Welcome Back

Album: Barn (2021)
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Songfacts®:

  • Neil Young laid down "Welcome Back" for Barn in a restored old barn in the Rocky Mountains. The mountainous surroundings heavily informed the record, and during this open-ended ramble, Young reflects on climate change and the wonders of nature and space.
  • To make Barn, Young reunited with his Crazy Horse lineup of bassist Billy Talbot, drummer Ralph Molina and multi-instrumentalist Nils Lofgren. "One of my favorites is the spooky as hell 'Welcome Back,'" Lofgren recalled to Mojo magazine. "We did a couple of outtakes that were pretty much more aggressive. And for no reason, when Neil said 'Let's go again.' it was still the heavy guitar, but it had a really kind of jazzy, laid back, weird beatnik mood. And he never pulled out of it. He knows it's part of the charm of it all... catching himself off guard."
  • At 8:28, "Welcome Back" is the longest track on Barn. "'Welcome Back' is a pretty good long one, and it's got all the elements of anything Crazy Horse has ever done," Billy Talbot told Mojo. "We tried it, like twice. Somehow, magically, we came to this place where we were playing it with the right groove and the right feel. You've got to pay attention, remain open."

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