"At Two hundred eighty seven feet
I saw Jesus
and it made sense that He was there"
So goes the lyric to "Black Coral", the epic scuba-diving-as-metaphor-for-the-fast -life song from the ill fated 1976 Stills-Young Band LP "Long May You Run".
"Take it easy down there, you've only so much air"
indeed, Stephen, indeed.
Sent to me by Tony B, the song is quite a curiosity, with its overblown arrangements and relentless extension of metaphor. Its gets pretty groovy in the middle there, though. The circumstances of the making of this album are pretty sketchy too.
The rest of CSNY recorded backing vocals for the record, which Stills and Young decided they didn't like and removed. Then, just a few dates into their 30 date tour, Young bailed, leaving Stills to finish solo. Apparently fed up with Still's booze and drug consumption (How else does a song like Black Coral get made?), he simply left the tour and sent a telegram "Funny how things that start spontaneously end that way... Eat a peach, Neil." God Bless Neil Young
DOWNLOAD BLACK CORAL
1 comment:
Yes!!
Easily the best / only scuba-related song to come out of the 70's. Indispensable for your next booze and water related adventure.
Real props goes (again) to my brother Nick for popularizing this record in our house ...
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