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Sleeps with Angels

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Sleeps with Angels
Studio album by
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
ReleasedAugust 16, 1994
RecordedNovember 8, 1993 – April 25, 1994
StudioThe Complex Studios, West Los Angeles, California
GenreRock
Length62:06
Label
Producer
Neil Young chronology
Unplugged
(1993) 		Sleeps with Angels
(1994) 		Mirror Ball
(1995)
Crazy Horse chronology
Arc
(1991) 		Sleeps with Angels
(1994) 		Broken Arrow
(1996)
Singles from Sleeps with Angels
  1. "Change Your Mind"
    Released: 1994
  2. "Piece of Crap"
    Released: 1994[1]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]
The Music Box[4]
New Musical Express9/10[5]
Robert ChristgauA−[6]

Sleeps with Angels is the 22nd studio album by Canadian-American musician Neil Young, released on August 16, 1994, on Reprise as a double LP and as a single CD. The album is Young's seventh with Crazy Horse. Co-produced by David Briggs, the album is Young's last with his long-time producer, who died the following year. The title track was written and recorded as a tribute to Kurt Cobain in wake of his suicide. Although the rest of the album was recorded before that event, the album takes on a somber, subdued tone throughout. Musician and author Ken Viola described the album as one of Young's "top five records. It examines the nature of dreams — both the light and dark side — and how they fuel reality in the nineties. Dreams are the only thing that we've got left to hang on to."[7]

Background

[edit]

The early 1990s were something of a comeback and second career pinnacle for Young with the release of 1989's Freedom, 1990's Ragged Glory and 1992's Harvest Moon. Young would be dubbed the "Godfather of Grunge" by one music critic[8] and would perform "Rockin' in the Free World" with Pearl Jam at the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards. Young would also perform with Booker T. & the M.G.'s at Bob Dylan's The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration and then embark on a North American tour with the group. During the winter of 1993-1994, Young would reunite with Crazy Horse to record a new album at The Complex in Los Angeles.

Writing and recording

[edit]

In contrast to his other albums, Young has been loath to discuss the album's content and the inspiration for the album's songs in interviews. In a 1995 interview for Mojo Magazine's Nick Kent, he says: "Sleeps With Angels has a lot of overtones to it, from different situations that were described in it – a lot of sad scenes. I've never really spoken about why I made that album. I don't want to start now. I just don't want to talk about that. That's my decision. I've made a choice not to talk about it and I'm sticking to it."[9] He repeats his stance in a 1995 interview for Spin Magazine: "I'm not doing anything with that album. It stands on its own. That's why I made the record. Too sensitive of a subject to isolate comments on. When you speak to someone who can write things down, you have to remember that they only write what they select. And it appears next to something that they can't control, like an ad. And then that article can be quoted, and over time...I've seen the way things happen."[10]

The lengthy "Change Your Mind" was debuted during the 1993 tour with Booker T. & the M.G.'s. The other songs on the album were written during the recording sessions.[11] The album features a variety of unique instruments, including bass marimbas, vibes, synthesizers and a tack piano on "My Heart" and "A Dream That Can Last". "Prime of Life" and "Safeway Cart" feature Young playing flute; Sleeps with Angels is the only Neil Young album on which he plays that instrument.[12] The songs "Western Hero" and "Train of Love" feature the same music with different lyrics, "like identical twins. The same song with two completely different stories. But it brings you back to this theme. It's almost like a Broadway play."[13] "Safeway Cart" is featured on the soundtrack during a marching sequence in Claire Denis's 1999 film Beau Travail.

The title track was inspired by the death of Kurt Cobain, who quoted Young in his suicide note.[14] "When he died and left that note, it struck a deep chord inside of me. It fucked with me. I wrote some music for that feeling: "Sleeps with Angels"," Young remembers in his memoir, Waging Heavy Peace.[15] He continues in Shakey: "What that suicide has done is return me to my roots. Makes me go back and investigate where I started. Where I came from. Why am I here and why is he not here? Does my music suffer because I survived?"[16] Young wrote the first lyrics to the song on a matchbook during a charity golf tournament hosted by Eddie Van Halen. The song was the last to be recorded for the album.[17]

Promotion

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A thirty-minute documentary was filmed by L.A. Johnson during the album's sessions. Promotional videos were later shot for the songs "My Heart," "Prime Of Life," "Change Your Mind," and "Piece Of Crap" by director Jonathan Demme. The videos feature the group returning to The Complex on October 3-4, 1994 to perform the songs live.

The group performed three concerts in October 1994 featuring songs from the album, all charity events. On October 1-2, the group played acoustic sets at the annual Bridge School Benefit concerts featuring seven of the album's songs. On October 22, the group played a similar setlist in Sedona, Arizona at the Verde Valley scholarship benefit festival.

Track listing

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All tracks were written by Neil Young, except "Blue Eden", written by Young, Ralph Molina, Frank Sampedro and Billy Talbot.

No.TitleLength
1."My Heart"2:44
2."Prime of Life"4:02
3."Driveby"4:43
4."Sleeps with Angels"2:44
5."Western Hero"4:00
6."Change Your Mind"14:39
7."Blue Eden"6:22
8."Safeway Cart"6:29
9."Train of Love"3:57
10."Trans Am"4:07
11."Piece of Crap"3:15
12."A Dream That Can Last"5:27
Total length:62:06

Personnel

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  • Neil Young – guitar on all tracks except 1 and 12, tack piano on tracks 1 and 12, accordion on track 5, flute on tracks 2 and 8, harmonica on track 8 and 12, vocals
Crazy Horse
  • Frank "Poncho" Sampedro – guitar on tracks 2, 4, 6, 7, 10, and 11, grand piano on tracks 5 and 9, piano on tracks 3 and 12, bass marimba on track 1, oberheim on tracks 3 and 8, Wurlitzer piano on track 8, vocals
  • Billy Talbot – bass on all tracks except 1 and 12, vibes on track 1, bass marimba on track 12, vocals
  • Ralph Molina – drums, vocals
Recording personnel
  • David Briggs – producer, mixing
  • Neil Young – producer, mixing
  • John Hanlon – engineer, mixing
  • Chad Blinman – assistant engineer
  • Roland Alvarez – assistant engineer
  • Joe Gastwirt – digital editing, mastering
  • Tim Mulligan – additional digital editing
  • Tim Foster – production manager
  • Bettina Briggs – production coordinator
  • Sal Trentino – amplifier tech
  • Jim Homan – guitar tech
  • Jerry Conforti – drum tech
  • Mark Humphreys – live monitors

Charts

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Album

[edit]
Chart (1994) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[18] 23
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[19] 12
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[20] 7
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[21] 10
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[22] 2
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[23] 11
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[24] 17
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[25] 4
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[26] 2
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[27] 13
UK Albums (OCC)[28] 2
US Billboard 200[29] 9

Singles

[edit]
Year Single Chart Position
1994 "Change Your Mind" US Mainstream Rock Tracks[30] 18
1994 "Piece Of Crap" UK Singles (OCC)[31] 91

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[32] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[33] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ "Neil Young singles & EP discography". Discogs. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
  2. ^ Ruhlmann, William. "Sleeps with Angels - Neil Young,Neil Young & Crazy Horse | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  3. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
  4. ^ Metzger, John. "Neil Young - Sleeps with Angels (Album Review)". Musicbox-online.com. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  5. ^ Martin, Gavin (13 August 1994). "Ashes to Ashes, Rust to Rust". New Musical Express. p. 47.
  6. ^ Christgau, Robert. "Album: Neil Young & Crazy Horse: Sleeps With Angels". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  7. ^ Mcdonough, Jimmy. 2003. Shakey: Neil Young’s Biography. New York: Anchor Books.
  8. ^ The Godfather of Grunge Rock. Steve Martin. Pulse!. December 1991
  9. ^ Kent, Nick (December 1995). "I Build Something Up, I Tear It Right Down: Neil Young at 50". Mojo. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  10. ^ "Not Fade Away: Our 1995 Neil Young Cover Story". Eric Weisbard. Spin. September 1995. https://www.spin.com/2021/10/neil-young-september-1995-cover-story/
  11. ^ Mcdonough, Jimmy. 2003. Shakey: Neil Young’s Biography. New York: Anchor Books.
  12. ^ "iTunes - Music - Sleeps With Angels by Neil Young". Itunes.apple.com. 1994-08-05. Retrieved 2013-05-27.
  13. ^ Mcdonough, Jimmy. 2003. Shakey: Neil Young’s Biography. New York: Anchor Books.
  14. ^ DeRiso, Nick (August 6, 2015). "How Neil Young Mourned Kurt Cobain On 'Sleeps With Angels'". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  15. ^ Young, Neil. 2012. Waging Heavy Peace. Penguin Publishing Group.
  16. ^ Mcdonough, Jimmy. 2003. Shakey: Neil Young’s Biography. New York: Anchor Books.
  17. ^ Durchholz, Daniel, and Gary Graff. 2012. Neil Young: Long May You Run: The Illustrated History. Minneapolis, MN: Voyageur Press.
  18. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Neil Young and Crazy Horse – Sleeps with Angels". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  19. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Neil Young and Crazy Horse – Sleeps with Angels" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  20. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 2591". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  21. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Neil Young and Crazy Horse – Sleeps with Angels" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  22. ^ "Sisältää hitin: Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1960: Artistit X Y". 2015.
  23. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Neil Young and Crazy Horse – Sleeps with Angels" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  24. ^ "Charts.nz – Neil Young and Crazy Horse – Sleeps with Angels". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  25. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Neil Young and Crazy Horse – Sleeps with Angels". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  26. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Neil Young and Crazy Horse – Sleeps with Angels". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  27. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Neil Young and Crazy Horse – Sleeps with Angels". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  28. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  29. ^ "Neil Young Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  30. ^ "Neil Young Chart History: Mainstream Rock". Billboard. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  31. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  32. ^ "British album certifications – Neil Young – Sleeps with Angels". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  33. ^ "American album certifications – Neil Young – Sleeps with Angels". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
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