Gordon Lightfoot Book, Music and More!

Neil often defies expectations. Here, he releases a collection of tunes by his favorite songwriters recorded in a retro recording booth—with instant, if decidedly lo-fi results. Neil’s fans won’t mind: hearing the legendary rocker sing intimate covers of songs by Bob Dylan and others is priceless. Among the standouts are his takes on Willie Nelson’s “Crazy” and Bruce Springsteen’s “My Hometown.” Best of all are Neil’s versions of Gordon Lightfoot’s classics “Early Morning Rain” and “If You Could Read My Mind.” A tribute from Canadian icon to another.

Neil Young is the latest artist to cover Gordon Lightfoot's 1966 classic "Early Morning Rain." He recorded the song at the Farm Aid concert in Saratoga Springs, NY on September 21, 2013. It's one of Lightfoot fans' most beloved compositions. Lightfoot wrote the song, which includes the memorable line "you can't jump a jet plane, like you can a freight train," based on his memories of living in Los Angeles as a music student and watching "big 707" jetliners taking off from LAX. Now Young is recording "Early Morning Rain" as part of a new album of cover songs for Jack White's Third Man Records and will likely be released by Warner Bros, as well. In December 2013, the Neil Young website Thrashe...

With his memoir and this two-disc set, Neil’s in a reflective mood. Lengthy jams like “Driftin’ Back” and “Walk Like a Giant” are angry accounts of Sixties idealism’s failure, but the rock legend pays sweet tribute to his Ontario roots, wife Pegi, and their disabled son, Ben, on songs like “For the Love of Man.”

Sir Elton John was not yet a star—or a knight—when he played a week-long stint in 1970 at the Troubadour club in West Hollywood. Sitting in the audience one night, with his long silver hair and glasses, was Leon Russell, an American singer-pianist whose star was already rising, having written major hits for Joe Cocker and The Carpenters. John later met Russell and they toured together, a great thrill for the English musician, who regarded his American counterpart as a musical idol. As fate would have it, the Rocket Man’s career soared, while Russell’s crash landed. Now Elton is injecting some jet fuel into his hero’s career, by collaborating with him on The Union. John hopes the recording, w...

A man and his guitar. Canada’s iconic rocker has been proving the power of that simple combination for half a century. Young’s latest is a testament to just how much feeling, meaning and, yes, noise he can draw from his instrument. Recorded without percussion, keyboards or strings (but with plenty of sonic effects from producer and fellow Canadian Daniel Lanois), the album’s standout tracks range from the raw “Walk with Me” and the ornery “Angry World” to the gorgeous, Spanish-tinged confessional “Love and War.”