Americana  by Neil Young

Three days in October 2011 and two more days in November were enough for Neil Young and Crazy Horse to record Young's thirty-third studio album. Americana, which was finally released in June 2012, contains eleven covers of traditional and folk songs originating from the American music tradition. The idea for the album was based on the practice of Neil Young's first band, the Squiers, who would gather and cover traditional songs with their electric rock guitars.

Something similar was done by Crazy Horse with Neil Young at Broken Arrow Ranch - owned by the latter - in Northern California. Americana starts with Oh! Susanna from 1848, attributed to Stephen Foster, born in 1826 (!), and continues with Clementine, based on the traditional Oh, My Darling Clementine from 1884. An album like this couldn't be without This Land Is Your Land by Woody Guthrie from 1944. Neil Young and his band throughout the album seem to push the sound to the limits, and without exaggeration, there are moments when someone might think they are listening to hard rock.

The producers of the album were Neil Young, John Hanlon, and Mark Humphreys. Americana received mixed reviews, however, the audience embraced and loved it. In the U.S., it reached No. 4, in Canada No. 2, and in the United Kingdom No. 16.