Neil Young's New Album 'FU##IN' UP' Has Live Recordings from Intimate Toronto Venue The Rivoli
FU##IN' UP, the new album by Neil Young & Crazy Horse, features performances of songs from his 1990 album Ragged Glory, recorded live at Toronto's Rivoli, seemingly during a much-rumoured secret show last November. He'll bring his upcoming tour to Toronto's Budweiser Stage in May, 2024.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Canadian icon Neil Young is adding to his immense discography with a new release this spring, a live album titled FU##IN UP'. The album, featuring Young's longtime band Crazy Horse, consists of nine live recordings from 2023 and is set for a limited edition two-LP release this April, in partnership with Record Store Day. According to the album's credits as noticed by Exclaim!, it was recorded at Toronto's Rivoli club, meaning it likely captures Neil Young & Crazy Horse's secret show at the Rivoli last November.
At that show — supposedly a private birthday party for Canada Goose CEO Dani Reiss — according to reports that generated a lot of buzz when they appeared online days later, Young performed most of their 1990 album Ragged Glory. FU##IN' UP features primarily songs from Ragged Glory, with new titles taken from lyric fragments. ("Over and Over," shared as a single, is now "Broken Circle.") The album features performances from Crazy Horse members Billy Talbot on bass, Ralph Molina on drums, and Nils Lofgren and Micah Nelson on guitar and piano, and Reiss is credited as a presenter.
Teasing the album announcement, Young previously shared a version of "Cinnamon Girl" recorded at the Rivoli on his site, Neil Young Archives. "This version of Cinnamon Girl is an example of the energy captured as the horse road through the RIVOLI club in Toronto Nov 4, 2023," the post reads.
Young also revealed in a January blog post that he's been suffering from arthritis, but has found a way to perform with less pain. He wrote that the last show he played with Crazy Horse was a "lifetime experience." "We captured it. Nothing new. Just my old songs and the Horse," wrote Young. "I can't remember a night like that in decades." Young added that the band would be sharing that night with fans in the form of a double vinyl coming out in April, "in all its Ragged Glory!"
Young will be returning to Toronto to tour the new album, though this time at a venue with a higher capacity. Neil Young and Crazy Horse play Budweiser Stage on May 20, as part of their 2024 Love Earth Tour — their first major tour in a decade.
"The horse is runnin’. What a ride we have. I don’t want to mess with the vibe. I am so happy to have this to share," Young says.
Tickets for the tour are on sale now. FU##IN' UP is out as a clear vinyl on April 20, through Record Store Day and The Greedy Hand Store. On April 26, black vinyl, CD and digital versions will be widely released.
