Album: Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
On the two extended guitar workouts, Down By The River and Cowgirl In The Sand, Young & Crazy Horse create a hypnotic, minimalist sound that builds and breaks to brilliant effect. These two tracks alone would be enough to secure the album's legacy, but there's much more. On the title track, as well as the great guitar sound there's a yearning for the simplicities and comforts of country life, while Round & Round is a mesmerising ballad that features some of Young's best singing on the album, sweet and mournful. The straightforward country number, The Losing End, is probably the album's weak point and reminds me of some of the moments on Harvest that have always given me reservations about it. Without a groove or mood, Young's lyrics can be a little schmaltzy. Two of my favourites songs on the album are opener, Cinnamon Girl, featuring a hugely influential crunching guitar sound, and Running Dry, one of the more experimental tracks; a western murder ballad of sorts, which sounds like Pink Floyd meets country and which, on one level, mourns the death of Crazy Horse's previous incarnation, The Rockets. One of the 60s most essential albums, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere is (for me) undoubtedly Young's most innovative album, and arguably his best.
Artist: Neil Young
Born: Toronto, Canada
Released: May 1969
Genre: Rock
Influenced: REM, Sonic Youth, Screaming Trees, Pearl Jam, Nirvana
Neil Young took some time to find his sound (even dabbling in surfer pop in his younger years) but when he did, on this album, it was worth waiting for. Though his songwriting was rarely on a par with the best (by his own admission, Young called himself a "B student" compared to Dylan), his guitar playing, especially with Crazy Horse, was revolutionary. There's also a plaintive, yearning quality to Young's voice that is peerless. While his first solo album was slightly bland and polished, this is ragged and glorious. One of my proudest record buying moments was finding a pristine copy of this album in Denver's Twist & Shout for $8. Before then, on my campervan travels round New Zealand with the wife in 2006, we had three CDs that we played endlessly, and this is one of them. As a result, listening to this album always conjures up the stunning scenery of NZ's south island.
Neil Young took some time to find his sound (even dabbling in surfer pop in his younger years) but when he did, on this album, it was worth waiting for. Though his songwriting was rarely on a par with the best (by his own admission, Young called himself a "B student" compared to Dylan), his guitar playing, especially with Crazy Horse, was revolutionary. There's also a plaintive, yearning quality to Young's voice that is peerless. While his first solo album was slightly bland and polished, this is ragged and glorious. One of my proudest record buying moments was finding a pristine copy of this album in Denver's Twist & Shout for $8. Before then, on my campervan travels round New Zealand with the wife in 2006, we had three CDs that we played endlessly, and this is one of them. As a result, listening to this album always conjures up the stunning scenery of NZ's south island.
On the two extended guitar workouts, Down By The River and Cowgirl In The Sand, Young & Crazy Horse create a hypnotic, minimalist sound that builds and breaks to brilliant effect. These two tracks alone would be enough to secure the album's legacy, but there's much more. On the title track, as well as the great guitar sound there's a yearning for the simplicities and comforts of country life, while Round & Round is a mesmerising ballad that features some of Young's best singing on the album, sweet and mournful. The straightforward country number, The Losing End, is probably the album's weak point and reminds me of some of the moments on Harvest that have always given me reservations about it. Without a groove or mood, Young's lyrics can be a little schmaltzy. Two of my favourites songs on the album are opener, Cinnamon Girl, featuring a hugely influential crunching guitar sound, and Running Dry, one of the more experimental tracks; a western murder ballad of sorts, which sounds like Pink Floyd meets country and which, on one level, mourns the death of Crazy Horse's previous incarnation, The Rockets. One of the 60s most essential albums, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere is (for me) undoubtedly Young's most innovative album, and arguably his best.
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