Open Mike: Getting the Gist of Neil Young (OT)

Neil Young is a prolific, peripatetic artist who has recorded and toured at a breakneck pace for five decades. He's afraid of nothing, makes almost a fetish out of experimentation, and has released dozens and dozens of records—the sheer number of which now obscure his major accomplishments and may make him difficult for newcomers to get to know.

Neil Young by Linda McCartney, late 1960s

His reputation and importance rest on a string of superb records made in the decade following 1969. These are Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (1969), After The Gold Rush (1970); Harvest (1972); the live Time Fades Away (1973) which is still not available on CD and has been "written out of history" on the official website (Young has bad memories from the tour); the iconic On the Beach (1974); the willfully perverse and artistically courageous Tonight's the Night (released in 1975 though recorded two years earlier); and Zuma (1975). All seven are equally indispensable for either the diehard fan or the newcomer, although the only way to get Time Fades Away is on vintage vinyl, as a bootleg, or on YouTube.

Time Fades Away, Tonight's the Night, and On the Beach are the so-called "Ditch Trilogy," a name which comes from Neil's famous comment in the liner notes of Decade: "'Heart of Gold' put me in the middle of the road. Traveling there soon became a bore so I headed for the ditch."

Also from the same period are the two great Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young albums, Deja Vu and 4 Way Street.

Rust had already set in when Neil released the last must-have album from this period, a pastiche of then-current and earlier material, 1977's American Stars N Bars. The career-summing "best of" from the whole period is called Decade, orginally a 3-disc compilation. Both American Stars'N'Bars and Decade contain the must-have guitar anthem "Like a Hurricane."

The twin codas to the decade (ending a run that would be enough for a whole career for most musicians) were Rust Never Sleeps and Live Rust, both from 1979. The titles are a bit confusing. Rust Never Sleeps was a live album debuting new material, like Time Fades Away had been. Although it wasn't quite as good as the earlier album, it holds its own. Live Rust, on the other hand, was a combination of a traditional live album and a traditional greatest hits—and doesn't contain much material from Rust Never Sleeps. So the two albums aren't nearly as closely intertwined as their titles might have you believe.

Genre experiments
The 1980s could be dropped almost entirely from Young's catalog and little would be missed. It was a time of personal turmoil, commercial struggle, and artistic uncertainty. Basically, what Neil did was lose his way—without losing his nerve. The result was a string of defiant, searching, but wretched genre records. There was Old Ways (country), Trans (techno, heavy on the vocorder), Everybody's Rockin' (rockabilly, for god's sake), the awful Landing On Water ('80s synth-pop [!]) and finally the dismaying This Note's for You (horn blues), which elicited one of the funniest and most scathing music reviews ever written in The Village Voice and a very funny comment from another reveiwer, who said something along the lines of "this album actually isn't quite as bad as it sounds." The undeniable if infrequent flashes of brilliance on these albums glimmer like lost coins seen through four feet of murky water.

The folkie fivesome
The best-selling album of 1972 in the USA and the record that put Young in the pantheon, was, of course, Harvest (remastered in 2009). Although Neil later "headed for the ditch," as he says, he's also periodically returned to melodic, gentle, almost easy-listening folkie albums throughout his career—seemingly when he needs a shot of sales, re-anchoring, or a defined change of pace from his musical pinballing. The first Harvest reprise was 1978's Comes a Time; then came 1992's Harvest Moon, Silver & Gold from 2000, and finally Prairie Wind from 2005. If this is the Young you love, these five will do it for you.

Godfather of grunge
As with all great artists who keep questing, sooner or later the questing takes on a nobility of its own, and/or finds a new audience. Neil redeemed himself in many peoples' eyes in 1989 with Freedom and the searing EP Eldorado (released in a limited edition of 25,000, only in New Zealand), followed in 1990 by the hard-rockin' Ragged Glory. The hit song off Freedom, "Rockin' In the Free World," which was released in both electric and acoustic versions, reached #2 on the US charts.

Notoriously, Kurt Cobain of Nirvana quoted Neil's lyric "it's better to burn out than to fade away" (from the song "Hey, Hey, My, My (Into the Black)" on Rust Never Sleeps) in his suicide note. Young, who had tried repeatedly but unsuccessfully to contact Cobain before his death, was so shaken that he dedicated is 1994 album Sleeps With Angels to Cobain, although Cobain is not named on the album. Young now prefers to emphasize the line "Once you're gone you can't come back."

Neil continued his hard-rock Godfather of Grunge turn by recording with Pearl Jam in 1995 (the undistinguished Mirror Ball).

The legendary bus crash
Neil had joked for many years about a "bus crash album" (referring to his touring bus), which would allegedly contain many famously unreleased albums and songs, bootlegs (of which there are many—I have more than 100, most collected originally from all over the world by my friend K), and live performances. Neil Young Archives Volume I: 1963–72 was finally released in 2009, out of a total of five volumes promised. There was to be one every three years. Although the first Archives release disappointed many fans, as the time period covered did not intersect with the more desired unreleased albums, a number of fine historical live recordings were issued in its wake, mainly on vinyl, including Sugar Mountain: Live at the Canterbury House, Live at Massey Hall (the first recommendation among these releases), Live at Fillmore East with Crazy Horse, and several others. None of the promised remaining volumes of the Archives series have been released.

Neil Young is always interesting, and there are many fine songs not on the albums listed above (two lesser-known stunners, for instance, are "Fountainbleu" from The Stills-Young Band's Long May You Run and "Change Your Mind" from Sleeps With Angels.)

Many kinds of artists, not only musicians, can learn from Young's intensity, drive, and refusal to compromise. In print, Neil's own memoir Waging Heavy Peace: A Hippie Dream was well received, and the unauthorized Shakey: Neil Young's Biography is a great window on the man and the artist.

Mike
(Thanks to Jim Schley, who made me into a Neil Young fan in 1977)

("Open Mike" is the free-form open-topic page of TOP. A day late this week, it usually appears on Sundays.)

Original contents copyright 2015 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

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(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Steven Willard: "A very nice 'history.' All I need is a few bars of Neil on an intro and I'm taken right back to my college days. I've always liked his voice, but I can understand how some might think he sounds like Alfalfa sing in the Little Rascals. Love him, hate him, he certainly is distinctive, and man has he turned out the songs. Thanks."

John McMillin: "Thanks for a nice summation of a most complicated career. I'll never have or want all of Neil's work, but as long as I have a guitar, I'll never stop trying the play his 'simple' debut tunes, without attaining the rhythmic precision of his masterful finger picking. Looking back to an early treasure like Massey Hall, it seems that Neil arrived on the scene with every talent he'd ever need. Those first albums were so perfect that he had to wander away into sloppiness and experimentation to avoid repeating himself. He couldn't get better, so he got weirder as he followed deconstructed laments of his style wherever they might lead."

B Grace: "Everybody's Rockin' is actually a fun album once a person knows of the story of its creation. I'm not a true Neil Young fan but I'll stand in his corner on that album."

Mike replies: Betty Lou's got a new pair of shoes.

beuler: "What grabs me about Neil Young songs is the 'in your face' honesty with no sugarcoating. It provides a very direct connection to the artist himself and not so much the work as an artistic piece. Many singer/songwriter's songs can be successfully covered, buy when you listen no Neil Young, what you hear is the man. It might be ignorance on my part, but I don't think anyone has successfully covered any of his songs (with the exception of 'Rockin' in the Free World')."

Mike replies: One of the paragraphs I cut from this post was about covers. It's a fascinating topic, but perhaps better for a more knowledgable writer than me.

Wayne: "A: Neil Young, Cat Stevens, Warren Zevon. Q: Who are artists you should never try to cover? Last year, I believe it was in July, our neighbors across the street were holding a party, complete with live band. The band was pretty bad to begin with, but then they tried to cover a Warren Zevon song—I believe it was 'Lawyers, Guns, and Money,' no less...I had to go inside and turn the TV on.

"You should do a commemorative writing on Warren. This was pretty good. My favorite Neil Young song is 'The Needle and the Damage Done.' We are contending with the H problem in our family. I believe that song has given me more strength than anything. It is such a lonely song, but yet, goes so far in taking away the personal loneliness of the experience. Thank you Neil."

Ed Waring: "I was lucky enough to see Neil at Glastonbury Festival in 2009 and it was absolutely mindblowing. Having heard all kinds of stories about his somewhat wilful live performances we intended to watch the first 20 minutes and wander off having ticked the Neil Young box. Instead we were presented with an absolutely incendiary greatest hits set that was totally mesmerising. There were about eight in our group who had never even heard off him and were blown away.... A real and genuine legend."

Earl Dunbar: "I have not heard Neil live, but I have been to concerts at Massey Hall. If there is a better acoustic space, I don't know it. I was able to catch an unplugged Bruce Cockburn there, and it was magic. I can only imagine what Neil would be like there. My theory is that any musician who plays Massey elevates their game because they instinctively feel the lady deserves the best. That's my belief and I'm sticking to it."

Comments

[Stan B.]

Neil and reggae got me through that horrid mid '70s period until punk and ska finally landed...

[Jeff Smith]

Mike,

Thanks for your post. "Harvest" was thie very first album I ever had. Mr. Young has reinvented himself a number of times over the years exploring new genres as you wrote about. But it is generally his earlier more folk, gentle Rock that I prefer most. May he continue to keep on singing and playing. I have by Neil Young playlist, do you?

Jeff

[Eric rose]

Young got my attention with his song about the Kent State shootings. I have been a huge fan ever since. In fact I learned to play guitar to his early songs. What's unfortunate is that he has learned how to use the media in a perverse way to promote his business ventures. Reading Young's "Waging Heavy Peace" brought it home that all that really matters to Young, is Young. I will still enjoy his music but in the last couple of years he has diminished himself as a man in my eyes.

[John Krumm]

I'm a late appreciator, but it's great to find someone with such a deep, rich catalogue. Last year I listened to every album on Rhapsody, even his eighties stuff, in order. Felt like a musical documentary.

Still not sure about Pono. Besides, I'm also a late appreciator of vinyl records and recently experienced the pleasure of successfully tweaking and modifying my turntable.

[Mark Kinsman]

Great off topic Mike. Neil is one of our more interesting music artists, even if you don't appreciate his style(s), you have to admire his tenacity. I recommend Neil Young's Journeys - currently available on Netflix DVD - an interesting look into Neil's life via his return to his home town, culminating in a powerful live performance at Massey Hall. As a bonus, Neil drives a cool 1956 Crown Victoria, while reminiscing about his home town.

[hugh crawford]

And he is also something of a legendary model railroader. I had made a system to vary the pitch, filtering, and speed of audio loops for video arcade game motorcycle sound effects in the late 1990s. I got a call from someone who wanted to know if it could work for train sound effects and change the sound depending on the speed and power draw of the train. At one point the conversation was something like

"My client wants to know, can you do something like a wah pedal and a reverb pedal when the train is in the tunnel"

"Who IS this client anyway?"

"Neil Young"

[david Zivic]

It is not mentioned, but I think it is significant that the somewhat obscure band, Buffalo Springfield, was where it all started for Neil. I still like a lot of songs on that album.

[Steve Biro]

Perhaps I have bad taste but I really didn't mind rockabilly from Neil and the Shocking Pinks on Everybody's Rockin'. :)

[Steve Rosenblum]

I've been into Neil Young since I heard him at the Canterbury House on the University of Michigan campus in the late 60's--and was quite startled to see that concert issued as a CD a couple of years ago. I wooed a few young ladies doing my best Neil Young impersonation while earnestly strumming my guitar in the 70's as well. I have found that people tend to have a kind of binary response to his music--they either love it or really dislike it. Count me in the former camp.

I am surprised (given your stated audiophile proclivities) that you failed to mention his most recent crusade which is to bring high quality recorded music back to the masses through his startup company, Pono, which includes a portable playing device and a music store that matches high quality music files to the device. They had an extremely succesful Kickstarter campaign and the devices and music are starting to show up. Though I doubt he can unseat iTunes, I am completely with him on the desire to listen to better quality audio. Having come up through the era of really great sounding audio systems when I first fell in love with music, most downloadable music (and many CDs) sound like pure mush to me. Go Neil! =)
http://www.npr.org/blogs/allsongs/2014/03/12/289435279/hear-neil-young-explain-his-pono-music-player-at-sxsw

[Greg Boiarsky]

That's the first time in many a year I've seen the word "peripatetic" used. It almost cries out for the word "itinerant" as a companion term . . .

[David Mantripp]

Change Your Mind is pretty damn good, but Trans Am just nails it for me. Shivers up the spine every time.

But Mike, please, "Trans", wretched???? That LP got me through University intact.

[Kent Whiting]

Oh my --- Neil Young where do you start and end with the genius from Cananda ??
I have vinyl and Cd's of many ( some titles on both and NO digital downloads --- sorry for you youngsters with only digital on computer )
And don't forget Psychedelic Pill with the 27 minute "Driftin' Back" song that rocks on the $70 LP vinyl version.

[artbuesing]

Have most of the Neil Young folk and rock music you mentioned, in my collection. I have skipped all the "Genre Experiments" albums. Love all the Archive Albums. I saw Neil's one man show at Carnegie Hall in January 2014. Neil was wonderful singing all his best! Mike, keep up the good work.

[Stan B.]

Graham Nash recounted the time when Neil wanted to introduce him to his latest album. He took him out on his rowboat to the middle of the lake in the middle of his farm/estate. Graham was wondering what kind of prank ol' Neil was trying to pull taking him all the way out there. When they were finally situated in the middle of the lake, Neil yelled out to his assistant to start up the album. When the speakers from the house overpowered those on the other side of the lake long "stereo," Neil quickly yelled, "More barn!"

[Colin Work]

You didn't mention Buffalo Springfield, which is worth listening to as a) they're great and b) you can already hear the both his melodic side (I am a Child) and proto-grunge (Mr Soul). Lots of other great stuff too.

[Robert]

Mr Young is like Dylan in that almost no-one can do covers better than the original. There are exceptions of course (Hendrix - All along the Watchtower), and this is one of them for Neil(IMO): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vq1sm_6Whro

[Øyvind Hansen]

Great music history lesson! I know him mostly through his early landmark albums, never got around to the later stuff. I saw him in concert with Crazy Horse this summer, and though he soon turns 70 he still sings great and rocks hard. Never an audience pleaser, he did a 10 minute guitar solo on every song, and played a set of mostly lesser known songs with the exception of a few hits. He didn't speak a word throughout. This guy is all about the music.

[Bahi]

I love Neil Young. I haven't heard Landing on Water for a decade but in the 1990s, I played it endlessly and enjoyed it a lot. Do you ever ban comment writers on grounds of musical incompatibility?

[I don't know. Try writing a long comment about how Kenny G is a better jazz sax player than Sonny Rollins, and we'll see. --Mike]

[HD]

The San Diego cowpunk band Beat Farmers (contemporaries of the Alvins and Mojo Nixon) did a creditable cover of Powderfinger. RIP Country Dick Montana and Buddy Blue.

[Tom]

"Oh, to live on sugar mountain...."

[c.d.embrey]

No mention of either Weld or Arc.

At this point in time Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen and Tom Morello are about the only people you will see at protests. They all sing the full version of "This Land is Your Land ..." including the seldom sung verse;

In the shadow of the steeple I saw my people,
By the relief office I seen my people;
As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking
Is this land made for you and me?

[Mark Sampson]

I find it easier to admire, and respect, Neil Young than to like him. But there are many parts of his work that I enjoy, and I still regret not going to see the "Rust Never Sleeps" tour in '78.

[Rolandgosebruch]

"although the only way to get Time Fades Away is on vintage vinyl, as a bootleg, or on YouTube."

That's not true anymore. It's available on pristine new vinyl as part of the "Official Release Series Discs 5-8" box set (http://amzn.com/B00QH7OJ2K).

If the first box set "Official Release Series Discs 1-4" is any indication, the albums will be made available individually some time in the future. But as with all things Neil Young, patience is not only a virtue, it's a necessity.

[Svein-Frode]

Thanks for the wonderful writeup! Neil is one of my all time favourite artists. He doesn't sing well, he doesn't play well, although his guitar playing is mileas ahead of his piano plonking, but as a songwriter and lyricist the man is an eternal river of greatness.

Harvest Moon is on my all time top 10 album list. I'm a sucker for his acoustic guitar albums. Never liked him much as a rocker, 80s new wave'er, or film director,
although there are some diamonds in the rough to be found if you know what to look for.

[Kevin Mayo]

I saw the Stills - Young band play in Springfield Ma. My recollection is that the tour broke up shortly there after so to see it was a rarity. The highlight was Cowgirl in the Sand still my favorite Neil Young sing after all these years.

[Luke]

So, you're saying he's prolific, but not so good at the editing part of his workflow?

[Hernan Zenteno]

Common, This Note's For You is an excellent album. Coupe de Ville, Twilight and One thing are between the best of Neil. I like the musicians that try different styles, like Bowie. Probably in photography Koudelka tried different approach changing his cameras and forcing to different styles, first wide angle, then leica street style to end with more an more big panoramic.

[Jim]

Now how about a retrospective or interview with Graham Nash? His contributions to music and the art of photography are worth a discussion.

[Dogman]

I've been PO's at Neil Young since 1973 when he cancelled an upcoming concert that also had Linda Ronstadt on the bill. It was the first date I had with a gorgeous lady and I really wanted to impress her.

Despite the cancellation, I've bought a few of his recordings over the years. Some I liked, some I didn't. Typical fare for Young.

A few years after the cancelled concert, I married that gorgeous lady.

[David Kieltyka]

I personally admire Neil Young's instinctual approach to making music. I also think he's a great guitar player…he makes the instrument express what he wants it to without much concern for conforming to a conventionally "correct" folk/blues style. I love the loud, anarchic Neil the best but I'm also very fond of quiet obscurities like "Stringman" and "Interstate." (There's a studio version of the latter on YouTube but it runs slow and the sound quality is mushy. The song did get an official release in the early 90s…on one of those mini-CD singles you can only listen to via a player with an accomodating tray. Typical Neil.)

[David Seelig]

I take exception to one thing I love This Notes for You to me the most underrated album I know from a star that is. I saw the tour photogrpahed it and loved it. You can find many Neil Young shots on my website www.davidseelig.com

[Bob Smith]

Green dale album/movie/play. One of my top five faves from ol' Neil. Quirky and may take a few listens but it GROWS on you.

Re the comment that some folks shouldn''t be covered: Young, Dylan, Zevon:

Dylan wasn't touring for a while, he felt his old tunes were stale for him. A friend took him to see the Grateful Dead, who cover(ed) a lot of Dylan tunes. He was so inspired hearing them play his music he started back on the road (opening for the Dead) and played with the Dead a lot, they even became his back up band sometimes.

The Dead also covered Zevon tunes and Warren liked it so much he performed live with them too.

Yeah, I'm a Dead Head....

[Mani Sitaraman]

Great post. I have little to add but my favorite video of him, playing as a mostly unrecognized street performer in Glasgow, Scotland in 1976 when he was already famous.

http://www.openculture.com/2012/02/neil_young_busking_in_glasgow_1976_the_story_behind_the_footage.html

[cgw]

And then there's his PonoPlayer and yet another walled garden of recordings...

[ronin]

OK, I'll be the outlier. I loved most music of the era, but could never abide the reedy piping wavery voice (The refrain "Southern Ma-an" sounding to me like nails on chalkboard), nor the same-note-repeated-over-and-over guitar leads. I always liked when he quit CSN, and regretted when he rejoined CSNY (repeated over and over).

Although also not really a Lynrd Skynrd fan, I secretly cheered their lines:
"Well, I heard Mr. Young sing about her
Well, I heard ol' Neil put her down
Well, I hope Neil Young will remember
A Southern man don't need him around anyhow"

[Understood. Everybody likes and doesn't like particular voices, and it's an individual thing. We're all like that IMHO. --Mike]

[Dogman]

...and I'm one of the 3-4 people on the planet who actually liked Young's "Trans" album.

[Fair enough, although that was the album that broke my allegiance to Neil. I was never a "buy every album" fan after that one. --Mike]

[jim r]

I saw Neil live once with CS&N, great watching him pump a classic organ for "After the Gold Rush".

But let's not overlook his Buffalo Springfield time with S.Stills, "Broken Arrow" first introduced me to Neil's rather curious vocal range. Excellent stuff since the 60s, great memories all.

[Colin B.]

Dear Mike, when I saw the title of your post I wondered whether one of my favourite soundtrack albums would be included. Alas, no. I wonder whether you're acquainted with Young's soundtrack to Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man? I realise it's an absolute outlier to his already varied oeuvre, but it's truly beautiful and a remarkably original piece of work. Highly recommended.