RADIO HANNIBAL

The Neil Young discography - Shakey II, part 5

This discography analysis is written by JT of Perth, Australia (follow him at @thesonofnoone on Twitter).

Neil Young
After the Gold Rush (1970)

1) 'Tell Me Why' - A really great start to the album. Some days the whole "is it hard to make arrangements..." breakdown grates on me a bit, but other days I love it to bits. Not really sure I understand what's being said in the song, but I still enjoy going along with the flow nonetheless. As I said, a great start to the album, but feels like the intro to a song that never arrived. 7.0

2) 'After the Gold Rush' - Wow - did I ever love this song when it first heard the album. I played it so much that my mum even learned the words to the song. And for someone who mixes up the names of her two sons with the name of her brother-in-law, that's no mean feat. Nowadays, I still like the song, but I'm not sure I love it any more. Whereas I once thought NY's singing on the track was flawless, it now feels a tad forced. Still a killer track though. 7.5

3) 'Only Love Can Break Your Heart' - Another "do I love it or just really like it?" song. Today I think I really like it. The melody seems a bit forced, and I only bring that up as a bad point because there are so many Neil Young songs where the melodies are so relaxed and brilliant you wonder why they all can't be like that. But it still rises above it all somehow to become a favourite of a lot of people. So, in this instance, who am I to argue? 7.5

4) 'Southern Man' - Not sure how I feel about this song. I think mostly that it tries to out-Crazy Horse the Crazy Horse guys and fails. But it's still a great song. Just not one that I listen to that often (again, that's the fault of the listener, not the song). A bit preachy perhaps? I'll grant Neil Young the indulgence. 7.0

5) 'Till the Morning Comes' - If this was a 'normal length' song it would be close to pushing a 10.0. As it is, it falls short, but it gets most of its score from the "whoah oh" backing vocals which are out-of-this-world good you wish the song went for 10 minutes. 8.0

6) 'Oh, Lonesome Me' - A Don Gibson cover made Young's own. One of the Crazy Horse tracks on the album - Young and Danny Whitten kill it on this track. This is 'Running Dry...' and 'Round and Round' from EKTIN taken to the next level. Fuckin' brilliant. And if it seems like I'm writing less words, it's only because I'm tired and about to pass out (oh, lonesome me indeed). Almost masterpiece. 9.0

7) 'Don't Let it Bring You Down' - Another song I can't help but feel is overrated. What is it that makes so many people love this song? It's not that it's bad, it just feels too forced. A "let's write a great one" kind of song, as opposed to "let's do this one, see how it comes out" kind of song. 6.5

8) 'Birds' - Love this song. I probably shouldn't, but I do. Sue me. I'm a sucker for the Neil Young/Piano combo. 8.0

9) 'When You Dance I Can Really Love' - Love this one too. "When you dance, do your senses tingle?" Well, yes Neil - they surely do. 7.5

10) 'I Believe in You' - Masterpiece #5. Another Crazy Horse track, this song took a while to hit, but fuck... when it hit I had to catch my breath. I can't really describe how good this song is - it's like the ultimate self-doubt song. Or perhaps it's the final kiss-off, I flip between my thoughts. Good thing the song is so great that repeated listens aren't a bad thing. 10.0

11) 'Cripple Creek Ferry' - I actually think 'Till the Morning Comes' would've been the far better album closer, but this song doesn't suck. However the beauty of 'Till the Morning Comes' was that as a short song, it wasn't big on substance, only sugar coated with a great melody - 'Cripple Creek Ferry' seemingly suffers because it tries to be a bigger song than 1:34 allows. Still, it gets a pass score. 5.5

ALBUM RATING: 9.0

VERDICT: This was my first favourite Neil Young album. It's no longer my favourite, but that's only because I've listened to his whole catalogue so many times, that the impact the first listen of this album had on me has dimished more than I thought it would. Songs I loved from the first time I heard them are now songs I skip over, while songs I never clicked with initially are now songs I have on repeat ad nauseum. Great album, but not his best.

NEXT: "All the way to the top, baby!!" (but not until tomorrow. I'm going to bed now)

The Neil Young discography - Shakey II, part 4

This discography analysis is written by JT of Perth, Australia (follow him at @thesonofnoone on Twitter).

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Woodstock (1970)

'Sea of Madness'Spotify - I'm not even sure this song was recorded at Woodstock, so its presence on the Soundtrack is ummm... interesting. The song isn't as interesting, although NY seems to be giving it his all - you can't help but feel the song is more perspiration than inspiration. 5.5 NEXT: A necessary evil.

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Deja Vu (1970)

'Helpless' Spotify - Yeah... so he knocked this fucker right out of the ball park. A great song, but I'm not ready to call it a masterpiece. I just get the feeling that Young wanted more out of the song (and I'm intrigued by the knowledge that a Crazy Horse version of the song, all 9 minutes of it, was failed to be captured on tape). But what we've got is really a beautiful song. 8.0

'Country Girl' Spotify - You know, I never liked this song before. But a few weeks back it actually hit me as really good. It sounds like NY thought "I've got all this studio time and I'm not paying for it, so let's see what we can come up with". He hadn't really made anything so 'kitchen sink' since his debut album. Stands up well, I think. Not something I can listen to very often (at all), but when it's on and I let it play itself out, I'm impressed. 7.0

'Everybody I Love You' (unavailable on Spotify) - A Stills co-write and a leftover from the Springfield days. Maybe should've stayed in the vaults? Not an offensive song by any means, but how can something that wasn't good enough for the Springfield be good enough for Neil Young two or three years later when he's grown exponentially as a songwriter? Maybe it's a Stills ego trip (the guitar seems to say it is), or maybe the band needed another group singalong. I don't know. Not a brilliant song by any stretch. 5.5

'Ohio' Spotify - Taken as something released in the aftermath of a tragedy - you can't really expect anything better, and knowing other artists' attempts at doing so, you know that this succeeded where so many others failed. It's a simple tune and Crosby rips the shit out of it towards the end - the kind of song the dude was built for. Perhaps Young's crowning CSNY glory? 8.0

NEXT: CSNY recording phase #1 is over. Neil Young now straps on the rocket boots and leaves his bandmates wondering what the fuck just happened, and although each of them record fantastic albums in the coming year or two, they never reach the same heights again - expcet Young, who is just getting warmed up as he enters the decade in which he'll produce the most consistently brilliant music, almost untouchable in rock and roll.

The Neil Young discography - Shakey II, part 3

This discography analysis is written by JT of Perth, Australia (follow him at @thesonofnoone on Twitter).

Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Everybody Knows This is Nowhere (1969) Spotify

TRACKS:

1) 'Cinnamon Girl' - C'mon, you've all heard this one. Sing along with me! "Ma, send me money now I'm gonna make it somehow, I need another chance". Great fuckin' song - one that's lived and lasted while others have fallen by the wayside. Is its longevity due to its greatness or its simplicity? I don't know other than to say that it deserves its place on any Neil Young 'Best of', even if I don't reach for it as often as I do for other songs (that's the fault of the listener... not the song). First of the regal trio. 9.0

2) 'Everybody Knows This is Nowhere' - An underrated gem, which is hard to believe could be possible for a title track. Gets lost amongst the giants of the album, but of the second-tier songs, it more than stands its ground - it leads the charge. Danny Whitten's backing vocals are sublime on this song, as though he singing a micro-second behind Young's lead, adding up to another gem. The hits keep coming folks. 8.5

3) 'Round and Round (It Won't Be Long)' - Wow. This is what 'The Old Laughing Lady' was striving for before it fell flat on its face. Robin Lane kills on the backing vox. A leftover from the Buffalo Springfield days, it's one of the weaker two tracks on the album, but in no way is that meant to do the song a disservice, it's just that it's in such illustrious company that it can't help but pale in relative comparison. 7.5

4) 'Down By the River' - Masterpiece #3. Second of the regal trio and they just keep getting better. There's a reason that Neil Young still stands by this song and takes it to different levels every time it's played (check out the 27 minute version he did in Germany in 2002, or the version from Farm Aid 1994). In the realm of completely unfuckwithable songs of all time - 'Down By the River' takes pride of place. Is it about killing your chick or (as Young has said) blowing your load? Who cares... A true fucking great song. 10.0

5) 'The Losing End (When You're On)' - The underrated gem of Neil Young's career to this point. I'm not sure about the "all right, Wilson Pickett" cry (or is that "all right Whitten, pick it!"), but this song just kills me every time with its "It's so hard for me now, but I'll make it somehow though I know I'll never be the same, won't you ever change your ways?" lines. I know it's not, but it should be as well known as (at the least) 'Cinnamon Girl'. 9.0

6) 'Running Dry (Requiem For The Rockets)' - Suffers from the same 'swamped by giants' syndrome that 'Round and Round' is. But again, it doesn't make it a bad song (not at all). The crazy violin throughout the song is a freaky cool touch. Sometimes I can't listen to this song as much as I want to, because I know what's coming next. 7.0

7) 'Cowgirl in the Sand' - Masterpiece #4, third and final of the regal trio and so good I might have to invent something above 'Masterpiece'. How the fuck do you come up with something like this? Seriously, if and when judgment comes, there'll be a panel of people sent to critique what music has done for civilisation and some thirteen-year-old kid is going to walk up with a turntable and crank this puppy up, blowing the panel outta their chairs and onto their asses. Hopefully they'll get up and rock out in a weird way, because there's no real straight way to react to this song. It infects your pores and stays with you for hours until the only recourse is to play it again. If Miles Davis were a rocker - this would be his signature tune. 10.0

ALBUM RATING: 10.0 (I'm not Mark Prindle, so you'll see more than one 10.0 in this thread folks)

VERDICT: "A champion team will always beat a team of champions". So... there's some less than 10.0s here, but the album's a ten? Fuck yes. The devolutionary leap made from Young's first album to here is unbelievable. He decided to rock with the balls instead of the head and it paid off. There's no way you can top this, so Neil Young did the first Neil Young-esque thing of his career, he refused to try and top it, instead turning the corner and heading towards (relative) blandness. This still remains a monolith, and dare I say it, will stand up longer than any other Neil Young album. Is this not the way it seems?

NEXT: Neil stars in 'A Deal With the Devil: Or How I Got Famous by Slumming it With Famous Friends"

 

The Neil Young discography - Shakey II, part 2

This discography analysis is written by JT of Perth, Australia (follow him at @thesonofnoone on Twitter).

Neil Young
Neil Young (1968)

Spotify

TRACKS:

1) 'The Emperor of Wyoming' - A truly bizarre way to announce yourself as a solo artist... an instrumental country hoedown. Definitely not something you go to your stereo to hit the 'repeat' button for. But give him credit for the perversity. 4.5

2) 'The Loner' - This is more like it. Again, maybe trying for a bit too much on the production (the Crazy Horse versions work much better), but the song is still there, and when he soars on the "know when you see him" bit, you can't help but feel he's flying in the right direction. 8.0

3) 'If I Could Have Her Tonight' - This song, as far as we can tell, has never been played live by Neil Young. Maybe that suggests a bad song? Nothing of the sort. This is really a gem of a tune. Not as good as 'The Loner', but that takes nothing away from this. Should be more well known, I think. 7.0

4) 'I've Been Waiting For You' - Another solid song that's seemingly forgotten. Covered by David Bowie in 2002 (no doubt after seeing NY & Crazy Horse pull it out on their 2001 Euro Tour), it sounds exactly like the kind of song David Bowie would cover. What does that mean? I've not a fuckin' clue, but this song is cool anyway. 7.0

5) 'The Old Laughing Lady' - Another overrated song I never understood the love for. It's just a bit boring. Honestly - it is. But feel free to decide for yourself. The backing vocal breakdown about 3:20 into the song is shockingly unnecessary. 5.0

6) 'String Quartet From Whiskey Boot Hill' - A Jack Nitzsche-composed instrumental. Not sure what it's doing here, but maybe Neil wanted an instrumental to open each side? Who knows. I don't care enough about this song to comment any further. 3.0

7) 'Here We Are in the Years' - Apart from the instrumentals (which, to me, are just interludes), this is the weakest song on the album. It ends stronger than it started, but to me it's Neil Young trying to see what he can do as opposed to the Neil Young who just goes out and spends more time recording than he does on planning to record. 4.5

8) 'What Did You Do to My Life?' - Hey! Not a bad song at all. Those echoey backing vocals are pretty cool and the guitar makes my filling shake, so that's two big thumbs up. The main vocals are kind half-assed, but the song carries you past the flaws. Easily worth a 7.0

9) 'I've Loved Her So Long' - Another cool song. Even better than 'What Did You Do to My Life?'. Just an awesome vibe to this one - another neglected gem. But I suppose when you've got so many songs - you have to leave some out, don't you? 7.5

10 'The Last Trip to Tulsa' - Depending on my mood, this is either Masterpiece #3 or a massive fuckin' failure. Tonight, as I write this - I can't decide. So you need to let me know. At the moment, I'm undecided. Needless to say, in the Neil Young discography - it's unique. 9.0/4.5 (depending on the day)

ALBUM RATING: 6.5

VERDICT: This really is an odd album, unlike anything else in his catalogue. How else to put it except that there's too much effort in the album. The beauty of Neil Young's music is that it works best when it's simplified, and 'simple' cannot describe this album. For starters, it kicks off with a weird instrumental, and finishes with a head-fuck of a song. But there's some gems here. Maybe not diamonds, but something a little less valuable. Maybe trying to exert himself too much, Neil Young misses out (or maybe hadn't found yet) what makes him so great.

NEXT: Greatness.

 

The Neil Young discography - Shakey II, part 1

Back in 2010 and into 2011, contributing writer John Truslove from Perth, Australia did an incredible Bruce Springsteen countdown of his favorite 101 songs, Top 101 Songs Of Bruce Springsteen.  The series was both informative and highly personal.

It's my pleasure to bring you another project by Truslove.  This time around his taking on the daunting task of discussing the Neil Young discography. Every week we'll publish another installment.  The discography, and Truslove's musings on it, will run chronologically.  So let's get underway with part 1.

Written by JT of Perth, Australia (follow him at @thesonofnoone on Twitter)

For my favourite artist, I can't believe there's so many songs I dislike, and so many albums that I just plain don't get. But that's ok, because the highs well and truly make up for the lows, and even then - the lows aren't as disastrous as the lows by his peers.

So, what have we got? Well, it's all over the fuckin' place (as if you didn't know this already). There's the beginnings with the Buffalo Springfield, the initial solo career, the CSNY sojourns, the full-blown superstar years, the years where he was unfuckwithable, the underrated 80s, the (somewhat) overrated 90s, and everything since.

A lot to cover - so let's begin with a little detour.



How the hell does Neil Young survive in a band where he wasn't the lead singer, nor the main songwriter? How the hell did he get through the years when some of his own songs weren't even sung by him? Well, the answer is that he barely did. But what he did while in and out of the band was more than promising. Sure, some of the songs weren't classics (they can't all be), but some have yet to be topped.

1966-1968 - The Buffalo Springfield Years.



Buffalo Springfield (1966) Spotify

'Nowaday's Clancy Can't Even Sing' - Jesus, that's a crappy song title. And Neil's not even singing! But that doesn't matter much, because Richie Furay does more than a decent job. In the first Neil Young song to be heard by the mainstream, you can tell that this guy's not your normal run-of-the-mill songwriter. It's a strange piece (but not his strangest), but it works somehow. I can't specifically pinpoint one area where it soars - it's timing changes aren't really great and the melody is just good (but not fantastic). But as I said - somehow it works. 

Do I score these things? If so - Clancy gets a 6.0

'Flying On the Ground is Wrong' - This is more like it. Still no NY vocals, but it's a better song. A more memorable chorus, sweet backing vocals that don't have as much Stills influence in them (not knocking Stills). Already you've got this knack in Neil Young's writing where you know he's writing about something simple but you (well, me at least) aren't really sure what the fuck he's actually trying to say. Nevertheless, a pretty decent song. 6.5

'Burned' - That's more like it - there's the voice. What a great little track as well. Still awkward, but the song goes by at such a speed (well, comparing to the other NY songs on this album it's a song by The Ramones) you can forgive the awkwardness. This shit just gets better and better. 7.5

'Do I Have to Come Right Out and Say It?' - Hell, another crappy title. But not a bad song. A step down from 'Burned', but that's ok - it's still the first album NY had anything to do with, and you can't expect masterpiece after masterpiece. Only played twice live - both in 2004. Don't know why I said that, but it's interesting that NY pretty much neglected the song for almost 40 years, yet songs like 'Motorcycle Mama' get pride of place (meaning they're played every damn night on not one, but two tours). Not really the best NY song on the album. 6.0

'Out of My Mind' - Wow. Masterpiece #1. Starts off a little odd - like it's the main instrumental theme to 'Requiem for Everyone's Favourite Surfer' (or something like that). But man, when those vocals kick in it takes you to another planet. 'Out of My Mind' indeed. Simple lyrics that fit perfectly with the song. You think that it could've been an album of songs like this that NY was trying to record for his debut album (but more on that later). Let's just bask in this song. Fuckin' glorious. 10.0



Buffalo Springfield Again (1967) Spotify

'Mr. Soul' - OK, here's where I spit in the face of some other NY fanatics. I don't really love this song at all. There are days where I really like it - but I've never loved it. The closest I've got is some of the live versions with Crazy Horse in 1986. I don't know what it is about 'Mr. Soul' which I dislike, but I think it has something to do with the fact that I think it strives for a greatness it was never going to reach. After all, '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction' had already been written and perfect by the Rolling Stones. Next! 6.5

'Expecting to Fly'. Double wow. Masterpiece #2. Neil Young's best song of the 1960's (and knowing what he would come up with in a few years - that's saying something). The kind of song where if you were dreaming and lived out this song in your head, you'd wake up in tears. How much we can attribute to Jack Nitzsche, I don't know. But with or without knowing how much he helped - I'll give the credit to NY himself. "Babe, now you know I tried." He did more than that - he wrote the first ten of his career. It wouldn't be the last. 10.0

'Broken Arrow' - Isn't this just the little mess? You can tell that Neil Young aimed for the stars but ended up almost shooting himself in the foot. It's a song that if I didn't know that he laboured over it for hours and hours on end, I'd think that it'd be the kind of song to labour over for hours and hours on end. But I appreciate the effort. Could've done without the 'Take Me Out to the Ballgame' interlude, but genius to have Dewey Martin sing the faux-'Mr. Soul' intro. As an autobiographical song, it's not bad at all, but it's no 'Don't Be Denied'. 7.5



Last Time Around (1968) Spotify

'On the Way Home' - OK, so Neil Young's disowned the album, but he hasn't disowned his contributions. 'On the Way Home' is a great song, one that other bands could base their career around. But I can't talk too highly about this version because I know there's better versions out there. Not knocking Richie Furay's voice - because it really is great, but this is a Neil Young song, meant to be sung by Neil himself. Still, worthy of a pretty high score. 8.0

'It's So Hard to Wait' - A co-write, so we can't attribute to complete and utter awfulness of this song just to Neil. Richie Furay gets equal blame for this turd. 2.0

'I Am a Child' - A song that many NY fans love. But I'm not sure why - maybe it was its use in the 'Rust Never Sleeps' film, but I just don't get the love for it. It just sounds like a demo - which is kinda perverse, because when he finally releases the actual demo of the song, it will have about 200 times more soul than this take. Next! 5.0

Next? what's next? Oh that's right - he quit the band for good before Last Time Around got released. Onto the solo career!!