Grooves: Neil Young - American Stars N' Bars (1977)

I am not a fan of country music. Not in the least. But when Neil Young is doing country music, I love it. Maybe it's because even if it's veiled in country music tropes, like twangy guitars, fiddle players and a bouncy line-dance beat, it's still a Neil Young song at heart. American Stars N' Bars, while not entirely country (especially side two) has some of the best Neil Young country songs one can find. But there is more to this album then some country twang. It's less of an album and more of a compilation. The songs found on this record were all recorded at different times and were intended for albums like Homegrown and Chrome Dreams. Some of the songs were recorded as early as 1974. It gives the album a stranger vibe than most with the first half being country and the second half having a hodge-podge of all sorts of sounds. This vibe isn't necessarily bad, it's just much different than what had come before. It's a forgotten album of sorts as it's only really huge hit, and a huge one at that, comes at the very end in "Like A Hurricane." It still sold well, but you can tell that Young is running out of steam a tad. It would be interesting to see what would have happened if the two failed albums had come to fruition. But, we can only speculate. And luckily, American Stars N' Bars holds up even if it's a collection of songs. It happens to be one of my top 5 Neil Young records.

I nabbed this at Prex, as many will have been, and as usual it's in good condition. But less about Prex and more about this record. Side one, the country side, is Neil Young in top gear. "That Old Country Waltz" is a last call anthem if I ever heard one. The album art itself, created by Dean Stockwell, shows Neil Young flat on his face drunk. I can hear this song coming from the jukebox in the bar. That lone couple dancing the night to its end, that lonely drunk swilling from his glass, tipping his hat to the band before tossing his last quarter into the guitar case. It's a perfect album opener that sets the tone perfectly for the first half of the record. "Saddle Up the Palamino" is about as cliche country sounding as you can possibly get. Linda Ronstadt and Nicollette Larson deliver fantastic backing vocals, a fiddle whines over the guitars and it the lyrics are about heartbreak. It stands out, however, as Young doesn't change the tone of his guitar, leaving his classic grungy crunch on the riff. It's a wonderful track that shows how country under the helm of Neil Young works on a different plain of sonic goodness. "Hey Babe" is my least favorite track on the album. It's got some nice pedal steel guitar care of long time Young collaborator Ben Keith, but otherwise it kind of lacks the same flair that the first two tracks have. "Hold Back The Tears" changes that with a wonderful violin and a show stopping harmony with Linda Ronstadt. The pedal steel and fiddle offering on this track is superb adding to the angsty vibe of Young and Ronstadt's vocals. It's one of Young's best tracks and comes as a surprise to me that it was not a single. "Bite The Bullet" then comes in with the sound and fury we're used to from Young. It's still a country rocker, but the intensity of Young grunge tones elevates it. The solo is a prelude of what's to come at the close of the record, with it's visceral pops and tones of gain. As it strays a little more from the country ballads, it's the perfect bridge from side one to two.

"Star of Bethlehem" is the oldest of the tracks on this album. Whereas the first side was all recorded in '77, this track dates back to '74, around the time Young's "On The Beach" was recorded and released. This shows in the music, even if Ben Keith's dobro playing adds that country twinge that makes it fit in with these tracks. Emmylou Harris steps in to lend her voice here and it's a sweet song down to it's melody. "Will to Love," the first of the two epics, was recorded in '76, is Young all alone playing all instruments. A crackling fire burns in the back as the simple acoustic guitar melody flits and flies over a low end of xylophones and the occasional bass guitar. It's a very unique song in the Young catalog. It has psychedelic elements and imagery in the lyrics and the music bursts and pops with different sounds from here and there. A campfire story song with a psychedelic folk twist. Blasting forth from the sleepy song is Young's flagship guitar anthem, "Like A Hurricane." It's classic Crazy Horse with their heavy and strong backbone as Young wails his weary lyrics over a surging guitar part that explodes into one of the greatest guitar solos of all time. As far as picking favorites among a catalog like Neil Young's it's next to impossible, but every time I listen to "Like A Hurricane"--which is quite often-- I can't help but think that there is no better song. For some reason, it doesn't stick out on the record, either. There are no female harmony parts, twangy fiddles or pedal steel backup, but it fits the mold. Every time I sit through the guitar solo, I'm moved. It's a sloppy solo, but every note is perfect. The explosions of the notes are piercing to the ears but the only way to experience this is at full blast. "Homegrown", the title of the album that never was, closes the record with an equally loud guitar romp. This time in a short little tune that fits in well with the country side of this record, it's a perfect closer bringing all the sounds full circle.

As much as American Stars N' Bars is an album of songs that were all from different times in Neil Young's career, it still works. Without every reading more about this album until this time, I would have not ever known that. It's still a wonderful record, housing some of Neil Young's finest songs. This doesn't have the huge hits like Harvest or After The Gold Rush, but I'd say it has pound for pound more high quality Neil Young songs. It's a fantastic record, and one that I don't see too often when shopping for vinyl. That being the case, if you see it, get it. It's worth it.

Up Next: Philadelphia's finest -- The Hooters

Grooves: Neil Young - After The Gold Rush (1970)

Neil Young is one of the staples of my life. I've blogged about his various albums, devoted a Discography post to him and have celebrated as many as possible of his 30 plus album catalog. In terms of devotion to listening to an artists music, Neil Young comes in around #3 of my all time list right after The Who and Beck. Needless to say, After the Gold Rush will be one of many Neil albums to get their due here on Grooves. There are many I do not have yet, including such greats as On The Beach or Harvest Moon, but maybe by the time I get to those letters, I will have found them out there in the world of purchasing vinyl. What else is there to say about After The Gold Rush, Neil's third solo album released the same year as the first Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young record Deja Vu. This man was churning out great songs in 1970. From that CSNY album we got "Helpless" and "Country Girl," two excellent tracks. Then we are treated to an entire album of Young songs on After The Gold Rush. Young takes his backing band Crazy Horse and mixes it up with Stephen Stills, Jack Nitszche and Niles Lofgren making some cameos all over the record. The sound gets a little more dynamic than the crunchy, hard edge of Everybody Knows This is Nowhere. And for that, it stands out as one of Young's best records of the early era. It's not my personal favorite from this time frame, but it still packs a huge amount of excellent songs onto one album.

This album was purchased at easily the best record store in New Jersey. Princeton Record Exchange, also known as Prex, never ceases to fail in delivering the goods. Be it new albums, import records, good, moderately priced albums and a nice, orderly fashion and always has some gems floating around. This album isn't necessarily a gem as it has hundreds of copies and re-issues flying around, but the fact is you rarely can get a $3 record in the kind of condition that my copy of After The Gold Rush anywhere else. The record is clean, in really great condition and has no scratches or flaws on the actual album sleeve itself. That kind of meticulous care is hard to come by unless you are in Center City, yet nothing in Philadelphia lives up to the caliber of Prex. It's worth the 45 - 50 minute drive from the Philly area.

If you have no knowledge of Neil Young, After The Gold Rush is the way to start things off. It's the perfect balance of what Young can do with Crazy Horse but with a slightly more cohesive sound from Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere. "Tell Me Why" is just Young and the acoustic guitar in one of my favorite tracks of his. It has one of the most romantic lines in a song: "I am lonely but you can free me/All in the way that you smile." Next comes the titular track. Yet another track of just Young but this time behind the piano. Also one of my favorite tracks, "After the Gold Rush" is a perfect song. The French horn adds a wonderful touch to the beautiful, but sombre piano. "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" is a decent enough song, but it's mostly your standard pop affair. It's Young's emo song, if you will. Young finally utilizes Crazy Horse to their full talents on "Southern Man." The classic track sounds so much better amidst these other songs then it does out of context. It has one of Young's classic guitar solos that turns mechanical at the end. The reason I love it on the album is because we are treated to the short ditty "Till The Morning Comes," which is Donovan by way of barn-yard choir. It seems like a throwaway at first, but it's a really great track that closes the first side.

Side two pales in comparison to side one. It starts off with the classic country ballad "Oh Lonesome Me." It's perfect for Young, but he could write a better ballad than this song. "Don't Let It Bring You Down" is the perfect example of the classic Young song structure. Every time I listen to it, I think of the Dana Carvey bit from his stand up special (you know the one.) For this, I can never listen to it seriously. I'm not sure if that's the songs fault or the brilliant comedic nature of the bit. Needless to say, the song can never be taken out of context for me. "Birds" is another quiet, piano driven song. It's a very pretty song, but leaves no impressive mark like "After The Gold Rush." Then comes "When You Dance I Can Really Love." It's an oft forgotten Neil Young single and it's deserving of praise. Jack Nitszche piano in the background adds a nice layer to the rough guitar work of Neil Young and Danny Whitten. It's a nice mid-tempo jam. "I Believe In You" is a little less impressive, sounding like leftovers from 60's era Buffalo Springfield. It's a little of the old mixed in with a lot of the newer sounds Young was playing with and it kind of sticks out. The album closer is easily one of the best Neil Young songs and it's all of a minute and thirty-four seconds. It gets stuck in my head for days. And I love it.

Funny enough amidst doing this vinyl undertaking, I read the liner notes and discovered that After The Gold Rush was inspired by a screen play written by Dean Stockwell and Herb Berman for a movie with the same title. Upon further research, it seems that the movie never came to be, but the album was a major success. Dean Stockwell also designed the cover for the next Neil Young album that will appear on this. So strange how that worked out. Also, I found inside the record a print of hand-written lyrics about the size of a small poster. I've had this record for a few years now and totally forgot about that. The little treats vinyl brings! Very cool.

Up Next: Perfect timing.... The Sword's first of a few

No Country For Old Men?

In this new decade, a handful of rock's legends have proven their relevance. It seems a hard task for aging classics to compete with the way music has changed so drastically, but 2010 sees two standout recordings from two very different, but equally prolific icons of music: Nick Cave and Neil Young. We'll start with the former.

Nick Cave is 52. He's been making music since 1976 with his first band The Birthday Party making an impact in the early 80's. He then went on to The Bad Seeds who have changed from post punk darlings to Gothic ministers to balladeers to gospel grunge and back again from the late 80's to their current lineup. And then there is Grinderman. A menacing, garage rock soaked album of squealing guitars, foreboding and distorted violins care of Warren Ellis and a boogie thump from other Bad Seed members Martyn Casey and Jim Sclavunos. Now we have a second offering from Grinderman (aptly titled Grinderman 2) and it is nothing short of glorious. Sure, it's still gritty and messy at times, but unlike their first offering, it seems to have more direction. Cave's vocals and lyrics are at their all time scummiest, maybe the closest to The Birthday Party he'll ever get. That being said, he's channeling his spirit from close to 30 years ago now to create this raucous romp of bluesy, gritty tunes.

Grinderman 2 starts off with a chugging riff on "Mickey Mouse and the Goodbye Man" with cave's insane lyrics kicking in like a lunatic washing off the haze of last nights boozery. It's an outstanding album opener that gives way to the second single "Worm Tamer" which compares his love to all sorts of crazy demonic and sexual beings. However, this is just a prelude to the catchiest and most gritty track on the record, first single "Heathen Child." The guitar gurgle at the start of the track is just like watching the Big Bad Wold (on the ridiculously bad ass cover and a common character on this album) creeping around a dark corner, snarling. The bass line keeps everything together as Cave paints a tale of a seemingly helpless child in a bathtub, which turns out to be much more of a beast than the wolf man that she's waiting for to come and take her away. We then get the one-two punch of the dynamic "When My Baby Comes" and the pastoral to an extent ""What I Know." "When My Baby Comes" starts off in familiar Cave territory, sounding at first more like a Bad Seeds cut from 2008's Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! but takes a sharp mid song curve off the cliff into a psychedelic sludge coda. "What I Know" is the only breath of air Cave and Co. give us with as close to a slow ballad as we're going to get. "Palaces of Montezuma" is another highlight with it's litany of crazy bad asses throughout history. What makes Grinderman 2 so good is that underneath the murk and darkness is a really catchy album. The music swells and explodes at times, sometimes in noise, other times in sweet melodies, but always sounding dynamic and awesome. Nick Cave may be getting old, but he hasn't lost a single beat in his songwriting.

Neil Young, on the other hand, has had a longer career, stranger at times, career. After a Golden Age in the 70's, a dark period in the 80's, a small renaissance in the 90's and a strange 00's, Young finally gives us something a little bit newer in Le Noise. Here lies an album unlike anything (for the most part) in Young's career. Not since 1982's unfairly hated Trans has Young ran off the rails into new territories in sound. Teaming up with legendary producer and pedal steel virtuoso Daniel Lanois, Young straps on his electric (and brings back the old acoustic for two tracks) and has at it. You get Young's guitar, vox and Lanois "sonics" and that's it. It is anything but stripped down. In fact, the sound is huge. Not unlike his soundtrack for the 1995 Jim Jaramusch acid western Dead Man, the guitar is the real focal point. As much as these songs are not instrumentals, the lyrics are really just your usual Neil Young fodder. The magic is in the music and the atmosphere. "Walk With Me" lyrically is all about feeling. And even though they are unremarkable lyrics, they do echo (literally and figuratively) the music played along with them. This music is all about feeling. You feel the guitar buzzing and humming and crackling along with the atmospheric flow of the effects. Young simply asks us to do as the title asks and on this disc, we join just him on a quest of sonic wonderment. As grand an experiment Le Noise is, it doesn't have a dynamic touch aside from it's overall thesis statement. It's a sonic experiment that doesn't really play great as an album, but more as a study in just how important Young's guitar playing is in the grand scheme of rock and roll. At 65, Young is showing us his relevance with Le Noise.

Discography: Neil Young - The Golden Age (1968 - 1979)

Neil Young's Discography is a daunting one. He may be one of the most prolific artists of all time with albums spanning almost 5 full decades. That's just his solo work. If you factor in Buffalo Springfield and CSNY, the man has a staggering track record (no puns intended.) I am going to focus strictly on Neil Young's solo work. It was sort of his Golden Age from 1968 - 1979. Almost every album went at least to Gold status in the United States (only his first album did not reach this goal.) It's an astonishing career that continues past Rust Never Sleeps, but to tackle all of this in one post is just absurd. So without further ado....

Neil Young (1968) - After leaving Buffalo Springfield, Neil Young started his career with an album that sounds more in tune with his past then the true spring board for what he would sound like in the next decade. It isn't without it's best points, but the self titled debut lacks the energy and feeling that the forthcoming albums would have. One of the best songs, which is beautifully performed in Johnathan Demme's film Heart of Gold is "The Old Laughing Lady." A beautiful timid song in the vein of "Sugar Mountain", it's the biggest stand out the record has going for it. "Ive Been Waiting For You" is another stand out song that if Crazy Horse was behind it, would have made it even better. "Last Trip to Tulsa" is the last of only a few really stellar songs that paves the way to some other Neil Young epics in the not to distant future. It's not a complete waste of time, but it's definitely the weakest of all the albums you will read about here.

Key Tracks: "The Old Laughing Lady", "Last Trip to Tulsa", "I've Been Waiting For You"

Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (1969) Easily one of Neil Young's premier works, his sophomoric album was no slump, but a huge leap forward. Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere contains 3 of Young's most important songs as well as a few other gems. It's the first appearance of his long time backing band Crazy Horse. His backing band would be mocked by old friends as being sloppy and not very good at their craft, but Neil Young's own guitar style had always been a little grittier than most rock guitarists of the time, so Crazy Horse seems a perfect fit. On a track like "Cinnamon Girl", the extra fuzz and crunch of the band gives even more power behind the guitar part. Extended jams "Down By the River" and "Cowgirl in the Sand" are delightfully sprawling with some of Neil's best early guitar craftsmanship. The titular track is a nice little quick ditty and "Round and Round (It Won't Be Long)" is a sweet lullaby. If you like Neil's grunge roots, this is the first of many signs of this to come. Later in this discography we'll be discussing his first true grunge album Rust Never Sleeps.

Key Tracks: "Cinnamon Girl", "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere", "Round and Round (It Won't Be Long)", "Down By the River", "Cowgirl in the Sand"

After the Gold Rush (1970) Young kept the big albums coming with his next fantastic record, and easily one of his most famous, After the Gold Rush. The early 70's saw Young at the prime of his home run hitting. For some reason upon it's release it was not immediately recognized as one of his better albums, but somehow in time it's garnered more praise. An album containing the pot stirrer "Southern Man" with it's indictment of the South's treatment of blacks as well as the amazing piano ballad in "After the Gold Rush", it's hard to see where critics saw the negative points in the album. Even lesser hits like "Tell Me Why" with it's simple acoustic strum along feel and the simple love song "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" may not be complex by any stretch, but still top notch. It doesn't have the raw power and fury that Everybody Knows had, but it still has that Neil Young quality.

Key Tracks: "Tell Me Why", "Southern Man", "After the Gold Rush", "Only Love Can Break Your Heart", "Tell Me Why", "Oh, Lonesome Me", "Cripple Creek Ferry"

Harvest (1972) Well regarded as Neil Young's magnum opus, Harvest is more or less the best of the early era Young material. It's not my personal favorite, but there is no denying a classic. With massive hits like "Old Man", a song about a kindred spirit Young met while buying a ranch, and "Heart of Gold", Young's most recognizable tune, are unavoidable in their popularity and unavoidable in their perfection. "The Needle and the Damage Done" is a staple of Young's archives and it's a heart wrenching song on the destruction of heroin, which hits close to Young as many of his friends and fellow rock stars from that era died of drug overdoses. Then there are the gems of the disc. The sweeping "A Man Needs a Maid", which the London Symphony Orchestra lends it's hand, is a beautiful song. "Out on the Weekend" is a melancholy opener and "Words (Between the Lines of Age)" is an intense closer. Where it lacks the intensity and grittiness of Everybody Knows This is Nowhere, it is a little more eclectic than After The Gold Rush. If you don't own this album yet, I don't really know what to tell you. It's an essential to any record collection.

Key Tracks: I'll consider this one Neil's flawless album. I can't pick any song to leave off, even if it's not m personal favorite.

Time Fades Away (1973) I would just gloss over this, but it's too intriguing to not to. For Neil Young fan's, this is the Holy Grail. Only released on vinyl and never on CD or any other format, Time Fades Away was recorded during the tour for Harvest and features songs that I have yet to hear. It along with the soundtrack to Neil Young's super rare film Journey Through the Past are two rare treats that are only able to be found on wax. I hope someday to stumble upon it because the concert started a trilogy of wildly divergent, dark and abrasive Young records after the death of his long time friend and Crazy Horse guitarist, Danny Whitten. This was the start of a three album stretch called "The Ditch Trilogy." The next albums to come after this are stark in their contrast to Young's previous work and I can only imagine this being just as intense, especially since Whitten was supposed to tour for this record and died shortly before it of a drug overdose. If anyone reading this has a bootleg, has a vinyl copy OR sees a vinyl copy, get it. I will pay you handsomely (which means you will get the amount the record cost and I'll wear a suit.)

{Editor's Note: Holy Crap! I apparently have found 7 tracks of the total 8. Will listen to what I got and redo this section!!}

On The Beach (1974) On the heels of the massive Harvest, Neil Young's follow up to his biggest hit is something of a strange beast. On the surface, it would seem that is a dark, gritty and huge departure of an album. It's sounds aren't the lush, orchestrated productions of his past few studio records, but for Young that was the point. Recorded after Tonight's The Night but released first, of the two albums it is far better produced. It's minimal in it's structures and arrangements and the songs somehow still soar even though they are bathed in a muffled sound. A song like "Ambulance Blues" sounds as if it were recorded in a bath tub, but this claustrophobic sound mixed with the intense lyrics of loss and of dissatisfaction benefit. The titular track is a sprawling guitar anthem and sounds a bit like a slowed down "Like A Hurricane." "Vampire Blues" is an organ laden blues track and "For the Turnstiles" is one of Young's most underrated lyrical moments as well as a fantastic song in it's composition. Whereas Harvest was a conventional album in it's production, On The Beach is a 180 degree turn away from convention and turns into complete art. It's a forgotten treasure.

Key Tracks: "On The Beach", "Vampire Blues", "For The Turnstiles", "Ambulance Blues", "Motion Pictures"

Tonight's The Night (1975) The final release of the Ditch Trilogy, Tonight's The Night is as gritty as it gets. Louder and more clamor then On The Beach, the tracks here are heavier and denser in their usage of electric guitars and Neil Young's vocals are even more war torn and weary. When dealing with his grief, Young churned out three brilliant albums and they all lead to Tonight's The Night. A song like "World on a String" has more pep in it's step than anything on On the Beach, but it still has that dark and melancholy overtone to it. The titular track here sounds like it could fit well on Everybody Knows This is Nowhere but with an extra layer of grime on it. "Borrowed Tune" is the sister song to "After the Gold Rush" with it's piano laden beauty and Neil's delicate falsetto performance. "Come On Baby Let's Go Downtown" is a fantastic rocker romp co-written by the then deceased Danny Whitten. It's a nice, live cut sung by Whitten for the most part and one of the tributes to his death on the record. As dark and unrelenting this record is, it makes for an intense but satisfying listen.

Key Tracks: "Tonight's The Night", "World on a String", "Borrowed Tune", "Mellow My Mind", "Come On Baby Let's Go Downtown", "Albuquerque"

Zuma (1975) Released the same year as the dark, foreboding finale to the Ditch Trilogy, Zuma is a more traditional Neil Young album. With more of a focus on poppier songs and extensive guitar jams, this album is the closest follow up to Everybody Knows This is Nowhere in sound and style that you'll get. It's a fantastic album start to finish. Crazy Horse backs Young up yet again with their signature sound. The first kind of track you get are the pretty country vibed pop songs. "Don't Cry No Tears" is catchy as hell and a great sing along while "Pardon My Heart" is one of Young's saddest love songs. The two biggest and best tracks are the sprawling guitar rockers. "Danger Bird" is one of Neil's most underrated and finest guitar outings, while the fantastic and sprawling "Cortez the Killer" is one of Young's most covered and favored tracks. Young feels back on his feet after three albums of dark disparity and although the Ditch Trilogy is a fantastic monument to loss and death, it's nice to hear Young and Crazy Horse move on from tragedy to create fine music.

Key Tracks: "Don't Cry No Tears", "Danger Bird", "Lookin' For a Love", "Pardon My Heart", "Cortez the Killer"

American Stars 'n Bars (1977) After working with Stephen Stills on Long May You Run, Young followed up Zuma with American Stars 'n Bars. With a lot more country soaking into the songs and a much cleaner sound. An amalgam of tracks that were to be released on two different unreleased records, Homegrown and Chrome Dreams, this album seemed to have worked out regardless of the two other never released projects. Side One is far and away a country rock album. Songs filled with violin and more traditionally country styled lyrics, it isn't overbearing as much as Neil Young at his finest country mode. "Saddle Up the Palamino", which features Linda Ronstadt and Nicollette Larson on backing vocals is a powerful ballad. Young's jagged electric over violin and toe tapping beat, it makes for an interesting hodge podge. "Hold Back the Tears" is the highlight of this side with it's heart felt vocal performances from Young and his back ups as well as a beautifully simple fiddle line. Side two is notable for it's two sprawlers. The first of which, "Will to Love" is an eerie acoustic track with a crackling fire. Equally sprawling, but much louder, "Like a Hurricane" may be Neil Young's finest guitar outing. It's intensely rough, as it is the only track on the record to feature Crazy Horse, and it's slap-dash but controlled guitar solo is one for the record books. As much as it's a mixture of different sounds, American Stars 'N Bars is also one of Young's finest albums as a whole.

Key Tracks: "That Old Country Waltz", "Saddle Up the Palamino", "Hold Back the Tears", "Will to Love", "Like a Hurricane", "Homegrown"

Comes a Time (1978) With even more of a solid country rock sound, Comes A Time may be my least favorite record from this era, maybe aside the self titled debut. That's saying a lot as this album has some of the best harmonies care of Nicollette Larson. The titular track is the most memorable of the straight up country tracks where as the real shining moments are on the two tracks that stick out. "Look Out For My Love", with Crazy Horse backing, is a fantastic track that seems like it would have fit better on Zuma than Comes A Time minus it's heavy acoustic guitar feel. "Lotta Love" is a sparse track which would later be redone by Larson with more grandiosity. It's a beautiful song. The other notable track is the cover of "Four Strong Winds", which shows up many times live throughout Young's career. Comes A Time has redeeming moments, but the album to follow would blow it out of the water.

Key Tracks: "Comes A Time", "Look Out for My Love", "Lotta Love"

Rust Never Sleeps (1979) A huge departure from what Young was working on and apparently Young's move to make himself feel less irrelevant in his sound, Rust Never Sleeps is a live record with two faces. Side one is an acoustic side of more traditionally sound Neil Young fare whereas side two is the birth of grunge. The album opens with the acoustic version of "Hey Hey, My My (Out of the Blue)." It's his ode to the fact that his sound was becoming dated and his new found love for the punk rock scene that was taking over. The acoustic version was the initial intent for the track, but upon touring, Crazy Horse would back him up for an electric version (same title with the addendum "(Into the Black.)") that would be the landmark of this record. It predates many bands that would come in the post-punk scene and grunge movement from Sonic Youth to Dinosaur Jr. "Powderfinger" was originally written by Young for Lynyrd Skynyrd who would never record it due to the death of Young's friend Ronnie Van Zant. It's a fantastic country electric rocker. "Welfare Mothers" and "Sedan Delivery" are screeching and brutal rockers that are blisteringly intense. "Thrasher" is a particularly great song on side one with it's simple acoustic and harmonica sounds. As much as Rust Never Sleeps was a revitilization of Young's career, that wouldn't last long as his 80's output and turmoil with record companies would plague him for a decade and a half. Rust Never Sleeps is the official end to the Golden Age of Neil Young.

Key Tracks: "Hey Hey, My My (Into The Black)", "Thrasher", "Pocahontas", "Powederfinger", "Welfare Mothers", "Sedan Delivery"

Rock of Ages: Neil Young - "Like a Hurricane" (1977)

Neil Young has a beast of a catalog to get through. Skitting through country, classic rock, proto-grunge and folk, the man cannot be held back and refuses to find himself in one niche (take for example the strange beauty of Trans filled with vocoder. Where Young excels is when he let's his guitars unleash a fury that ends up telling the story just as well as his lyrics. Although "Like A Hurricane" may be one of the less deep or poetic lyrically, the real greatness comes from the blistering guitar work. American Stars N Bars is a hodge podge of songs that were meant to be on the never released Chrome Dreams with "Like a Hurricane" being the flagship of these tracks. At a staggering 8 minutes, it's an epic guitar workout and shows Neil Young at his finest behind the electric guitar. The various solo's throughout are backed firmly by his most trusty band, Crazy Horse, who always bring a very firm backbone, even if their playing is a tad sloppy.

The sloppiness is what makes it so good. It was as if it was written and record in a feverish time for the band who were slugging it out with as much energy as they can muster. It's a burst of raw power. Originally recorded in 1975, "Like a Hurricane" was written in the back of Young's car and recorded early on along with the song "Homegrown" which also appears on Stars 'N Bars. Unlike the other tracks on this album, there is nothing country about the song. It's sheer brutal force and uncontrollably erratic guitars are unpredictable. It's a look into the future with Young's work on Rust Never Sleeps and the Dead Man Original Soundtrack. Guitars take on a lyrical quality all their own here and speak more words than Young can howl over the din of distortion. "Like a Hurricane" has had some various re workings, acoustic and on pump organ for Young's MTV Unplugged, but it's the searing guitars that make the song what it is.



Up Next: Television's anti-punk rock guitar epic