Neil Young 1966-1975

[CRAZY-HORSE]

note from CRAZY-HORSE:

due the vast catalogue of Neil young albums i have decided to break this down into sections to make it easy for members to search for particular albums to view. it also gives me a chance to alternate between different periods of his career to keep my motivation up also. each section will be in chronological order of original release date.
please remember this is solely my opinion of his albums and hopefully unbiased apprasials of his work. :wink:
all comments,opinions and criticisms of tracks and/or albums are welcomed and no offence will be taken by your views. mile:

[CRAZY-HORSE]

BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD "buffalo springfield" 1966. #86 US.

Stephen Stills and Neil Young first met in Canada in the early 1960s whilst performing on the Torronto folk/rock circuit and quickly developed a friendship. Stills moved back to California not long after, NY followed shortly after that and met again by coincidence in 1965 and they decided to form a band together, along with Richie Furay, Dewey Martin and Bruce Palmer they became Buffalo Springfield. the band had outstanding success in the West Coast folk/rock movement as a live band,even to the point of getting better reviews than The Byrds and The Band. a record deal surfaced sometime later in early 1966 and the rest is history.
the resulting album was this superb debut set, however sales of the album failed to capitalise on their live performances. the album was poorly produced and sounded flat(the cd remasters have rectified this).

the album contains seven Stills and five NY penned tracks. the record company told Young he didnt have a good lead vocal voice and three of his five tracks were handed over to Furay to sing, Young was ok with this as he had achieved his dream of being in a recording band.
the album contains the classic track "for what its worth", a smash US top 10 hit...IMO the best song Stills ever wrote. Young's "out of my mind" features superb harmonies from the band, almost akin to those that CSNY would perfect later on.these tracks here show the great writing talents of both Stills and Young. young's "nowadays clancy cant even sing" is highly regarded in music circles to this day as an extremely complicated track for someone so young to compose.
the album contains elements of blues,rock,country,jazz and folk which were brought to the band by all five members previous experiences in the music industry.
the album is one of the earliest and best examples of folk crossover music ever released.

tracks:

1. for what its worth*** #7 US, #98 AU.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuGcwa03SQw live
2. go and say goodbye**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlgIuMYItV8 audio
3. sit down i think i love you**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-khWhcJPlDc live
4. nowadays clancy cant even sing**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8rRVuWKv2c audio
5. hot dusty roads**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=882FKONyN5U audio
6. everybody's wrong**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7qUHx1Qo_8 audio
7. flying on the ground is wrong**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4EVz-fGmso audio
8. burned***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bsvfcXxmJY audio vocals by Neil Young
9. do i have to come right out and say it***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ghp9SPCK9Ak audio
10.leave**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfK1o3jgi5U audio
11.out of my mind***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZffSZ0TgHPw audio vocals by Neil Young
12.pay the price**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r71_3hOoeSY audio

3s=4
2s=8
1s=0

rating: 2.3

[CRAZY-HORSE]

BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD "buffalo springfield again..." 1967. #44 US

the second long player release in less than twelve months.
writing duties were shared between Stills,Young and this time Furay chips in with three tracks.
this time around, Neil Young insists that he sings on his compositions but the company suits decide to try "mr.soul" with vocals by Stills and Furay, but neither can match the way Young does it.
Stills now resents Young getting his own way and Furay songs being recorded as he thought this was his band, Young now has confidence to question Stills' decisions and the heat gets turned up. In fighting between the pair has Young quitting,coming back,quitting and returning once again....two massive egos fighting for control. disagreements on tour lead to NY refusing to take the stage on some dates and flying back to California several times.
on some tracks Stills and Young refuse to play with eachother, thus they bring in their mates to do the others parts.
that aside, the album is just as good if not better than the debut set, again, theres an amalgamation of folk,rock,blues,country and jazz in the songs. the songwriting has improved greatly as each tries to outdo the other.
just prior to recording the album Young and several friends were arrested by LA police, young insists that this is because they wore their hair long,during the arrest Young was beaten by the police and spent a couple of weeks in hospital, it was during this time in hospital he wrote "mr.soul" and "expecting to fly"...the former being his finest composition with the Springfields IMO.
with the seeds set by the distractions described above the end was nigh for the band,it is however essential listening just like the debut album.

i love this album

tracks:

1. mr.soul***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVH-5v-BhHM audio vocals by Neil Young
2. a childs claim to fame***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_BRz3NmEiM audio
3. everydays**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_NKLt5YY1M audio
4. expecting to fly** #98US
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TIg16XS8S0 audio vocals by Neil Young
5. bluebird*** #58US
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UyooPeFbkQ audio
6. hung upside down**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whFfTjazEDk audio
7. sad memory**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMcwEX0FV-c audio
8. good time boy**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3miEJRvOIEY audio
9. rock 'n' roll woman*** #44 US
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_9HccmgKUg live
10.broken arrow***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXrjHZnTEKE audio vocals by Neil Young

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

rating: 2.5

[CRAZY-HORSE]

BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD "last time around" 1968, #42 US.

off the back of two previous great albums, this one was a dissapointment back in 1968, but holds up well nowadays as a good album, Neil Young only contributed two songs on this one(tracks 1 & 9) and one co-written with Furay(track 2). NY only sung on one track on this one, the classic "i am a child",again very mature lyrics for one so young. he kept what he thought was his best tracks for his solo album which he had been recording between "BS again..." and this one. Stills was doing the same thing with hopes of joining David Crosby and Graeme Nash a future project together.
Springfield as a band did not play as a unit on this album,they all recorded as individuals, Stills and Young both refused to be in the studio at the same time and booked individual studio time. although most of the tracks here are quite good, there are several duds,at the time i believe they needed eachother to throw around ideas and with these not forthcoming it sounds like an album of songs rather than a unified recording. indeed, even the cover was not a group photo, but pasted pics of all members, Stephen Stills was incharge of the artwork design and ensured Young was facing the other way to the others to appear he is not on the same side as the others, this was probably true to a large extent, but Stills was only on his side also.
this album is not one to judge Buffalo Springfield by, instead i recommend the debut album and onf of the "best of" sets available.

tracks:

1. on the way home** #82 US
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBQ2HbowaZo audio
2. its so hard to wait*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JklAKzdk_ZQ audio
3. pretty girl why**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9v4iQWYqL3I audio
4. four days gone**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YA7HCHZIaBA audio
5. carefree country day***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3-7bxgHfME audio
6. special care*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQC1-HFs1yY audio
7. the hour of not quite rain*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsHZonG4gfU audio
8. questions**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDjmmCvTH7o audio
9. i am a child***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C082AtpUqxg live vocals by Neil Young
10.merry-go-round***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7PrIn8-O10 audio
11.uno mondo**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPHLZPlXgWY audio
12.kind woman**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoPJdvowc5Y live Richie Furay/Poco

3s=3
2s=6
1s=3

rating: 2.1

as a footnote to Buffalo Springfield, they reformed for the 2010 annual Bridge House concert series to raise monies for famillies with severely disabled children, a fullscale US tour is being planned for 2011/2012 according to Neil Young.

[SteveO]

Hi Crazy -Horse,

Incredible work ! Can't wait for more !!!

SteveO

[gryphon]

A good effort ......well done!!!!!!!!!!:biggrin1::nod:

[CRAZY-HORSE]

thanks guys

[CRAZY-HORSE]

NEIL YOUNG "neil young" 1968,cd. #143 US

after the bust-up of the Springfields "warner brothers" decided they could only keep one member on their books due to financial reasons, so they kept Stephen Stills thinking he was the most gifted of the group and able to make more money for the label. they did however urge their subsiduary label "reprise records" to sign up Neil Young.
this album is the only NY release not to make the US top 100 in his career. it is also a unique NY album as it was heavily produced and over dubs used extensively and IMO gives it a stuffy,dense sound. despite this "the loner" which is the standout track on this on signals the birth of the electric edge he would develop throughout his career.
the album opens up with an instrumental track,proving even back then that Young would do things his way, for who would open their debut album with one when he had not recorded one previously. another instrumental(track 6) is a waste of space, the third surprise on the album is the final track which lasts for ten minutes which was relatively unheard of back in 1968,especially on a folk/rock album. one track that failed to make the final cut of the album called "sugar mountain" and was issued as the b-side to "the loner" single has become a firm favourite amongst fans in his live sets through the decades.
also, this album was not released in the UK until after the success of "after the goldrush" in 1970.
the album is IMO overall a good link between Buffalo Springfield and his next album which would feature Crazy Horse

I LIKE THIS ALBUM

worst track: the last trip to tulsa
best track: the loner

tracks:

1. the emporer of wyoming**
2. the loner***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6H3P5Om6NU live audio
3. if i could have her tonight**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maOEzI4SnGI audio
4. ive been waiting for you**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJz_9UIXTjM audio
5. the old laughing lady**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqoU_8Qd7q8 live
6. string quartet from boot hill*
7. here we are in the years**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8pfGxdFZYI audio
8. what did you do to my life?**
9. ive loved her so long**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEofTlm-09o audio
10.the last trip to tulsa*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9LdFWZXVKw audio

bonus track: sugar mountain***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsACIBI5NPk live from 'live aid'

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

rating: 1.9

[CRAZY-HORSE]

NEIL YOUNG & CRAZY HORSE "everybody knows this is nowhere" 1969,cd. #34 US

whilst in Buffalo Springfield NY spent his leisure time jamming with a local LA rock group called The Rockets, by 1969 he had recruited three of those members and renamed them Crazy Horse,with whom he recorded numerous albums over the following couple of decades.
in hindsight Ny was not happy with the overall sound of his debut set and decided to record this, his second solo album quickly with the bare minimum of production and no overdubs.
basically, he got the band in the studio, turned on the recorder and played what they had learned warts n all. this one is more rockier sounding than his previous affort and contains lengthy guitar solos in three of the seven tracks, these solos were all ad-lib, Crazy Horse just played how they felt and got the tracks down in less than three takes. rock critics tend to agree that this album and its tracks were the birth of punk/grunge...not in the sound as such but in the "forget perfection/capture the moment" feel.
"cinnamon girl" was full of repeatative riffs and simple but effective solos, as was "down by the river" and "cowgirl in the sand". its these three tracks that formed the template of the Crazy Horse sound.
again, like the debut set, this one was not released in the UK until the success of "after the goldrush".
this is a very good NY guitar driven album, compare the tracks to the Springfield tracks and notice how far he had come as a writer in just two or three years.
Neil Youngs vocals are not for everyone, he does not have a strong voice and if you can get past the whiney feel to them, you will discover a naked,lonely,sincere almost pleading quality to them.

I LOVE THIS ALBUM

worst track: running dry
best track: down by the river

tracks:

1. cinnamon girl*** #55 US
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAdtUDaBf...8D9ABB1279 audio
2. everybody knows this is nowhere***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pesIGuV9DDk audio
3. round and round(it wont be long)**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmkqUbCU7xE audio
4. down by the river***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QsSc95pPPY live CSNY
5. the losing end(when you're on)**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rh4Tgefxm3M audio
6. running dry(requium for the rockets)*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibYqeVhrWqM audio
7. cowgirl in the sand***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6ibl6PIKPM audio

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

rating: 2.3

[Tiggi]

this album is the only NY release now to make the US top 100 in his career.

I'm astonished at that !!

Poor show, USA.

How about the UK charts ??