Dez's 5 Star Albums: The Neil Young Edition

Long ago JMW and I had a conversation where we more or less agreed on the premise that in rock and roll, no matter how great you are, you only have a decade (give or take) of sustained greatness and importance. You might recapture it with a random release after your decade, but it will not be sustained. That is true even for the Rolling Stones, who have been together for 50 years. The Stones really made their mark from 1964-74, and then briefly recaptured the greatness in '78 with Some Girls, but other than '64-'74 and the '78 fluke, at best they released some good records amidst mediocrity. Some may argue for others (and I'd love to hear the arguments), but for me, Neil Young is the rock artist who has defied that general rule. His first decade (if you include work with Buffalo Springfield), was about '65-'75. He was one of the most vital artists working during that period. But he kept going. The late 70's continued that high level of work. The 80's were very interesting, but unsuccessful (although I love Trans). Then in '89 came Freedom, starting another extremely successful period that fizzled out in the late '90s. Now in the late 2000's, he has released two excellent, daring records, and I am hoping for a third great one next month. Who else has been around as long as Neil, and still releases creative, vital, daring, relevant records? Who else of Neil's vintage still tours and still keep the focus on the new material, vs. just giving you nostalgia shows?

Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (1969): Neil's first record with his garage band Crazy Horse remains their most potent studio collaboration; Neil apparently wrote the epics "Down By the River" and "Cowgirl in the Sand" while waylaid by a high fever, if only we were all so productive when ill.

Neil Young - Live at Massey Hall 1971 (live) (1971/2007): Neil will often preview an upcoming album at his shows instead of focusing on the album that he is supposed to be out promoting (I was lucky enough to catch him in '89 doing that for the upcoming Freedom), this wonderful solo acoustic show finds Neil in a great mood during a peak period, his between song chatter is often very funny, and he happens to be previewing songs that would eventually become Harvest.

Neil Young - Harvest (1972): Neil's most popular record could have set him up for a comfortable Jackson Browne/James Taylor like career as a 70’s acoustic-based singer-songwriter type, but as Neil once said of the record, it put him in the middle of the road, “but the ditch is much more interesting.”

Neil Young - Tonight's the Night (1975): Here’s the ditch, and it is much more interesting.

Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Rust Never Sleeps (live) (1979): There is a theory amongst the Neil faithful that he is rejuvenated at the turn of each decade and creates some of his greatest music at those points (this holds with the end of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, but sort of falls apart with the 90’s, although he is having a mini-renaissance currently); RNS is split evenly between his two most enduring musical personas, esoteric acoustic loner and garage rocker, and features some of his most compelling compositions in both genres.

Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Live Rust (live) (1979): Panned at the time as a cheap grab for cash coming so quick on the heels of Rust Never Sleeps, in hindsight this live record may be the single best way (outside of the compilation Decade) to introduce the uninitiated to the greatness of Neil Young.

Neil Young - Freedom (1989): After a decade in the wilderness, out of nowhere Neil shows up with one of his best and most diverse records, it rescued his career from the commercial dumpster, and featured acoustic gems as sweet as Harvest and edgy rockers that outdid Crazy Horse for intensity.

ABOVE: It was a bold artistic move, and seen as possible career suicide at the time, but after the success of Harvest, Neil veered off the rails and released a harrowing trilogy of records (Time Fades Away, Tonight’s the Night and On the Beach) that together conjure nightmare and L.A. fatigue in equal measure. In hindsight, that brilliant and bold trilogy set Neil up as the unpredictable, exciting and respected artist that he is today.