The best selling album of 1972 this one comes in at number 25 on the Best of the 70's list. During the 1970's Neil Young put out 9 studio albums and 1 live album. Five of those made the Best of the 70's list. I often wonder what Young could have done if he had spent some time in the studio turning say three of these into one album, but that's not how Neil Young rolls and his rawness and spur of the moment in many ways is his appeal.
This album has his best known songs in "Heart of Gold" and "Old Man" and it is an interesting album, but like so much of his stuff is a bit all over the place. One of the best songs on the album "The Needle and the Damage Done" was recorded live in concert for the album.
A good album to play on a road trip to the beach or to a 4th of July barbecue.
Following the Rhapsody rating method I give it 2 out of 5 stars for Not Bad.
Matthew, if you were going to make a single album from the songs on "After the Gold Rush" and "Harvest," which songs would you include? What order would they go in? And how many stars would that album get?
ReplyDeleteI was thinking about this as well.
ReplyDeleteSo what if we grouped After the Gold Rush, Harvest, and Time Fades Away. Then group On the Beach and Zuma. Then group American Stars 'N Bars, Comes a Time, and Rust Never Sleeps. Tonight's the Night would remain a stand alone. That would give you four albums over ten years, plus a live album a normal amount of releases.
That's as far as I got in my thinking as I realized I would have to sit down and really listen to the albums and see if those would even work together etc. I don't know if I can sit through that much Neil Young to figure something like that out.
OK, here's a potential list of songs from Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, After the Gold Rush, and Harvest:
ReplyDeleteSIDE ONE
1. Cinnamon Girl
2. After the Gold Rush
3. Only Love Can Break Your Heart
4. Southern Man
SIDE TWO
5. Heart of Gold
6. Old Man
7. The Needle and the Damage Done
8. Cowgirl in the Sand
Maybe you would want to put in a couple of more songs just to fill out the album. But that would be an amazing album.
Loved this song. Don't think I'd heard it.
ReplyDelete