Editing Neil Young (section)

==Career==
===Early career (1963–1966)===

Young and his mother settled in the working-class area of [[Fort Rouge, Winnipeg]], where he enrolled in Earl Grey Junior High School. It was there that he formed his first band, the Jades, and met [[Ken Koblun]]. While attending [[Kelvin High School]] in Winnipeg, he played in several instrumental rock bands, eventually dropping out of school in favor of a musical career.{{sfn|McDonough|2002|p=103}} Young's first stable band was [[the Squires]], with Ken Koblun, Jeff Wuckert and Bill Edmondson on drums, who had a local hit called "The Sultan". Over three years, the band played hundreds of shows at community centers, dance halls, clubs and schools in Winnipeg and other parts of Manitoba. The band also played in [[Fort William, Ontario|Fort William]] (now part of the city of [[Thunder Bay]], Ontario), where they recorded a series of demos produced by a local producer, Ray Dee, whom Young called "the original Briggs", referring to his later producer David Briggs.{{sfn|McDonough|2002|p=105}}  While playing at The Flamingo, Young met [[Stephen Stills]], whose band [[The Company (folk rock band)|the Company]] was playing at the same venue, and they became friends.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YBB0DQAAQBAJ&pg=PT224|page=224|title=Everybody Had an Ocean: Music and Mayhem in 1960s Los Angeles|author=William McKeen|publisher=Chicago Review Press|date=April 1, 2017|isbn=9781613734940}}</ref> The Squires primarily performed in Winnipeg and rural Manitoba in towns such as [[Selkirk, Manitoba|Selkirk]], [[Neepawa, Manitoba|Neepawa]], [[Brandon, Manitoba|Brandon]] and Giroux (near [[Steinbach, Manitoba|Steinbach]]), with a few shows in northern Ontario.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b4EXBwAAQBAJ&pg=PT50|page=50|title=Waging Heavy Peace Deluxe: A Hippie Dream|author=Neil Young|publisher=Penguin|date=November 1, 2012|isbn = 9780241966242}}</ref>

After leaving the Squires, Young worked in folk clubs in Winnipeg, where he first met [[Joni Mitchell]].{{sfn|McDonough|2002|p=96}} Mitchell recalls Young as having been highly influenced by [[Bob Dylan]] at the time.<ref>''The Rolling Stone Interviews'' by Jann Werner (editor) & Joe Levy (editor). Back Bay Books (2007), {{ISBN|978-0-316-00526-5}}.</ref> Young said [[Phil Ochs]] was "a big influence on me", telling a radio station in 1969 that Ochs was "on the same level with Dylan in my eyes."{{sfn|McDonough|2002|p=137}} Here he wrote some of his earliest and most enduring folk songs such as "[[Sugar Mountain (song)|Sugar Mountain]]", about lost youth. Mitchell wrote "[[The Circle Game (song)|The Circle Game]]" in response.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thrasherswheat.org/jammin/jammin_more.htm#joni|title=Neil Young Collaborations|publisher=Thrasher's Wheat|access-date=May 9, 2009}}</ref> The Winnipeg band [[the Guess Who]] (with [[Randy Bachman]] as lead guitarist) had a Canadian Top 40 hit with Young's "Flying on the Ground is Wrong", which was Young's first major success as a songwriter.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ultimateclassicrock.com/neil-young-first-professional-gig/|title=The Story of Neil Young's First Professional Gig|author=Sterling Whitaker|date=February 1, 2016}}</ref>

In 1965, Young toured Canada as a solo artist. In 1966, while in Toronto, he joined the [[Rick James]]-fronted [[Mynah Birds]]. The band managed to secure a record deal with the [[Motown]] label, but as their first album was being recorded, James was arrested for being [[Desertion|AWOL]] from the Navy Reserve.{{sfn|McDonough|2002|p=139}} After the Mynah Birds disbanded, Young and the bass player [[Bruce Palmer]] decided to pawn the group's musical equipment and buy a [[Pontiac (automobile)|Pontiac]] [[hearse]], which they used to relocate to Los Angeles.<ref name="WFP">{{cite news|url=https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/entertainment/music/one-moment-that-made-music-history-375979631.html|title=One Moment That Made Music History|author=John Einarson|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|date=April 16, 2017|access-date=November 26, 2018}}</ref> Young admitted in a 1975 interview that he was in the United States illegally until he received a "green card" ([[Permanent residence (United States)|permanent residency permit]]) in 1970.<ref name=interview/>

===Buffalo Springfield (1966–1968)===
{{Main|Buffalo Springfield}}
Once they reached Los Angeles, Young and Palmer met up with [[Stephen Stills]] and [[Richie Furay]] after a chance encounter in traffic on [[Sunset Boulevard]].<ref name="WFP" /> Along with [[Dewey Martin (musician)|Dewey Martin]], they formed [[Buffalo Springfield]]. A mixture of folk, country, [[psychedelia]], and rock, lent a hard edge by the twin lead guitars of Stills and Young, made Buffalo Springfield a critical success, and their first record, ''[[Buffalo Springfield (album)|Buffalo Springfield]]'' (1966), sold well after Stills' topical song "[[For What It's Worth]]" became a hit, aided by Young's melodic harmonics played on electric guitar. According to ''Rolling Stone'', the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and other sources, Buffalo Springfield helped create the genres of folk rock and country rock.<ref name="rollingstone">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/buffalo-springfield|title=Buffalo Springfield|magazine=[[Rollingstone.com]]|access-date=April 9, 2015}}</ref><ref name="Unterberger">{{cite book|last = Unterberger |first=Richie|date=2003 |title=Eight Miles High: Folk-Rock's Flight from Haight-Ashbury To Woodstock |location=San Francisco |publisher=Backbeat Books|isbn=0-87930-743-9}}</ref>

Distrust of their management, as well as the arrest and deportation of Palmer, worsened the already strained relations among the group members and led to Buffalo Springfield's demise. A second album, ''[[Buffalo Springfield Again]]'', was released in late 1967, but two of Young's three contributions were solo tracks recorded apart from the rest of the group. From that album, "[[Mr. Soul]]" was the only Young song of the three that all five members of the group performed together.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://neilyoungarchives.com/info-card?search=true&track=t1967_0404_01|website = Neil Young Archives|title=Mr. Soul (Stereo)|access-date=July 20, 2024}}</ref>

In May 1968, the band split up for good, but to fulfill a contractual obligation, a final studio album, ''[[Last Time Around]]'', was released. Young contributed the songs "On the Way Home" and "I Am a Child", singing lead on the latter.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://neilyoungarchives.com/info-card?track=t1968_0205_01|website = Neil Young Archives|title=I Am A Child|access-date=July 20, 2024}}</ref>

In 1997, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; Young did not appear at the ceremony, writing in a letter to the Hall that their presentation, which was aired on [[VH1]], "has nothing to do with the spirit of Rock and Roll. It has everything to do with making money."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mtv.com/news/41sp8k/neil-young-slams-rock-vh1-hall-of-fame-ceremony|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231229221018/https://www.mtv.com/news/41sp8k/neil-young-slams-rock-vh1-hall-of-fame-ceremony|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 29, 2023|title=Neil Young Slams Rock 'VH1 Hall Of Fame' Ceremony|publisher=[[MTV]]|date=May 1997}}</ref>

Young played as a studio session guitarist for some 1968 recordings by [[The Monkees]] which appeared on the ''[[Head (The Monkees album)|Head]]'' and ''[[Instant Replay (The Monkees album)|Instant Replay]]'' albums.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.guitarworld.com/artist-news/time-neil-young-cut-loose-monkees/29926|title=That Time Neil Young Let Loose with The Monkees |work=Guitar World |publisher=[[Guitar World]]|date=October 2016}}</ref>

===Going solo, Crazy Horse (1968–1969)===
{{main|Crazy Horse (band)}}
After the breakup of Buffalo Springfield, Young signed a solo deal with [[Reprise Records]], home of his colleague and friend [[Joni Mitchell]], with whom he shared a manager, [[Elliot Roberts]]. Roberts managed Young until Roberts' death in 2019. Young and Roberts immediately began work on Young's first solo record, ''[[Neil Young (album)|Neil Young]]'' (January 22, 1969),<ref>The Village Voice (February 6, 1969) [https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1299&dat=19690206&id=xscpAAAAIBAJ&sjid=9IsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6132,1163188 "Reprise Ad – Tea Fan Seeks Mate"]. News.google.com. Retrieved January 26, 2016.</ref> which received mixed reviews. In a 1970 interview,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.canadiancontent.net/people/music/Neil-Young.html|title=Neil Young – MiniBio|publisher=Canadian Content|year=2008|access-date=January 26, 2010}}</ref> Young deprecated the album as being "overdubbed rather than played".

For his next album, Young recruited three musicians from a band called the Rockets: [[Danny Whitten]] on guitar, [[Billy Talbot]] on bass guitar, and [[Ralph Molina]] on drums. These three took the name [[Crazy Horse (band)|Crazy Horse]] (after [[Crazy Horse|the historical figure of the same name]]), and ''[[Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere]]'' (May 1969) is credited to "Neil Young with Crazy Horse". Recorded in just two weeks, the album includes "[[Cinnamon Girl]]", "[[Cowgirl in the Sand]]", and "[[Down by the River (Neil Young song)|Down by the River]]". Young reportedly wrote all three songs in bed on the same day while nursing a high fever of {{convert|39|°C|°F|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite book|last=Rogan|first=Johnny|title=Neil Young, Zero to Sixty: A Critical Biography|publisher=Music Sales Distributed|year=2000|page=187|isbn=978-0-9529540-4-0}}</ref>

===Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young (1969–1970)===
{{main|Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young}}
Shortly after the release of ''Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere,'' Young reunited with Stephen Stills by joining [[Crosby, Stills & Nash]], who had already released one album, ''[[Crosby, Stills & Nash (album)|Crosby, Stills & Nash]]'', as a trio in May 1969. Young was originally offered a position as a sideman but agreed to join only if he received full membership, and the group – winners of the 1969 [[Grammy Award for Best New Artist|Best New Artist Grammy Award]] – was renamed [[Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young]].{{sfn|McDonough|2002|p=313}} The quartet debuted in Chicago on August 16, 1969, and later performed at the famous [[Woodstock Festival]], during which Young skipped the majority of the acoustic set and refused to be filmed during the electric set, even telling the cameramen: "One of you fuckin' guys comes near me and I'm gonna fuckin' hit you with my guitar".{{sfn|McDonough|2002|pp=318–320}} During the making of their first album, ''[[Déjà Vu (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young album)|Déjà Vu]]'' (March 11, 1970), the musicians frequently argued, particularly Young and Stills, who both fought for control. Stills continued throughout their lifelong relationship to criticize Young, saying that he "wanted to play folk music in a rock band".{{sfn|McDonough|2002|p=324}}

Young wrote "[[Ohio (CSNY song)|Ohio]]" following the [[Kent State massacre]] on May 4, 1970. The song was quickly recorded by CSNY and immediately released as a single, even though CSNY's "Teach Your Children" was still climbing the singles charts.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://americansongwriter.com/behind-the-meaning-of-the-song-ohio-by-crosby-stills-nash-and-young/|website=American Songwriter|title=Behind the Meaning of the Song: "Ohio" by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young|date=June 7, 2022 |access-date=July 20, 2024}}</ref>

===''After the Gold Rush'', acoustic tour and ''Harvest'' (1970–1972)===
Later in the year, Young released his third solo album, ''[[After the Gold Rush]]'' (August 31, 1970), which featured, among others, [[Nils Lofgren]], [[Stephen Stills]], and CSNY bassist [[Greg Reeves]]. Young also recorded some tracks with Crazy Horse, but dismissed them early in the sessions. The eventual recording was less amplified than ''Everybody Knows This is Nowhere'', with a wider range of sounds. Young's newfound fame with CSNY made the album his commercial breakthrough as a solo artist, and it contains some of his best-known work, including "[[Tell Me Why (Neil Young song)|Tell Me Why]]" and "[[Don't Let It Bring You Down]]"; the singles "[[Only Love Can Break Your Heart]]" and "[[When You Dance I Can Really Love]]"; and the title track, "[[After the Gold Rush (song)|After the Gold Rush]]", played on piano, with dreamlike lyrics that ran a gamut of subjects from drugs and interpersonal relationships to [[environmentalism|environmental concerns]]. Young's bitter condemnation of racism in the heavy blues-rock song "[[Southern Man (song)|Southern Man]]" (along with a later song entitled "Alabama") was also controversial with southerners in an era of desegregation, prompting [[Lynyrd Skynyrd]] to decry Young by name in the lyrics to their hit "[[Sweet Home Alabama (song)|Sweet Home Alabama]]". However, Young said he was a fan of Skynyrd's music, and the band's front man [[Ronnie Van Zant]] was later photographed wearing a ''[[Tonight's the Night (Neil Young album)|Tonight's the Night]]'' T-shirt on the cover of [[Street Survivors|an album]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://neilyoungnews.thrasherswheat.org/2010/02/ronnie-and-neil-laying-to-rest-feud.html|title=Ronnie and Neil: Laying to Rest the "Feud Myth" Once and for All|website=Thrasher's Wheat|access-date=July 20, 2024}}</ref>

[[File:Neil Young-early promo.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|Young in the 1970s|left]]
In the autumn of 1970, Young began a solo acoustic tour of North America, during which he played a variety of his Buffalo Springfield and CSNY songs on guitar and piano, along with material from his solo albums and several new songs. Some songs premiered by Young on the tour, like "Journey through the Past", would never find a home on a studio album, while other songs, like "See the Sky About to Rain", would only be released in coming years. Many gigs were sold out, including concerts at [[Carnegie Hall]] and a pair of acclaimed hometown shows at Toronto's [[Massey Hall]], which were taped for a planned live album. The shows became legendary among Young fans, with ''[[Live at Massey Hall 1971]]'' being released in 2007, and other shows as official bootlegs in 2021 and 2022, as a part of Young's [[Neil Young Archives|Archive]] series.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://neilyoungnews.thrasherswheat.org/2023/04/neil-youngs-original-bootleg-series.html|title=Neil Young's Original Bootleg Series Releases: 'Somewhere Under The Rainbow" & 'High Flyin'|website=Thrasher's Wheat|access-date=July 20, 2024}}</ref>

Near the end of his tour, Young performed one of the new acoustic songs on the ''[[The Johnny Cash Show (TV series)|Johnny Cash]]'' TV show. "[[The Needle and the Damage Done]]", a somber lament on the pain caused by [[heroin addiction]], had been inspired in part by Crazy Horse member [[Danny Whitten]], who eventually died while battling his drug problems.{{sfn|Williamson|2002|p=42}}{{sfn|Taylor|2006|p=279}} While in Nashville for the Cash taping, Young accepted the invitation of [[Quadrafonic Sound Studios]] owner [[Elliot Mazer]] to record tracks there with a group of country-music session musicians who were pulled together at the last minute. Making a connection with them, he christened them [[The Stray Gators]], and began playing with them. Befitting the immediacy of the project, [[Linda Ronstadt]] and [[James Taylor]] were brought in from the Cash taping to do background vocals. Against the advice of his producer [[David Briggs (producer)|David Briggs]], he scrapped plans for the imminent release<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bad-news-beat.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1889 |title=Neil Comments on Massey Hall Release |date=January 17, 2007 |website=Bad-news-beat.org |access-date=July 11, 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928010740/http://www.bad-news-beat.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1889 |archive-date=September 28, 2007 }}</ref> of the live acoustic recording in favor of a studio album consisting of the Nashville sessions, electric-guitar oriented sessions recorded later in his barn, and two recordings made with the [[London Symphony Orchestra]] at Barking (credited as Barking Town Hall and now the [[The Broadway (theatre)|Broadway Theatre]]) during March 1971.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.longlivevinyl.net/classic-album-neil-young-harvest/ |title=Classic Album: Neil Young – Harvest|date=June 2, 2017 |work=Long Live Vinyl |access-date=October 10, 2017 |language=en-GB}}</ref> The result was Young's fourth album, ''[[Harvest (Neil Young album)|Harvest]]'' (February 14, 1972), which was also the best selling album of 1972 in the US.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/1972/top-billboard-200-albums|title=Billboard Year End 1972|magazine=Billboard|date=January 2, 2013|access-date=September 15, 2021}}</ref>

After his success with CSNY, Young purchased a ranch in the rural hills above Woodside and Redwood City in Northern California ("Broken Arrow Ranch", where he lived until his divorce in 2014).<ref name="rollingstone.com">{{cite magazine | url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/inside-neil-youngs-nature-themed-opus-20160705 | title=Inside Neil Young's Nature-Themed Opus | first=Patrick | last=Doyle | magazine=Rolling Stone | date=July 5, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160706154812/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/inside-neil-youngs-nature-themed-opus-20160705 | archive-date=July 6, 2016 | access-date=March 14, 2023}}</ref> He wrote the song "[[Old Man (song)|Old Man]]" in honor of the land's longtime caretaker, Louis Avila. The song "[[A Man Needs a Maid (song)|A Man Needs a Maid]]" was inspired by his relationship with actress [[Carrie Snodgress]]. "[[Heart of Gold (Neil Young song)|Heart of Gold]]" was released as the first single from ''Harvest'', the only No.&nbsp;1 hit in his career.<ref name="whitburn Top40">{{cite book|last = Whitburn |first=Joel|date=2010 |title=The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits: Revised and Expanded Ninth Edition |location=New York |publisher=Billboard Books |page=722 |isbn=978-0-8230-8554-5}}</ref> "Old Man" was also popular, reaching No. 31 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, marking Young's third and final appearance in the chart's Top 40 as a solo artist.<ref name="whitburn Top40" />

The album's recording had been almost accidental. Its mainstream success caught Young off guard, and his first instinct was to back away from stardom. In the ''[[Decade (Neil Young album)|Decade]]'' (1977) compilation, Young chose to include his greatest hits from the period, but his handwritten liner notes famously described "Heart of Gold" as the song that "put me in the middle of the road. Traveling there soon became a bore, so I headed for the ditch. A rougher ride but I saw more interesting people there."<ref>{{Cite AV media notes |title=Decade |chapter=Heart of Gold |title-link=Decade (Neil Young album) |first=Neil |last=Young |author-link=Neil Young |date=1977 |type=liner notes |publisher=Warner Bros.}}</ref>

===The "Ditch" Trilogy and personal struggles (1972–1974)===
Although a new tour with The Stray Gators (now augmented by Danny Whitten) had been planned to follow up on the success of ''Harvest'', it became apparent during rehearsals that Whitten could not function due to drug abuse. On November 18, 1972, shortly after he was fired from the tour preparations, Whitten was found dead of an apparent alcohol/[[diazepam]] overdose. Young described the incident to ''Rolling Stone''{{'}}s [[Cameron Crowe]] in 1975: "[We] were rehearsing with him and he just couldn't cut it. He couldn't remember anything. He was too out of it. Too far gone. I had to tell him to go back to L.A. 'It's not happening, man. You're not together enough.' He just said, 'I've got nowhere else to go, man. How am I gonna tell my friends?' And he split. That night the coroner called me from L.A. and told me he'd OD'd. That blew my mind. I loved Danny. I felt responsible. And from there, I had to go right out on this huge tour of huge arenas. I was very nervous and ... insecure."<ref name="interview">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/news/profile/story/9102786/neil_young_the_rs_interview|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060409205354/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/profile/story/9102786/neil_young_the_rs_interview|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 9, 2006|title=Neil Young: The RS Interview|magazine=Rollingstone.com|access-date=November 29, 2010}}</ref>

On the tour, Young struggled with his voice and the performance of drummer [[Kenny Buttrey]], a noted Nashville session musician who was unaccustomed to performing in the [[hard rock]] milieu; Buttrey was eventually replaced by former CSNY drummer [[Johnny Barbata]], while [[David Crosby]] and [[Graham Nash]] contributed rhythm guitar and backing vocals to the final dates of the tour. Young has often said the album assembled in the aftermath, ''[[Time Fades Away]]'' (October 15, 1973), was his least favorite. It was not officially released on CD until 2017 (as part of Young's [[Neil Young Archives#Official Release Series 05:|Official Release Series]]). Nevertheless, Young and his band tried several new musical approaches in this period. ''Time Fades Away'' was recorded live, although it was an album of new material, an approach Young would repeat with more success later on. ''Time'' was the first of three consecutive commercial failures which became known collectively to fans as the "Ditch Trilogy", as contrasted with the more middle-of-the-road pop of ''Harvest''.<ref name="UnCut">{{cite news|last=Pinnock|first=Tom|title=Neil Young's 'Time Fades Away': 'Harvest's Unlikely Follow-Up|url=http://www.uncut.co.uk/neil-young/neil-young-s-time-fades-away-harvests-unlikely-follow-up-feature|access-date=January 3, 2014|newspaper=[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]|date=May 2010|issue=156|archive-date=October 6, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006130112/http://www.uncut.co.uk/neil-young/neil-young-s-time-fades-away-harvests-unlikely-follow-up-feature|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:Neil Young in Austin, 1976.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|Young in [[Austin, Texas]], on November 9, 1976]]

In the second half of 1973, Young formed The Santa Monica Flyers, with Crazy Horse's rhythm section augmented by [[Nils Lofgren]] on guitar and piano and ''Harvest''/''Time Fades Away'' veteran [[Ben Keith]] on pedal steel guitar. Deeply affected by the drug-induced deaths of Whitten and [[roadie]] [[Bruce Berry (roadie)|Bruce Berry]], Young recorded an album specifically inspired by the incidents, ''[[Tonight's the Night (Neil Young album)|Tonight's the Night]]'' (June 20, 1975). The album's dark tone and rawness led Reprise to delay its release and Young had to pressure them for two years before they would do so.{{sfn|McDonough|2002|p=430}} While his record company was stalling, Young recorded another album, ''[[On the Beach (Neil Young album)|On the Beach]]'' (July 16, 1974), which presented a more melodic, acoustic sound at times, including a recording of the older song "See the Sky About to Rain", but dealt with similarly dark themes such as the collapse of 1960s folk ideals, the downside of success and the underbelly of the Californian lifestyle. Like ''Time Fades Away'', it sold poorly but eventually became a critical favorite, presenting some of Young's most original work. A review of the 2003 re-release on CD of ''On the Beach'' described the music as "mesmerizing, harrowing, lucid, and bleary".<ref name="sven">{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.com/a&e/soundfury904.htm |title=Neil Young – On the Beach (Reprise) |newspaper=The Santa Barbara Independent |date=March 18, 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040421143346/http://www.independent.com/a%26e/soundfury904.htm |archive-date=April 21, 2004 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

After completing ''On the Beach'', Young reunited with ''Harvest'' producer Elliot Mazer to record another acoustic album, ''[[Homegrown (Neil Young album)|Homegrown]]''. Most of the songs were written after Young's breakup with Carrie Snodgress, and thus the tone of the album was somewhat dark. Though ''Homegrown'' was reportedly entirely complete, Young decided, not for the first or last time in his career, to drop it and release something else instead, in this case, ''Tonight's the Night'', at the suggestion of [[The Band|Band]] bassist [[Rick Danko]].{{sfn|McDonough|2002|p=469}} Young further explained his move by saying: "It was a little too personal ... it scared me".{{sfn|McDonough|2002|p=469}} Most of the songs from ''Homegrown'' were later incorporated into other Young albums while the original album was not released until 2020. ''Tonight's the Night,'' when finally released in 1975, sold poorly, as had the previous albums of the "ditch" trilogy, and received mixed reviews at the time, but is now regarded as a landmark album. In Young's own opinion, it was the closest he ever came to art.{{sfn|McDonough|2002|p=433}}

===Reunions, retrospectives and ''Rust Never Sleeps'' (1974–1979)===
Young reunited with [[Crosby, Stills, and Nash]] after a four-year hiatus in the summer of 1974 for a concert tour that was partially recorded; highlights were ultimately released in 2014 as ''[[CSNY 1974]]''. It was one of the first ever stadium tours and the largest tour in which Young has participated to date.{{sfn|McDonough|2002|p=452}}

In 1975, Young reformed Crazy Horse with [[Frank Sampedro]] on guitar as his backup band for his eighth album, ''[[Zuma (Neil Young & Crazy Horse album)|Zuma]]'' (November 10, 1975). Many of the songs dealt with the theme of failed relationships; "[[Cortez the Killer]]", a retelling of the [[Spanish conquest]] of Mexico from the viewpoint of the [[Aztec]]s, may also be heard as an allegory of love lost. ''Zuma''{{'}}s closing track, "Through My Sails", was the only released fragment from aborted sessions with Crosby, Stills and Nash for another group album.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://songsfromsodeep.wordpress.com/tag/csny/|title=David Crosby RIP|website=Songs from So Deep|date=January 20, 2023 |access-date=July 20, 2024}}</ref>

In 1976, Young reunited with Stephen Stills for the album ''[[Long May You Run]]'' (September 20, 1976), credited to [[The Stills-Young Band]]; the follow-up tour was ended midway through by Young, who sent Stills a [[telegram]] that read: "Funny how some things that start spontaneously end that way. Eat a peach, Neil."{{sfn|McDonough|2002|p=502}}

[[File:The Last Waltz.jpg|thumb|''The Last Waltz'', Young (center on left microphone) performing with Bob Dylan and [[The Band]], among others in 1976|left]]

In 1976, Young performed with Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, and numerous other rock musicians in the high-profile all-star concert ''[[The Last Waltz]]'', the final performance by [[The Band]]. The release of [[Martin Scorsese]]'s movie of the concert was delayed while Scorsese unwillingly re-edited it to obscure the lump of cocaine that was clearly visible hanging from Young's nose during his performance of "[[Helpless (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young song)|Helpless]]".<ref name="Exclaim">{{cite magazine|last=Schneider|first=Jason|url=http://www.exclaim.ca/index.asp?layid=22&csid1=1741|title=Neil Young – Searching for a Heart of Gold|date=August 4, 2003|magazine=Exclaim!|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030901150951/http://www.exclaim.ca/index.asp?layid=22&csid1=1741|archive-date=September 1, 2003}}</ref> ''[[American Stars 'n Bars]]'' (June 13, 1977) contained two songs originally recorded for the ''Homegrown'' album, "Homegrown" and "Star of Bethlehem", as well as newer material, including the future concert staple "[[Like a Hurricane (Neil Young song)|Like a Hurricane]]". Performers on the record included [[Linda Ronstadt]], [[Emmylou Harris]] and Young protégé [[Nicolette Larson]] along with Crazy Horse. In 1977, Young also released the compilation ''[[Decade (Neil Young album)|Decade]]'', a personally selected set of songs spanning every aspect of his work, including a handful of previously unreleased songs. The record included less commercial album tracks alongside radio hits.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/decade-mw0000195368|title=Decade-Neil Young|website=AllMusic|access-date=July 20, 2024}}</ref>

In June 1977 Young joined with Jeff Blackburn, Bob Mosley and John Craviotto (who later founded [[Craviotto drums]]) to form a band called The Ducks. Over seven-week the band performed 22 shows in Santa Cruz CA but were not allowed to appear beyond city limits due to Young's Crazy Horse contract. In April 2023 Young officially released a double album of songs culled from the band's performances at multiple venues as well as from sessions at a local recording studio. The double album was part of the Neil Young Archives project positioned within the Official Bootleg Series, titled High Flyin'.

''[[Comes a Time]]'' (October 2, 1978), Young's first entirely new solo recording since the mid-1970s, marked a return to the commercially accessible, Nashville-inspired sound of ''Harvest'' while also featuring contributions from Larson and Crazy Horse. The album also marked a return to his folk roots, as exemplified by a cover of [[Ian Tyson]]'s "[[Four Strong Winds]]", a song Young associated with his childhood in Canada. Another of the album's songs, "[[Lotta Love]]", was also recorded by Larson, with her version reaching No. 8 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in February 1979. In 1978, much of the filming was done for Young's film ''[[Human Highway]]'', which took its name from a song featured on ''Comes a Time''. Over four years, Young would spend US$3,000,000 of his own money on production (US${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|3000000|1978}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars{{inflation-fn|US}}). This also marked the beginning of his brief collaboration with the [[art punk]] band [[Devo]], whose members appeared in the film.{{sfn|McDonough|2002|pp=575–577}}

Young set out in 1978 on the lengthy ''Rust Never Sleeps'' tour, in which he played a wealth of new material. Each concert was divided into a solo acoustic set and an electric set with Crazy Horse. The electric sets, featuring an abrasive style of playing, were influenced by the [[punk rock]] [[zeitgeist]] of the late 1970s and provided a stark contrast from ''Comes a Time''.{{sfn|McDonough|2002|pp=529–537}} Two new songs, the acoustic "[[My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)]]" and electric "[[Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)]]" were the centerpiece of the new material. During the filming of ''Human Highway'', Young had collaborated with Devo on a cacophonous version of "Hey Hey, My My" at the [[Different Fur]] studio in San Francisco and would later introduce the song to Crazy Horse.{{sfn|McDonough|2002|pp=531–532}} The lyric "It's better to burn out than to fade away" was widely quoted by his peers and critics.{{sfn|McDonough|2002|pp=531–532}} The album has also widely been considered a precursor of [[grunge]] music with the bands [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]] and [[Pearl Jam]] having cited Young's heavily distorted and abrasive guitar style on the B side to this album as an inspiration. Young also compared the rise of [[Johnny Rotten]] with that of the recently deceased "King" [[Elvis Presley]], who himself had once been disparaged as a dangerous influence only to later become an [[Pop icon|icon]]. Rotten returned the favor by playing one of Young's songs, "Revolution Blues" from ''[[On the Beach (Neil Young album)|On the Beach]]'', on a London radio show, an early sign of Young's eventual embrace by several punk-influenced alternative musicians.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Schneider|first1=Martin|title=DJ Johnny Rotten Plays Music from His Own Record Collection on the Radio, 1977|url=http://dangerousminds.net/comments/dj_johnny_rotten_plays_music_from_his_own_record_collection_on_the_radio_19|website=Dangerousminds.net|date=June 16, 2016|access-date=April 15, 2017}}</ref>

Young's two accompanying albums ''[[Rust Never Sleeps]]'' (July 2, 1979; new material culled from live recordings, but featuring studio overdubs) and ''[[Live Rust]]'' (November 19, 1979; a genuine concert recording featuring old and new material) captured the two sides of the concerts, with solo acoustic songs on side A, and fierce, uptempo, electric songs on side B. A movie version of the concerts, also called ''Rust Never Sleeps'' (1979), was directed by Young under the pseudonym "Bernard Shakey". Young worked with rock artist [[Jim Evans (artist)|Jim Evans]] to create the poster art for the film, using the ''[[Star Wars]]'' [[Jawas]] as a theme. Young's work since ''Harvest'' had alternated between being rejected by mass audiences and being seen as backward-looking by critics, sometimes both at once, and now he was suddenly viewed as relevant by a new generation, who began to discover his earlier work. Readers and critics of ''Rolling Stone'' voted him Artist of the Year for 1979 (along with [[The Who]]), selected ''[[Rust Never Sleeps]]'' as Album of the Year, and voted him Male Vocalist of the Year as well.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/rolling.htm#1979 |title=Albums Of The Year And End Of Year Critic Lists |publisher=Rocklist.net |access-date=February 5, 2020 |archive-date=June 28, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628073126/http://rocklistmusic.co.uk/rolling.htm#1979 |url-status=usurped }}</ref> ''[[The Village Voice]]'' named ''Rust Never Sleeps'' as the year's second best album in the [[Pazz & Jop]] Poll,<ref>{{Cite news |title=The 1979 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll |work=[[Robert Christgau]] |url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/pnj/pjres79.php |access-date=December 14, 2023}}</ref> a survey of nationwide critics, and honored Young as the Artist of the Decade.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fentress |first=Calvin |date=January 2, 1990 |title=1980-1989: The Big Sleep |work=[[The Village Voice]] |url=https://www.villagevoice.com/1980-1989-rockism-faces-the-world/ |access-date=December 14, 2023}}</ref>

===Experimental years (1980–1988)===
After providing the incidental music to the 1980 film ''[[Where the Buffalo Roam]]'', Young released ''[[Hawks & Doves]]'' (November 3, 1980), a short record pieced together from sessions going back to 1974.<ref name="Hawks & Doves Review">{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r22517|pure_url=yes}}|title=Hawks & Doves Review|website=allmusic|access-date=April 4, 2009}}</ref>

''[[Re·ac·tor]]'' (1981), an electric album recorded with Crazy Horse, also included material from the 1970s.<ref>{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r22518|pure_url=yes}}|title=Reactor Review|website=allmusic|access-date=April 4, 2009}}</ref> Young did not tour in support of either album; in total, he played only one show, a set at the 1980 Bread and Roses Festival in [[Berkeley, California|Berkeley]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sugarmtn.org/years/80nysets.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080822045439/http://www.sugarmtn.org/years/80nysets.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 22, 2008|title=Neil Young Setlists: 1980|publisher=Sugar Mountain|access-date=April 4, 2009}}</ref> between the end of his 1978 tour with Crazy Horse and the start of his tour with the Trans Band in mid-1982.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sugarmtn.org/sm_show.php?show=198010030|title=1980-10-03: Greek Theatre, Berkeley, California, USA: Bread And Roses Festival|website=Sugar Mountain.org|access-date=July 20, 2024}}</ref>

{{Quote box|width=30%|align=right|quote=The 80s were really good. The 80s were like, artistically, very strong for me, because I knew no boundaries and was experimenting with everything that I could come across, sometimes with great success, sometimes with terrible results, but nonetheless I was able to do this, and I was able to realize that I wasn't in a box, and I wanted to establish that.|source= — Neil Young<ref>Young, Neil. Neil Young: Don't Be Denied. BBC Four.</ref>}}

The 1982 album ''[[Trans (album)|Trans]]'', which incorporated [[vocoder]]s, synthesizers, and electronic beats, was Young's first for the new label [[Geffen Records]] (distributed at the time by [[Warner Bros. Records]], whose parent [[Warner Music Group]] owns most of Young's solo and band catalog) and represented a distinct stylistic departure. Young later revealed that an inspiration for the album was the theme of technology and communication with his son, who could not speak.<ref>{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r22519|pure_url=yes}}|website=allmusic|title=Trans Review|access-date=April 4, 2009}}</ref> An extensive tour preceded the release of the album and was documented by the video ''[[Neil Young in Berlin]]'', which saw release in 1986.

[[File:Para Rael99 (que nos quiten lo bailao).jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|Young playing in [[Barcelona]], Spain, 1984]]

Young's next album, 1983's ''[[Everybody's Rockin']]'', included several [[rockabilly]] covers and clocked in at less than 25 minutes in length. Young was backed by the Shocking Pinks for the supporting US tour. ''Trans'' (1982) had already drawn the ire of label head [[David Geffen]] for its lack of commercial appeal, and with ''Everybody's Rockin''{{'}} following seven months later, Geffen Records sued Young for making music "unrepresentative" of himself.<ref>{{cite book|title=A Fiction of the Past: The Sixties in American History|last=Cavallo|first=Dominick|year=1999|publisher=[[St. Martin's Press]]|location=New York|isbn=978-0-312-21930-7|oclc=39981636|url=https://archive.org/details/fictionofpastsix00cava}}</ref> The album was also notable as the first for which Young made commercial music videos – [[Tim Pope]] directed the videos for "Wonderin'" and "Cry, Cry, Cry". Also premiered in 1983, though little seen, was the long-gestating ''Human Highway''. Co-directed and co-written by Young, the eclectic comedy starred Young, [[Dean Stockwell]], [[Russ Tamblyn]], [[Dennis Hopper]], [[David Blue (musician)|David Blue]], [[Sally Kirkland]], [[Charlotte Stewart]] and members of Devo.

Young did not release an album in 1984, his first unproductive year since beginning his career with Buffalo Springfield in 1966. Young's lack of productivity was largely due to the ongoing legal battle with Geffen, although he was also frustrated that the label had rejected his 1983 country album ''[[Old Ways]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r22521|pure_url=yes}}|title=Old Ways Album Review|website=allmusic|access-date=April 7, 2009}}</ref> It was also the year when Young's third child was born, a girl named Amber Jean, who was later diagnosed with inherited epilepsy.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.977theriver.com/2019/01/03/neil-youngs-ex-wife-pegi-dies-at-66/|title=Neil Young's Ex-Wife, Pegi, Dies At 66|website=www.977theriver.com|date=January 3, 2019|access-date=December 29, 2021}}</ref>

Young spent most of 1984 and all of 1985 touring for ''Old Ways'' (August 12, 1985) with his country band, the International Harvesters. The album was finally released in an altered form midway through 1985. Young also appeared at that year's [[Live Aid]] concert in [[Philadelphia]], collaborating with Crosby, Stills and Nash for the quartet's first performance for a paying audience in over ten years.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-disaster-of-csny-1974-doom-tour/|website=Far Out Magazine|title=Chronicling the Disaster of CSNY's 1974 'Doom Tour'|date=November 8, 2021 |access-date=July 20, 2024}}</ref>

Young's last two albums for Geffen were more conventional in the genre, although they incorporated production techniques like synthesizers and echoing drums that were previously uncommon in Young's music. Young recorded 1986's ''[[Landing on Water]]'' without Crazy Horse but reunited with the band for the subsequent year-long tour and final Geffen album, ''[[Life (1987 album)|Life]]'', which emerged in 1987. Young's album sales dwindled steadily throughout the eighties; today ''Life'' remains his all-time-least successful studio album, with an estimated four hundred thousand sales worldwide.<ref>As of June 2008 {{cite web|title=Neil Young Worldwide Album Sales Estimates|url=http://www.chartsinfrance.net/communaute/index.php?showtopic=6523&gopid=969589&#entry969589|date=June 14, 2008|access-date=April 8, 2009}}</ref>

Switching back to his old label Reprise Records, Young continued to tour relentlessly, assembling a new blues band called The Bluenotes in mid-1987 (a legal dispute with musician [[Harold Melvin]] forced the eventual rechristening of the band as Ten Men Working midway through the tour). The addition of a [[brass section]] provided a new [[jazz]]ier sound, and the title track of 1988's ''[[This Note's For You]]'' became Young's first hit single of the decade. Accompanied by a video that parodied corporate rock, the pretensions of advertising, and [[Michael Jackson]], the song was initially unofficially banned by MTV for mentioning the brand names of some of their sponsors. Young wrote an open letter, "What does the M in MTV stand for: music or money?" Despite this, the video was eventually named [[MTV Video Music Award for Best Video of the Year|best video of the year]] by the network in 1989.{{sfn|McDonough|2002|pp=24–32}}

Young reunited with Crosby, Stills, and Nash to record the 1988 album ''[[American Dream (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young album)|American Dream]]'' and play two benefit concerts late in the year, but the group did not embark upon a full tour.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://aroundandaroundcom.wordpress.com/american-dream/|title=American Dream|website=Word Press|date=June 21, 2021 |access-date=July 20, 2024}}</ref>

Young attracted criticism from liberals in the music industry when he supported [[President Ronald Reagan]] and said he was "tired of people constantly apologizing for being Americans".<ref>{{Cite web|last=Stevenson|first=Campbell|date=April 29, 2006|title=Neil Young: The Conscience of America|url=http://www.theguardian.com/music/2006/apr/30/popandrock.neilyoung|access-date=February 8, 2022|website=[[The Guardian]]|language=en}}</ref> In a 1985 interview with ''[[Melody Maker]]'', he said about the [[AIDS pandemic]]: "You go to a supermarket and you see a faggot behind the fuckin' cash register, you don't want him to handle your potatoes."<ref name="Rolling Stone-2013">{{Cite magazine|date=March 20, 2013|title=Michelle Shocked: Not the First Artist to Betray Her Fanbase|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/michelle-shocked-not-the-first-artist-to-betray-her-fanbase-87622/|access-date=February 8, 2022|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|language=en-US}}</ref> In the same interview, Young also complained about [[Social programs in the United States|welfare]] beneficiaries, saying: "Stop being supported by the government and get out and work. You have to make the weak stand up on one leg, or half a leg, whatever they've got."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brooks |first=Xan |date=September 17, 2003 |title=The Good, The Bad and the Shakey |url=http://www.theguardian.com/music/2003/sep/17/popandrock.neilyoung |access-date=February 8, 2022 |website=[[The Guardian]] |language=en}}</ref> ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' wrote in 2013 that Young "almost certainly regrets that horrific statement" and that he "quickly moved away from right-wing politics".<ref name="Rolling Stone-2013" />

Young took a turn at acting in 1988 by appearing in the Steven Kovacs film [['68 (film)|'''68'']]. He played the character Westy, cranky owner of a motorcycle shop and fan of Senator Joseph McCarthy.

===Return to prominence (1989–1999)===
[[File:Neil Young 1996.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|Young performing in 1996 in [[Turku]], Finland|left]]

Young's 1989 single "[[Rockin' in the Free World]]", which hit No.&nbsp;2 on the US mainstream-rock charts, and accompanied the album, ''[[Freedom (1989 album)|Freedom]]'', returned Young to the popular consciousness after a decade of sometimes-difficult genre experiments. The album's lyrics were often overtly political; "Rockin' in the Free World" deals with homelessness, terrorism, and environmental degradation, implicitly criticizing the government policies of President [[George H. W. Bush]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Neil Young Lyrics Analysis: Rockin' in the Free World|url=http://www.thrasherswheat.org/fot/ritfw.htm|website=Thrasherswheat.org|access-date=April 1, 2009}}</ref>

The use of heavy [[feedback]] and distortion on several ''Freedom'' tracks was reminiscent of the ''[[Rust Never Sleeps]]'' (1979) album and foreshadowed the imminent rise of grunge. The rising stars of the subgenre, including [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]]'s [[Kurt Cobain]] and [[Pearl Jam]]'s [[Eddie Vedder]], frequently cited Young as a major influence, contributing to his popular revival. A tribute album called ''[[The Bridge: A Tribute to Neil Young]]'' was released in 1989, featuring covers by a range of alternative and grunge acts, including [[Sonic Youth]], [[Nick Cave]], [[Soul Asylum]], [[Dinosaur Jr]], and the [[Pixies (band)|Pixies]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/Bridge-Tribute-Young-Various-Artists/dp/B000000HRF|title=Bridge: Tribute Neil Young|website=Amazon|access-date=July 20, 2024}}</ref>

Young's 1990 album ''[[Ragged Glory]]'', recorded with Crazy Horse in a barn on his Northern California ranch, continued this distortion-heavy aesthetic. Young toured for the album with Orange County, California country-punk band [[Social Distortion]] and Sonic Youth as support, much to the consternation of many of his old fans.<ref name="sonic">{{cite web|url=http://www.thrasherswheat.org/jammin/sonic_youth.htm|title=Sonic Youth and Neil Young|publisher=Thrasher's Wheat – A Neil Young Archives|access-date=April 1, 2009}}</ref> ''[[Weld (album)|Weld]]'', a two-disc live album documenting the tour, was released in 1991.<ref name="sonic" /> Sonic Youth's influence was evident on ''[[Arc (Neil Young & Crazy Horse album)|Arc]]'', a 35-minute collage of feedback and distortion spliced together at the suggestion of [[Thurston Moore]] and originally packaged with some versions of ''Weld''.<ref name="sonic" />

1992's ''[[Harvest Moon (album)|Harvest Moon]]'' marked an abrupt return (prompted by Young's [[hyperacusis]] in the aftermath of the ''Weld'' tour) to the country and folk-rock stylings of ''Harvest'' and reunited him with some of the musicians from that album, including the core members of the Stray Gators and singers [[Linda Ronstadt]] and [[James Taylor]]. The title track was a minor hit, and the record was well received by critics, winning the [[Juno Award for Album of the Year]] in 1994. Young also contributed to lifelong friend [[Randy Bachman]]'s nostalgic 1992 tune "Prairie Town", and garnered a 1993 [[Academy Award for Best Song|Academy Award]] nomination for his song "Philadelphia", from the soundtrack of the [[Jonathan Demme]] movie [[Philadelphia (movie)|of the same name]]. An ''[[Unplugged (Neil Young album)|MTV Unplugged]]'' performance and album emerged in 1993. Later that year, Young collaborated with [[Booker T. and the M.G.s]] for a summer tour of Europe and North America, with [[Blues Traveler]], [[Soundgarden]], and [[Pearl Jam]] also on the bill. Some European shows ended with a rendition of "Rockin' in the Free World" played with [[Pearl Jam]], foreshadowing their eventual full-scale collaboration two years later.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sugarmtn.org/sm_show.php?show=199307110|title=1993-07-11: Finsbury Park, London, England (W/ Booker T. & The MGs)|website=Sugarmtn.org|access-date=July 20, 2024}}</ref>

[[File:Neil Young, Heart of Gold.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|Young on stage in [[Barcelona]]]]

In 1994, Young again collaborated with Crazy Horse on ''[[Sleeps with Angels]]'', a record whose dark, somber mood was influenced by [[Kurt Cobain]]'s death earlier that year: the title track in particular dealt with Cobain's life and death without mentioning him by name. Cobain had quoted Young's lyric "It's better to burn out than fade away" (a line from "[[My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)|My My, Hey Hey]]") in [[Death of Kurt Cobain#Suicide note|his suicide note]]. Young had reportedly made repeated attempts to contact Cobain before his death.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/05/10/1021002387905.html|title=Neil Young: The Quiet Achiever|newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald|access-date=January 26, 2010|date=May 11, 2002}}</ref> Young and Pearl Jam performed "Act of Love" at an abortion rights benefit along with Crazy Horse, and were present at a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame dinner, sparking interest in a collaboration between the two.<ref>{{cite news|last=Strauss|first=Neil|date=July 2, 1995 |title=The Predictably Unpredictable Neil Young|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/02/arts/the-predictably-unpredictable-neil-young.html|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=October 2, 2014}}</ref> Still enamored with the grunge scene, Young reconnected with Pearl Jam in 1995 for the live-in-the-studio album ''[[Mirror Ball (Neil Young album)|Mirror Ball]]'' and a tour of Europe with the band and producer [[Brendan O'Brien (music producer)|Brendan O'Brien]] backing Young. 1995 also marked Young's induction into the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]], where he was inducted by Eddie Vedder.<ref name="rockhall.com" />

{{blockquote|Young has consistently demonstrated the unbridled passion of an artist who understands that self-renewal is the only way to avoid burning out. For this reason, he has remained one of the most significant artists of the rock and roll era.|[[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] website.<ref name="rockhall.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.rockhall.com/inductees/neil-young|title=Neil Young: Inducted in 1995|publisher=The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum|access-date=June 30, 2010}}</ref><ref name="R&R Hall of Fame1">{{cite web|url=http://www.rockhall.com/inductees/neil-young/bio/|title=Neil Young Biography|year=2013|work=Neil Young biography at the Rock and roll Hall of Fame|publisher=The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Inc.|access-date=August 12, 2013}}</ref>}}

In 1995, Young and his manager [[Elliot Roberts]] founded a record label, Vapor Records.<ref name="canadianmusichalloffame">{{cite web|url=http://canadianmusichalloffame.ca/this-week-in-music-history-july-15-to-21/|title=This Week in Music History: July 15 to 21|work=[[Canadian Music Hall of Fame]]|first=David|last=Ball|date=July 16, 2013|access-date=February 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170218063755/http://canadianmusichalloffame.ca/this-week-in-music-history-july-15-to-21/|archive-date=February 18, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> It has released recordings by [[Tegan and Sara]], [[Spoon (band)|Spoon]], [[Jonathan Richman]], [[Vic Chesnutt]], [[Everest (band)|Everest]], [[Pegi Young]], [[Jets Overhead]], and Young himself, among others.<ref name="canadianmusichalloffame" />

Young's next collaborative partner was filmmaker [[Jim Jarmusch]], who asked Young to compose [[Dead Man (soundtrack)|a soundtrack]] to his 1995 black-and-white western film ''[[Dead Man]]''. Young's instrumental soundtrack was improvised while he watched the film alone in a studio. The death of longtime mentor, friend, and producer [[David Briggs (producer)|David Briggs]] in late 1995 prompted Young to reconnect with Crazy Horse the next year for the album and tour ''[[Broken Arrow (album)|Broken Arrow]]''. A Jarmusch-directed concert film and live album of the tour, ''[[Year of the Horse]]'', emerged in 1997. From 1996 to 1997, Young and Crazy Horse toured extensively throughout Europe and North America, including a stint as part of the [[H.O.R.D.E.]] Festival's sixth annual tour.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sugarmtn.org/sm_getshows.php?tour_key=153|title=Neil Young Set Lists: 1997 HORDE Tour with Crazy Horse|website=Sugarmtn.org|access-date=July 20, 2024}}</ref>

In 1998, Young renewed his collaboration with the rock band [[Phish]], sharing the stage at the annual [[Farm Aid]] concert and then at Young's Bridge School Benefit, where he joined headliners Phish for renditions of "[[Helpless (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young song)|Helpless]]" and "[[I Shall Be Released]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hyperrust.org/Bridge/Bridge12.html|title=Bridge Benefit XII|publisher=Hyperrust|access-date=November 29, 2010}}</ref> Phish declined Young's later invitation to be his backing band on his 1999 North American tour.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/neil-young-phish-down-by-the-river-1006145/|title=Flashback: Neil Young and Phish Play an Epic, Weed-Fueled "Down by the River"|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=July 20, 2024}}</ref>

The decade ended with the release in late 1999 of ''[[Looking Forward]]'', another reunion with Crosby, Stills, and Nash. The subsequent tour of the United States and Canada with the reformed quartet earned $42.1&nbsp;million, making it the eighth largest grossing tour of 2000.<ref>{{cite magazine |last= Waddell|first= Ray|date=December 28, 2002|title=Billboard: THE INTERNATIONAL NEWSWEEKLY OF MUSIC, VIDEO, AND HOME ENTERTAINMENT|magazine= Billboard |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2002/BB-2002-12-28.pdf|access-date=July 20, 2024}}</ref>

===Health condition and new material (2000s)===
[[File:Csny-8-20-06.jpg|thumb|[[Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young]] perform at the [[PNC Bank Arts Center]] in 2006. (From L&nbsp;to&nbsp;R: Nash, Stills, Young, and Crosby)|left]]

Young continued to release new material at a rapid pace through the first decade of the new millennium. The studio album ''[[Silver & Gold (Neil Young album)|Silver & Gold]]'' and live album ''[[Road Rock Vol. 1]]'' were released in 2000 and were both accompanied by live concert films. His 2001 single "Let's Roll" was a tribute to the victims of the [[September 11 attacks]], and the [[Let's Roll|effective action taken by the passengers and crew]] on [[United Airlines flight 93|Flight 93]] in particular.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/headlines/20011216song1216lnp5.asp|title=Flight 93's Beamer Inspires Song by Neil Young|newspaper=[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]]|date=December 16, 2001|access-date=April 4, 2009|first=Linton|last=Weeks}}</ref>

In 2003, Young released ''[[Greendale (album)|Greendale]]'', a [[concept album]] recorded with Crazy Horse members Billy Talbot and [[Ralph Molina]]. The songs loosely revolved around the murder of a police officer in a small California town and its effects on the town's inhabitants.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.musicbox-online.com/ny-green.html|title=Greendale Review|publisher=The Music Box|date=November 2003|access-date=April 4, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120609153924/http://www.musicbox-online.com/ny-green.html|archive-date=June 9, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> Under the pseudonym "Bernard Shakey", Young directed an accompanying film of the same name, featuring actors lip-synching to the music from the album. He toured extensively with the ''Greendale'' material throughout 2003 and 2004, first with a solo, acoustic version in Europe, then with a full-cast stage show in North America, Japan, and Australia. Young began using [[biodiesel]] on the 2004 Greendale tour, powering his trucks and tour buses with the fuel. "Our Greendale tour is now ozone friendly", he said. "I plan to continue to use this government approved and regulated fuel exclusively from now on to prove that it is possible to deliver the goods anywhere in North America without using foreign oil, while being environmentally responsible."<ref name="biodiesel">{{cite web|url=http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2004/02/hollywood-stars-shine-spotlight-on-green-power-10616|title=Hollywood Stars Shine Spotlight on Green Power &#124; Renewable Energy News Article|publisher=Renewableenergyworld.com|access-date=November 29, 2010}}</ref>

[[File:Stephen Stills and Neil Young 2006.jpg|thumb|Stills and Young performing together on the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young 2006 tour]]

====2005 health issues====
In March 2005, while working on the ''[[Prairie Wind]]'' album in [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]],<ref name="Time">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1110988,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051210222145/http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1110988,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 10, 2005 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |title=Resurrection of Neil Young, Continued |date=September 28, 2005 |access-date=May 20, 2010}}</ref> Young was diagnosed with a brain [[aneurysm]]. He was treated successfully with a minimally invasive [[Neuroradiology|neuroradiological]] procedure and performed in a New York hospital on March 29,<ref>{{cite news|title=Neil Young Treated for 'Dangerous' Aneurysm|url=http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/Music/04/01/neil.young/|work=CNN|date=April 1, 2005|access-date=March 31, 2009}}</ref> but passed out two days later on a New York street from bleeding from the [[femoral artery]], which radiologists had used to access the aneurysm.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=The Resurrection of Neil Young|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1109363,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051130091826/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1109363,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 30, 2005|magazine=Time|date=September 26, 2005|access-date=March 31, 2009}}</ref> The complication forced Young to cancel his scheduled appearance at the [[Juno Awards]] telecast in Winnipeg, but within months he was back on stage, appearing at the close of the [[Live 8]] concert in [[Barrie, Ontario]], on July 2. During the performance, he debuted a new song, a soft hymn called "When God Made Me". Young's brush with death influenced ''Prairie Wind''{{'}}s themes of retrospection and mortality.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Prairie Wind Music Review|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/neilyoung/albums/album/7637213/review/7645148/prairie_wind|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071002044614/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/neilyoung/albums/album/7637213/review/7645148/prairie_wind|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 2, 2007|magazine=Rollingtone|date=October 6, 2005|access-date=March 31, 2009}}</ref>

====Jonathan Demme concert film====
A Jonathan Demme concert film from a 2007 concert at the [[Tower Theater (Pennsylvania)|Tower Theater]] in [[Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania]], called the ''[[Neil Young Trunk Show]]'' premiered on March 21, 2009, at the [[South by Southwest]] (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival in [[Austin, Texas|Austin]], Texas. It was featured at the Cannes Film Festival on May 17, 2009, and was released in the US on March 19, 2010,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1236244/releaseinfo|title=Neil Young Trunk Show (2009) |website=IMDb.com}}</ref> to critical acclaim.<ref>{{cite news|title=Neil Young Trunk Show. At the New York Times.|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/2010/03/19/movies/19young.html|work=The New York Times|first=Mike|last=Hale|access-date=May 20, 2010|date=March 19, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Stephen|first=John|url=http://blastmagazine.com/the-magazine/entertainment/movies/reviews-movies/2010/03/neil-young-trunk-show-review/|title=Neil Young Trunk Show Review (Blast Magazine, 9 March 2010)|website=Blastmagazine.com|date=March 9, 2010|access-date=November 29, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=John Stephen Dwyer|url=http://www.bostonlowbrow.com/2010/03/jonathan-demme-receives-coolidge-award-premiers-neil-young-trunk-show/|title=Demme Receives Coolidge Award, Premiers Trunk Show|publisher=Bostonlowbrow.com|access-date=November 29, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101102200005/http://www.bostonlowbrow.com/2010/03/jonathan-demme-receives-coolidge-award-premiers-neil-young-trunk-show/|archive-date=November 2, 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref>

====Glastonbury, Isle of Wight====
In 2009, Young headlined the [[New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival]], and [[Glastonbury Festival]] in [[Pilton, Somerset|Pilton, England]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/glastonbury/2009/artists/neilyoung/index.shtml|title=Neil Young Keep on Rocking in the Free World|publisher=bbc Glastonbury online|access-date=June 28, 2009}}</ref> at [[Hard Rock Calling]] in London (where he was joined onstage by [[Paul McCartney]] for a rendition of "[[A Day in the Life]]") and, after years of unsuccessful booking attempts, the [[Isle of Wight Festival 2009|Isle of Wight Festival]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/neil-young-to-play-isle-of-wight-festival-1.792917?ref=rss|title=Neil Young Announced as Final Isle of Wight Festival Headliner|publisher=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]]|access-date=March 5, 2009|date=March 7, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120510093609/https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/neil-young-to-play-isle-of-wight-festival-1.792917?ref=rss|archive-date=May 10, 2012}}</ref>

=== Increased environmental activism and Promise of the Real (2010s) ===
[[File:Neil Young - Per Ole Hagen.jpg|thumb|Young performing in [[Oslo]], Norway, in 2009]]
In May 2010, it was revealed Young had begun working on a new studio album produced by [[Daniel Lanois]]. This was announced by David Crosby, who said that the album "will be a very heartfelt record. I expect it will be a very special record."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/news/neil-young/50941|title=Neil Young Working on New Album with Bob Dylan and U2 Producer|publisher=Nme.com|date=May 4, 2010|access-date=November 29, 2010}}</ref> On May 18, 2010, Young embarked upon a North American solo tour to promote his then upcoming album, ''[[Le Noise]]'', playing a mix of older songs and new material. Although billed as a solo acoustic tour, Young also played some songs on electric guitars, including Old Black.<ref name="americansong">{{cite magazine|last=Inman|first=Davis|title=Neil Young's Twisted Road Tour Begins|url=http://www.americansongwriter.com/2010/05/neil-youngs-twisted-road-tour-begins/|magazine=American Songwriter|access-date=May 26, 2010}}</ref>

In September 2011, Jonathan Demme's third documentary film on the singer songwriter, ''[[Neil Young Journeys]]'', premiered at the [[Toronto International Film Festival]].<ref>{{cite web|author=TIFF|url=http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiff/2011/neilyoungjourneys|title=2011 Films – Neil Young Journeys|publisher=[[tiff.net]]|access-date=April 30, 2012}}</ref>

Young and Crazy Horse released the album ''[[Americana (Neil Young Crazy Horse album)|Americana]]'' on June 5, 2012. It was Young's first collaboration with Crazy Horse since the ''Greendale'' album and tour in 2003 and 2004. The record is a tribute to unofficial national anthems that jump from an uncensored version of "[[This Land Is Your Land]]" to "[[Oh My Darling, Clementine|Clementine]]" and includes a version of "[[God Save the Queen]]", which Young grew up singing every day in school in Canada.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rcrdlbl.com/2012/05/29/album_stream_neil_young_crazy_horse_americana|title=ALBUM STREAM: Neil Young & Crazy Horse – Americana|publisher=Rcrd Lbl|date=May 29, 2012|access-date=June 2, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120602020529/http://rcrdlbl.com/2012/05/29/album_stream_neil_young_crazy_horse_americana|archive-date=June 2, 2012}}</ref>

''Americana'' is Young's first album entirely of cover songs. It debuted at number four on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]], making it Young's highest-charting album in the US since ''Harvest''.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/neil-young/chart-history/tlp/|title=Neil Young Chart History|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|access-date=April 9, 2021}}</ref> On June 5, 2012, ''[[American Songwriter]]'' reported that Young and Crazy Horse would be launching their first tour in eight years in support of the album.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Schlansky|first=Evan|url=http://www.americansongwriter.com/2012/06/neil-young-and-crazy-horse-to-launch-first-tour-in-eight-years/|title=Neil Young And Crazy Horse To Launch First Tour in Eight Years|magazine=American Songwriter|date=June 5, 2012|access-date=June 6, 2012}}</ref>

On September 25, 2012, Young's autobiography ''[[Waging Heavy Peace: A Hippie Dream]]'' was released to critical and commercial acclaim.<ref>{{cite book|title=Waging Heavy Peace [Hardcover]|isbn=978-0399159466|last1=Young|first1=Neil|year=2012|publisher=Penguin }}</ref> Reviewing the book for the ''[[New York Times]]'', [[Janet Maslin]] reported that Young chose to write his memoirs in 2012 for two reasons: he needed to take a break from stage performances for health reasons but continue to generate income; and he feared the onset of [[dementia]], considering his father's medical history and his own present condition. Maslin praised the book, describing it as frank but quirky and without pathos.<ref>{{cite news|last=Maslin|first=Janet|author-link=Janet Maslin|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/29/books/neil-youngs-memoir-waging-heavy-peace.html|title=While He Can Still Remember|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=October 28, 2012|access-date=April 27, 2013}}</ref>

In November 2013, Young performed at the annual fundraiser for the [[Silverlake Conservatory of Music]]. Following the [[Red Hot Chili Peppers]], he played an acoustic set to a crowd who had paid a minimum of $2,000 a seat to attend the benefit in the famous [[Paramour Mansion]] overlooking downtown Los Angeles.<ref>{{cite news|last=Lewis|first=Randy|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-silverlake-conservatory-red-hot-chili-peppers-20131101,0,3626187.story#axzz2jyHi7Ahl|title=Neil Young Sets Tone at Benefit for Children's Education|newspaper=[[The Los Angeles Times]]|date=November 1, 2013|access-date=November 8, 2013}}</ref>

Young released the album ''[[A Letter Home]]'' on April 19, 2014, through [[Jack White]]'s record label, and his second memoir, ''Special Deluxe'', which was released on October 14.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/neil-young/special-deluxe/|title=Special Deluxe a Memoir of Life & Cars|website=[[Kirkus Reviews]]|access-date=December 29, 2021}}</ref> He appeared with White on ''[[The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon]]'' on May 12, 2014.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/5930484/neil-youngs-agenda-jack-white-project-second-book-full-blown-orchestra-album|title=Neil Young's Agenda: Jack White Project, Second Book, 'Full-Blown Orchestra' Album|magazine=Billboard|access-date=April 24, 2014}}</ref>

Young released his 35th studio album, ''[[Storytone]],'' on November 4, 2014. The first song released from the album, "Who's Gonna Stand Up?", was released in three different versions on September 25, 2014.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2014/09/25/neil-young-storeytone-whos-gonna-stand-up/|title=Neil Young's New Album Shares Orchestral New Single|first=Mike|last=Ayers|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|date=September 25, 2014|access-date=November 3, 2014}}</ref>

''Storytone'' was followed in 2015 by his [[concept album]] ''[[The Monsanto Years]]''.<ref name="avclub">{{cite news|url=https://www.avclub.com/article/neil-young-protesting-gmos-anti-monsanto-album-218299|title=Neil Young Is Protesting GMOs with an Anti-Monsanto Album|last=Barsanti|first=Sam|newspaper=[[The A.V. Club]]|date=April 20, 2015}}</ref> ''The Monsanto Years'' is an album themed both in support of [[sustainable farming]] and to protest the biotechnology company [[Monsanto]].<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://spiritualityhealth.com/reviews/music-review-monsanto-years|title=Review: The Monsanto Years|author=Orion, Damon|journal=[[Spirituality & Health Magazine]]|date=September–October 2015}}</ref> Young achieves this protest in a series of lyrical sentiments against [[genetically modified food]] production. He created this album in collaboration with [[Willie Nelson]]'s sons, [[Lukas and Micah]], and is also backed by Lukas's fellow band members from [[Promise of the Real]].<ref>Parker, Lyndsey. "Exclusive Premiere: Watch Neil Young & Promise of the Real's Full 'The Monsanto Years' Film."  Yahoo Music. July 6, 2015. Web.</ref> Additionally, Young released a film in tandem with the album, also called ''The Monsanto Years'', that documents the album's recording, and can be streamed online.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/Monsanto-Years-CD-DVD/dp/B00XO12REY|title=The Monsanto Years|website=Amazon.com|date=January 28, 2024 }}</ref> In August 2019, ''[[The Guardian]]'' reported that Monsanto was spying on Young and other environmental activists.<ref>{{cite news|last=Levin|first=Sam|date=August 8, 2019 |title=Revealed: How Monsanto's 'Intelligence Center' Targeted Journalists and Activists|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/aug/07/monsanto-fusion-center-journalists-roundup-neil-young|access-date=August 8, 2019}}</ref>

In summer 2015, Young undertook a North American tour titled the Rebel Content Tour. It began on July 5, at the Summerfest in [[Milwaukee, Wisconsin]], and ended on July 24, at the [[Wayhome Festival]] in [[Oro-Medonte]], Ontario. [[Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real]] were special guests for the tour.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://neil-young.concerttournewshub.com/|title=Neil Young 2015 Rebel Content Tour Schedule With Promise of the Real|date=April 21, 2015|access-date=April 23, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151001214911/http://neil-young.concerttournewshub.com/|archive-date=October 1, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/neil-young-readies-new-album-tour-with-willie-nelsons-sons-20150420|title=Neil Young Readies New Album, Tour With Willie Nelson's Sons|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=April 20, 2015|access-date=April 23, 2015}}</ref>

In October 2016, Young performed at [[Desert Trip]] in [[Indio, California]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-coachella-mega-rock-concert-20160415-story.html|title=Coachella Promoters Look to Book Dylan, Stones, McCartney and Young for Mega-Concert|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=April 16, 2016|access-date=May 8, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://radio.com/2016/05/09/desert-trip-adds-second-weekend-to-line-up/|title=Desert Trip Adds Second Weekend: Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney to Return|website=Radio.com|access-date=July 11, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904210357/http://radio.com/2016/05/09/desert-trip-adds-second-weekend-to-line-up/|archive-date=September 4, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> and announced his 37th studio album, ''[[Peace Trail (album)|Peace Trail]]'', recorded with drummer [[Jim Keltner]] and bass guitarist Paul Bushnell,<ref name="PitchforkNews">{{cite web|last=Sodomsky|first=Sam|title=Neil Young Announces New Album ''Peace Trail'' |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/69309-neil-young-announces-new-album-peace-trail/|website=[[Pitchfork Media|Pitchfork]]|access-date=November 4, 2016|date=October 26, 2016}}</ref> which was released that December.

On September 8, 2017, Young released ''[[Hitchhiker (Neil Young album)|Hitchhiker]]'', a studio LP recorded on August 11, 1976, at Indigo Studios in [[Malibu, California|Malibu]]. The album features ten songs that Young recorded accompanied by acoustic guitar or piano.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/sep/10/neil-young-hitchhiker-lost-album-1976-review|title=Neil Young: Hitchhiker CD Review – Intimate Return to a Lost Night in 1976|last=Mardles|first=Paul |date=September 10, 2017 |work=The Guardian|access-date=September 10, 2017|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> While different versions of most of the songs have been previously released, the album includes two never-before-released songs: "Hawaii" and "Give Me Strength", which Young has occasionally performed live.<ref name="rollingstone.com Neil Young Hitchhiker 2017">{{cite magazine |first=Elias|last=Leight|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/neil-young-details-lost-acoustic-album-hitchhiker-w487731 |title=Neil Young Details Lost Acoustic Album 'Hitchhiker' (Young Collects Results of 1976 Session in Malibu, Including Two Previously Unreleased Songs, On New Album) |date=August 4, 2017 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |access-date=August 5, 2017}}</ref>

On July 4, 2017, Young released the song "Children of Destiny", which appeared on his next album. On November 3, 2017, he released "Already Great", a song from ''[[The Visitor (Neil Young & Promise of the Real album)|The Visitor]]'', an album he recorded with Promise of the Real and released on December 1, 2017.<ref>{{cite web |title=Neil Young Announces New Album ''The Visitor'', Shares "Already Great": Listen |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/neil-young-announces-new-album-the-visitor-shares-already-great-listen/ |website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]] |access-date=November 4, 2017 |date=November 3, 2017}}</ref>

On [[Record Store Day]], April 21, 2018, Warner Records released a two-vinyl LP special edition of ''[[Roxy: Tonight's the Night Live]]'', a double live album of a show that Young performed in September 1973 at [[Roxy Theatre (West Hollywood)|the Roxy in West Hollywood]], with the Santa Monica Flyers. The album is labeled "Volume 05" in Young's ''Performance Series.''<ref>{{Cite web|last=Arcand|first=Rob|date=February 24, 2018|title=Neil Young Announces New Tonight's The Night Live Album Coming This Record Store Day|url=https://www.spin.com/2018/02/neil-young-tonights-the-night-live-album-announcement-record-store-day/|access-date=August 5, 2020|website=[[Spin.com]]}}</ref>

On October 19, 2018, Young released a live version of his song "Campaigner", an excerpt from a forthcoming archival live album, ''Songs for Judy'', which features solo performances recorded during a November 1976 tour with Crazy Horse. It was the first release from his new label Shakey Pictures Records.<ref name="rollingstone.com Songs for Judy">{{cite web |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/neil-young-songs-for-judy-album-1976-live-744282/ |title=Neil Young to Release 1976 Live Album 'Songs for Judy' by Simon Vozick-Levinson |date= October 19, 2018 |website=Rollingstone.com |access-date= October 23, 2018}}</ref><ref name="neilyoungnews.thrasherswheat.org Songs for Judy">{{cite web |url=http://neilyoungnews.thrasherswheat.org/2018/10/songs-for-judy-tracklist-next-neil.html |title=Neil Young News |date= October 18, 2018 |website=Neilyoungnews.thrasherswheat.org |access-date= October 23, 2018}}</ref><ref name="goseelivemusic.co Songs for Judy">{{cite web |url=http://www.goseelivemusic.co/index.php/2018/10/19/neil-young-announces-live-1976-album-songs-for-judy/ |title=Neil Young Announces Live 1976 Album 'Songs For Judy |date= October 2018 |website=Goseelivemusic.co |access-date= October 23, 2018}}</ref>

In December 2018, Young criticized the promoters of a London show for selecting [[Barclays Bank]] as a sponsor. He objected to the bank's association with [[fossil fuel]]s. Young said he was trying to rectify the situation by finding a different sponsor.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/dec/10/neil-young-bob-dylan-london-show-barclays-fossils-fuel-funding|title=Neil Young Criticises Festival Sponsor Barclays over 'Fossil Fuel Funding'|last=Snapes|first=Laura|date=December 10, 2018|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=December 10, 2018|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

On August 19, 2019, Young and Crazy Horse announced the release later that month of the song "Rainbow of Colors", the first single from the album ''[[Colorado (Neil Young album)|Colorado]]'', Young's first new record with the band since 2012's ''[[Psychedelic Pill]]''. Young, multi-instrumentalist [[Nils Lofgren]], bassist Billy Talbot and drummer Ralph Molina recorded the album with Young's co-producer, John Hanlon, in spring 2019. ''Colorado'' was released on October 25, 2019,<ref name="www.nme.com Rainbow of Colors">{{cite web |last1=Gwee |first1=Karen |title=Neil Young and Crazy Horse Announce New Song, 'Rainbow of Colors', Out Later This Month |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/neil-young-crazy-horse-announce-new-song-rainbow-colors-colorado-album-2539415 |website=Nme.com |access-date=August 19, 2019 |date=August 19, 2019}}</ref><ref name="www.jambase.com Rainbow of Colors">{{cite web |last1=Bernstein |first1=Scott |title=Neil Young Announces New Crazy Horse Album 'Colorado' |url=https://www.jambase.com/article/neil-young-crazy-horse-colorado |website=Jambase.com |access-date=August 19, 2019 |date=August 19, 2019}}</ref> on Reprise Records. On August 30, 2019, Young unveiled "Milky Way", the first song from ''Colorado'', a love ballad he had performed several times at concerts – both solo acoustic and with Promise of the Real.<ref name="rollingstone.com Neil Young Milky Way">{{cite magazine|last1=Greene|first1=Andy|title=Hear Neil Young and Crazy Horse's New Song 'Milky Way' (Love Ballad Comes from Their Upcoming Album Colorado, Due out in October)|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/neil-young-crazy-horse-milky-way-878412/|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|access-date=September 1, 2019|date=August 30, 2019}}</ref>

=== 2020s ===
In February 2020, Young wrote an open letter to President Trump, calling him a "disgrace to my country".<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/neil-young-letter-trump-954835/|title=Neil Young Pens Open Letter to Donald Trump: 'You Are a Disgrace to My Country'|first=Andy|last=Greene|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|location=United States|date=February 19, 2020|access-date=May 7, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/neil-young-pens-open-letter-to-president-trump-our-first-black-president-was-a-better-man-than-you-are/|title=Neil Young Pens Open Letter to President Trump: "Our First Black President Was a Better Man Than You Are"|first=Caitlin|last=O'Kane|work=[[CBS News]]|location=New York City|date=February 20, 2020|access-date=May 7, 2020}}</ref> On August 4, 2020, Young filed a [[copyright infringement]] lawsuit against [[Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2020|Trump's reelection campaign]] for the use of his music at campaign rallies.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Gardner|first=Eriq|date=August 4, 2020|title=Neil Young Sues Donald Trump Campaign for Copyright Infringement|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/neil-young-sues-donald-trump-campaign-copyright-infringement-1305863|access-date=August 4, 2020|website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|language=en}}</ref>

In April 2020, Young announced that he was working on a new archival album, ''Road of Plenty'', comprising music made with Crazy Horse in 1986 and rehearsals for his 1989 ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' appearance.<ref>{{Cite magazine|last1=Greene|first1=Andy|date=April 24, 2020|title=Neil Young Announces New 1980s Archival LP 'Road of Plenty'|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/neil-young-announces-1980s-archival-lp-road-of-plenty-989683/|access-date=January 29, 2022|magazine=Rolling Stone|language=en-US}}</ref> On June 19, Young released a "lost" album, ''[[Homegrown (Neil Young album)|Homegrown]].'' He recorded it in the mid-1970s following his breakup with [[Carrie Snodgress]], but opted not to release it at the time, feeling it was too personal.<ref>{{Cite web|date=June 18, 2020|title=Neil Young: Homegrown Review – His Great Lost Album, Finally Unearthed|url=http://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/jun/18/neil-young-homegrown-review-warner-lost-album|access-date=January 29, 2022|website=the Guardian|language=en}}</ref> In September, Young released a live EP, ''[[The Times (EP)|The Times]]''. Young shared the news via his video for his new song "Lookin' for a Leader", stating: "I invite the President to play this song at his next rally.  A song about the feelings many of us have about America today."<ref>{{Cite web |first=Michael |last=Roffmanon |date=August 17, 2020 |title=Neil Young Announces New The Times EP (The Veteran Bard Quietly Shared the News via His Video for "Lookin' For A Leader") |url=https://consequence.net/2020/08/neil-young-the-times-ep/ |access-date=August 18, 2020 |website=[[Consequence of Sound]] |language=en}}</ref>

Young and Crazy Horse released a new album, ''[[Barn (album)|Barn]]'', on December 10, 2021. The first single, "Song of the Seasons", was released on October 15, followed by "Welcome Back" on December 3, along with a music video. A stand-alone will be released on [[Blu-ray]] and will be directed by [[Daryl Hannah]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://neilyoung.warnerrecords.com/barn/barn-lp-1.html |title=Barn LP |website=neilyoung.warnerrecords.com |access-date=November 11, 2021 |archive-date=October 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211028071414/https://neilyoung.warnerrecords.com/barn/barn-lp-1.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Young also confirmed that he had completed his third book, ''Canary'', his first work of fiction.<ref>{{Cite web|date=June 7, 2021|title=Neil Young Confirms New Crazy Horse Album Is On The Way|url=http://thisisdig-com.nds.acquia-psi.com/neil-young-new-crazy-horse-album/|access-date=October 6, 2021|website=Dig!|archive-date=October 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211006004424/http://thisisdig-com.nds.acquia-psi.com/neil-young-new-crazy-horse-album/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

On January 24, 2022, Young posted an open letter threatening to remove his music from the audio streaming service [[Spotify]] if it did not remove the ''[[The Joe Rogan Experience|Joe Rogan Experience]]'' podcast. Young accused the podcast of spreading [[COVID-19 misinformation]] on December 31, writing, "Spotify has a responsibility to mitigate the spread of misinformation on its platform".<ref name="Yang-2022">{{Cite web|last=Yang|first=Maya|date=January 26, 2022|title=Spotify Removes Neil Young Music in Feud over Joe Rogan's False Covid Claims|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/jan/26/spotify-neil-young-joe-rogan-covid-misinformation|access-date=January 27, 2022|website=[[The Guardian]]|language=en}}</ref> On January 26, Young's music was removed from Spotify. A Spotify spokesperson said that Spotify wanted "all the world's music and audio content to be available to Spotify users" and that it had a "great responsibility in balancing both safety for listeners and freedom for creators".<ref name="Yang-2022"/> In solidarity, artists including [[Joni Mitchell]] and the members of Crosby, Stills, and Nash also removed their music from Spotify.<ref name="Guardian2022-01-29a">{{Cite web|last=Sherwood|first=Harriet|date=January 29, 2022|title=Joni Mitchell Joins Neil Young's Spotify Protest over Anti-Vax Content|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/jan/29/joni-mitchell-joins-neil-young-in-demanding-spotify-remove-her-music|access-date=January 29, 2022|website=[[The Guardian]]|language=en}}</ref><ref name="ABC-AU2022-01-29a">{{cite news |date=January 29, 2022 |title=Joni Mitchell to Remove Songs from Spotify in Solidarity with Neil Young's Stance Against Joe Rogan's COVID 'Misinformation' |website=ABC News |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-29/joni-mitchell-take-songs-off-spotify-solidarity-with-neil-young/100790200 |access-date=January 29, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=David Crosby, Graham Nash and Stephen Stills Ask to Pull Their Content from Spotify |language=en |work=NPR.org |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/02/02/1077653424/crosby-stills-nash-young-spotify |access-date=June 10, 2022}}</ref> The [[Director-General of the World Health Organization]], [[Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus]], praised Young.<ref name="ABC-AU2022-01-29a" /> In March 2024, Young returned his music to Spotify, as the end of [[Joe Rogan]]'s contract meant Rogan could add ''The Joe Rogan Experience'' to other streaming platforms, such as [[Apple Music]] and [[Amazon Music]]. Young said he could not sustain his opposition on each of the platforms.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Beaumont-Thomas |first=Ben |date=March 13, 2024 |title=Neil Young to Return Music to Spotify as He Attacks 'Disinformation' Across Streaming Services |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/mar/13/neil-young-to-return-music-to-spotify-as-he-attacks-disinformation-across-streaming-services |access-date=March 13, 2024 |work=[[The Guardian]] |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

In 2023, Young criticized [[Ticketmaster]]'s practice of raising ticket prices and adding fees. He said he had been sent letters from fans blaming him for $3,000 tickets for a [[benefit concert]] he was performing, and that "artists have to worry about  being ripped off fans blaming them for Ticketmaster add-ons and scalpers".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/neil-young-declares-touring-is-broken-due-to-ticketmaster-controversy/ |title=Neil Young Declares 'Touring Is Broken' Due to Ticketmaster Controversy |last=Bloom |first=Madison |website=Pitchfork |date=March 24, 2023 |publisher=Condé Nast |access-date=March 24, 2023}}</ref>

In April and May 2024, Young returned to touring with Crazy Horse for the first time in ten years (for their Love Earth Tour), and unveiled a "lost" verse from "[[Cortez the Killer]]" that had been unknown for years. Micah Nelson, son of [[Willie Nelson]], joined Crazy Horse for the tour, as Nils Lofgren was busy touring with [[Bruce Springsteen]] as a member of the [[E Street Band]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.setlist.fm/news/04-24/neil-young-and-crazy-horse-kick-off-first-proper-tour-in-10-years-5bd6a77c | title=Neil Young & Crazy Horse Kick off First Proper Tour in 10 Years | website=setlist.fm }}</ref> In May, two members of the group became ill, and Young announced that the remainder of their tour (including dates in July and festivals in September) would be canceled indefinitely.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2024/06/26/neil-young-crazy-horse-2024-tour-canceled/74227028007/ | title=Neil Young and Crazy Horse cancel remaining 2024 tour dates due to illness | website=[[USA Today]] }}</ref>

In late 2024, Young began playing with a new backing band, the Chrome Hearts. The band consists of [[Promise of the Real]] members Micah Nelson (guitar), Corey McCormick (bass) and Anthony Logerfo (drums), and organist [[Spooner Oldham]]. They released their debut single, "big change", in January 2025, with producer [[John Hanlon (record producer)|John Hanlon]] calling the song "in your face loud irreverent rock’n’roll paint splatter on the canvas in the vein of a [[Jackson Pollack]] [sic] painting."<ref>{{cite web | url=https://pitchfork.com/news/neil-young-and-the-chrome-hearts-share-new-song-big-change-listen/ | title=Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts Share New Song "Big Change": Listen | website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]] | date=January 17, 2025 }}</ref> The song will be featured on the album ''[[Talkin to the Trees]]'' which is due for release on June 13, 2025. The album's second single, "Let's Roll Again", was released on May 2, 2025 and takes a direct shot at [[Elon Musk]] and [[Tesla, Inc.]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/neil-young-music-video-flames-elon-musk-heil-tesla/?via=FB_Page&utm_source=facebook_owned_tdb&utm_campaign=owned_social&source=TDB&utm_medium=socialflow&fbclid=IwY2xjawKCIwtleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFaT3A5SnVyY0JidDBZd0h6AR7ufH6k5TLeTrtaSu4Z1Pfwy4jezn9SrfX7F2G974cATlxzGNUZIrMuXx8-Dw_aem_HlxWmfAOli4IYb2tgoLdEA|title='Heil Tesla': Neil Young Music Video Flames Elon Musk|website=The Daily Beast|access-date=May 2, 2025}}</ref>