Stunningly beautiful, soaring, ethereal, ecstatic Synth-Pop cover of Neil Young's classic folk rock ballad "Helpless" by Yukihiro Takahashi of Yellow Magic Orchestra and Bill Nelson.
VIDEO DIRECT is at: https://youtu.be/71HRxm09pg0 , embedded below in this message.
From the 1984/1985 Yukihiro Takahashi LP/CD "Wild & Moody." https://www.discogs.com/Yukihiro-Taka...
Guitar, Vocals – Bill Nelson Vocals
Drums, Keyboards – Yukihiro Takahashi
Written-By – Neil Young
I wanted to share this magnificent "long lost" track, a huge favorite of mine, with a wider audience, so I created a cover collage featuring the album cover including Yukihiro, Bill, & Neil together, in some atmospheric imagery, and uploaded it to YouTube way back in 2013. It has received 5,200 views, 81 Likes and several thanks and praises along the way.
It only now, finally, occurred to me to share it here. ENJOY, it is SOOOO beautiful! Bill's vocal interpretation is stunning as is his guitar, as always. Gives me goosebumps and sometimes tears.
The entire album is a delight, by the way, well worth searching out. Bill also appears on the track "Bounds Of Reason Bonds Of Love"
A full-rez copy of my collage is below as well.
What I love from the first time I heard this, putting on Wild and Moody, is the driving quarter note beat phasing...and as our family has had a cottage in Haliburton Ontario Canada, the fantastical thoughts of a Japanese YMO'er and a Be Bop Deluxer Brit, singing about Northern Ontario, in a way and a beat that I loved and still do, brings on the drip dry eyes/waterworks every time. I put this on so many mix tapes for friends...I do not imagine that either of these lovely chaps have been "up north" however, I have seen Bill in Toronto a couple of times...The northern lights were fantastic about a week ago, if either of you are in Toronto and want to come up for a visit, please get in touch and I'll take you there.
Very nice soulful rendition. Good clean vocals and interesting harmonies. I, however, see Neil completely different: almost ragged and lunging around like a raging, bull elephant. I use to play in the Neil Young cover band "Hurricane" around the time "Ragged Glory" came out and it was like "Stars and Bars" all over again. It wasn't for the meek -- catchy tunes buried deep within distortion driven songs. Yes, Neil can be vulnerable and introspective, and "Helpless" gives itself over to that quite easily. But my first impression is that he'll kill you like "Cortez the Killer." Better yet, watch him rage around the stage with Led Zeppelin at a Rockin Roll Hall of Fame Induction: Jimmy Page didn't have a chance. Neil is some ego-maniac from hell.
If anybody is interested, I do a rendition of "Rockin in the Free World" (with Neil lip-syncing to his own song) check out:
https://www.billnelson.com/forum/the-world-and-his-wife/crazed-fandango
Keep on Rockin like a Tree Squirrel!
Great track. If I’m being picky the album cover is for Neuromantic which is itself a fine album. What, Me Worry the follow up features Bill and sits between Neuromantic and Wild and Moody.
Here it is a year later, but thanks for sharing this!
Thanks for the comments, all, and Bill thank you so much for your perspective. Thanks also for allowing the YouTube post to remain. I hope you like my cover image, a bit primitive though it may be. I thought the treatment is a marvelous "alternate take" on the song. and yes your higher register vocals are more than "OK," bordering on "AWESOME" and give me goosebumps every time :)
I have to say that, with hindsight, 'Hellpless' deserved a less bombastic treatment than we gave it back then. Needs to be a wee bit more delicately handled. Those loud Linn drums sound rather dated now, at least to my ears, but it was a very long time ago! My vocal, when it kicks in in the higher register, is ok though!
Let's Dance on Return To Tomorrow - These Tapes Rewind: Volume One, written by Jim Lee and recorded by Chris Martez.
I was aware of Bill's work with YMO but had not spent much time with it. This is awesome! I'm trying to think of other covers Bill's been involved with and can't think of any.
Re the album, a post on Yukihiro Takahashi's Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/baladessonoresbrussels/photos/a.1749720038600738/2438160669756668/?type=3&theater
Yukihiro Takahashi 高橋幸宏 - Wild & Moody (Yen Records / GT Music - 1984)
JAPANESE SYNTH-POP / YMO SIDE PROJECT / ORIGINAL JAPANESE PRESS 🐶
Another album featuring Takahashi's continued collaboration with Bill Nelson. The production by Takahashi himself cops many licks from sparse techno-pop, circa 1985 (big drums, DX7, a habit of "rockin' out"), and stays away from his usual signature sound. The outside projects of Yellow Magic Orchestra drummer/vocalist Takahashi (not to mention his colleague, Ryuichi Sakamoto) suggest that there was something amiss with the band's format during its existence; his solo work is far more amusing, even when the other members are involved.
"Wild & Moody" is an LP of pretty songs — mainly romantic, though a little lyrically offbeat — dressed (but not tarted up) in electro-dance clothing. The best song is perhaps the Neil Young cover 'Helpless' and the album closes strongly with 'Walking To The Beat', co-written with Iva Davies.🎧 https://youtu.be/KFuTQwVZZD0#yukihiro #takahasi #wildandmoody #yenrecords #ymo #yellowmagicorchestra #synth #pop #japan #music #vinyl #vinyls #record #records #recordshop #baladessonores #baladessonoresbxl