Neil has always had a country influence, but the Old Ways period was pure Country. I have a great bootleg of the Austin City Limits show. DBTR with the pedal steel guitar an piano ROCKS.
Neil has always been a squirrely guy, seems like they just released Chrome Dreams II. The hard core know that CD1 was an album that was never officially released, could only get on bootleg. Would have come out around the TNT era. I've got boots of that as well from the acetate. Great early/mid 70's stuff. CDII contains "Ordinary People" which is an 18min sone played perhaps only once in Tornto in 1988. Something lie 15 verse. Wild. Right after that he played the full 60 to Zero (known as Crime in the City on the Freedom album and far less verses!).
If you really listen, his techincal playing has lost some of it's chops. He has some form of epilesy and thus it has affected his playing. Contrast the Re*ac*tor album with Rust Never Sleeps. Something happened around 80-81 that required him to change his style. This is where some of the "Raggedy Neil" playing comes from that you see during a Crazy Horse show...all that feedback and tremolo bar.
His new stuff is terrible compared to the older stuff. Even the mide 1990's stuff is better than what's coming out now. I kind lost interest around Are You Passionate. Just all sounds the same. *which is ironic if you listen to Weld (or one of the boots of that era). Heckler shouts out "It all sounds them same" Neil shouts back "it's all one song"
Great sense of humor.
Seen Neil like 6 or 7 times. I'd go again, as long as it wasn't too much new stuff. Even solo he is captivating.