Here is the first installment of a mammoth undertaking I started in 2005, writing reviews of all of Neil Young's albums from the beginning of his 'solo' career in 1968 up to date. I decided not to review the Buffalo Springfield albums, because they were very much group collaborations. However, I have included CSN&Y's 'De Javu', because Neil is quite clearly the dominant 'auteur' on the tracks he wrote and sings the songs he wrote, which wasn't always the case in The Buffalo Springfield.
I think my writing style has refined and become less 'superlative' filled since I began these reviews, but looking back over them, my opinions haven't really changed, so they stand as they are, something of a curious time capsule....
‘Neil Young’ (1968) [album review from 2005]
Neil himself is critical of his debut album, probably remembering with dread the endless hours of overdubbing involved in the creation of this lush & layered work. I feel that it is a superb & beautifully crafted debut album, underrated by Neil & critics alike. It has a consistency & cohesiveness absent from the lions’ share of his albums. Opening with a sunny, disarming instrumental, ‘Emperor of Wyoming’, it moves abruptly into the unsettling tension of the ‘Loner’. Alternating from edgy paranoid character study verses to relieving string laden instrumental sections, it is a moody, atmospheric masterpiece. The production is absolutely gob smacking on this & throughout most of the album; cavernous & crystalline. ‘If I Could Have Her Tonight’ is a slight song lyrically & musically, but nevertheless sounds sweetly vulnerable & contains some pretty guitar work. ‘I’ve Been Waiting For You’, with its startling, swirling organ intro & desperate, expectant tone is a major highlight. David Bowie recognized its greatness & covered it on his ‘Heathen’ album in 2000. ‘The Old Laughing Lady’ is elusive & painfully sad, even chilling at times. The gospel chorus is unexpected but very effective & the song builds mercilessly in intensity as Neil’s enigmatic lyrics weave the tragic tale.
‘Here We Are In The Years’ is the pinnacle for me, starting very timidly with a tinkling piano intro, then moving through poignant observations on the ways of the world as the arrangement builds. ‘People planning trips to stars, allow another boulevard to claim, a quiet country lane’. With a gorgeous lilting melody the song moves slowly but with palpable tension to its aching climax; the piano echoing into the distance behind fading strings as the song dies. It is a stunning melodic & emotional journey. It lifts & pulls & digs in all the right places. ‘What Did You Do To My Life’ is suitably accusatory and prickly, with an unsettling, dark obsessive edge; ‘I don’t care, if all of the mountains turn to dust in the air’. ‘I've Loved Her So Long’ is another lovely if not classic ballad with some pleasingly cryptic lyrics; ‘she’s a victim of her senses do you know her’ & ‘veteran of a race that should be over’. The only flat spot is the overlong & self-indulgent ‘Last Trip To Tulsa’; it has some moody unnerving moments but collapses under its own pretence. It aspires but fails to be a sweeping & epic conclusion to the album.
The album sounds strangely unearthly. The vocal production makes Neil at times sound like he is a melancholy phantom beaming in from a distant void. On his next album, there is a much clearer sense of Neil playing in a studio with a bunch of guys; but not on this album. Neil seems to float through & drift in & out of perceptibility & earthly being. I love the effect, but understand the opposite of this effect has great merit too, hence: ‘Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere’.
[Tracks in order of preference, favourite to least - ‘Here We Are In The Years’, ‘The Loner’, ‘The Old Laughing Lady’, ‘I’ve Been Waiting For You’, ‘I’ve Loved Her So Long’, ‘Emperor Of Wyoming’, ‘String Quartet From Whiskey Boot Hill’, ‘What Did You Do To My Life’, ‘If I Could Have Her Tonight’, ‘Last Trip To Tulsa’]
‘Everybody Knows This I Nowhere’ (1969) [album review from 2005]
Neil rates this album very highly; three songs out of seven made the cut on ‘Decade’ & were also among the sixteen songs on his ‘greatest hits’ release of 2004. A hugely out of proportion representation for the album, but did it deserve it? Well maybe. It contains some of his greatest extended guitar jams & features his early collaborator & duelling lead guitarist Danny Whitten. ‘Cinammon Girl’ is a fuzzed out pop gem & its grind always seems slower than I remember it, but no less intense for that fact. The title track, the shortest on the album, is a modest country stomp & works, appropriately, modestly well. ‘Round & Round’ is the major highlight for me; a rolling, lurching acoustic waltz with lovely (at times wordless) harmonies from Neils’ then girlfriend Robin Lane. Just aching & gorgeous & what a melody! An electric guitar prickles away low in the mix giving just the right amount of edge to the bittersweet harmonies.
‘Down By The River’ is a true epic & doesn’t buckle under the weight of that mantle. The guitar workouts & chorus harmonies are tight & well considered, & it doesn’t seem to drag considering its length. Despite my respect for it, it is not one of my all time favourite Neil songs. I do understand why people cherish this along with ‘Cowgirl In The Sand’, but I prefer Neil when he is more concise & packs all his wares into a cracking 3-4 minute package ala ‘Winterlong’ or ‘Ohio’. ‘The Losing End’ is another high harmony countrified ramble & is probably the weakest track, but on a uniformly good album that is barely a criticism. It would be the glowing gem on many of his lesser albums. ‘Running Dry’ is a ghostly, funereal dirge & the keening, chilling fiddle leaves a bottleneck of shivers cueing up to slide down your spine. It drags a little towards the end & becomes repetitive, but the spooky production & overall feel leave a lasting impact. ‘Cowgirl In The Sand’ ends the album on a high & as with ‘Down By The River’, I have great respect for the track, but don’t feel the urge to listen to it all that often. The playing & harmonies are great, the production & sound superb & the lyrics enigmatic & eminently quotable, but I like more change & quick, so on to the next album!
[Favourite to least - ‘Round And Round’, ‘Cinammon Girl’, ‘Down By The River’, ‘Running Dry’, ‘Cowgirl In The Sand’, ‘Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere’, ‘The Losing End’.]
No comments:
Post a Comment