As we reported earlier this year, Neil Young revealed in his acceptance speech at the MusiCares Person of the Year ceremony that he is working on another studio album, saying, “I’ve already written 4 or 5 songs and I don’t want to stop.” Details were scant, of course, but we now have an exciting update about the project: Young has teamed up with producer Daniel Lanois on the project.
Lanois, who is perhaps best known for producing albums by U2 (Achtung Baby, The Joshua Tree) and Bob Dylan (Time Out of Mind, Oh Mercy), is one of the few famous producers to be invited to produce a Neil Young record. Sounds like they’re hitting it off though: “Neil told me last week that he was having a great time talking music with him and just relating to him,” David Crosby told Rolling Stone. Later, he added: “I think that Neil’s been a little lonely for someone to interact that way because his best buddy [Larry “L.A.” Johnson] died and that just really left a hole there.”
If Dylan’s resurgent Time Out of Mind is any indication, Young’s next album will be his best in years, I’d say.