dave matthews bands cover is way better than this. waren hanes can play guitar alot better and they both can sing better. but nice writting by Neil young
I've been a fan in New Zealand since age 16. Was in Stockholm in '89 aged 26 when he cancelled a show suddenly due to his son being ill. Nearly 20 years later I finally get to see him live (Big Day Out in Auckland, New Zealand 16 January 2009) and he played an extended version of my favourite Cortez The Killer. Brought tears to my eyes. Absolutely awesome, Neil you still rock at 62!
There's no tellin how much I've smoked listening to this song over the years. I'm reading Eduardo Galeano's "Open Veins of Latin America" right now & this song has been stuck in my head the whole time.
The best version to m ewill also be the studio version just because it's able to envoke the mood the best(...because obviously its the studio), but if I had to pick a favorite version I would pick the "reggae" version from the rust never sleeps dvd. This version is awesome too, but that's my live version.
Great version. Has gotta be from Weld note the "Prince Valiant" hairdo gives it away.Wish They would come out with it on DVD.And you can really smell the Horse on this one!
That gives me a buzz!!! I respect those who wish to cover this song because i do too but we'll never get close to this performance. I think it's a peak in his career .
Saw Neil a couple of months ago and he was playing awesome but he never played this or like a hurricane and i was never so depressed leaving that gig as i knew hearing this live would've been one of the greatest most poignant moments in my life
FUCK...Neil rules!!! I'm just so glad that most of his best songs are too long for classic rock radio stations. Neil's very best will never get overplayed, and the world is worse for it. Too bad for them.
Listen to the studio version of maggot brain by Funkadelic before you watch this....im not kidding.. 20 min of pure emotion.. 2 of the best and most underrated solos.
Yep, when it comes to music..its all taste....I like the word "different"... for me its a question of passion...does it rock or not, and are the audience getting off on it like the musicians?
People need to stop taking the lyrics at face value. Neil even said that it was mostly just crap he thought up after reading and learning about the events. The lyrics are great as poetic romanticism of the events that happened.
The original studio version is on Zuma, but this live version is not.
otheozzy, the version on Weld is awesome. I don't have it, so I don't know if this is it, but I remember being totally impressed years ago when I listened to a friend's Weld CD.
Better yet - Amazing what you can do with three chords, that no one else should try! Nobody else should ever do this song, because only Neil Young can *really* do it. There's only one.
Covers should only be done if the original is lacking something and could be improved upon. Just my opinion. I don't think Neil's live version of this song could be improved upon. Maybe I'm wrong.
Hmm I can respect that. I think it's an honour to have your songs covered, shows you're pretty damn good. But I do think covers can be as good as or even better than the original, such as All Along the Watchtower, just my opinion :)
Daliotter you are right, thats exactly what it was. I get the feeling genocides have been going on for a very long time. Perhaps far longer than we know.
Life was so great before European explorers, nothing was wrong. There was no hate? So no Inca ever hated another Inca? Why cant we build what they had today? We are on friggin Mars now, if it was up to Neil we would all have to stay in our own countries and eat fruit. Does anyone think that would be good for civilization?
I seriously doubt that Neil Young truly believes the version of history he expounds upon in this song. I think it's more about the generic loss of innocence, and he's just using the conquest of the Aztecs as an example. "And I know she's living there / And she loves me to this day. / I still can't remember when / or how I lost my way." For sure, Cortez and the other conquistadores were genocidal barbarians, but obviously the native cultures of America were not all perfect societies.
Bluescommander After reading your response, i believe you are correct and now I can go back and just enjoy the song without taking every verse literally. That is a good thing because it is a great song.
As a Neil devotee for 30+ years, I concur with you here. If you regard Neil as a poet, then his lyrics can be viewed as 'loaded full of metaphors and multi-layered imagery'. He's a storyteller who is taking us on a sumliminal journey in each song... and each song (eg Cortez, Powderfinger,Like a Hurricane) is a powerful and emotional experience. The beauty is that all our journey's are not the same, but we're glad Neil took us somewhere into our subliminal consciousness. Thanks Neil!
Just totally on. What a performance. This is my favorite Neil Young tune. And this might be the best version of it I've seen. Neil's a much better guitarist than he usually gets credit for being. Here, it's on display. Take note.
In Jimmy McDonough's biography of Young, entitled Shakey, the author asked Neil if his songs were autobiographical. Young replied, "...What the fuck am I doing writing about Aztecs in 'Cortez the Killer' like I was there, wandering around? 'Cause I only read about it in a few books. A lotta shit I just made up because it came to me.
Neil is not only a fantastic musician, but one of the best songwriters of our time...period.
RushRulesAll 3 years ago
dave matthews bands cover is way better than this. waren hanes can play guitar alot better and they both can sing better. but nice writting by Neil young
jackmoor4714 3 years ago
Dude, sorry, but you just don't get it...
aiiiiee 3 years ago 3
dave matthew band sucks balls and neil young is a way better guitarist then that little bitch
fortoate 3 years ago 3
I've been a fan in New Zealand since age 16. Was in Stockholm in '89 aged 26 when he cancelled a show suddenly due to his son being ill. Nearly 20 years later I finally get to see him live (Big Day Out in Auckland, New Zealand 16 January 2009) and he played an extended version of my favourite Cortez The Killer. Brought tears to my eyes. Absolutely awesome, Neil you still rock at 62!
hdfreeview 3 years ago 2
Geez louise man...I've been trying to get the intro to this exact song down for the past 2 years and I STILL don't know how its done!
Simply magnificent...
Dm
Detman101 3 years ago
I'm in a whole other place when I listen to this.. It's fucking insane. I'm shot out of a gun.
lagoni 3 years ago
There's no tellin how much I've smoked listening to this song over the years. I'm reading Eduardo Galeano's "Open Veins of Latin America" right now & this song has been stuck in my head the whole time.
enwurds 3 years ago
neil young is the most fucking motherfucking shitting cock sucking penis blowing best ass fucking musican of this time
gibsongod123 3 years ago
griswald7 you were not disappointed in Philly last week...... I was there and this song was UN-FUCKING-REAL..... I was COMPLETELY blown away
ginmark 3 years ago
Wish i could of been there, imo this song is one of neil's best. Really there all good but.
SparksAlot420 3 years ago
He kills the crowd like cortez the killer at the end...
Hoopsie111 3 years ago
WOW!!!!!!111 PURE PASSION & HEARTnSOUL WHO SAYS CLAPTON IS GOD WITH THIS MAN STILL HERE
kfc63822 3 years ago
Just gut-wrenching. Can't wait for Friday in Philly. Top 5 song of all time in my ears.
griswald7 3 years ago
The best version to m ewill also be the studio version just because it's able to envoke the mood the best(...because obviously its the studio), but if I had to pick a favorite version I would pick the "reggae" version from the rust never sleeps dvd. This version is awesome too, but that's my live version.
smoke117 3 years ago
Breathtaking!
cazatron88 3 years ago
i think that single word just about sums it up.
gibsongod123 3 years ago
just saw him tonight in Toronto played a fucking great set including this very song. EPIC is all i have to say.
PVD1989 3 years ago
yeah I was there too! I was glad he actually played his classics but his new stuff was absolutely HORRIBLE. I was sooooo glad he played powderfinger!
ErinVonBaron 3 years ago
blows my dad away
fritho858ghj 3 years ago
one of my fav songs of his
greatness :O)
zephead1969 3 years ago
Such a powerful song.
goobernoodles 3 years ago 4
Great version. Has gotta be from Weld note the "Prince Valiant" hairdo gives it away.Wish They would come out with it on DVD.And you can really smell the Horse on this one!
yahowa57 3 years ago 2
I don't think this is from Live Rust.
swanny708 3 years ago
What an awesome song.
NucearGanomeElimator 3 years ago 3
yes its still there,neils 63 today he"ll not let this stop him rockin for a few more years.
noddyatdidcot 3 years ago 3
That gives me a buzz!!! I respect those who wish to cover this song because i do too but we'll never get close to this performance. I think it's a peak in his career .
lordsofkoble 3 years ago 2
excellent
urprobablyright 3 years ago 3
Masterpiece!! This Live Version of Cortez Rocks and Simply Better then the Studio Version.
Long Live Young:)
orb669 3 years ago
i just saw him in concert yesterday in vancouver !!!!!! this song especially was amazing just so much feeling
juicyj56 3 years ago
Thank you for this video, it is the original Decade with pics! Awesome!
Any Hurricane from the same concert?
petowa 3 years ago
Saw Neil a couple of months ago and he was playing awesome but he never played this or like a hurricane and i was never so depressed leaving that gig as i knew hearing this live would've been one of the greatest most poignant moments in my life
04591739 3 years ago
no question - it-s the best song i know
krukowski 3 years ago 2
FUCK...Neil rules!!! I'm just so glad that most of his best songs are too long for classic rock radio stations. Neil's very best will never get overplayed, and the world is worse for it. Too bad for them.
bkelley426 3 years ago 4
you're right.3 minutes isn't enough time for a great song like this or like a hurricane or maggot brain for that matter.
geargod198 3 years ago 2
Listen to the studio version of maggot brain by Funkadelic before you watch this....im not kidding.. 20 min of pure emotion.. 2 of the best and most underrated solos.
xeb 3 years ago
brilliant.... just brilliant
steve6919 3 years ago 4
PHENOMINAL...JUST PHENOMINAL (if I can spell right)
SoVerySappy 3 years ago 5
favorited...rock on neil, rock on.
SLIPKNOTISBEAST 3 years ago 8
this is off a live album is it not? can someone tell me which one cu zi love this version
danfourth99 3 years ago
its from WELD
Hoobler 3 years ago
confirmed
in spades
jesapizza 3 years ago
what year?
pofoto1950 3 years ago
its from 1991
Hoobler 3 years ago 2
That guitar hits you so hard in the heart.
UnrighteousFury 3 years ago 18
Perfectly said
jesapizza 3 years ago 2
Yep, when it comes to music..its all taste....I like the word "different"... for me its a question of passion...does it rock or not, and are the audience getting off on it like the musicians?
walkingbear56 3 years ago
Neil just tears that guitar to hell and back in this song. He puts everything into it, its amazing!
Gr0m75 3 years ago 5
pure magic, has to be the greatest live performance i've ever heard, theres something so spiritual bout it.
I'd luv 2 find a film or bit of footage of something that it'd sync pefectly with, kinda like dark side of the moon and wizard of oz
04591739 3 years ago 2
Timeless...my favorite version that I've listened to a zillion times but NEVER gets old.
Powderfinger07 3 years ago 4
goosebumps
squarelead 3 years ago 4
this is the version of weld right? live is it better then the studio version :D
themusicsideoflife 3 years ago 2
I'm beside myself here.....that's nothin' short of a religious experience.....
Where's a good mushroom when you need it?
bluesjunky52 3 years ago 4
LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!
connrocks 3 years ago
This is my favourite Neil Young song, absolutely brilliant
GlueyPorch 3 years ago 5
Seen Neil In Glasgow and boy did he blow the roof off! The pretenders can keep trying... theres only one version!!!!!
jesusmanlover 3 years ago
People need to stop taking the lyrics at face value. Neil even said that it was mostly just crap he thought up after reading and learning about the events. The lyrics are great as poetic romanticism of the events that happened.
smoke117 3 years ago
MY fav song
kt016c21 3 years ago
is this from the weld album?
otheozzy 3 years ago
no its from zuma
alargedog 3 years ago
The original studio version is on Zuma, but this live version is not.
otheozzy, the version on Weld is awesome. I don't have it, so I don't know if this is it, but I remember being totally impressed years ago when I listened to a friend's Weld CD.
marvy1118 3 years ago
Neil totally rocks this on Rust never sleeps.
acdeucee 3 years ago
Better yet - Amazing what you can do with three chords, that no one else should try! Nobody else should ever do this song, because only Neil Young can *really* do it. There's only one.
marvy1118 3 years ago
If you think about it that way no covers of songs would ever exist
flobtob 3 years ago
Covers should only be done if the original is lacking something and could be improved upon. Just my opinion. I don't think Neil's live version of this song could be improved upon. Maybe I'm wrong.
marvy1118 3 years ago 3
Hmm I can respect that. I think it's an honour to have your songs covered, shows you're pretty damn good. But I do think covers can be as good as or even better than the original, such as All Along the Watchtower, just my opinion :)
flobtob 3 years ago
Sometimes better.. you haven't seen the version by Grace Potter and Joe Santarini then?
walkingbear56 3 years ago 2
Amazing what you can create with just three chords.
marvy1118 3 years ago
i remember seeeing him n crazy horse do this live many moons ago fantastico #####
alargedog 3 years ago
wish i couldve seen him Dog. :)
tks 4 sharing he video!
stacyblue1980 3 years ago
its the same for north america,up north wasnt cortez,but the english,that steal the land and kill our american indian brothers..
thanks for thsi song NEIL YOUNG..PURE HISTORY
FOR ALL OF U
nosupecualponerme 3 years ago
Neil, i love you!
rickgoethe 3 years ago
amen
harpua9000 3 years ago
one of the best songs ever written from one of the best
harpua9000 3 years ago
Is this from the Weld video? I havent seen it, only have it on cd, it is really hard to find on video.
TPHBFAN 3 years ago
estamos de acuerdo viejo, he is AMAZING
angelmurder1 3 years ago
Daliotter you are right, thats exactly what it was. I get the feeling genocides have been going on for a very long time. Perhaps far longer than we know.
swaggs 3 years ago
lol...Perhaps?
SteadyHaze 3 years ago
Why don't the history books teach us this was a genocide.
Why doesn't it call most genocides what they were?
Those who win, write the history books!!
Genocides are still taking place today, why won't our media report on these atrocities?
Who is winning?
daliOtter 3 years ago
we arent exposed to genocides (with the obvious exception) for obvious reasons, i dont need to say it either.
bigfinau 3 years ago
thank you
aslakemil 3 years ago
the most beautyful thing that i've ever seen
odradekk 3 years ago
Life was so great before European explorers, nothing was wrong. There was no hate? So no Inca ever hated another Inca? Why cant we build what they had today? We are on friggin Mars now, if it was up to Neil we would all have to stay in our own countries and eat fruit. Does anyone think that would be good for civilization?
theloff2 3 years ago
I seriously doubt that Neil Young truly believes the version of history he expounds upon in this song. I think it's more about the generic loss of innocence, and he's just using the conquest of the Aztecs as an example. "And I know she's living there / And she loves me to this day. / I still can't remember when / or how I lost my way." For sure, Cortez and the other conquistadores were genocidal barbarians, but obviously the native cultures of America were not all perfect societies.
bluescommander 3 years ago
Bluescommander After reading your response, i believe you are correct and now I can go back and just enjoy the song without taking every verse literally. That is a good thing because it is a great song.
Thanks for the post
theloff2 3 years ago
As a Neil devotee for 30+ years, I concur with you here. If you regard Neil as a poet, then his lyrics can be viewed as 'loaded full of metaphors and multi-layered imagery'. He's a storyteller who is taking us on a sumliminal journey in each song... and each song (eg Cortez, Powderfinger,Like a Hurricane) is a powerful and emotional experience. The beauty is that all our journey's are not the same, but we're glad Neil took us somewhere into our subliminal consciousness. Thanks Neil!
freddieeffer 3 years ago 3
totally...some woman raped and pillaged his heart...one of the strongest metaphors ever used in the "breakup song" vein
harpua9000 3 years ago
Based on how well things are going now, I would say Neil was onto something...
jasmoran66 3 years ago
Just totally on. What a performance. This is my favorite Neil Young tune. And this might be the best version of it I've seen. Neil's a much better guitarist than he usually gets credit for being. Here, it's on display. Take note.
jamesnotjim 3 years ago
One of the best songs of history of rock´n ´roll.
lecarreso 3 years ago 3
Thanks for posting. I love Neil!!
DaanJM 3 years ago
I funking love Neil! Can't wait for Hop Farm!
cafebrouge 3 years ago
FUCKING SPECTACULAR
Close15 3 years ago
from 6:50 and up i love that fucking sound!!It just sounds so smooth!!
juakdee 3 years ago 3
I don't think I will ever get sick of this song. Pure Neil
bakerdale 3 years ago 4
In Jimmy McDonough's biography of Young, entitled Shakey, the author asked Neil if his songs were autobiographical. Young replied, "...What the fuck am I doing writing about Aztecs in 'Cortez the Killer' like I was there, wandering around? 'Cause I only read about it in a few books. A lotta shit I just made up because it came to me.
smoke117 3 years ago
I realize it has been said, but this is such an amazing version. I love Neil Young
joeythephish 3 years ago 4
my guitar,,, my guitar,,, (as good as rust)
this song version has some of his best playing. .....sounds amazing. he sounds like he is use some dealy.... (weld)
RAISYFINN 3 years ago 3
Not generalized. You are dead on. Neils greatest version of the greatest song ever.
quedorf 3 years ago 4
young at the top - this song influenced so many others...
one of my fav from the man
this live version is fantastic, available on the live WELD CD
montex23 4 years ago 6
This comment has received too many negative votes show
haha i thought the begining of the vid was a turd at first XD
mansell863 4 years ago
Why "Motherfucking"?
Velubyy 4 years ago
one his many many many great songs. what a legend
decorantooran 4 years ago 4
His most haunting ánd evocative piece.
Gonzoidz 4 years ago 4