Lucky 13: A baker's dozen essential Neil Young albums
By Joe Gross and Jeff Salamon
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Thursday, July 3, 2003
'Everybody Knows This
(Reprise, 1969)
AKA: His First Truly Brilliant Album
For fans of: one note guitar solos, shooting your baby down by the river
Critical synopsis: After a tentative debut, Neil roars to life with Crazy Horse, patenting his own style of heavy, emotional country rock.
Highlights: 'Down By The River,' 'Cinnamon Girl,' 'Cowgirl in the Sand'
'After the Gold Rush'
(Reprise, 1970)
AKA: His First Headscratcher
For fans of: multiple personality disorder
Critical synopsis: Winsome, country-inflected numbers like 'I Believe in You' and 'Till the Morning Comes' jostle with guitar-heavy rockers like 'Southern Man' and 'When You Dance I Can Really Love.' Somehow, it all hangs together for what is arguably — let the debate rage! — his greatest album.
Highlights: 'After the Gold Rush,' 'Only Love Can Break Your Heart,' 'Don't Let It Bring You Down' — just about everything, really.
'Harvest'
(Reprise, 1972)
AKA: The One Everyone Owns
For fans of: all sorts of stuff
Critical synopsis: The smash hit 'Heart of Gold' made his solo career a household concept.
Highlights: 'Heart of Gold,' 'The Needle and the Damage Done,' 'Out on the Weekend'
'On the Beach'
(Reprise, 1974)
AKA: The Really Good One That Was Out of Print For a Long Time
For fans of: enigmatic folk songs
Critical synopsis: An underknown classic, 'Beach' offers spare tunes that simmer with a quiet rage.
Highlights: 'Revolution Blues,' 'Ambulance Blues,' 'On the Beach'
'Tonight's the Night'
(Reprise, 1975)
AKA: The Really, Really Depressing One
For fans of: drunken grief, rage, pain
Critical synopsis: Inspired by the drug-induced deaths of two friends, this record is about a million miles away from the pretty harmonies of CSN&Y — not to mention pastoral works like 'Harvest.' A major rock star in full meltdown mode — and, astonishingly, his self-indulgence comes off as a form of intimacy, not egotism.
Lowlights: 'Borrowed Tune,' 'Tired Eyes,' 'Albuquerque'
'Zuma'
(Reprise, 1975)
AKA: The One With 'Cortez the Killer'
For fans of: elegantly recorded rock bands, rock stars who seem to have gotten over their death-wish
Critical synopsis: A step back from the precipice of 'Tonight's the Night,' 'Zuma' finds Young in full-square professional mode, recording an album of FM-worthy rock songs — not to mention perhaps his most economical couplet in 'I saw you in my nightmares but I'll see you in my dreams/And I might live a thousand years before I know what that means.' Then 'Cortez' shows up and blows the whole thing to smithereens.
Highlights: 'Lookin' for a Love,' 'Barstool Blues,' and, of course, 'Cortez the Killer'
'Comes a Time'
(Reprise, 1978)
AKA: The Country Masterpiece
For fans of: 'Harvest'
Critical synopsis: Throwing his fans (and former fans) for a loop, Young returned to the bucolic sound that marked his most-loved record.
Highlights: 'Comes a Time,' 'Human Highway,' 'Motorcycle Mama'
'Rust Never Sleeps'
(Reprise, 1979)
AKA: The Response To Punk Rock
For fans of: burning out rather than fading away
Critical synopsis: One of Young's most nakedly powerful albums, with acoustic songcraft on the A side, guitar blowouts on the B, just like 'Bringing It All Back Home.' A quarter century later, we still have no idea what 'Welfare mothers make better lovers' is getting at, exactly.
Highlights: 'Thrasher, ' 'Powderfinger,' 'Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)'
'Live Rust'
(Reprise, 1979)
AKA: Young's Best Live Album
For fans of: earth-shaking guitar overload, giant amps
Critical synopsis: The acoustic stuff is sturdy, but the electric stuff is all feedback, grunge and vigor, the sound of Crazy Horse completely off the leash.
Highlights: The entire second half
'Trans'
(Geffen, 1983)
AKA: The Techno Experiment People Just Hated
For fans of: Vocoders, early video games, ticking off David Geffen
Critical synopsis: Young fans can argue for months about this weird, blipping collection, but today there's a whole generation of techno-rock groups that actually sound like 'Trans' (see: Trans Am, numerous 'electroclash' bands)
Highlights: 'Transformer Man,' 'Sample and Hold,' 'We R in Control'
'Ragged Glory'
(Reprise, 1990)
AKA: The Greatest Come-Back Album of All Time
For fans of: feedback
Critical synopsis: Though '89's 'Freedom' got tagged as the return to glory from the willfully bizarre Geffen years, this follow-up is the real keeper. Slapdash and sentimental at times, noisily loose at others, it proved Young could still toss off a masterpiece when his heart was in it.
Highlights: 'Over and Over,' 'Country Home,' 'Love to Burn'
'Unplugged'
(Reprise, 1993)
AKA: The MTV Album
For fans of: acoustic reboots of Neil classics
Critical synopsis: Pro-forma acoustic live album made more interesting for the song selection.
Highlights: 'Like A Hurricane,' 'Mr. Soul,' 'Stringman'
'Sleeps 'With Angels'
(Reprise, 1994)
AKA: The One About Kurt Cobain
For fans of: mourning, loss
Critical synopsis: Lots of different textures for a Crazy Horse album, shot though with survivor's guilt and a rugged sorrow.
Highlights: 'Change Your Mind,' 'Piece of Crap,' 'My Heart' |
