Neil Young

                  Neil Young is one of the most prolific songwriters of our time. A native of Canada, Young’s music never ceases to inspire. A mainstay on the folk scene, his music has captured the imaginations of thousands of loyal fans.

                 

           I begin with one of the most awe-inspiring albums Neil Young has ever released. After The Goldrush is one of Young’s early masterpieces. Although originally bogged down by modest reviews, time has only enhanced the sheer brilliance of this album. Young’s third album, After The Goldrush is a trip through the mind of a young musical genius, with many different messages hiding in his lyrics. Most of the album was recorded in a makeshift basement studio built in Neil Young’s own home in Topanga Canyon. The “scrapped together” nature of this album only adds to its impressiveness. With different takes at multiple studios, After the Goldrush features multiple muscians that end up in the final cut. Nils Lofgren, the prominent piano player throughout the album, had not even played piano prior to the sessions, yet ended up on nearly every song. In true Neil Young fashion, Lofgren was simply at the right place at the right time and was added to the band lineup. From the soaring high notes in the opening track “Tell Me Why,” to the powerful “Southern Man,” to Youngs masterful storytelling on “Don’t Let It Bring You Down,” After The Goldrush delivers track after track of Neil Young glory. In 2003, Rolling Stone named After The Goldrush the 71st greatest album of all time. The album more than deserves this title, and a simple listen will convert any non-Neil fan in the crowd. One of Neil’s best, After The Goldrush easily ranks in my top ten albums of all time.

           

           If one Neil Young album has grabbed the spotlight of popular support the most, it would be Harvest. Although many claim it is “overrated,” there is no denying that Harvest is easily Young’s most accessible album, and likewise one of his best. Spawning some of Young’s most well known and beloved tunes including the drugged out ballad “Needle and the Damage Done,” and the heartfelt hit “Heart of Gold,” if there is one Young album that the casual fan knows about it is 1972’s Harvest. Including guest appearances from Graham Nash, the London Symphony Orchestra, Linda Ronstadt, Stephen Stills and James Taylor, Harvest was a huge and ultimately successful undertaking for Neil Young. After the split of Young’s supergroup Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; Neil went and hired a slew of new country-esque muscians he dubbed The Stray Gators to record his fourth album ,the famed Harvest. His best selling album to date, Harvest is probably the most recognized Neil Young album. Between the classic “Old Man,” massively popular “Heart of Gold,” and a lineup of other hits, Harvest is among Neil’s best work. In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked Harvest as the 78th greatest album of all time. Harvest serves a special place in my mind as it contains many of the very first songs I played on my acoustic guitar. An easy listen and great “kickin back” album, Harvest will never let the music lover down, Neil Young fan or not.

              

               Originally released in 1969, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere is one of Neil Young’s oldest albums. His famed backing band Crazy Horse can be heard for the first time on these stunning tracks, including the late Danny Whitten on guitar who would die shortly after the release of the album. The songs on this disc make up some of Neil’s most memorable early material, and offer a short but sweet mixture of countryesque ballads and extended solos. Three songs inparticular: “Cinnamon Girl,” “Down By The River,” and “Cowgirl In The Sand” would go on to be reborn again and again in Neil’s future repetoire, long after the demise of Crazy Horse. Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere was produced by both David Briggs and Young himself, and was released the very same year it was recorded. Although maybe not as well known by casual fans, Young’s second solo album proves to stand the test of time, and easily ranks as one of the ten best Neil Young albums to date. The songs here are as raw as they are passionate, showcasing a very young Neil trying to show what he can do. Neil at his best, Everybody Knows This Is Knowhere provides a snapshot of music somewhere inbetween the accessible Harvest and nostalgic drones of After The Goldrush. In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked the album number 208 on their list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

               

                Shortly after his departure from Buffalo Springfield, Young released his first album as a solo artist in 1968. His self titled debut album originally featured just a self portrait, but was revised a year later to include overdubs and his name on the cover. When released the album met with modest reviews, but has since captured the spirit of the early Neil Young era. Differing from such debut albums as Bob Dylan’s self titled, Young’s first solo album features all original songs except Jack Nitzsche’s “String Quartet From Whiskey Boot Hill.” Amongst the montage of not as well known Neil tracks rests the classic “The Old Laughing Lady,” which would later bee revived with a vengence on Neil’s famed Unplugged album. If anything, Young’s self titled serves as a beginning. A beginning of the road for a soon to be household name in the folk scene. Neil’s music would only get better following this release, and it has its place in the vast career of music that composes Young’s career. Neil Young’s self titled album was released on his birthday.

                  

                 In 1986, Neil Young had refused to play with his band Crazy Horse for personal reasons. Landing On Water is an album that lacks the Neil fans have come to know and love. The techno infused, eletronically drowned and highly overdubbed techno beats in Landing On Water show a Neil Young trying desperately for a new sound. This “new sound” inevitably turns out anything but a step in the right direction, and will disappoint hard core Neil folkies. Instead of folk laced guitar jigs and passionate ballads that the usual Neil provides, Landing On Water reveals an unsure, overproduced, and many times confused montage of want-to-be stadium rock power ballads. It seems Young was trying too hard to recreate the classic stadium sound that defined the 80’s at the time, and what comes out instead is a polished, sterile, and awkward sound for the usual Neil Young fortay. Although largely a mess of musical vision gone batty, Landing On Water does offer a few brief highlights among the bunch. The unique “Hippie Dream,” clearly alludes to Young’s relations with former bandmate David Crosby, a treat indeed. The depressing “Violent Side,” and just plain bizarre “Bad News Beat” succeed in their goal of offering strange beats and stark lyrics that somehow work. Not unlistenable by any means, the techno-infused Landing On Water just isn’t near what Neil is capable of. If anything, Landing On Water is a bump along the path of Neil’s massive career, and any artist is bound to have at least one, if not many, failures along the way.

                 

                 Once again uniting with backing band Crazy Horse, Young’s 1996 album Broken Arrow offers a peculiar selection of interesting Neil Young tunes. Following a similar pattern to many of Young’s 90’s material, Broken Arrow is filled with extended solos, thick distortion, and rampant melodies. Prolonged jam sessions soar as guitar riffs slice drawn out bass lines and sharp percussion set forth by the Horse. The first 3 tracks prove to be eerily reminiscent of the style set forth in albums like Zuma and Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere. Clocking in at over 25 minutes combined, the first three numbers offer a glimpse into the all too well known epic feel of the Crazy Horse era. Although musically sound, the songs on Broken Arrow tend to come across as meloncholy and overpowering to Young’s vocals. Other than “Big Time,” Loose Change,” and “Slip Sway,” the rest of the tracks offer much shorter and much more diverse delvings into country and folkesque jigs. On a whole the album just seems a bit uneven, conclusing with a live recording from a “secret” gig of the Jimmy Reed tune “Baby What You Want Me To Do.” The casual Young fan will have no problem passing up Broken Arrow, as it just represents something a little distant for the hardcore Harvest and After The Goldrush fanatics. Personally I find Broken Arrow to be an intereseting listen, a montage of classic Crazy Horse melodeis that just seem to be missing something. Broken Arrow is not a bad album, but rather nothing spectacular or wholly unique from the godfather of grunge.