fleabag Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 The track Southern Man caused a real stir back in the day. If you dont know NY, youtube the lyrics. Harvest and After The Goldrush were, for me, the very best. Didnt get on with much else re. his other solo albums, though his time with Crosby Stills and Nash was magic on the the Deja Vu album 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4000 Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 1 hour ago, fleabag said: Harvest and After The Goldrush were, for me, the very best. Didnt get on with much else re. his other solo albums +1. After the Goldrush is easily my favourite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nail Soup Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 I don't know the entirety of NY's output well enough to comment , but like what I have heard well enough. It's a good sign for an artist that a case can be made for multiple eras or styles of your work to be considered 'the best'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomasFlats Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 I don’t think you can sustain a career across so many decades and have an influence on such a variety of artists without being counted up there as one of the “greats”. He has rarely done anything which could be considered mainstream (whatever that is) and, sure, there are better vocalists, guitarists and lyricists out there, but his career speaks for itself and needs no justification from anyone. I’ve got a lot of his albums - though by no means all - from across the years but the one I keep going back to is Goldrush. I have most of Dylan’s albums up to Blood On The Tracks and rarely listen to them. I listen to NY regularly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted November 8, 2020 Author Share Posted November 8, 2020 7 hours ago, wateroftyne said: Arc... #31? Le Noise.. #14? LOL Nice to see a bit of daylight between Trans and the bottom of the list. I really like that record. Old Ways has Misfits on it. For that reason it should be above the likes of Storytone and A Letter Home, etc. Ha ha, just listening to Trans for the first time and from the first harmonies thought ‘This sounds like Yes’ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 1 minute ago, Beedster said: Ha ha, just listening to Trans for the first time and from the first harmonies thought ‘This sounds like Yes’ Just wait 'till the next tune 😄 Trans is two halves of two very different albums shoved together. The album artwork nails what the record is about on so many levels... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted November 8, 2020 Author Share Posted November 8, 2020 Just now, wateroftyne said: Just wait 'till the next tune 😄 Trans is two halves of two very different albums shoved together. The album artwork nails what the record is about on so many levels... Yep, there now, didn’t see the vocoder coming, sounds like early Trevor Horn production Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted November 8, 2020 Author Share Posted November 8, 2020 Or Fairlight perhaps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted November 8, 2020 Author Share Posted November 8, 2020 Had it been released 25 years later by a pair of Frenchmen it might have been a hit 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 Just now, Beedster said: Or Fairlight perhaps? Vocoder - right first time. A lot of the 'Computer' songs are borne of trying to communicate with his son, who had / has cerebal palsy. Computer Cowboy is my favourite. It's mint. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted November 8, 2020 Author Share Posted November 8, 2020 Yep, I’ve ready Shaky, hell of a read. Album’s way ahead of its time, hints of Air, nod to Kraftwerk. Hard to believe it’s the same guy who did Harvest? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted November 8, 2020 Author Share Posted November 8, 2020 This made me smile https://magazine.vinylmeplease.com/magazine/trans-album-so-controversial-label-sued-neil-young-over-it/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted November 8, 2020 Author Share Posted November 8, 2020 If I didn’t know better I’d think some of this was Klaus Nomi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skankdelvar Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 (edited) 10 minutes ago, Beedster said: Yep, I’ve ready Shaky, hell of a read. I bought Shakey when it was first published in 2002. It's a magisterial book which covers pretty much everything up to that time. Funny thing, though. When I read it back in 2002, I thought 'God-like genius'. Read it again last year and thought 'unreliable, disloyal and an insufferable poser'. Which suggests that I completely missed the subtleties first time round and that unlike most rock biographers the author Mr Jimmy McDonough is capable of writing on at least two levels. Edited November 8, 2020 by skankdelvar 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted November 8, 2020 Author Share Posted November 8, 2020 I got the first time what you got the second. A guy prepared to flip everyone to get what he wants. The trail of damage he left in the late 60s and early 70s was pretty sad. I think the book makes clear how much he believes karma got him, and how 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted November 8, 2020 Author Share Posted November 8, 2020 Friend who loves NY got really whizzed off with me for suggesting he read the book when, having started it, he realised who NY really was. Hardly my fault really 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassybert Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 31 minutes ago, Beedster said: I got the first time what you got the second. A guy prepared to flip everyone to get what he wants. The trail of damage he left in the late 60s and early 70s was pretty sad. I think the book makes clear how much he believes karma got him, and how Really? I've read the book a couple of times and have been a massive Neil Young fan for a long time. He's probably my favourite artist so I may be a bit biased here but I've always found him someone who just has to follow his muse - it's part of who he is and what he is, it's not something you can just turn off like a tap or walk away from like a 9-5 job. Yes a few people have been hurt along the way, but if you hear quite a few of them speak about Neil they've kind of realised that's just how he is and it's nothing personal, it's just his desire to create and move on that keeps powering him forward. For me I'd have my top 5 as... 5. On the beach 4. Rust never sleeps 3. After the gold rush 2. Tonight's the night 1. Zuma - have literally played this record hundreds of times 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted November 8, 2020 Author Share Posted November 8, 2020 34 minutes ago, Bassybert said: Really? I've read the book a couple of times and have been a massive Neil Young fan for a long time. He's probably my favourite artist so I may be a bit biased here but I've always found him someone who just has to follow his muse - it's part of who he is and what he is, it's not something you can just turn off like a tap or walk away from like a 9-5 job. Yes a few people have been hurt along the way, but if you hear quite a few of them speak about Neil they've kind of realised that's just how he is and it's nothing personal, it's just his desire to create and move on that keeps powering him forward. For me I'd have my top 5 as... 5. On the beach 4. Rust never sleeps 3. After the gold rush 2. Tonight's the night 1. Zuma - have literally played this record hundreds of times Still very much a fan, but don’t need musicians to be perfect to like their music. His early trajectory was selfish in the extreme, there’s arguments either way as to how that can be justified, and he’s not alone by any means. For me, having seen him as the archetypal hippy it was interesting to read the book and to see the other side, and from there to see the 60s and 70s in better perspective. Love Zuma also 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleabag Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 Cortez The Killer - what a track 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProfJames Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 So many great tracks........just been listening to Shock and Awe........... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassybert Posted November 9, 2020 Share Posted November 9, 2020 On 08/11/2020 at 19:06, Beedster said: His early trajectory was selfish in the extreme, there’s arguments either way as to how that can be justified, and he’s not alone by any means. Are we talking the Squires, Buffalo Springfield, CSNY, early solo? Not trying to be his best mate, but selfish in the extreme sounds a bit harsh when he was a young guy finding his way in a new country, with new music and ideas coming from every angle. On 08/11/2020 at 19:06, Beedster said: Love Zuma also It's such an underrated record. Crazy Horse were on top form = sloppy and loose but in the best way. The guitar tones are amazing, the acoustic tracks soothing, Wind Though My Sails is filled with perfect CSNY harmonies and Cortez the Killer is a track for all times. I find his whole 70's output staggering - there's no artist that comes close to being as prolific in that era than Neil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted November 10, 2020 Author Share Posted November 10, 2020 7 hours ago, Bassybert said: Are we talking the Squires, Buffalo Springfield, CSNY, early solo? Not trying to be his best mate, but selfish in the extreme sounds a bit harsh when he was a young guy finding his way in a new country, with new music and ideas coming from every angle. Stealing from his bandmates and friends to further his career whilst apparently leaving them high and dry meets my definition of selfish in the extreme! But having said that, I'm going on the account in 'Shakey', and whilst it certainly appears to be a very well researched biography, there's two sides to every story. He's not alone; I've worked with a lot of very successful people, and there's no doubt that the early trajectory of many of them is - even has to be - one of selfishness and of hard decisions. I certainly get the impression from the book that he had a strong sense of destiny at the time - certainly justified by what he went on to achieve - and I'm guessing that would explain a lot of his actions. There's also no doubt from the book that he has a strong sense of karma in relation to a lot of things that have happened in his life, good and bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted November 10, 2020 Author Share Posted November 10, 2020 7 hours ago, Bassybert said: Are we talking the Squires, Buffalo Springfield, CSNY, early solo? I was referring to the time of his move from Canada to the US Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted November 10, 2020 Author Share Posted November 10, 2020 7 hours ago, Bassybert said: It's such an underrated record. Crazy Horse were on top form = sloppy and loose but in the best way. The guitar tones are amazing, the acoustic tracks soothing, Wind Though My Sails is filled with perfect CSNY harmonies and Cortez the Killer is a track for all times. I find his whole 70's output staggering - there's no artist that comes close to being as prolific in that era than Neil. Yep, I love his habit of using first takes of tracks having told the band they were rehearsing. As you say, sloppy and loose in the best way. Almost the Crazy Horse arhythm section 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stub Mandrel Posted November 10, 2020 Share Posted November 10, 2020 On 08/11/2020 at 17:27, wateroftyne said: Just wait 'till the next tune 😄 Trans is two halves of two very different albums shoved together. The album artwork nails what the record is about on so many levels... I love his response to criticisms of Trans - paraphrasing: "I wrote this album for my son and I don't give a shirt what anyone thinks of it". How do you rank albums by someone whose repeated reaction to critical acclaim is to switch genres... I haven't read the article although I saw it (Listicles are the lowest form of journalism - I wrote one once and it made me feel dirty 🙂 ). I did buy a magazine a couple of years ago that contained contemporary reviews and modern takes on all his albums up to that point. My view is he's someone who always put the emotional power and connection of his music above anything else. And when he's cooking with Crazy Horse, it's unstoppable. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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