Neil Young: A Retrospective (1966-1977)

Neil Young

Neil Young A Retrospective: 1966-1979

Born: November 12, 1945 Where: Toronto, Canada Overview “After Neil Young left the Californian folk-rock band Buffalo Springfield in 1968, he slowly established himself as one of the most influential and idiosyncratic singer/songwriters of his generation. Young's body of work ranks second only to Bob Dylan in terms of depth, and he was able to sustain his critical reputation, as well as record sales, for a longer period of time than Dylan, partially because of his willfully perverse work ethic. From the beginning of his solo career in the late '60s until the late '90s, he never stopped writing, recording, and performing; his official catalog only represented a portion of his work, since he kept countless tapes of unreleased songs in his vaults. Just as importantly, Young continually explored new musical territory, from rockabilly and the blues to electronic music. But these stylistic exercises only gained depth when compared to his two primary styles: gentle folk and country-rock, and crushingly loud electric guitar rock, which he frequently recorded with the Californian garage band Crazy Horse. Throughout his career, Young alternated between these two extremes, and both proved equally influential; there were just as many singer/songwriters as there were grunge and country-rock bands claiming to be influenced by Neil Young. Despite his enormous catalog and influence, Young continued to move forward, writing new songs and exploring new music. That restless spirit ensured that he was one of the few rock veterans as vital in his old age as he was in his youth.” AM “Born in Toronto, Canada, Neil Young moved to Winnipeg with his mother following her divorce from his sports-journalist father. Young began playing music in high school. Not only did he play in garage rock outfits like the Esquires, but he also played in local folk clubs and coffeehouses, where he eventually met Joni Mitchell and Stephen Stills. During the mid-'60s, he returned to Toronto, where he played as a solo folk act.” AM Buffalo Springfield “By 1966, he joined the Mynah Birds, which also featured bassist Bruce Palmer and Rick James. The group recorded a couple of singles for Motown that were ignored. Frustrated by his lack of success, Young moved to Los Angeles in his Pontiac hearse, taking Palmer along as support. Shortly after they arrived in L.A., they happened to meet Stills, and they formed Buffalo Springfield, who quickly became one of the leaders of the Californian folk-rock scene. Despite the success of Buffalo Springfield, the group was plagued with tension, and Young quit the band several times before finally leaving to become a solo artist in May of 1968.” AM Solo “Hiring Elliot Roberts as his manager, Young signed with Reprise Records and released his eponymous debut album in early 1969. By the time the album was released, he had begun playing with a local band called the Rockets, which featured guitarist Danny Whitten, bassist Billy Talbot, and drummer Ralph Molina. Young renamed the group Crazy Horse and had them support him on his second album, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, which was recorded in just two weeks. Featuring such Young staples as Cinnamon Girl and Down by the River, the album went gold.” AM CSNY “Following the completion of the record, he began jamming with Crosby, Stills & Nash, eventually joining the group for their spring 1970 album, Déjà Vu. Although he was now part of Crosby, Stills & Nash, Young continued to record as a solo artist, releasing After the Gold Rush at the end of the year. After the Gold Rush, with its accompanying single Only Love Can Break Your Heart, established Young as a solo star, and fame only increased through his association with CSNY.” AM Number One “Although Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young were a very successful act, they were also volatile, and they had split by the spring 1971 release of the live 4 Way Street. The following year, Young had his first number one album with the mellow country-rock of Harvest, which also featured his first (and only) number one single, Heart of Gold. Instead of embracing his success, he spurned it, following it with the noisy, bleak live film Journey Through the Past. Both the movie and the soundtrack received terrible reviews, as did the live album Time Fades Away, a record recorded with the Stray Gators that was released in 1973.” AM The Dark Period, But Critically Acclaimed “Both Journey Through the Past and Time Fades Away signaled that Young was entering a dark period in his life, but they only scratched the surface of his anguish. Inspired by the overdose deaths of Danny Whitten in 1972 and his roadie Bruce Berry the following year, Young wrote and recorded the bleak, druggy Tonight's the Night late in 1973, but declined to release it at the time. Instead, he released On the Beach, which was nearly as harrowing, in 1974; Tonight's the Night finally appeared in the spring of 1975. By the time of its release, Young had recovered, as indicated by the record's hard-rocking follow-up, Zuma, an album recorded with Crazy Horse and released later that year.” AM The Wandering Years “Young's focus began to wander in 1976, as he recorded the duet album Long May You Run with Stephen Stills and then abandoned his partner midway through the supporting tour. The following year he recorded the country-rock-oriented American Stars 'n Bars, which featured vocals by Nicolette Larson, who was also prominent on 1978's Comes a Time. Prior to the release of Comes a Time, Young scrapped the country-rock album Homegrown and assembled the triple-album retrospective Decade.” AM Rejuvanation “At the end of 1978, he embarked on an arena tour called Rust Never Sleeps, which was designed as a showcase for new songs. Half of the concert featured Young solo, the other half featured him with Crazy Horse. That was the pattern that Rust Never Sleeps, released in the summer of 1979, followed. The record was hailed as a comeback, proving that Young was one of the few rock veterans who attacked punk rock head-on. That fall he released the double album Live Rust and the live movie Rust Never Sleeps.” AM …And Back to So-So “Rust Never Sleeps restored Young to his past glory, but he perversely decided to trash his goodwill in 1980 with Hawks & Doves, a collection of acoustic songs that bore the influence of conservative, right-wing politics. In 1981, Young released the heavy rock album Re*ac*tor, which received poor reviews. Following its release, he left Reprise for the fledgling Geffen Records, where he was promised lots of money and artistic freedom. Young decided to push his Geffen contract to the limit, releasing the electronic Trans, where his voice was recorded through a computerized vocoder, later that year. The album and its accompanying, technology-dependent tour were received with bewildered, negative reviews. The rockabilly of Everybody’s Rockin' (1983) was equally scorned, and Young soon settled into a cult audience for the mid-‘80s.” AM “Over the course of the mid-'80s, Young released three albums that were all stylistic exercises. In 1985, he released the straight country Old Ways, which was followed by the new wave-tinged Landing on Water the following year. He returned to Crazy Horse for 1987's Life, but by that time, he and Geffen had grown sick of each other, and he returned to Reprise in 1988. His first album for Reprise was the bluesy, horn-driven This Note's for You, which was supported by an acclaimed video that satirized rock stars endorsing commercial products. At the end of the year, he recorded a reunion album with Crosby, Stills & Nash called American Dream, which was greeted with savagely negative reviews.” AM The Godfather of Grunge “American Dream didn't prepare any observer for the critical and commercial success of 1989's ,i>Freedom, which found Young following the half-acoustic/half-electric blueprint of Rust Never Sleeps to fine results. Around the time of its release, Young became a hip name to drop in indie rock circles, and he was the subject of a tribute record titled The Bridge in 1989. The following year, Young reunited with Crazy Horse for Ragged Glory, a loud, feedback-drenched album that received his strongest reviews since the '70s. For the supporting tour, Young hired the avant rock band Sonic Youth as his opening group, providing them with needed exposure while earning him hip credibility within alternative rock scenes. On the advice of Sonic Youth, Young added the noise collage EP Arc as a bonus to his 1991 live album, Weld.” AM “Weld and the Sonic Youth tour helped position Neil Young as an alternative and grunge rock forefather, but he decided to abandon loud music for its 1992 follow-up, Harvest Moon. An explicit sequel to his 1972 breakthrough, Harvest Moon became Young's biggest hit in years, and he supported the record with an appearance on MTV Unplugged, which was released the following year as an album. Also in 1993, Geffen released the rarities collection Lucky Thirteen. The following year, he released Sleeps with Angels, which was hailed as a masterpiece in some quarters. Following its release, Young began jamming with Pearl Jam, eventually recording an album with the Seattle band in early 1995. The resulting record, Mirror Ball, was released to positive reviews in the summer of 1995, but it wasn't the commercial blockbuster it was expected to be; due to legal reasons, Pearl Jam's name was not allowed to be featured on the cover.” AM No Slowing Down for the New Millennium “In the summer of 1996, he reunited with Crazy Horse for Broken Arrow and supported it with a brief tour. That tour was documented in Jim Jarmusch's 1997 film The Year of the Horse, which was accompanied by a double-disc live album. In 1999, Young reunited with Crosby, Stills & Nash for the first time in a decade, supporting their Looking Forward LP with the supergroup's first tour in a quarter century. A new solo effort, Silver & Gold, followed in the spring of 2000. In recognition of his 2000 summer tour, Young released the live album Road Rock, Vol. 1 the following fall, showcasing a two-night account of Young's performance at the Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, CO, in September 2000. A DVD version titled Red Rocks Live was issued that December, including 12 tracks initially unavailable on Road Rock, Vol. 1. His next studio project was his most ambitious yet, a concept album about small-town life titled Greendale that he also mounted as a live dramatic tour and indie film.” AM “In early 2005, Young was diagnosed with a potentially deadly brain aneurysm. Undergoing treatment didn’t slow him down, however, as he continued to write and record his next project. The acoustically based Prairie Wind appeared in the fall, with the concert film Heart of Gold, based around the album and directed by Jonathan Demme, released the following year. 2006 also saw the release of the controversial CD/DVD Living with War, a collection of protest songs against the war in Iraq.” AM Two more studio albums followed in the next few years, but the holy grail for Neil Young fans was the released of The Archives Vol. 1 1963-1972, a massive box set which Young had referenced as far back as 1988. Resume The Classics: 1962 The Squires: 1963-65 The Mynah Birds: 1966 Buffalo Springfield: 1966-68 solo: 1969-present Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young: 1969-71, 1988, 1999 Stills-Young Band: 1976 Links DMDB encyclopedia entry for Neil Young Dave’s Music Database: Crosby Stills Nash Young: Top 100 Songs NeilYoungArchives.com (official site) Wikipedia

Awards

Studio Albums

Compilations D Decade (covers 1966-76, released 1977) Spotify Playlist Here’s my Title of Playlist playlist at Spotify for this artist. Under each album snapshot, songs featured on the anthologies are noted. If the song charted, the date of the song’s release or first chart appearance and its chart peaks are noted in parentheses. Click for codes to charts.

Buffalo Springfield Buffalo Springfield

Released: October 1966 Peak: 80 US, -- UK, -- CN, -- AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): --, 7.45 EAS Genre: classic rock Rating: 3.700 out of 5.00 (average of 19 ratings)

Tracks: For What It’s Worth (Dec. ’66 single) ** Go and Say Goodbye Sit Down, I Think I Love You Leave Nowadays Clancy Can’t Even Sing (Aug. ’66 single) Hot Dusty Roads Everybody’s Wrong Flying on the Ground Is Wrong Burned (Nov. ’66 single) D Do I Have to Come Right Out and Say It Baby Don’t Scold Me * Out of My Mind Pay the Price * on original 1966 release, ** on March 1967 release About the Album: Comments here.

Again Buffalo Springfield

Released: October 30, 1967 Peak: 44 US, -- UK, -- CN, -- AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): --, 2.67 EAS Genre: classic rock Rating: 4.037 out of 5.00 (average of 23 ratings)

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

Tracks: Mr. Soul D A Child’s Claim to Fame Everydays Expecting to Fly (Dec. ’67 single) D Bluebird (June ’67 single) Hung Upside Down Sad Memory Good Time Boy Rock and Roll Woman (Sept. ’67 single) Broken Arrow D Total Running Time: -- About the Album: Comments here. Go to the DMDB page for more about this album.

Last Time Around Buffalo Springfield

Released: July 30, 1968 Peak: 42 US, -- UK, -- CN, -- AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Genre: classic rock Rating: 3.131 out of 5.00 (average of 17 ratings)

Tracks: On the Way Home It’s So Hard to Wait Pretty Girl Why Four Days Gone Carefree Country Day Special Care The Hour of Not Quite Rain Questions I Am a Child D Merry-Go-Round Uno Mundo Kind Woman About the Album: Comments here.

Neil Young Neil Young

Released: November 12, 1968 Peak: -- US, -- UK, -- CN, -- AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, 2.0 world (includes US + UK) Genre: classic rock Rating: 3.464 out of 5.00 (average of 13 ratings)

Tracks: The Emperor of Wyoming The Loner (2/21/69, 46 CL) D If I Could Have Her Tonight I’ve Been Waiting for You The Old Laughing Lady (49 CL) D String Quartet from Whiskey Boot Hill Here We Are in the Years What Did You Do to My Life? I’ve Loved Her So Long The Last Trip to Tulsa About the Album: After three albums with Buffalo Springfield, Neil Young released his first solo album.

Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere Neil Young & Crazy Horse

Released: May 14, 1969 Peak: 34 US, -- UK, 32 CN, -- AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 2.40 US, 0.60 UK, 3.50 world (includes US and UK), 5.88 EAS Genre: classic rock Rating: 4.326 out of 5.00 (average of 20 ratings)

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

Tracks: Cinnamon Girl (4/20/70, 55 BB, 56 CB, 36 GR, 52 HR, 1 CL, 25 CN, 34 AU, 1 DF) D Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (4/7/69, 25 CL, 21 DF) Round & Round (It Won’t Be Long) Down by the River (5/14/69, 7 CL, 9 DF) D Losing End (When You’re On) Running Dry (Requiem for the Rockets) Cowgirl in the Sand (6 CL, 18 DF) D About the Album: Go to the DMDB page for more about this album.

Déjà Vu Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

Released: March 11, 1970 Peak: 11 US, 5 UK, 1 CN, 12 AU, 16 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 8.0 US, -- UK, 13.5 world (includes US and UK), 24.78 EAS Genre: folk rock/classic rock Rating: 4.492 out of 5.00 (average of 39 ratings)

Tracks: Carry On/Questions Teach Your Children Almost Cut My Hair Helpless D Woodstock Déjà Vu Our House 4 + 20 Country Girl Everybody I Love You About the Album: “By the time of their first tour, which included the Woodstock festival, [CSN] had added Young, also a veteran of Buffalo Springfield, who maintained a solo career.” AM The Woodstock festival was only “their second public performance. A half-dozen songs from their set appear on the 'Woodstock' (1970) and 'Woodstock Two' (1971) concert soundtracks.” RH “Déjà Vu, was a chart-topping hit in 1970.” AM It was “a more eclectic and electric endeavor in which the group expanded with the addition of [not only] Neil Young…[but] the rhythm section of Dallas Taylor and Greg Reeves.” RH Go to the DMDB page for more about this album, including awards and details about each song.

After the Gold Rush Neil Young

Released: August 31, 1970 Peak: 8 US, 7 UK, 5 CN, 13 AU, 12 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 2.5 US, 0.6 UK, 5.5 world (includes US and UK) Genre: classic rock Rating: 4.541 out of 5.00 (average of 28 ratings)

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

Tracks: Tell Me Why After the Gold Rush (6 CL) D Only Love Can Break Your Heart (9/19/70, 33 BB, 20 CB, 32 GR, 14 HR, 11 CL, 16 CN) Southern Man (3 CL, 1 DF) D Till the Morning Comes Oh, Lonesome Me Don’t Let It Bring You Down (21 CL) Birds When You Dance You Can Really Love (3/13/71, 93 BB, 93 CB, 59 HR, 16 CL, 54 CN) I Believe in You (49 CL) D Cripple Creek Ferry About the Album: Go to the DMDB page for more about this album.

Harvest Neil Young

Released: February 14, 1972 Peak: 12 US, 11 UK, 12 CN, 11 AU, 1 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 4.3 US, 0.9 UK, 16.1 world (includes US and UK), 23.82 EAS Genre: classic rock/folk rock Rating: 4.281 out of 5.00 (average of 29 ratings)

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

Tracks: Out on the Weekend Harvest D A Man Needs a Maid D Heart of Gold D Are You Ready for the Country? Old Man D There’s a World Alabama The Needle and the Damage Done D Words (Between the Lines of Age) About the Album: Go to the DMDB page for more about this album.

Tonight’s the Night Neil Young

Recorded: 3/7/70 to 12/5/73 Released: June 20, 1975 Peak: 25 US, 48 UK, 12 CN, 42 AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.06 UK, 1.0 world (includes US + UK) Genre: classic rock Rating: 4.142 out of 5.00 (average of 24 ratings)

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

Tracks: Tonight’s the Night D Speakin’ Out World on a String Borrowed Tune Come on Baby, Let’s Go Downtown Mellow My Mind Roll Another Number (For the Road) Albuquerque New Mama Lookout Joe Tired Eyes D Tonight’s the Night, Pt. 2 About the Album: Go to the DMDB page for more about this album.

On the Beach Neil Young

Released: July 16, 1974 Peak: 16 US, 42 UK, 13 CN, 34 AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 0.50 US, 0.06 UK, 2.0 world (includes US + UK), 2.31 EAS Genre: classic rock Rating: 4.127 out of 5.00 (average of 28 ratings)

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

Tracks: Walk On D See the Sky about to Rain Revolution Blues For the Turnstiles D Vampire Blues On the Beach Motion Pictures Ambulance Blues About the Album: Go to the DMDB page for more about this album.

Zuma Neil Young & Crazy Horse

Released: November 10, 1975 Peak: 25 US, 44 UK, 69 CN, 44 AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 0.50 US, 0.06 UK, 1.50 world (includes US + UK), 2.45 EAS Genre: classic rock Rating: 3.600 out of 5.00 (average of 23 ratings)

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

Tracks: Don’t Cry No Tears Danger Bird Pardon My Heart Lookin’ for a Love Barstool Blues Stupid Girl Drive Back Cortez the Killer D Through My Sails About the Album: Go to the DMDB page for more about this album.

Long May You Run The Stills-Young Band

Released: September 20, 1976 Peak: 26 US, 12 UK, 26 CN, 16 AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 0.50 US, 0.06 UK Genre: classic rock Rating: 3.242 out of 5.00 (average of 14 ratings)

Tracks: Long May You Run (1976 single, charted 7/3/93, 28 CL, 34 AR, 71 UK, 28 CN, 9 DF) D Make Love to You Midnight on the Bay (12/18/76, 48 CL) Black Coral Ocean Girl Let It Shine 12/8 Blues (All the Same) Fontainebleau Guardian Angel About the Album: After Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young toured in 1974, there was an attempt to make another album together. The quartet ended up splitting into two camps with David Crosby and Graham Nash resuming their partnership they’d developed on albums as a duo while the ex-Buffalo Springfield members Stephen Stills and Neil Young found themselves working together again as the Stills-Young Band.

American Stars ‘n ‘Bars Neil Young & Crazy Horse

Recorded: 12/13/74 to 4/4/77 Released: June 13, 1977 Peak: 21 US, 17 UK, 16 CN, 21 AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 0.50 US, 0.06 UK, 1.50 world (includes US + UK), 2.69 EAS Genre: classic rock Rating: 3.099 out of 5.00 (average of 23 ratings)

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

Tracks: The Old Country Waltz [2:58] (recorded 4/4/77) Saddle Up the Palomino [3:00] (recorded 4/4/77) Hey Babe [3:35] (recorded 4/4/77, single: June ‘77) Hold Back the Tears [4:18] (recorded 4/4/77) Bite the Bullet [3:30] (recorded 4/4/77) Star of Bethlehem [2:42] (recorded 12/13/74) D Will to Love [7:11] (recorded 4/25/76) Like a Hurricane [8:20] (recorded 11/29/75, single: Aug. ’77, 4 CL) D Homegrown [2:20] (recorded 11/19/75) About the Album: This album was an interesting mix of old and new with five songs recorded in 1977 with Crazy Horse and four other songs pulled from recordings from 1974 to 1976.

Decade Neil Young

Recorded: 1966-1976 Released: October 28, 1977 Peak: 43 US, 46 UK, 47 CN, 21 AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, 0.30 UK, 2.50 world (includes US and UK) Genre: classic rock Rating: 4.624 out of 5.00 (average of 20 ratings)

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

Tracks, Disc 1: (1) Down to the Wire (2) Burned (3) Mr. Soul (4) Broken Arrow (5) Expecting to Fly (6) Sugar Mountain (7) I Am a Child (8) The Loner (9) The Old Laughing Lady (10) Cinnamon Girl (11) Down by the River (12) Cowgirl in the Sand (13) I Believe in You (14) After the Gold Rush (15) Southern Man (16) Helpless Tracks, Disc 2: (1) Ohio (2) Soldier (3) Old Man (4) A Man Needs a Maid (5) Harvest (6) Heart of Gold (7) Star of Bethlehem (8) The Needle and the Damage Done (9) Tonight’s the Night (10) Tired Eyes (11) Walk On (12) For the Turnstiles (13) Winterlong (14) Deep Forbidden Lake (15) Like a Hurricane (16) Love Is a Rose (17) Cortez the Killer (18) Campaigner (19) Long May You Run Total Running Time: 144:22 About the Album: “A great summation of the Flannel Man’s first 10 years. Even in those days, Young wore lots of hats: Buffalo Springfield country rocker, hit-making folk singer, and pre-alternative thrasher. Then, as now, Young was unpredictable and could be exasperatingly elusive – not that there’s anything wrong with that.” EW’93 Tracks Not on Previously Noted Albums: Down to the Wire (Buffalo Springfield, recorded 4/18/67) D Sugar Mountain (recorded 11/10/68, released 2/21/69 as B side of “The Loner,” 10 CL, 13 DF) D Ohio (CSNY, 1970) D Soldier (recorded 11/15/71) D Winterlong (recorded 11/28/73, 49 CL) D Love Is a Rose (recorded 6/16/74, 44 CL, 13 DF) D Deep Forbidden Lake (recorded 12/13/74, 49 CL) D Campaigner (recorded 8/11/76, 49 CL) D

Resources/References: AM AllMusic.com bio by Stephen Thomas Erlewine EW’93 Entertainment Weekly (10/29/1993). “100 Greatest CDs: A Love-It-Or-Loathe It Guide to the Essential Disc Library” Related DMDB Links: First posted 2/19/2010; last updated 9/9/2026.