In July, news arrived that we were getting not one, but two more Neil Young tribute albums. Heart Of Gold series, Vol. 2 - Out Of The Blue and Vol. 3 - Into The Black, the follow-ups to last year's Heart Of Gold: The Songs Of Neil Young Volume I, are arriving on November 6. We've already heard King Princess' take on "Helpless" and Jaco Rosa's version of "After The Gold Rush." Today, Modest Mouse and My Morning Jacket shared their contributions to the series.
Modest Mouse worked with Chicago rock group Califone on “Barstool Blues,” featured on Vol. 3 - Into the Black. Young recorded the track in 1975 for his seventh studio album Zuma. In a press release, Isaac Brock beamed about being a part of the project and shared how he initially planned to cover a different Young track:
Getting to do a cover of one of Neil’s songs on a project like this matters both because it gets to be helpful for an important cause like The Bridge School, and because it’s actually attached to the person whose song we are covering. It’s really… well, it’s a stressful honor. The stakes seem a little higher. I like that.
I had initially chosen and started working on a cover of "Cortez The Killer" before I realized that, in order to pull this off the way I’d like to, it was going to take me a thousand hours. Then it struck me: there is a song that I like just as much and find personally more relatable, "Barstool Blues." This was a song I could really sink my teeth into.
On top of being such a catchy song, it was something that I felt more of a mental and emotional connection to than ‘Cortez’ anyway, which I have more of a “historical” emotional connection to.
The next challenge any time you cover a song you’ve heard so many times is that it can be difficult to find a way not to make your version too close to the original. After all, why would anyone need that?
I figured it out. I made it go Kraut.
What a wonderful project to be included on.
My Morning Jacket, meanwhile, took on “Like A Hurricane," which Young wrote in 1975 but first released on 1977's American Stars 'N Bars. My Morning Jacket recorded with the famed Preservation Hall Jazz Band and producer Ross Hogarth in New Orleans. It was recorded live at Marigny Studios.
Listen to both below.
Proceeds from the albums benefit The Bridge School, the nonprofit founded by Neil and Pegi Young to serve individuals with severe speech and physical impairments. Heart Of Gold: The Songs Of Neil Young, Vol. 2 - Out Of The Blue and Heart Of Gold: The Songs Of Neil Young, Vol. 3 - Into The Black are out 11/6. Pre-order them here. Check out our 2025 feature where 80 artists picked their favorite Neil Young songs.
