This piece of “ Zuma ” had only been performed at one concert during the CSNY reformation tour in 1974, and at another Neil Young concert that year.
Three days after sharing a rare interpretation of the title « Silver and Gold » released in 2000, Neil Young looked back into his past and extracted “ Pardon My Heart » in a new clip. The song is featured on the album Zuma from 1975, but had not been performed in concert for 50 years. Click here to discover it.
« Pardon My Heart ” was first heard live on May 16, 1974, when Neil Young played a surprise concert at the Bottom Line in New York, following a Ry Cooder concert. “ Here's a song I learned recentlyhe announced to the crowd. I also wrote it. It's a love song. It's one of the saddest love songs I've ever heard. » She reappeared on August 15, 1974, during the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young reunion tour at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. These are the only two times the song has been performed in front of an audience.
The track was recorded at his home studio at Broken Arrow Ranch on June 16, 1974, with Tim Drummond on bass, and the Crazy Horse rhythm section of Ralph Molina and Billy Talbot on backing vocals. The same day he recorded “ Homefires », « Love Is a Rose », « Hawaiian Sunrise » et « L.A. Boys and Ocean Girls “. All of these songs reflect the intense heartbreak he felt at the time following the breakdown of his relationship with actress Carrie Snodgress, the mother of his son Zeke.
The song “ Pardon My Heart » remained pending for over a year. “ Joni Mitchell talks about her relationships much more vividly than I doYoung told Cameron Crowe of Rolling Stone, in August 1974. I think I'm veiling what I'm talking about a little more. I've written some songs as raw as his. Songs like ‘Pardon My Heart’, ‘Home Fires’, ‘Love Art Blues’… almost everything Homegrown. I never released any of those songs. And I probably never will. I think I'd be too embarrassed to take them out. They're a little too real. »
He changed his mind a few months later by including ” Pardon My Heart ” on Zuma, but it took 45 years before he felt comfortable enough to go out Homegrown in its entirety. “ It's the sad side of a love storyhe wrote at the time of the album's release. The damage caused. Heartbreak. I couldn't listen to him. I wanted to move on. So I kept it to myself, hidden in the safe, on the shelf, in the back of my mind… but I should have shared it. In fact, it's very beautiful. »
Neil Young hasn't released an album of new material since World Record, released in 2022. But he recently entered the studio to record a new album tentatively titled Talking to the Trees with his new band, the Chrome Hearts, and producer Lou Adler.
« I spent two years without writing anythingYoung recently told Dan Hesse on his Mentors Radio podcast. I wondered if this was the end. Who knows? I can't say it… This record blew me away. I'm very, very grateful to have been able to be there, with Lou Adler producing and the Chrome Hearts playing, and to have been able to bring out of me this music that I didn't even know existed until recently. a few months ago, when I wrote and recorded all the songs. »
Neil Young formed Chrome Hearts earlier this year after being forced to prematurely end his tour with Crazy Horse due to ill health. The new group includes Micah Nelson on guitar, Spooner Oldham on organ, Anthony Logerfo on drums and Corey McCormick on bass. They played at Farm Aid on September 21, then played two concerts at the Capitol Theater in Port Chester, New York.
No concerts are set for next year, but Young said he will travel to Europe with the Chrome Hearts.
Andy Greene
Translated by the editorial staff
