Allmusic critic Matthew Greenwald describes "The Old Laughing Lady" as a "striking mood piece."[1] He describes the music as being "built on some simple, downcast chord changes, in a modal D guitar tuning," which he says gives the song depth and grandeur.[1] Music critic Johnny Rogan describes the song's use of string instruments and a "ghostly girl chorus" as giving it an "eerie effect."[2]
Young biographer Jimmy McDonough remarks on the song's "sweet, sad countermelodies passing from strings to French horn with beautiful restraint."[3] According to music critic Nigel Williamson, the production by Jack Nitzsche helps give the song a sense of mystery.[4] The song contains four verses but no refrain.[5] The changes in mood and tone over the course of the song are reminiscent of Young's earlier song "Broken Arrow" that he wrote and performed as a member of Buffalo Springfield.[6]
Rolling Stone Magazine critic Gary Von Tersch considers "The Old Laughing Lady" to be the more effective of the two, because he considers it to be "tighter, more mature and [have] more of the quiet explosion to it that Young obviously intends.[6]
The themes of "The Old Laughing Lady" include love, death, alcoholism and alienation.[1][7] The old laughing lady of the title can be a metaphor for either death or alcohol.[2][4][8] The song describes how the old laughing lady affects the lives of those she interacts with.[5]
Writing and recording
"The Old Laughing Lady" was written earlier than most of the songs on Neil Young. According to Young, he wrote it one day on a napkin while drinking coffee in a coffee shop without knowing what prompted it.[3][8] A version was recorded by Buffalo Springfield for their 1968 album Last Time Around in January 1968.[1][4]
An even earlier version was tried out during the sessions for Buffalo Springfield's earlier album Buffalo Springfield Again.[4] In the version on Neil Young, Nitzsche used a vocal muting technique that makes Young sound "a million miles away, but right there."[3]
Reception
Neil Young FAQ author Glen Boyd described "The Old Laughing Lady" as having "stood the test of time" since Neil Young was released.[9]Pitchfork contributor Mark Richardson describes the song as having "echoes of the great music to come" from Young's later career.[10] In 2014 the editors of Rolling Stone Magazine ranked it as Young's 63rd all time greatest song , describing it as "California psychedelia with the sun sucked out."[8]
Young included "The Old Laughing Lady" on his 1977 compilation albumDecade.[2][11] A live version was released on Young's 1993 album Unplugged, although Rogan felt that version lacked the mystery and sadness of the original.[2][5][12]
References
^ abcdGreenwald, Matthew. "The Old Laughing Lady". Allmusic. Retrieved 2020-03-21.
laughing, lady, song, written, neil, young, that, first, released, 1968, debut, solo, album, neil, young, song, neil, youngfrom, album, neil, youngreleasednovember, 1968, 1968, recorded1968length5, 58labelreprisesongwriter, neil, youngproducer, neil, young, ja. The Old Laughing Lady is a song written by Neil Young that was first released on his 1968 debut solo album Neil Young The Old Laughing Lady Song by Neil Youngfrom the album Neil YoungReleasedNovember 12 1968 1968 11 12 Recorded1968Length5 58LabelRepriseSongwriter s Neil YoungProducer s Neil Young Jack Nitzsche Ry Cooder Contents 1 Music and lyrics 2 Writing and recording 3 Reception 4 ReferencesMusic and lyrics EditAllmusic critic Matthew Greenwald describes The Old Laughing Lady as a striking mood piece 1 He describes the music as being built on some simple downcast chord changes in a modal D guitar tuning which he says gives the song depth and grandeur 1 Music critic Johnny Rogan describes the song s use of string instruments and a ghostly girl chorus as giving it an eerie effect 2 Young biographer Jimmy McDonough remarks on the song s sweet sad countermelodies passing from strings to French horn with beautiful restraint 3 According to music critic Nigel Williamson the production by Jack Nitzsche helps give the song a sense of mystery 4 The song contains four verses but no refrain 5 The changes in mood and tone over the course of the song are reminiscent of Young s earlier song Broken Arrow that he wrote and performed as a member of Buffalo Springfield 6 Rolling Stone Magazine critic Gary Von Tersch considers The Old Laughing Lady to be the more effective of the two because he considers it to be tighter more mature and have more of the quiet explosion to it that Young obviously intends 6 The themes of The Old Laughing Lady include love death alcoholism and alienation 1 7 The old laughing lady of the title can be a metaphor for either death or alcohol 2 4 8 The song describes how the old laughing lady affects the lives of those she interacts with 5 Writing and recording Edit The Old Laughing Lady was written earlier than most of the songs on Neil Young According to Young he wrote it one day on a napkin while drinking coffee in a coffee shop without knowing what prompted it 3 8 A version was recorded by Buffalo Springfield for their 1968 album Last Time Around in January 1968 1 4 An even earlier version was tried out during the sessions for Buffalo Springfield s earlier album Buffalo Springfield Again 4 In the version on Neil Young Nitzsche used a vocal muting technique that makes Young sound a million miles away but right there 3 Reception EditNeil Young FAQ author Glen Boyd described The Old Laughing Lady as having stood the test of time since Neil Young was released 9 Pitchfork contributor Mark Richardson describes the song as having echoes of the great music to come from Young s later career 10 In 2014 the editors of Rolling Stone Magazine ranked it as Young s 63rd all time greatest song describing it as California psychedelia with the sun sucked out 8 Young included The Old Laughing Lady on his 1977 compilation album Decade 2 11 A live version was released on Young s 1993 album Unplugged although Rogan felt that version lacked the mystery and sadness of the original 2 5 12 References Edit a b c d Greenwald Matthew The Old Laughing Lady Allmusic Retrieved 2020 03 21 a b c d Rogan Johnny 1996 The Complete Guide to the Music of Neil Young Omnibus Press p 13 ISBN 978 0711953994 a b c McDonough Jimmy 2003 Shakey Neil Young s Biography Anchor pp 136 294 ISBN 9780679750963 a b c d Williamson N 2002 Journey Through the Past The Stories Behind the Classic Songs of Neil Young Hal Leonard p 22 ISBN 9780879307417 a b c Bielen Ken 2008 The Words and Music of Neil Young Praeger pp 8 9 ISBN 9780275999025 a b Von Tersch Gary April 5 1969 Neil Young Rolling Stone Magazine Retrieved 2020 03 21 Downing D 1994 A Dreamer of Pictures Neil Young the Man and His Music Da Capo p 46 ISBN 9780306806117 a b c The 100 Greatest Songs Neil Young Rolling Stone 2014 p 88 Boyd Glen 2012 Neil Young FAQ Everything Left to Know About the Iconic and Mercurial Rocker Backbeat Books p 30 ASIN B008RYZ7WM Richardson Mark December 11 2009 Neil Young Pitchfork Retrieved 2020 03 21 Ruhlmann William Decade Allmusic Retrieved 2020 03 21 Ruhlmann William Unplugged Allmusic Retrieved 2020 03 21 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Old Laughing Lady amp oldid 1136396964, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
