Greendale is the name of an album, movie and graphic novel by Neil Young. As the twenty-sixth album by Neil Young, Young and Crazy Horse's Greendale, a 10-song rock opera, is set in a fictional California seaside town. Based on the saga of the Green family, the "audio novel" has been compared to the literary classics of Thornton Wilder's Our Town and Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio for its complexity and emotional depth in exploring a small town in America.
"One of the most original and acclaimed multimedia experiences of our time, "Greendale" has been hailed as a Neil Young masterpiece, a signal event in the career of an artist who has regularly exploded the expressive boundaries of modern music.
Now, the "Greendale" experience is available in an extraordinary new version titled "Greendale: Second Edition," featuring a unique DVD titled "Inside Greendale."
"Inside Greendale" will replace "Live at Vicar Street," the DVD of Neil Young's acoustic concert performance of "Greendale," part of the original two-disc package released last summer, which also included a CD of the ten original songs that comprise the "Greendale" album.
"Inside Greendale" highlights in-studio footage of Neil Young and Crazy Horse recording "Greendale," as well scenes from the "Greendale" film, brought together by the artist in an innovative mixed-media format. The result, which includes dazzling special effects, adds new depth to both the visual and audio components of Neil Young's epic tale of the Green family, a Northern California clan that includes Earl Green, a Vietnam vet who makes a deal with the Panama-hatted devil to sell his psychedelic paintings; his drug dealing cousin Jed, who kills a cop and goes to jail; and his daughter Sun, an eco-warrior who battles big oil in the Alaskan wilderness.
Joining Neil Young in the studio is his legendary backing band Crazy Horse. Scenes from the "Greendale" film included on the "Inside Greendale" DVD were shot on location in Northern California by the artist, with a cast that includes his wife, Pegi, and long-time collaborator, Ben Keith. The film, which Neil Young aptly describes as "songs you can look at," premiered at the Toronto Film Festival last year. It has gone on to huge critical acclaim and accolades describing it as one of Young's "career highlights."
