Neil Young Albums
Neil Young stands alone for his approach to rock music as it’s always been one of disorder and conflict. While he has proven time again among his contemporaries that he can write songs with the best of them, he often choses a rougher path and to go the other way than most people. Part of this is because he seems to have a desire to seek out the struggle of humanity and his own nature, and part of it because he is only a ‘singer-songwriter’ in the loosest sense of the word. He’s the songwriter for the band Crazy Horse, and that band atmosphere defines most of his work and best of his music. Starting in 1967 as part of Buffalo Springfield, he wrote “Mr. Soul” and “Expecting to Fly”, showing both an interest in a sort of free form music as well as a knack for writing punchy hard rock tunes. He was also part of Crosby, Stills and Nash for a period while also releasing solo records under his own name…
Albums Chronologically (selected)
1969 - 68% - Neil Young
1969 - 87% - Everybody Knows This is Nowhere
1970 - 77% - After the Gold Rush
1972 - 85% - Harvest
1973 - 91% - Times Fades Away
1974 - 74% - On the Beach
1975 - 97% - Tonight’s the Night
1975 - 87% - Zuma
1977 - 70% - American Stars and Bars
1978 - 51% - Comes a Time
1979 - 94% - Rust Never Sleeps
1990 - 80% - Freedom / Ragged Glory
1992 - 77% - Harvest Moon
1994 - 86% - Sleeps with Angels
2012 - 80% - Psychedelic Pill
2019 - 72% - Colorado
1969
Everybody Knows This is Nowhere - 85%
The classic second release by Neil Young is where he really establishes himself as something special in the rock world. His work in Buffalo Springfield and his 1st release are both notable ("Mr. Soul" helping fuel punk rock and "Last Trip to Tulsa" establishing him as an epic songwriter), but here 4 classic songs make him a force to be reckoned with, always a little more rock-than-folk in his early days. "Cinnamon Girl" kicks it off super catchy with that amazing one note guitar solo, and it's a theme for the ages. The title track contains his laid back vibe and sounds like it could be written in his sleep, but still ages well. "Down by the River" with its grim murder tale over a simple chord structure showed the influence of past story tellers, but mixes The Byrds melodies with Bob Dylan storytelling, and his own kind of weird sense of humor. One of the great songs of the 1960s, easily.
"Cowgirl in the Sand" is similar in 9 minute length but gets more lost and away from a central melody, more a jam than a straight forward groove. It still works splendidly and has a Western charm like few other songs of its kind (was also a major song at my wedding). These songs above all established Neil Young in 1969 as a rising star who was a bit unpredictable (understatement) and someone who wrote some of the best songs of all time. Only draw back of the record, while the wispy "Round and Round" is kind of charming, is the songs I didn't mention are kind of average. I always say he should have just rocked out his 4 great ideas a lot longer, the end.
Best Songs: Down by the River, Cinnamon Girl, Cowgirl in the Sand (my wife’s favorite** :P)
1970
After the Gold Rush - 77%
Settling on a more somber tone, After the Gold Rush finds Neil exploring a lot of his inner thoughts with this piano driven album. Suddenly, Paul Simon and Joni Mitchell influence jump in and take our the proceedings. The songs are far shorter than last time as it lacks the epic drive his first two albums, but this new ‘side’ of Neil Young highlights his diversity and what he can do. “Tell Me Why” is a country rock shuffle with minimal arrangement, like a tip-toe intro for the album to come. The title track "After the Gold Rush" is even softer, Neil Young as a true solo artist all alone on the piano, letting his odd voice take over but never missing a note tonally or spiritually; it’s a gut wrenching performance with a French Horn solo in the middle? Nice touch. “Don’t Let It Bring you Down” is the best of these type songs, merging the driving sound with the somber attitudes- a pretext for the next record and one of his greatest songs. Lyric sample- “It’s only castles burning/ find someone who’s turning/ and you will come around.”
“Southern Man” is the only song that harks back to the hard rock of the last album, and it’s a much needed change of pace from the dreary sound of many ballads, destined to be one of his great live tracks. That’s about where I stop loving the songs though, as a lot of them are half baked ideas that don’t last long enough for real effects (“Til the Morning Comes”, “Cripple Creek Ferry”) or songs that just aren’t as memorable as the classic tracks- “When You Dance you Can Really Love”, “Oh Lonesome Me”, and “Birds”- are probably not many peoples favorite NY songs. Either way, even die-hard fan would agree the 1st half is far better than the second half. I will mention “Only Love Can Break Your Heart” is charming if not my favorite and “I Believe in You” is an underrated (proper) closing track. In all, Neil Young proves his unpredictable nature is here to stay.
Best Songs: Don’t Let It Bring you Down, Southern Man, After the GR, Tell Me Why
1972
Harvest - 85%
Harvest is Neils most famous and quintessential album. Few albums show off what an artist can do so well and make it look so damn easy. There is a slow, galloping sort of quality to his music that is well established here and in CSNY’s “Ohio” two years prior that helped define his style. "Heart of Gold" is his most famous song, and certainly one of his best, an easy melody to hum and lyrics about laid back life to match heart ache and desire. There is also the drug weary "Needle and Damage Done" with the defining lyric “Every junkie’s like a setting son”, the perfect ballad of folk and country twang in "Old Man", and the ultimate driving song "Out on the Weekend" singing a tale of a lost love.
His new influence seems to be Randy Newman this time around, his a vocal modification quality that is similar, the orchestral moody strings and sarcasm on "Every Man Needs a Maid " and the ragtime shuffle of "Are you Ready for the Country". Those songs work fairly well, but along with the skippable “there is a World” maybe those are the three weaker tracks on Harvest that keep it from becoming a classic in my eyes. Luckily, the trio of closing songs including the demeaning, hard rock sprawl of “Alabama” (my home state, but I get everything he is saying!) and the nearly seven minute stomp of “Words” distorted slog that’s a true harbinger of future rock messiness to come. For the very polished first half, definitely some of his most polished and produced songs ever, these final rock songs sound live, lo fi and haunting, the opposite of polished.
Best Songs: Heart of Gold, Harvest, Alabama, The Needle and the Damage Done
1973
Time Fades Away - 91%
Neil's masterpiece so far, a complete left turn from the polished Harvest and proving his dexterity as a songwriter. It exists as a record that was kind of not meant to be released or revered, but overall better than anything he had accomplished before. The album was also long, long out of print and only available on vinyl for years being one of the most highly sought after vinyl records in existence (only recently on CD and like in the last year on Spotify, don't take it for granted!). Mostly harder rocking songs, "Time Fades Away" and "Don't Be Denied" stand as obvious classics, the latter especially is one of his best songs with a laid back charm and classic line "All that glitters isn't gold."
But all in all, the crazy "L.A." shows off how mad and rambly he could be with a memorable stomping beat, and "Yonder Stands the Sinner" displaying his knack for a great melody even though its overshadowed by the band's whacky interplay. Still there a couple of soft moments, the humble "Journey Through the past" and the very brief "Love in Mind" are much more interesting experiments than anything on After the Gold Rush. "the Bridge" also just comes through as more meaningful as anything that doesn't even matter if it is live or not (the whole album is live but might as well been live in the studio). Closing "Last Dance" is one of his most insane, out of control numbers that seems to go on forever. The accidental masterstroke is short and sweeter than most of his records, and all the better for it.
Best Songs: Don’t Be Denied, Yonder Stands the Sinner, Last Dance
1974
On the Beach - 74%
This album is one where I disagree with most Neil die-hards as I find this album a bit lackluster overall. That said though, I do love the first half, especially the salty and vibrant "Walk On", the dark and twirling menace of "Revolution Blues" with lyrics and mindset of Charles Manson (lyric sample- “Well I hear that Laurel Canyon/ is full of famous stars/ but I hate them worse than lepers/ and I’ll kill them in their cars.”), and the moving banjo trickles of "For the Turnstiles", so simple yet so effective and easily on of Young’s best songs ever. “See the Sky About to Rain” is a mellow country ballad, but it still works pretty well as young is assisted on several songs here by The Band members Levon Helm (drums) and Rick Danko (bass).
The second part of this album is an acquired taste for sure. Most of my friends hate me when I say it, but I try to remain true to being objective. Because of the charm of "Vampire Blues" I can dig that one and the way it slogs along makes sense when talking about...vampires...., but the rest of it is find the worst music he had made up to this point honestly- I don’t get much out of listening to “On the Beach”, “Ambulance Blues” or Motion Pictures”. Here he is going for a sound that is past interesting, the kind of songs you might write while drinking on a beach location like the cover of the album, but it’s sort of a dead-end sound for me.
Best Songs: For the Turnstiles, Revolution Blues, Walk On
1975
Tonights the Night - 97%
1975 was the end of an era for a lot of the original classic rock veterans. There were plenty of amazing albums that year (Pour Down Like Silver, Physical Graffiti, Another Green World) proving that vital music was still being mined out of the remnants of the 1960’s before punk rock stylistically took over in 1976, but a lot of rock music was wearing sort of thin and arena rock and yacht rock were rearing their ugly heads. Two albums by singer songwriters, Joni Mitchell’s Hissing of Summer Lawns and Neil young’s Tonight’s the Night, were the exception to this rule, both being the crowning artistic achievements in albums by those respective artists.
Tonight’s the Night is Neil young’s best record in many ways. First off, the title is true and haunting making all the sense in the world only to the subject matter Neil Young is referring too, which is mainly death. It’s a brooding, ghastly album by someone who was feeling absolutely low and strung out on substances and losing friends and members of his band’s all around him. Title track “Tonight’s the Night” is drunken and shut off, almost the ending and beginning of the album on accident, reflecting a pain never ending. “Speaking Out” is similar, Young talking in detail about being sad in a movie theater. “New Mama” reaches the point of a psychedelic clarity, living in a dream. All ballads on this album have a detached quality, including the classy country tinged “Albuquerque”, showing Young and his compatriots to be completely spaced out.
Mainly, TTT is about the rock n roll side of Neil young, and all the better for it. “Lookout Joe” is him at his demented best, an absolute must hear for anyone who ‘can’t get him’ and proof that he is a master of mood and melody. “World on a String” is like riding a horse carriage and losing parts along the way- the song keeps going even though everyone is probably fell off or dead. “Come on Baby Let’s Go Downtown” is an all time great drunken rock song, the equivalent of an American version of an Irish pub staple. “Borrowed Tune”, taking from Rolling Stones “Lady Jane” on purpose, and “Tired Eyes” are a bit slower but no less ‘heavy’ in drunken hazes. “Mellow My Mind” almost sounds like he is crying as he goes- probably because he is! Neil young resisted releasing this record at first and for years after much like Time Fades Away (1973)- however this hazy, disgusting side of Neil Young is what has endured the most over the years. Any band that has a dark period in their discography after 1975, pretty much used this record as its touchstone.
Best Songs: Lookout Joe, World on a String, Albuquerque, Come On Baby Let’s go Downtown
1975
Zuma - 87%
Zuma is the true successor to On the Beach in many ways and second studio album of 1975, while somehow keeping as consistent as the albums before. It also contains several of his best tunes. "Cortez the Killer" is the lengthy behemoth and the world is all the better for having it- probably his greatest "epic" track that proves just about anything can happen with simple chord progressions while telling a historical story. Sidenote, check the Built to Spill cover 😉. "Danger Bird" i also like, its almost like Cortez jr., and an odd choice for second track on the record as it slows everything down quite a bit; killer guitar work on both of these tracks. Enough to fuel talk for entire review, really.
The other tracks on the record slide between ballads and rockers as usual. “Through My Sails” might be his greatest album closer in many ways, so peaceful it might be a James Taylor song (in a good way). On the shorter catchy tune front, "Don’t Cry No Tears" is an underrated album opener, great guitar lick echoing "Cinnamon Girl" from years before, a nice yearning tale of lost love. "Looking for A Love" is a heartbreaking ballad (almost jangle-pop) that maybe tells too much emotional truth, another one that rings a personal chord with me. "Barstool Blues" is an amazing rocking track that the whole band colludes on while telling a Dylanesque story. “Pardon My Heart” and “Drive Back” are good songs, thought maybe not quite as effective as the others and a bit stuck in the 70’s rock cliches. In fact I don’t think there is a song I would skip on the entire thing- even the silly “Stupid Girl” has it’s charms. Overall I don't feel it's my favorite but it for sure has some indispensable moments and maintains his streak of great albums.
Best Songs: Looking For a Love, Cortez the Killer, Don’t Cry No Tears
1979
Rust Never Sleeps - 94%
“It’s better to burn out than it is to rust.” sung Neil Young in the first song on his last album of the 70’s. Is he right, and what did he mean by this? Is he referring to his own career?? Neil Young’s music is full of ‘isms’ if that makes sense, unlike so many story tellers, he often makes his most prominent and profound statements in single line phrases. It went on to influence a whole generation of songwriters, on the first side of Rust Never Sleeps his best live album and perhaps his best overall, right under Tonight’s the Night in my book. Take the second song, “Thrasher”, which is in my opinion his best song ever. 10 years earlier, he could not have written a song like this- it’s personal, its allegorical, its prophetic, its majestic and the chord progression is his best ever (and the chorus (“chorus?”) might be a clever no to Fred Neil’s “Everybody’s Talkin”. Not even quite six minutes, it could be four times as long a la Dylan’s “Black Diamond Bay”, Cohen’s “So Long Marianne”, ect. “Thrasher” is Young’s all time masterwork.
But Rust Never Sleeps doesn’t stop here, it goes on for seven more songs, the final one pulling the same trick as Tonight’s the Night but more successfully- changing the order to “Hey Hey My My’ in a genius move making it his HARDEST song ever, one chord slammed in your face over and over, minimalism returning like the one note solo in so many of his classics. “Powderfinger” is another all time great, bridging the softer acoustic first half of the album and the weirder, punk infused second half that blasts us so hard with the ramshackle “Welfare Mothers” and the back n forth fast and slow verse and chorus “Sedan Delivery”. The moments in these songs border the line between moving music and comedy in rock, its not satire exactly but Neil Young is very subversive, like a master that has written thing songs before and knows it so well he is dancing all around himself man. Well, I take that back – “Pocahontas” might be a little satire of a singer/ songwriter, with an odd, perverse story about finding the Native princess comparing the wilderness of America to the modern world (Marlon Brando, Pocahontas an me- is he referring the the Oscars fiasco where Brando didn’t accept his Oscar? What on Earth….)
The famous quote from Johnny Rotten to his mention in “My My Hey Hey”- “I don’t know what he meant by that!” Yes, Young is fun to try and decipherable, but like the best figures in Rock history he is unknowable, able. “Ride my Llama” and “Sail Away” may pale in comparison to the other songs I mentioned, but honestly they still have their charm as well, and on Young’s lesser albums they might be more noticeable if that makes sense. In all, Rust Never Sleeps made another case for Neil Young being better in a live, lo-fi setting for whatever reason. As easy as it is to get lost in this record, it’s so easy to forget it is live- does Young make less mistakes when live then he does keep-the-mistakes in on his polished recordings? There’s a truth to that. There is a primal power to this album, and it crowns out an amazing 10 year music run for Neil Young that most people consider his best- I'm inclined to agree.
Best Songs: Thrasher, Powederfinger, Hey Hey My My
1992
Harvest Moon – 77%
1994
Sleeps with Angels – 85%
1994's Sleeps with Angels might be the most underrated of His records. After toying with the accessible Harvest Moon (1992) showing off his calm and peaceful side, which was also one of his best selling and popular albums, Young feels the need to go deeper and darker here. In the era of Grunge he can blend in brilliantly: "Prime of Life" is a groovy rocker that has always shared similarities to (the latter) Rage Against the Machine's "Renegades of Funk" in that guitar tone in the chorus; the title track is super distorted out of control but chill too; "Blue Eden" is scary as hell distorted blues, like Alannah Myles’s "Black Velvet" from hell. "Change Your Mind" is a 15 minute bit of jammy nonsense and truly experimental like he loved to be in the early to mid-90s. "Safeway Cart" is perhaps the creepiest song he ever wrote, which is saying something. "Piece of Crap" is very funny and angry all entertained, one of Young's funniest tunes. The influence of touring with Sonic Youth is evident.
But he also delivers some if his best ballads with old fashioned instruments- "My Heart" is sort of harpsichord laden intro, with "Dream that Can Last” being a similar if less successful closer, "Western Hero" might be the best one he forgot to write from the 1970s, and "Drive By" has a sweeter, defeated quality. The album as a whole is a beautiful back n forth between the sweet and deranged sides of Neil's songwriting. If comparing to R.E.M., Harvest Moon (1992) was his Automatic for the People, this album was his Monster (1994). The similarities are eerie.
Best Songs: Prime of Life, Western Hero, Sleeps with Angels, Safeway Cart
1995
Mirrorball- 80%
2010
Le Noise – 53%
So, Oh Mercy by Dylan is a great album with great songs backed up by great production by Lanios. This album wishes it was that, but it only has great production. Strip that away and these songs are mostly lame, "Walk With Me" and "Hitchiker” are the good song exceptions. Sad but true. All style no substance.
2012
Psychedelic Pill – 80%
Neil Young has never been one to make the same album over and over again, in fact you could actually make the argument that every one of his albums is different from the one before it and you wouldn't be far off. That is not a bad thing in itself, just a very hard kind of thing for most singer/songwriter to pull off. The only way to really be a ‘master of styles’ is to have crazy ideas in your head, and Young is the master of such untamed and rampant ideas. I can safely say that no one else who started off as a singer/songwriter in the 1960's will have an album as intense and ambitious as Psychedelic Pill in the 2010's besides Neil Young.
With Crazy Horse to back him up (though one recent death, R.I.P. Rick Rosas) this band sounds unbeatable, with songs such as "Ramada Inn" and "Walk Like a Giant" jamming for over 15 minutes a piece! The main monolith is opener "Driftin' Back", rolling along to almost 30 minutes, a mad ramble and guitar freak out that proves he can write songs that can go on forever and never get old. On the shorter song front, the title track is probably the most successful with its deliberate over use of the phaser effect. I would have been happy to just have the first three epic songs and the last one to make up Psychedelic Pill, though the tracks in the middle of the record are still interesting attempts for a man approaching seventy years old. "Born in Ontario" he states and the jingly folk song, but Neil Young is from another planet for sure. I'm glad he stayed on Earth to make weird guitar music for the last 50 years.
Best Tracks: Driftin' Back, Ramada Inn, Walk Like a Giant
Compilations
1979
Decade – 95%