Neil Young's New Harvest

After a divorce, he’s back in L.A. with a new band and a new love. But he’s still got plenty to be pissed off about.

- Patrick Doyle

YOU CAN HEAR HIM FROM THE hallway. Neil Young is kicked back on a couch in the center of his suite at New York’s Carlyle Hotel one recent morning, stabbing away at the strings of his acoustic guitar. His wet hair is combed back and he’s wearing a Tshirt that says earth, with jeans and sandals. He places his beat-up 1940s Martin – previous owner: Hank Williams – next to him on the couch. “Sit down, make yourself at home,” he says. Just then, his Samsung phone rings; the ringtone is his own voice shouting “Hello?!” He picks up – a wrong number. “I’ll just turn it off, that’ll solve it.”

Young is in the middle of a quick New York trip, and, as is typical for him, his schedule is ever-shifting. He just decided to do a sketch on The Tonight Show, forcing his team to cancel several interviews today. In front of Young are lyrics to the comedy bit, a song called “Two Neil Youngs Sitting on a Tree Stump,” sent to him by Jimmy Fallon. Young doesn’t like singing his own name, so he’s been tweaking the words with help from his manager, Elliot Roberts. “You’re gonna get a credit on this one,” Young says to Roberts with a smile.