Neil Young 1966-1975

[CRAZY-HORSE]

I'm astonished at that !!

Poor show, USA.

How about the UK charts ??

neither album made the UK charts upon release after "after the goldrush", "everbody knows..." apparently did sell quite well as an import album back in 68-69, but back then import albums were not eligible to to included on the UK charts.
as for the 'poor show US' none of the Buffaol Springfield albums sold in quantities either, it wasnt until 1970 when CSNY "deja vu"(which is tomorrows overview) sold that his career took off.

[CRAZY-HORSE]

CROSBY,STILLS,NASH & YOUNG "deja vu" 1969. #1 US, #5 UK, #1 AU

not long after the release of "everybody knows..." Young recieved a phonecall from Graeme Nash asking if he'd be available to tour the US with CSN, Young obliged but only as long as he recieved equal billing, could perform some of his own songs on stage and not be tied down in contracts to derail his own career, all parties agreed and the tour was a critical and commercial success. it was inevitable that with that success that an album would follow, again Young spelt out his requirements....able to record what he wanted for the album without interferance and to be able to leave without malice from other members afterwards. with the ground rules set in place what transpired was one of the all-time great folk/rock albums. NY contributed two of the ten tracks, the superb "helpless" and almost equally brilliant "country girl medley". not to discount the reat of the album as there are some brilliant tracks by others also.
what NY liked about CSNY was that he was free to come and go as he pleased over the following decades and CSN ok with him doing his own thing within the group. IMO CSN became more hard edged and three dimensional with Young on board rather than remain insipid and choirboy like without him.
the one song that was released as a single in 1969 by CSNY that wasnt on the album was "ohio", written by Young whilst on tour with CSN about the four students killed at Kent State University by law enforcement officers during protests/rallies. this incident struck a chord with the politically minded David Crosby and stephen Stills, enough so that Young picked up on their conversations and wrote about the incident.
it was this union with CSN that helped young become a well known name around the world.

I LOVE THIS ALBUM

tracks:

1. carry on***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJ2hb45cRWk live
2. teach your children** #16 US, #11 AU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAVspIGKr-Y live
3. almost cut my hair***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VY-4R8J6GGY live David Crosby solo
4. helpless***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBXhxZHictU live Neil Young vocals
5. woodstock*** #11 US, #19 AU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrWNTqbLFFE audio
6. deja vu**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-S6md3LNgs audio
7. our house*** #30 US, #51 AU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZtJWJe_K_w live
8. 4+20**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bliyct4_6o live
9. country girl-medley***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJcuETig9kE audio Neil young vocals
10.everybody i love you***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mp1aAOdgops audio

non album single "ohio"***[B] #44 AU[/B]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI7-m919ynU audio Neil Young vocals

3s=7
2s=3
1s=0

rating: 2.7

[CRAZY-HORSE]

NEIL YOUNG "after the goldrush" cd, 1970. #8 US, #7 UK, #13 AU.

on top of the world after the success of the CSNY tour and album young rushed back to California to again get Crazy Horse back in the studio, but his high spirit was dashed almost immediately, Danny Whitten was spiralling out of control with his new found vice...heroin, the other members of CH were also dabbling in booze and drug, an angry Young sacked them on the spot. while consolling himself young's friend Dennis Hopper showed him a screenplay he had written for a movie called "after the goldrush" and asked NY to record the muisc for the movie, the movie was to be about life in the Topanga Canyon after an apocolyptic war devastates mankind...not a surprising topic for either of them as they had both frequented "the familly's" ranch on numerous occasions. Hollywood studios refused to produce the movie due to its too close to home subject matter following the senseless murder of Sharon Tate by Manson's "family group". with his back against the wall once again Young kept the title and turned it into a song about the death of the 1960's 'hippy dream'.
what we end up with is pretty close to being NY's greatest forty odd minutes on disc. the title track and "birds" are two of his finest compositions IMO. its quite an eclectic album,folk,country,rock, piano ballads and a cover of the old country classic "oh,lonesome me", most of the tracks here follow the theme of abandonment,loneliness,uncertainty...all the things he was feeling at the time, Young spits venom in his song "southern man" about the black slaves and their white captors....a track Lynyrd Skynyrd replied to shortly afterwards(sweet home alabama).
Young is on top of his game with this one both lyrically and musically, amust have album in any serious music collectors collection...IMO.

I LOVE THIS ALBUM

worst track: cripple creek ferry
best track: after the goldrush & birds

1. Tell Me Why**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynlW5_rnRVE audio
2. After The Gold Rush***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12T95RHGLH8 live
3. Only Love Can Break Your Heart** #33 US
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_8WNbg-Ypg CSNY live
4. Southern Man***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVRxdPWV3RM audio
5. Till The Morning Comes**
6. Oh Lonesome Me**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-INEio2LtI live
7. Don't Let It Bring You Down**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oxos8HIhQo live
8. Birds***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHsiNl-F1Sc live
9. When You Dance, I Can Really Love*** #93 US
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVvhJegJl-c live audio
10. I Believe In You***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ecam9pN5uh0 live audio
11. Cripple Creek Ferry **

3s=5
2s=6
1s=0

rating: 2.5

[Music Head]

huge task you have undertaken
cheers to you!

[Tiggi]

neither album made the UK charts upon release after "after the goldrush", "everbody knows..." apparently did sell quite well as an import album back in 68-69, but back then import albums were not eligible to to included on the UK charts.
as for the 'poor show US' none of the Buffaol Springfield albums sold in quantities either, it wasnt until 1970 when CSNY "deja vu"(which is tomorrows overview) sold that his career took off.

I misunderstood. I thought that you were saying that the debut solo album was the only one to make the top 100 throughout his entire career, not up to that point.

[CRAZY-HORSE]

i just re-read what i originally wrote, and it sounds missleading, so ive correctad a couple of words to make it sound clearer, thanks for picking it up subconsciously for me....what i meant Tiggi, was his debut album was the only album of his career not to enter the US top 100.

[CRAZY-HORSE]

[INDENT]

NEIL YOUNG "harvest" 1972, cd. #1 US,UK,Aust...and probably just about everywhere!

NY returned to his folk/country roots for this one by recording at least half the album in Nashville, the rest was recorded at his Broken Arrow ranch in California with the orchestrations for "a man needs a maid" being recoerded in London.
it is not the lovely,wholesome feelgood record that most people think it is, it is instead littered with songs about unrequitted love, searching for love and a place to belong, drug dependancy, allienation, superficiality of life etc...very deep,dark subject matter.
it did however give Neil a worldwide hit album and single in "heart of gold", something he deliberately steered away from after this, as he has put it numerous times: "i was cruising the highway and veered into the ditch, where i stayed and am comfortable with", he hated the media attention, the lights, the cameras, and everybody wanting a piece of him. the masteroiece of this album is the deeply depressing "needle and the damage done", written about not only the increased use of 'hard drugs' in society, but for Crazy Horse guitarist Danny Whitten and Stephen Stills, both of whom were spiralling out of control with their heroin addiction, shortly after Whitten died from his addiction, Stills took another decade to break the habit.
"old man" is a dedication to the caretaker who lived at Broken Arrow Ranch and showed the then prospective buyer NY around.
"a man needs a maid" is a song written for his then girlfriend/actress Carrie Snogress with whom he had a son with.
the worst song here for me is "heart of gold" as it is a very atypical simplistic song for NY, yet it is the one along with "four strong winds" that he is most remembered for.

I LOVE THIS ALBUM

worst track: heart of gold
best track: the needle and the damage done

tracks:

1. out on the weekend***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efFXoCLY_wI audio
2. harvest***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFUSWllyZqg audio
3. a man needs a maid**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xchoR5upVwo live
4. heart of gold** #1 US, #14 Aust, #10 UK
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eh44QPT1mPE live
5. are you ready for the country***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g75N4Tfln2o live
6. old man*** #31 US, #99 Aust
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVC2cszdTao live
7. theres a world***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1Q5FT9QuR0 audio
8. alabama***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byU7j3YnEJU audio
9. the needle and the damage done***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXvXO1Ygg0Y live
10.words (between the lines of age)**

3s=7
2s=3
1s=0

rating: 2.7 [/INDENT]

[CRAZY-HORSE]

NEIL YOUNG "time fades away" 1973. #22 US, #20 UK, #29 AU.

after the success of "after the goldrush" Young desperately wanted a #1 hit, he got it with "harvest" and the "heart of gold" single but thats when the preverbial crap hit the fan...fans,TV,radio,reporters all wanted a piece of him..he was not aware the consequences of fame would be so great and retreated back to his Broken Arrow Ranch to contemplate his future. but Young being Young did his now predictable "U turn" and did the unexpected, he re-employed Crazy Horse and wrote some real dark,ominous songs to tour with. during rehearsals he sacked CH guitarist Danny Whitten over his inability to play due to his heroin addiction...Whitten died of an overdose two weeks later. NY blamed himself and sunk deep into depression with cocaine,amphetamines,booze, added to that was his personal problema at home with live in girlfriend Carrie Snogress and his anti-epilepsy medication.
the band went on tour regardless recieving bad reviews and audience walkouts....they all wanted to hear the "harvest" album performed live but Young was not in the mood for that, thus came these songs, recorded live for the album, he often performed these tracks two or three times in one show. no-one was ready for NY to sing in a stupor with gut wrenching angst and no-one realised he was appeasing his guilt by doing so. back in 1973 who wanted to hear lines like "14 junkies, too weak to work...".
thankfully, time has erased these memories and critics now say this is one of his finest albums ever. Young obviously still feels the pain associated with this album and has yet to release it on cd as an official release.
the dark brooding nature of these tracks and the following two albums have led these to be dubbed "the ditch trilogy"

I LOVE THIS ALBUM

tracks:

1. time fades away***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVn8jvddl64 audio
2. journey through the past***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QT2-fDK-Hcc live
3. yonder stands the sinner**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IADA0V0rhsA audio
4. L.A**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AB9pf_paEZg audio
5. love in mind***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxhC094nFew audio
6. dont be denied***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-972pm8AhQ audio
7. the bridge**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4cPU9blsfE audio
8. last dance**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KU1Xd_SnGYM audio

3s=4
2s=4
1s=0

rating: 2.5

[CRAZY-HORSE]

NEIL YOUNG "tonights the night" 1975. #25 US, #48 UK, #34 AU.

ive been stressing about this one all afternoon...whether i should put it up now or after "on the beach" because it was recorded prior to "beach" but released the following year, i came to the conclusion that for continuity of the story behind it that it should follow "time..." album.
after the dismal tour and reviews of "time fades away" Young got in contact with CSN and the four of them decided to go on a US tour and record anlther album, however at the eleventh hour NY pulled out telling them he wasnt ready to go on the road again. tickets were sold, studio time booked etc and CSN were furious...especially when they found out Young had gone back to California to set out on another solo tour....as usual NY thinks of himself first and changes his mind at the drop of a hat(and still does to this day)
during the rehearsals for the tour young's roadie and friend Bruce Berry died after taken a cocktail of heroin and cocaine,NY along with others found his body three days later...and of course it sent him spiralling even deeper into depression. again he wrote these songs in a flash and opted to play them live at the expense of the other material he planned to use. again,the crowds and critics slammed him.
when finished Reprise Records refused to release the album,wanting Young to record something more upbeat,thus the reason why it was released after "on the beach".
the tracks for Tonights The Night were recorded live and the crowd noise was edited out of the final mix, thus the album has a raw sense of feeling to them, at many a show the title track was played several times,some versions lasting as long as twenty minutes as Young let out his grief in front of bewildered audiences and his album sales tanked.
that aside, what we end up with is "the album of his career", its the most "un-neil" album he has recorded,yet one of the greatest albums ever recorded.
this album is not a good starting place to discover Neil Young and his music, but essential listening for those who know something of him, to be honest i hated this album when i first heard it but the rating it gets now says otherwise.

I LOVE THIS ALBUM

tracks:

1. tonights the night***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foydBgsse6Q audio
2. speakin' out***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyezjNR8Dlw audio
3. world on a string***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DG1wkW1kC6I audio
4. borrowed tune***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5-Uqj8TwZk audio
5. come on baby lets go downtown***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veZ4l0Asmms audio
6. mellow my mind***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxF1tFFL2Wc audio
7. roll another number(for the road)***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UP_yEVdXX9Y audio
8. albuquerque***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqqaIQam8l0 audio
9. new mama***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qe5kc1ZxnLA audio
10.lookout joe***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4zKqWJSPJ4 audio
11.tired eyes***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ws-lfVW7ckg audio
12.tonights the night***

3s=12
2s=0
1s=0

rating: 3.0

need feedback on this one from other members re: how good they rate this one!

[Tiggi]

^ I think that's my favourite of the lot, Lloyd. Killer album !!