What can you say about the depth of this masterpiece from Neil? I did not get familiar with this until about 1972. I heard "Heart of Gold" on the radio and somehow confused it with "Down By The River" (the first version I heard of THAT was done by Buddy Miles on a late night am radio program somewhere). Don't ask how, but I bought this one instead of "Harvest". This reminds me of sixteen, the endless cruising on a Friday night listening to "Cowgirl in the Sand" or "Cinnamon Girl" for God's sake. By purchasing this at just about the same time I got "Harvest", this was always album one in my two album Neil Young package.
Performance A First rate playing and singing
Songs A Masterpieces in "Cinnamon Girl" and "Down By The River"
Sound B+ Play it loud!
Production B Again, this was made to be played loud and it sounded great
Staying Power A- D'uh.
Continuity B No filler here.
"Heart of Gold","Old Man", "The Needle and The Damage Done". There is your triple play, thank you good night. This is the release that really turned me into a fan. Album two of Neil's best, "Out On The Weekend" was my favorite. This is sophomore year in high school nailed.
Performance B+ Neil and the band were a bit sloppy
Songs A Some of his best ever
Sound B- A warmer mix than "everybody Knows" and a bit muddy for me, but it sounds warm
Production B Sounds like it was recorded in a barn (which it was)
Staying Power A I played "Old Man" and "Heart of Gold" in Nashville
Continuity B- A couple of fillers, but I'll take his highs anyday
The first time I heard "LaGrange" I was standing in the road in front of my house talkin to my friend Gary in his souped up Vega and when it came on the eight track, I had never witnessed anything like it. That was the meanest nastiest song I had ever heard and I wanted more right then. It starts with "Jesus Just Left Chicago/Waiting For the Bus" and doesn't stop until "Have You Heard" ten songs later. Hell, "LaGrange" didn't even come on until track eight. "Beer Drinkers, Hell Raisers","Move Me On Down The Line" and the rest makes this one cook. Extra points for the spread of Mexican food on the inside of the album cover
Performance A- These guys played their asses off
Songwriting B When in Texas..
Sound D Muddy muddy the remasters did not help much
Production C This was a very bare bones operation
Staying Power A "LaGrange" has been played non stop for the past thirty five years
Continuity B- A bit of filler "Master of Sparks" but not too bad
Honorable Mention:
Apostrophe-Frank Zappa
Eliminator-ZZTop
1 comment:
Randy,
A reminiscence for you.
I first heard the neil young album w/Down by the river when I was in Hawaii. I was there w/my folks visiting my brother who was in the Marines. My brother and i would ride aroud in his car, smoke some pot, and listen to the cool songs. It was a very good experience for a 16 year old kid like myself.
Seeing my older brother who had taken some wrong turns, and then figured out that the road he was on was not the best. And my dad and he reuniting, it made for a very cool trip.
Thank you for the trip down memory lane, and thank you for the blog.
Hope to hear you soon on KMOX.
Jeff
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