Young, bassist Rick Rosas, drummer Chad Cromwell
and trumpet player Tommy Bray.
The Cromwell and Rosas rhythm section and "Volume Dealer" co-producer, Niko Bolas
, were also at the core of Young's 1989 album Freedom
, which contained an angry criticism of Reagan-George H.W. Bush America. There are other links - Bray also performed on Freedom and Freedoms hit single "Rockin' in the Free World
" also contained a quote of a President Bush: "a thousand points of light".
hotel room while visiting his daughter at her college
. While retrieving coffee
from a vending machine
early one morning, Young saw the front page of a USA Today
issue documenting a surgery room on an airplane flying seriously wounded US soldiers from Iraq to Germany
.
He later told Charlie Rose
that the combination of the graphic picture and the headline (which focused not on any suffering and death depicted, but rather in medical breakthroughs made during the war) "for some reason, that was what did it to me. I went upstairs after that. I wrote this song, 'Families'; I started writing another song, 'Restless Consumer'; I started writing all these songs all at once; I had like four songs going at once." Young has said that following writing the songs, he quickly began "coming apart." He called his wife Pegi back to their room, and "I held on to her, and I was sobbing. I was sobbing so hard, that things were coming out of my face."
Sessions were recorded on 16 track analog tape and mixed to a half-inch analog two track master, then transferred to high-resolution digital for CD and DVD manufacturing. The vinyl pressing was on 200g vinyl.
On April 28, 2006, the album was given a pre-release premiere in its entirety on the Los Angeles radio station 95.5 KLOS by Jim Ladd
. The album was released onto the Internet on May 2, 2006 before entering into retail in May 2006. Young has expressed that his intent is that the work be considered as a whole, and the streaming audio internet release was the whole album, rather than individually selectable songs.
The rush release and political nature of the tracks also draws comparison to Young's 1970 song "Ohio".
The album was nominated for three 2007 Grammy Awards
in the categories of Best Rock Album, Best Rock Song and Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance (both for "Lookin' for a Leader").
Commenting on the lack of artists writing songs critical of American politics at the time, Young said: "I was hoping some young person would come along and say this and sing some songs about it, but I didn't see anybody, so I'm doing it myself. I waited as long as I could."
The album debuted on the Billboard 200
album chart on May 27, 2006, with approxmiate sales of 60,000 copies. It remainded on the chart for 14 weeks.
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
and Juno Award
Juno Award
The Juno Awards are presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music...
-nominated studio album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by Canadian musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
Neil Young
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
, released in 2006. The album's lyrics, titles, and conceptual style are highly critical of the policies of the George W. Bush administration
George W. Bush administration
The presidency of George W. Bush began on January 20, 2001, when he was inaugurated as the 43rd President of the United States of America. The oldest son of former president George H. W. Bush, George W...
; the CTV
CTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
website defined it as "a musical critique of U.S. President George W. Bush and his conduct of the war in Iraq". Written and recorded over the course of only nine days in March and April 2006, its lyrics are in line with the early 1960s albums of folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
artists such as Phil Ochs
Phil Ochs
Philip David Ochs was an American protest singer and songwriter who was known for his sharp wit, sardonic humor, earnest humanism, political activism, insightful and alliterative lyrics, and haunting voice...
and Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, though it is set to what Young calls "metal folk protest music" courtesy of Young, bassist Rick Rosas, drummer Chad Cromwell
Chad Cromwell
Chad Cromwell is an American drummer, best known for his work with Neil Young and with Mark Knopfler.- Personal life :Cromwell was born in Paducah, Kentucky, and three years later moved with his family to Memphis, Tennessee...
and trumpet player Tommy Bray.
The Cromwell and Rosas rhythm section and "Volume Dealer" co-producer, Niko Bolas
Niko Bolas
Niko Bolas is an American music producer, sound engineer, and consultant and business developer in the fields of virtual reality and Internet radio...
, were also at the core of Young's 1989 album Freedom
Freedom (Neil Young album)
Freedom has received mainly positive reviews. Allmusic's William Ruhlmann rated the album four-and-a-half out of five stars, explaining that it "was the album Neil Young fans knew he was capable of making, but feared he would never make again." He also stated that "there were tracks that harked...
, which contained an angry criticism of Reagan-George H.W. Bush America. There are other links - Bray also performed on Freedom and Freedoms hit single "Rockin' in the Free World
Rockin' in the Free World
"Rockin' in the Free World" is a song by Neil Young, released on his 1989 album Freedom. Two versions of the song were released, similar to the song "Hey Hey, My My " of Young's Rust Never Sleeps album, one of which is performed with a predominantly acoustic arrangement, and the other with a...
" also contained a quote of a President Bush: "a thousand points of light".
Production and release
Young began writing songs for Living With War in a Gambier, OhioGambier, Ohio
Gambier is a village in Knox County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,871 at the 2000 census.Gambier is the home of Kenyon College and was named after one of Kenyon College's early benefactors, Lord Gambier....
hotel room while visiting his daughter at her college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
. While retrieving coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
from a vending machine
Vending machine
A vending machine is a machine which dispenses items such as snacks, beverages, alcohol, cigarettes, lottery tickets, consumer products and even gold and gems to customers automatically, after the customer inserts currency or credit into the machine....
early one morning, Young saw the front page of a USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
issue documenting a surgery room on an airplane flying seriously wounded US soldiers from Iraq to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
He later told Charlie Rose
Charlie Rose
Charles Peete "Charlie" Rose, Jr. is an American television talk show host and journalist. Since 1991 he has hosted Charlie Rose, an interview show distributed nationally by PBS since 1993...
that the combination of the graphic picture and the headline (which focused not on any suffering and death depicted, but rather in medical breakthroughs made during the war) "for some reason, that was what did it to me. I went upstairs after that. I wrote this song, 'Families'; I started writing another song, 'Restless Consumer'; I started writing all these songs all at once; I had like four songs going at once." Young has said that following writing the songs, he quickly began "coming apart." He called his wife Pegi back to their room, and "I held on to her, and I was sobbing. I was sobbing so hard, that things were coming out of my face."
Sessions were recorded on 16 track analog tape and mixed to a half-inch analog two track master, then transferred to high-resolution digital for CD and DVD manufacturing. The vinyl pressing was on 200g vinyl.
On April 28, 2006, the album was given a pre-release premiere in its entirety on the Los Angeles radio station 95.5 KLOS by Jim Ladd
Jim Ladd
Jim Ladd , an American disc jockey, radio producer and writer, is one of the few notable remaining freeform rock DJs in United States commercial radio.- Radio show style :...
. The album was released onto the Internet on May 2, 2006 before entering into retail in May 2006. Young has expressed that his intent is that the work be considered as a whole, and the streaming audio internet release was the whole album, rather than individually selectable songs.
- "That first impression is so important," ... "Instead of just going to "Let's Impeach the President", people will have to absorb the whole thing. To understand the songs, you need to understand where the whole album's coming from. It protects my right as an artist to have the work presented the way I created it." - Neil Young
The rush release and political nature of the tracks also draws comparison to Young's 1970 song "Ohio".
The album was nominated for three 2007 Grammy Awards
Grammy Awards of 2007
The 49th Annual Grammy Awards was a ceremony honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning September 15, 2005 and ending September 14, 2006 in the United States. The awards were handed out on Sunday February 11, 2007 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The Dixie Chicks...
in the categories of Best Rock Album, Best Rock Song and Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance (both for "Lookin' for a Leader").
Commenting on the lack of artists writing songs critical of American politics at the time, Young said: "I was hoping some young person would come along and say this and sing some songs about it, but I didn't see anybody, so I'm doing it myself. I waited as long as I could."
Track listing
All songs written by Neil Young except where noted.- "After the GardenAfter the Garden"After the Garden" is a protest song written by Neil Young. It is the opening track on his 2006 album Living with War....
" – 3:23 - "Living with War" – 5:04
- "The Restless Consumer" – 5:47
- "Shock and Awe" – 4:53
- "Families" – 2:25
- "Flags of Freedom" – 3:42
- "Let's Impeach the PresidentLet's Impeach the PresidentLet's Impeach the President is a Grammy Award-nominated protest song written, produced and recorded by Neil Young. It is the seventh track on his 2006 studio album Living with War....
" – 5:10 - "Lookin' for a Leader" – 4:03
- "Roger and Out" – 4:25
- "America the BeautifulAmerica the Beautiful"America the Beautiful" is an American patriotic song. The lyrics were written by Katharine Lee Bates and the music composed by church organist and choirmaster Samuel A. Ward....
" (lyrics: Katharine Lee BatesKatharine Lee BatesKatharine Lee Bates was an American songwriter. She is remembered as the author of the words to the anthem "America the Beautiful". She popularized "Mrs. Santa Claus" through her poem Goody Santa Claus on a Sleigh Ride .-Life and career:Bates was born in Falmouth, Massachusetts, the daughter of a...
; music: Samuel A. WardSamuel A. WardSamuel Augustus Ward was an American organist and composer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, Ward studied music in New York and became an organist at Grace Episcopal Church in Newark in 1880. He is remembered for his hymn "Materna" which was used for the anthem "America the Beautiful", with words by...
) – 2:57
Personnel
- Neil Young – guitars, harmonica, vocal
- Rick Rosas – bass
- Chad CromwellChad CromwellChad Cromwell is an American drummer, best known for his work with Neil Young and with Mark Knopfler.- Personal life :Cromwell was born in Paducah, Kentucky, and three years later moved with his family to Memphis, Tennessee...
– drums - Tommy Bray – trumpet
- Neil Young & Niko Bolas – producer
- L.A. Johnson – assistant producer
- Mix-down at Redwood Digital with Niko Bolas and second engineer John Hausman
- Mastering by Tim Mulligan at Redwood Digital
- Hi-def digital videography for Shakey Pictures done by L.A. Johnson's crew for possible full-length video documentary
- 100 voice choir conducted and arranged by Darrell BrownDarrell Brown (musician)Darrell Brown is an American songwriter, arranger and record producer.Brown co-writing and producing songs with Robby Armstrong for upcoming Colin Firth and Cameron Diaz and film titled "Gambit". Filming in London and scripted by the Coen Brothers...
and recorded in one 12-hour session at Capitol recording studios in Los Angeles. According to Neil Young: "This is the same studio where Frank SinatraFrank SinatraFrancis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
performed and recorded many of his big hits."
Charts
| Chart (2006) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian Albums Chart Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS... |
#7 |
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
#14 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
#15 |
| Irish Albums Chart Irish Albums Chart The Irish Albums Chart is the Irish music industry standard albums popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on its behalf by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured electronically... |
#24 |
The album debuted on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
album chart on May 27, 2006, with approxmiate sales of 60,000 copies. It remainded on the chart for 14 weeks.
External links
- Living with War Today: page devoted to this album on Young's official website
- Living with War lyrics