Neil Young
 

I have started getting interested in Neil Young's music, and in fact just bought "After the Gold Rush" today. However, I prefer the gritty/wicked guitar solo style of 'Southern Man' (and same goes for 'Cortez the Killer') more than the folk music stuff. Suggestions for other songs/albums of his that would better suit my tastes?

His Crazy Horse material is probably a bit more what you're looking for. My My, Hey Hey...Like A Hurricane, etc. I like Neils gritty guitar as well. He's better with reverb than he's given credit for and he has good guitarists playing with him as well.

Asta!!

Ragged Glory - a must have

Cool, I will give the stuff a check out.

I have also heard some of his stuff with Buffalo Springfield, like Mr. Soul, which is real good. How does the rest of the BS (hmm, unfortunate initials) music compare?

I hate to be Capt. Obvious here, but pick up Harvest...not his grittiest but arguably his best.

Harvest is good.

Asta!!

Or pick up "Decade", a 2 disc set with a lot of his best songs (minus Hey Hey, My My and Keep on Rockin' in the Free World)

What album CAN you get "Keep On Rockin In The Free World" on? I mean I know it's on Freedom. But I haven't seen it on something that isn't a live album. I think maybe ONE album and I can't remember it's name.

I got Neil Young and Crazy Horse - Live Rust. It's an excellent album...all live material. It's got My My, Hey Hey (Out of the blue and into the black) and Hey Hey, My My (Out of the black and into the blue), Like A Hurricane, Cinnamon Girl, etc. etc.

Asta!!

Oh man, Live Rust is seriously a really great CD. Get it now, it should be your top priority!

Arc & Weld.

Oh yea, Welfare Mothers...

Great stuff.

Decade is a great album....you inspired me to put on "After the Goldrush" this morning

favourite (best heheh :P) neil young albums: on the beach and tonight's the night.

Exactly, the Crazy Horse stuff is simply amazing to me. I love the exact same stuff that you are looking for. Hey Hey My My is probably one of my favourite songs. Plus, he can play the song both acoustic and electric. Electric version is Hey Hey My My, Acoustic version is My My Hey Hey (from what I have listened to).

Zuma.

One of my favourites.

I think if you're looking for more electric, "Reactor" is an excellent pick. Several years ago, I was in a band and we, along with two other bands, played a Neil Young tribute night. Each band took one album and did it as a set. The other bands picked Zuma and, I think, Stars and Bars. We did Reactor. It was a pretty great night.

A Neil Young album I like which I have not seen mentioned here is Sleeps With Angels. It is a Crazy Horse album. Came out in 94, and, as at least a few albums which came out at that time, there are songs on it which deal with Kurt Cobain's suicide (Cobain quoted Hey Hey My My in his suicide note... Pearl Jam and R.E.M. are a couple other bands I can think of who had Cobain-related songs after his death) but it is not like a Kurt Cobain concept album or anything, there is like one or maybe two songs which deal with him. The rest are really great kinda jammy atmospheric songs, really layered in their sound. Some heavier stuff with some lighter stuff, but the lighter stuff is not really "folky" as lots of his other stuff.

Speaking of Pearl Jam, don't know if you like them, but they act as his backing band on his Mirrorball album. This is a pretty gritty rockin album, may be worth checking out as well.

^ Would you find their duet of Keep On Rockin In The Free World on the Mirroball album?

Asta!!

Nope, sorry... you know what, that just made me realize of all the odds and ends of PJ songs in my collection, I have no copy of any performance of Rockin' in the Free World with Neil Young. Well, maybe on a cassette somewhere, but I don't think that counts, considering all my tapes are anciently gathering dust in the basement.

On the Mirrorball album, I think Eddie sings on only one song. I'm not trying to hijack this thread into a Pearl Jam thread, but I guess it may be worth mentioning that Peal Jam released a 2 song ep "Merkinball" as a companion to "Mirrorball" which features Neil Young playing guitar but not singing on both songs... the guitar on the song "I Got Id" is really amazing.

^ Dude you just became my best friend. I'm a PJ purist and trying to collect lots of their stuff. Unfortunately I have a very very very long way to go lol And now I find about a 2 song ep that I did not know about. Thank you very much. You should send me a list of all their stuff outside of the albums. (Not live stuff of course, they have over a hundred of them.). If I have a list I'll know how much more I need to collect./end pj thread jack.

Asta!!

Tonight's the Night
Cowgirl in the Sand
Down By the River
Everybody Knows This is Nowhere

These are my favs. but I love the country-esq flavour that he adds to Powderfinger, (When your On) the Losing End and I'm Wonderin (plus the video for I'm Wonderin is hilarious).

Didn't have much patience for Keep on Rockin in a Free World, or This Note's for You as they seemed to be diminished in comparison to the early wild work of his. Just sing this along in your mind, and feel where he takes you with that trembly voice, accompanying piano and startling guitar:

Tonight's the night,
tonight's the night
Tonight's the night,
tonight's the night
Tonight's the night,
tonight's the night
Tonight's the night,
tonight's the night.

Bruce Berry was a working man
He used to load that Econoline van.
A sparkle was in his eye
But his life was in his hands.

Well, late at night
when the people were gone
He used to pick up my guitar
And sing a song in a shaky voice
That was real as the day was long.

Tonight's the night, yes it is,
tonight's the night
Tonight's the night, yes it is,
tonight's the night.

Early in the mornin'
at the break of day
He used to sleep
until the afternoon.
If you never heard him sing
I guess you won't too soon.

'Cause people let me tell you
It sent a chill
up and down my spine
When I picked up the telephone
And heard that he'd died
out on the mainline.

Tonight's the night,
tonight's the night
Tonight's the night,
tonight's the night.

Bruce Berry was a working man
He used to load that Econoline van.
Well, early in the morning
at just about the break of day
He used to sleep
until the afternoon.

Tonight's the night, yes it is,
tonight's the night
Tonight's the night,
tonight's the night
Tonight's the night,
tonight's the night
Tonight's the night,
tonight's the night.

Tonights the Night's a great song and easy to play. Even a drummer like me can throw that down on guitar!

Man, speaking of Pearl Jam (they're not bad, but generally don't find themselves on my playlist), remember maybe late 90's there was just a whole string of bands on the radio with singers all trying to sound like Eddie Vedder. I like his voice, but it should not become a fad.

I think the solo in Cinnamon Girl makes the point that you can use just one note but do it the right way and it will be effective; I admire the emotion that sometimes comes through in his playing but usually it just sounds really sloppy.