Neil Young: Recipes for Longevity, 1972-79.

It is extremely tricky to write on the subject of a favourite artist without digressing in to unnecessary and irrelevant anecdotes. I will therefore try to keep such detours to a minimum whilst discussing the legendary Sir Neil Young (honorary knighthood from myself). Another difficulty when attempting to achieve in one post a retrospective of a man who has released over 45 albums since 1966, dabbling in folk/rock/punk/grunge/jazz/rockabilly/country/electro/etc, is which period to represent. I have decided on 1972-79, a very productive and enduring period in the minds of Young’s fans and critics alike. Before the 1980s genre hopping that got him sued by label Geffen for producing albums ‘uncharacteristic of Neil Young’ came a decade fraught with constant tragic events, giving Young the perfect inspiration to release some of the most haunting and raw music ever made. The so called ‘Ditch Trilogy’ (named after Young referring to himself going from the middle of the road with the commercial success of ‘Harvest’, straight in to the ditch after a sequence of personal tragedies), consisting of ‘Time Fades Away’ (1973), ‘On The Beach’ (1974) and ‘Tonight’s the Night’ (1975) document an artist spiraling in to turmoil, taking his voice and his guitar with him. It is testament to the talent of the man that his career managed not only to survive the period, but to come out the other end unscathed and with a string of beautiful, if not commercially successful, albums. The few years following this period saw Young continue to release affecting material, but with a more sober and accesible delivery, evident on albums such as ‘Zuma’ (1975), and ‘Rust Never Sleeps’ (1979).

Below are some tracks that chronicle this period, including a favourite all time track of mine, ‘On the Beach’, from the album of the same name, also a favourite.

The Needle and the Damage Done – Neil Young (Harvest – 1972)

Written as an elegy to the former Crazy Horse guitarist Danny Whitten and performed alone with acoustic guitar, the song appears on Young’s commercial hit ‘Harvest’, yet deals with issues that the MOR audience of this record did not want to hear about.

L.A. – Neil Young (Time Fades Away – 1973)

An apocalyptic affair aimed squarely at the people of the USA’s West coast, L.A was recorded during the tour that led to live album ‘Time Fades Away’. A ramshackle tour thrown together to supposedly promote ‘Harvest’, Young’s band and voice were falling apart around him due to the death by heroin overdose of Danny Whitten, resulting in the first of the ‘Ditch Trilogy’.

Revolution Blues – Neil Young (On The Beach – 1974)

A menacing lament for Charles Manson, ‘Revolution Blues’ features Levon Helm and Rick Danko of The Band on drums and bass respectively. This rhythm section drives the song along at a furious pace, allowing Young to pick away at some of his best and rawest guitar work to date.

On The Beach – Neil Young (On The Beach – 1974)

Young’s most haunting song of the decade, ‘On The Beach’, tells a story of desperate loneliness. The feel is very laboured, perhaps due to the band’s consumption of ‘Honey Slides’, a concoction of fried honey and potent marijuana. It allows Young to pick a solo that reeks of a weariness hitherto unheard in the history of music.

Cortez The Killer – Neil Young (Zuma – 1975)

In full story mode, Young tells of the brutal conquering of Central and Southern America by Spanish forces, set to a brooding three-chord sequence. Young’s soloing reaches new heights on this track, with some good examples appearing in the two or three minute long intro.

Will To Love – Neil Young (American Stars ‘N Bars – 1977)

Pieced together track by track entirely by Young himself in an all night studio session, ‘Will To Love’ wins no prizes for production quality. But the rough nature of the recording complements the sentiments and performances featured perfectly. Young’s voice is fragile and weaves in and out of the various instrumentation, and his lyrical passages are some of his best.

Ride My Llama – Neil Young (Rust Never Sleeps – 1979)

Released on an album that critics proclaimed as a triumphant return to form, 1979’s Rust Never Sleeps’, ‘Ride My Llama’ is a psychedelic folk song using analogies of travellers from other worlds, subtle references to weed smoking, and inventive guitar playing.