Neil Young ON THE BEACH

[DrJ]

I may be alone in the wilderness on this board, since I see little comment on him, but I'm a huge fan of Neil Young, especially circa 1969-1980. ON THE BEACH has always been one of my favorites, a quiet, imperfect masterpiece, and it's FINALLY been reissued on CD. While pristine vinyl probably still beats it to *hit (given that my cheapo vinyl copy sounds pretty damn good), they did a nice job, with my only quibble being that on some of the louder tracks they appear to have mixed his vocals down a bit too low. But a minor issue - in any format, this is a hell of an album. If you never heard it, check it out, and if you did, revisit it.

If you're not already depressed about the sorry ass state of rock music these days, listening to this album will certainly get you there - hard to believe it ever got this good.

[Jad]

This one has slipped under my Neil Young radar somehow, but now that it's easier to find I think I'll be checking it out.

Went through a phase a few years ago where anything by Neil was gold. Been slipping back into it lately. 'Ragged Glory' and 'Freedom' have taken over my CD player.

Besides ONB, 'American Stars and Bars', 'Hawks and Doves' and 'Zuma' are all finally seeing the light of day on CD. All are worthy.

[JSngry]

I remeber always hearing about how "harrowing" and such this album was, but the few time I checked it out in the 70s, I was kinda nonplussed. Just sounded like Neil & Crazy Horse to me (not that that's a bad thing at all!) But those were the days when a LOT of rock left me nonplussed, perhaps unfairly.

Tony (or anybody else), how does this one grab you emotionally? This is the one with "The Needle & The Damage Done", right? What did I miss? I mean, I dig Neil, probably more now than ever, as he becomes more and more a crusty old fart , but when I think "harrowing", I don't think Neil Young, if you know what I mean. But I'm certainly open to the possibility.

[Jazzmoose]

Zuma's the one for me. I remember one stony evening in my late teens spent playing Cortez the Killer over and over and over and...

[Joe G]

"Neil Young on the beach"? I'm glad that didn't get posted in the Babe thread...

[J.A.W.]

Besides ONB, 'American Stars and Bars', 'Hawks and Doves' and 'Zuma' are all finally seeing the light of day on CD.

Zuma has been available on CD since 1990.

[Man with the Golden Arm]

While pristine vinyl probably still beats it to *hit...

anyone looking for a bunch of pristine vinyl Neil Young make me an offer?!

[A Lark Ascending]

I love 'On the Beach'...my favourite along with 'Zuma'...though I too could never understand its reputation for being 'difficult.' To my ears it takes the tunefulness, mainly (though not exclusively) acoustic sound of 'After the Goldrush' and Harvest' but does it more carefully - the two earlier records are great but sound thrown together. 'On the Beach' has a unity about it...and a love the guitar on the title track.

Neil Young is a classic case of where squabbling over whether a performer is good or not breaks down. I know exactly why many people can't get on with him - some hate his whiney vocals, others hate his eratic and deliberately cussed turns whilst others find his soft-rock expeditions difficult to take to.

But if you warm to his way of doing things, well...

He's produced his fair share of turkeys over the years. But I can't think of many people who've been able to put out as many albums that have thrilled me over thirty years.

Why, I'm even enjoying 'Greendale'!

[AfricaBrass]

I'm another huge On the Beach fan. I've had it on cd-r for a long time. The reissue sounds great to me. I recently read the Neil Young biography "Shakey" - I really enjoyed the stories about the recording of this album. Especially the story about Young and his cronies freaking out David Crosby during the recording of Revolution Blues. I could just imagine his reaction to the line "I hear that Laurel Canyon is full of famous stars - I hate them worse than lepers - I'll kill them in their cars" - Crosby must have been freaked.

For me, all of Neil Young's albums up to Zuma are essential. I enjoy his later work, but it just isn't on the same level to me.

I just wish they would have released Time Fades Away too. At least I have it on cd-r.

BTW - I agree with Clementine - Skip Spence's Oar is a GREAT record!

Edited August 28, 2003 by AfricaBrass

[DrJ]

As others chimed in, OTB is NOT the album with "Needle and the Damage Done." Jim, it's hard for me to put into words why I enjoy the album so much. First off, it sounds totally unaffected and natural. Second, the production is perfect for the low-key music - it's unfussy and unlayered, with a raw, recorded in your living room or home studio sound (this may seem a minor point to many, but many many otherwise good rock albums have been ruined for me by overproduction). The arrangements are also spot on - whatever is there in the often sparse soundscape is just right (such as the electric piano on "See the Sky About to Rain," not something that Young used often but if fits just right here). Most of side two is basically a long, mellow, sometimes apocalyptic dirge, sublimely understated and poetic. To be honest it took me many listens as a younger person to warm to the album, but that's because at that point I was expecting HARVEST type stuff. In listening now, I am struck by how melodic these songs are - despite the dirge-y trappings and post-junkie undercurrent, every single tune is hummable and sticks in your head for days. So I agree with Bev there.

In short, this is the Neil Young album I now pull out the most to listen to (by far), mainly because the current CD edition of AFTER THE GOLDRUSH is so crappy. Musically though, I think that one is at least as strong if not stronger, I differ a bit with Bev there.

Emotionally, once the imagery begins to sink in, it's far more "direct" and charged a Neil Young album than one like HARVEST (which was a bit more "polished" but which I also really like by the way - way too fashionable to bash it because it was popular, but really, it's superb, there is no "half-crap" to that one - I defy anyone to pick out a turkey on that album, and the recent DVD-A surround disc is great fun). Not quite as sloppily in your face about its emotions as an album like TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT (another great one - an instance in which the critics have it right and I think that might be the one you're talking about, Jim, since it was basically a wake of an album after some drug related deaths of those close to Young), but there's a whole lot of anger eloquently expressed and directed at all the right places throughout.

Hell, ON THE BEACH also contains the immortal line in "Ambulance Blues": "It's nice to have a friend who'll tell you when you're pissing in the wind."

I'm not up for defending Young or his approach to anyone, though. You either like him or you don't. He's made his share of stiffs especially over the past 20 years, but for me, he's also put down some of the rock that I continue to enjoy more with each passing year as I approach 40, and for a medium that's often expendable with each phase of youthful growth, I find that remarkable. That's all I can ask.

PS - Sleeper Neil Young album of all time not to be missed: COMES A TIME. The title track (which sounds like it has always been around, like some standard from the roots of America) and a heartbreakingly direct and heartfelt reading of Ian Tyson's "Four Strong Winds" alone put it in the big leagues, despite this one definitely having a couple of turkeys (unlike HARVEST).

Edited August 29, 2003 by DrJ

[Jad]

Jim,

Aside: anyone who says "Ragged Glory" is great should NOT be trusted--

To each his own I guess. Personally I think it was his best record in a long time. Trust me.

Edited August 29, 2003 by Jad

[Jazzdog]

Jim,

Aside: anyone who says "Ragged Glory" is great should NOT be trusted--

To each his own I guess. Personally I think it was his best record in a long time. Trust me.

Of course, it is under my considered opinion that anyone who dosen't like Ragged Glory should not be trusted!!!

[Claude]

Jim,

Aside: anyone who says "Ragged Glory" is great should NOT be trusted--

To each his own I guess. Personally I think it was his best record in a long time. Trust me.

For me, Freedom (1989) is his best late period album.

Edited August 29, 2003 by Claude

[JSngry]

I thank you all for correcting my misidentifying the particulars of this album. 'Twas a long time ago...

Sounds like an album I might like to borrow to see how it grabs me. I like Young, but not necessarily enough to buy any of his stuff. The descriptions of this album from people whose taste I respect have piqued my curiosity.

And I've got to hear TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT. Don't think I ever have...

[Jazzdog]

And I've got to hear TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT. Don't think I ever have...

Yes you do Jim...if you like the lumbering Strains of OTB you'll LOVE Tonight. Whomever said it was a funereal dirge of an album hit the nail right on the head.

I was lucky enough to catch Neil playing the title track at the Warfild a few years back, and you could tell (or at least I could tell) that singing those words broughthim a great painfulness...30 years after the events depicted in the song. It killed me and he ended the show with that song!

[AfricaBrass]

That must have been really cool to see, Jazzdog!

I love that track! I guess for me, OTB is a favorite because you can real sense that NY was going through a tough patch. The vibe is really deep on that album.

I really enjoyed the biography, Shakey, it really helped me to see NY's music in a different light.

:rsmile:

[A Lark Ascending]

Count me in the 'Ragged Glory' lovers stake. For me that one scales the 70s peaks.

'Tonight's the Night' is another great one. Very, very ragged with some very out of tune vocals in places but it really works. Torture, I'd imagine, to someone coming from a 'Harvest', 'Tapestry' and Fire and Rain' direction (as many did in the early/mid-70s).

Not remotely shocking to anyone who's well versed in the free-jazz world!

AfricaBrass,

I've just read 'Shakey' too. A great read, though falls apart a bit at the end as biography gives way to 'What it's like to hang out with Neil...and his trains!' McDonough's enthusiasm for Young also leads him to adopt a rather irrational and partisan approach to CSN&Y. Stills and Crosby are castigated for excessive behaviour which he forgives in Young on the ground that it is some essential part of his artistic nature. Dual standards at work, I feel!

[AfricaBrass]

Bev,

That's a great analysis of Shakey. I agree about the double standard and the hanging out with NY and the trains part. The truth is, for me, NY doesn't come across that well in the book. He seems to take a lot more from people than he gives. Stills comes across really badly in the Shakey. I'm curious how true the account is.

But I still love Neil Young's music anyway.

[A Lark Ascending]

I actually think the portrayal of Young is pretty accurate (as far as any of us can know). I read a different bio a few years back by Johnny Rogan. The same story came out - a man whose sudden changes of direction/mood left alot of disappointed and rejected people behind.

I don't think there's any point going to him looking for a beautiful human being...go to Emmylou for that (in all senses!!!!).

I love the CSN&Y records from the early 70s. Yes I can see their weaknesses (especially the Nash songs) but they strike my as rich and distinctive records that I still play 30 years after first hearing them. McDonough makes a big point of dismissing 'Deja Vu' apart from 'Helpless. I've always thought the latter one of Young'd more winsome moments - Crosby's 'Deja Vu' and Stills '4+20' strike me as much more interesting track.

His dismissal of the 'endless jams' on 'Four Way Street' makes no sense whatsoever to me. The lengthy 'Carry On' and 'Southern Man' on that disc strike me as having some of the most structured and controlled jamming of that era in rock.

He's also really hard on America (Horse with No Name). OK, a lightweight band but you'd think they were the Antichrist from his heavy putdown.

Different ears, different responses. But I think McDonough has allowed his obsession to cloud his overall judgement.

Good book, nonetheless, especially in the the sections up to the 80s.

[A Lark Ascending]

Again its a case of perspective - I've never been a great fan of loud, noisy guitar bands. What I love on 'Ragged Glory' is the sheer melodicism of Young's guitar style. I love it 'in spite of' the 'metal' element, not because of!

I'm the same about Led Zeppelin and contemporary King Crimson!

[Jad]

I wasn't a Neil Young fan until I heard Freedom . Up to that point I had never given anything of his a good listen to. Yeah, I'd heard 'Cinnamon Girl' and some of his other stuff on the radio, and I had a couple of friends who knew how to play 'I Am a Child (which they did, over and over enough to make anyone annoyed with Neil), but it wasn't enough to make attention. I had a roommate who was a fan, and I was starting to enjoy Live Rust when he brought home a copy of Freedom. 'Don't Cry' was, I think, the turning point. I had never heard anything so mournful (yeah, there's that word again) and explosive at the same time. I was hooked. Bought many of his albums and annoyed the neighbors.

As for Ragged Glory , 'Country Home' is a tune that's been stuck in my head for a few weeks now, along with 'Over and Over'. But 'Love to Burn' is probably my favorite on the album.

And I love the guitar playing. Simply stated and tuneful. Nothing overly flashy or speedy, just right. Bev was right to describe it as melodic. But NOISY! And I loves my noise.

Didn't enjoy Mirrorball though.

Edited August 29, 2003 by Jad

[DrJ]

Ah yes, the Neil Young guitar. His acoustic playing is perfect for his music - sounds sloppy at times but he can create a great sense of drive while sounding fragile and at the edge of falling apart, and most of this is a calculated approach rather than limited technique I think (because listen to some of his more "polished," produced affairs like HARVEST and COMES A TIME and you'll hear a much cleaner player).

Somewhat similar comments could apply to his electric playing, but there he's just flat out brilliant in my view - not in the sense of great technique by any means, but he's one of literally a handful of rock guitarists who you can identify without fail, every single time, especially when he's using the Les Paul with the Bigsby vibrato. God I love that crunchy and crackly distorted sound he gets and that odd, just enough of it in the background delay/echo effect. Plus he almost never wanks or gets too far from the melody, which, lets face it, would be a REALLY bad idea given the limitations in his technical abilities and the simplicity of the harmonic structure of his tunes. The "jams" are more like some radical, abrasive form of hypnotherapy, and it works for me.

Edited August 30, 2003 by DrJ

[A Lark Ascending]

he's one of literally a handful of rock guitarists who you can identify without fail, every single time

Absolutely.

Just like there are some voices (Neil's is one) who you just identify instantly so it is with the Young guitar.

This can often make even his sloppier songs or arrangements interesting.

[ralphie_boy]

As a guitar player, Neil's playing has always been a huge influence on me. As mentioned above, he's not big on technique, but he packs tons of emotion into every note. I'd rather listen to a guy like Neil who can say more with a few notes than others try to say with hundreds.