| Fork in the Road | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Neil Young |
| Cover: | neil young forkintheroad.jpg |
| Recorded: | December 19 – 21, 2008 |
| Studio: | Legacy Studios, New York City |
| Genre: |
|
| Length: | 38:46 |
| Label: | Reprise |
| Producer: |
|
| Prev Title: | Sugar Mountain – Live at Canterbury House 1968 |
| Prev Year: | 2008 |
| Next Title: | Live at the Riverboat 1969 |
| Next Year: | 2009 |
Fork in the Road is the 31st studio album by Canadian / American musician Neil Young, released April 7, 2009, on Reprise Records.[1] The album was released on vinyl on July 26, 2009.
The album was inspired by Young's Lincoln Continental that had been retooled to run entirely on alternative energy, and Young's background with the Lincvolt project he has been working on alongside mechanic Jonathan Goodwin. The project has been to develop a viable electric energy power system for automobiles. Young's own 1959 Lincoln Continental will serve as their completed prototype. A documentary produced by Larry Johnson followed the electric car in its first long-distance trip to Washington, DC. Young also published his thoughts on the topic through a series of posts to the Huffington Post website.[2]
In November 2010, the car started a fire that caused over a million dollars of damage to a warehouse and possessions of Young stored there. Young blamed the fire on human error and said he and his team were committed to rebuilding the car. "The wall charging system was not completely tested and had never been left unattended. A mistake was made. It was not the fault of the car", he said.[3]
The song "Fuel Line" was inspired by rising fuel prices and Young's interest in alternative fuels and energy sources. Young explains in his memoir, Special Deluxe: "With gasoline priced at $2.35 per gallon, vacillating wildly from year to year on its overall steady climb, I had recorded a song called "Fuel Line," featuring the choruses 'Fill 'er up' and 'Keep fillin' that fuel line.' I was writing and performing a lot of songs about Lincvolt and the subject of electric powered cars. Fork in the Road, the album we made, was released in 2009. A lot of people were pissed that I made an album about that subject and I got bad reviews, but it was what was on my mind and I can be obsessive. Being obsessive is not such a bad thing for creativity."[4]
"Johnny Magic" was written for Wichita mechanic Jonathan Goodwin of H-Line Conversions. Young had hired Goodwin to convert his 1959 Lincoln Continental convertible to a hybrid vehicle.[5] Young had chosen one of the largest vehicles in his collection for conversion to electric power to demonstrate what was possible:
"Cough Up the Bucks" was inspired by the 2007–2008 financial crisis and the resulting Wall Street bailout. Young explains in a 2019 post to his website: "This song is one of my all time favorites. There was a huge crash in the market. 2008. We were in Wichita building Lincvolt. The world was watching the US economy implode. It was obvious who got screwed. There is a piece of history if I ever saw one."
The album was recorded in December 2008 at Legacy Studios in New York. "When Worlds Collide" was recorded prior to the sessions in August 2008 at RAK Studios in London.
Young's vocal performance on "Fork in the Road" was nominated for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance at the 52nd Grammy Awards, 2010.[6]
All songs written and composed by Neil Young
Additional roles
Blu-ray production