Worth Checking OutÖ by Dana Eric Misenheimer “2003
Neil Young part. #1
The never-idle Neil Young can never be accused of not supplying music fans with reasons to bring him up as a topic of discussion. In a career that has lasted over forty years, Young has steadily recorded and toured, always keeping his fans within reach of a new project just as theyíve had a chance to digest his most recent one. A theme that developed out of Youngís output long ago has been to follow whatever his most recent recording was with something that was a complete departure, and by doing so, making it ìclassicî Neil Young. Much has already been said about Neil and his music, and much more will be said about him as he continues to genre jump through the hoops that make up American music (and yes, I know heís Canadian!) Because he is a well that never runs dry, this month and next, Worth Checking Out will take a look back at two different periods from Neilís past and be dusting off some music that may well be lamentably overlooked.
There are a few reasons I chose to talk about Neil Young this month and next. While he does have a new project out called ìGreendaleî that heís touring in support of, thatís not what weíll be examining. However, before I move on to the focus of this monthís article, I will say that itís as good as anything heís ever done, and as with anything in his catalog, itís a good investment. And since heís on tour to promote it, do your eyes and ears a favor and catch him when he comes to town. You wonít see any goofy dance revues or hear all kinds of music thatís not coming out of the musicians on stage, but you will hear plenty of passionate singing and playing and experience the thrill of seeing a tight band play into the night with more fire and inspiration than most of the wannabes out there that are one third the ages of Neil and Crazy Horse.
That being said, now letís move on to the topics that are the really at the heart of this monthís look at Neil.
The reason for the first part of our look at Neil is the long awaited arrival of four albums from the past that have finally been released on CD. I was puzzled as to why these originally vinyl recordings were never re-released before now, and the reason that has been given is that it took that long to locate the original master tapes. The four albums are: ìOn the Beachî(originally released July 10, 1974) ìAmerican Stars ëní Barsî(originally released May 27,1977) ìHawks & Dovesî(originally released October 29,1980) and ìReñacñtorî(originally released October 28,1981). For Neil Young fans who have mothballed their turntables, the reissue of these albums is a cause for celebration and a chance to re-explore some vital components from Neilís discography.
While these records may not have the ìclassicî status that has been awarded to some of Youngís better-known material, each one contains essential listening choices that rank among his finest offerings.
ìOn the Beachî is a powerful piece of work in which Young begins his ascent out of the catacombs of disillusionment he found himself cast in after the deaths of two close friends. In response to Youngís behavior during the year and a half prior to the albumís release, a character in the song ìAmbulance Blues,î who is assumed to be Elliot Roberts, Youngís manager, tells Young he is ìpissing in the windî. This is in reference to the previous tour during which Neil and Crazy Horse - including future E- street band member Nils Lofgren - attempted to communicate their grief resulting from the overdose deaths of guitarist Danny Whitten and roadie Bruce Berry to their audiences. This was the tour that produced some of the material that eventually made up the ìTonightís the nightî album. Young had been carrying a world of hurt, frustration, and anger on his back, and performances from the tour were uneven and chilling as, while on stage, he attempted to make sense of the injustice of Whittenís and Berryís deaths. The song ìTonightís the nightî was being performed two or three times per show while Neil wrestled with his fury at the grim reaper. Accounts of these shows are harrowing, with each version of ìTonightís the nightî described as being more stark and unsettling than the previous. Turning the page on his standoff with unanswerable questions that are better left in the hands of the Almighty, ìOn the Beachî is a fine album that marks Youngís journey out of despair and his return to considering his fansí rights to hear something slightly less frightening.
ìAmerican Stars ëní Barsî is the record that introduces Neilís fans to the original studio version of the live concert staple, ìLike A Hurricane.î Another gem from this record is the goodtime sing-a-long, ìHomegrown.î
ìHawks & Dovesî is Neilís first contribution of the eighties and contains the minor chart hit, ìUnion Man.î
The final record being reissued in this bunch is what I consider to be the great-lost Neil Young and Crazy Horse classic album, ìRe-ac-tor.î Being a diehard vinyl fan who wonít give up his turntable because of specific situations like this, Iíve been spinning this record all through the lapse in transfer to CD. I taped it to play in my car during a concert run to see Neil and the Horse about 6 years ago, and I was shocked when my fellow concertgoers said they had never heard it. This record contains some of the fiercest music that Young and the Horse have ever produced, while the subject matter shows Neil deftly insightful at identifying now common issues before they permeated the social landscape.
The album opens with a blast of growling guitars as Young seems to be describing his own joyous predicament in the ode to a blue-collar underdog mindset in the should-be anthem, ìOpera Star.î Young follows the lines ìYou were born to rock. Youíll never be an opera starî with a slight let up by the band and the matter of fact deduction that ìSome things never change. They stay the way they areî followed by a chorus of exaggerated pseudo operatic Ho-Ho-Hos. This sets the tone for a record that mines a similar vein as the songs ìHey, Hey, My, My (Into the Black)î and ìRockiní in the Free World.î ìOpera Starî did get some album rock radio airplay when it first came out, but it tragically got pushed aside in favor of FM radio standards like, ìHeart of Goldî and ìCinnamon Girl.î
Things stay heavy with ìSurfer Joe and Moe the sleazeî as Young deflates the myth of illusions built on cheap highs. ìT-boneî is a relentlessly pounding piece of period punk that repeatedly declares, ìGot mashed potatoesî and ìAinít got no t-bone.î This is by no means listening for the timid. Although on some of the cuts, extended soloing is kept to a minimum in favor of pounding riffs that build intensity through sheer repetition, ìAinít got no t-boneî has plenty of careening fretwork that pushes the boundaries as far as possible while still remaining musical.
The song that winds up the first side of the original LP is ìGet back on it,î a jovial piano driven romp that seems to address Youngís desire to scratch his touring itch. However, in keeping with an aspect that gives so many of Neilís songs their appeal, it can really relate to a more personal vision within the listener because of its laconic qualities.
The former side two starts out with ìSouthern Pacific,î the other cut from the album that broke as a single before being overshadowed by the overplayed radio classics. Using his love for trains as a vehicle to address growing old and obsolete, this song literally bears down on the listener like a locomotive as Neil and the Horse stoke the boiler with a chugging riff that rides basically the same rails as the rockabilly classic, ìMystery Train.î This cut is absolutely infectious. ìSouthern Pacificî is one of this Neil Young fanís personal favorites on the album. I find that one spin of this song will keep it in my head for weeks afterward.
ìMotor Cityî laments the lopsided state of auto importing and exporting twenty-two years ago as North American autoworkers steadily lost jobs due to the foreign competition that finally caused much of the populace to boycott products that siphoned off their employment. Young challenges Detroit to compete with the foreign companies by displaying the quality he knows theyíre capable of. Harley Davidson has nothing on Neil when it comes to pushing the notion of buying American.
On a record that has no weak tracks, the last two cuts may be the best. ìRapid Transitî has Neil stuttering lines of single words and two-word phrases until he literally spits them at the listener. This would appear to be a commentary on the ìwavesî of fads that strangle music by putting it in boxes and labeling it. Young simply declares, ìIím standing in my lineî as he honestly describes his own stylistic independence.
ìShotsî is a fierce assault on the complacency of a society that has learned to insulate itself from the horrors of war. Whether commenting on the rise of guns on the streets of America or the carnage of spilling blood for a political agenda, Youngís twenty-two year old words sting with a contemporary accuracy from atop a screaming siege of manic guitarwork that implies the lethal devastation of rampant gunfire.
To sum it up, ìRe-ac-torî is a thoroughly bombastic joyride for fans who like their Neil Young served up hard, heavy, and smothered in attitude.
This wraps up part one of our look at some great music from Neilís past. Next month weíll concentrate more on Neilís acoustic leanings as we go back even further to get an intimate look at what was brewing behind the official releases of his first band with fellow CSN&Y comrade, Steve Stills.
In the meantime, these four reissues (or ìGreendaleî) will more than sufficiently scratch your Neil Young itch. After all, anything by Neil Young is alwaysÖworth checking out.