written by: Nicole McCray

A fresh new recording of legendary Neil Young and Crazy Horse hit your ears with the release on November 18. If you care about the earth and your environment, this song resonates. The album World Record was recorded at the Shangri-La studio in Malibu. “Love Earth” was the first song of this 11-track LP produced by Neil Young and Rick Rubin, with other songs entitled “Break The Chain” and “The Wonder Won’t Wait.”

Bandmates Through the Years

Neil Young and Crazy Horse have had a long history of music together. Young’s croony vocals coincide well with Crazy Horse’s instrumentals (Billy Talbot on bass, Nils Lofgren on guitar, and Ralph Molina on drums) and bring a sense of nostalgia to their audience, particularly those long-time fans. 

Recently they have issued some releases, including Barn and Colorado. They also provided the archival release of Toast just this year, before the release of World Record. 

The sound engineers at Track Club Music gave it a listen and shared that the duo has genuinely “created new ground” in developing clean and melodic chords. Emphasizing on the music connect they share that the duo have opened up a way for the spectacle of emotions to have a more simplistic yet powerful tone, and it reflects in their composition as well. 

The Release of World Record

In an interview, Young states, “Rick Rubin and I have produced the record and made the vinyl…and some things will be a bit different in the digital versions.” He was featured in an episode on Rubin’s podcast, ‘Broken Record,’ stating that the album would feature “unheard of combinations and instruments.” He also discussed the songwriting process while making the album.

“Love Earth” – The First Single

World Record is an album with the sole purpose of bringing more attention to Mother Nature, and with “Love Earneil yth,” the song provides an ideal look at the earth’s beauty. It’s a soft downtempo single, demonstrating melodic piano chords with electric guitar. 

The song is easygoing, and it achieves its goal of explaining mother nature curating good karma and bad karma. Lyrics including, “love earth and love comes back to you,” are simple but profound, playing into the more aggressive “what you give to the universe, you get back,” – to put it more simply – however you treat mother nature, she will do the same to treat you.

If you don’t realize that we are in a crisis when it comes to the way we treat our earth, you must be living under a rock. Music evokes emotion and has a powerful way of helping us to listen; many times, there are messages that we need to hear. “Love Earth” brings the self-conscious notion that we must respect and treat this earth with love, kindness, and care. Otherwise, what does our future hold?

The Underlying Message

The song continues with more of a proposed solution, with lyrics saying, “We can bring the seasons back/Can you imagine that?” Maybe by taking the time to recycle more and use fewer fossil fuels, we can help restore mother nature to its former glory.

The fact that Young and his band are thinking about the nature of the world and how we can reverse issues with our ecosystems just by taking our part to be more aware can make a difference. Sometimes messages come across in creative ways, and the simple act of holding a guitar pick has the possibility of bringing about change. 

The message is clear: people need to do their part to conserve and be more sustainable. Instead of loitering and exploiting, be more aware and make small changes. If you’re curious about what you can do to help mother nature, some easy, simple things you can do include:

  • Try and wash your clothes with homemade or sheet detergents (no plastic jugs or tubs)
  • Wash your clothes with cold water
  • Find ways to do-it-yourself (DIY) instead of buying new
  • Change out regular light bulbs with LED bulbs
  • Plant your own herbs to use in food
  • Recycle with a bin and add a compost bin for free fertilizer
  • Don’t use pod coffee makers (plastic pods are not eco-friendly)
  • Create meal plans and do meal prep to avoid wasting food
  • Learn how to store food properly, so it lasts
  • Use natural and homemade cleaning products

You can make so many small changes at home that can help reduce the carbon footprint and, like the song “Love Earth,” allow you to do your part in caring for mother nature.

One song may be unable to undo the damage caused over the years. But Young and Crazy Horse give us a gentle reminder that we need to be more aware of our surroundings. The song helps develop an introspective view to take a look around and see what things we can do to love mother nature so that she will, in turn, love us back.