Neil Young is apparently making good on his plan to record an orchestral album.
The legendary Canadian artist has been at work in the studio cutting a new recording with the highly-rated German-born composer and arranger Chris Walden. The longplayer is said to have a working title of Storytone. And it may yet get a release before Christmas, if the rumors are to be believed.
Young hasn’t yet confirmed any details on what would be his 35th album, though eagle-eyed fans spotted the next best thing on Walden’s official website. On it, Walden’s “recent projects” section highlights the fact he’s written arrangements for an “upcoming Neil Young album.” According to reports, the comment originally mentioned the album’s name Storytone along with a release date of Nov. 4, though this nugget has since been removed. Adding further fuel to the hot rumor is music contractor Gina Zimmitti, who let the world in on a secret when she posted photos of Walden and Young’s recent sessions.
“We don’t feel cheesy calling this one a “precious moment” – George Doering, Chris Walden, and Neil Young (L to R). First day recording Chris Walden’s fantastic arrangements for Neil Young, Zimmitti wrote in one post. The session was held at Sony Pictures Scoring Stage.
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“Check out Neil Young’s converted 1959 LincVolt parked in the Sony lot yesterday for more days of recording with orchestra and Arranger Michael Bearden,” she writes in one update published on Friday.
Young told Billboard he has a yearning to do something symphonic. “I’d like to make a record with a full-blown orchestra, live — a mono recording with one mic,” he told Billboard earlier this year. “I want to do something like that where we really record what happened, with one point of view and the musicians moved closer and farther away, the way it was done in the past. To me that’s a challenge and it’s a sound that’s unbelievable, and you can’t get it any other way. So I’m into doing that.”
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The veteran artist has been touring throughout 2014 — both on his own and with Crazy Horse — promoting his solo covers project A Letter Home, which was released April 19 via Third Man. Young’s latest stint in the studio comes soon after news broke that the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer had filed for divorce from Pegi Young, his wife of 36 years.