DVD REVIEW
Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, Neil Young With Crazy Horse, Reprise Records, 1970
I have mentioned elsewhere in this space that, on any given night in the 1960’s, Jim Morrison and the Doors were pound for pound the best rock and roll band in the world. I would stand by that remark as a general proposition but only add that for quality over the long haul the Rolling Stones would edge the Doors out. However, somewhere, somehow into this mix one must place Neil Young’s work with Crazy Horse in the early 1970’s. Young himself has gone through many transformations including grunge bandleader and lately sort of a soulful folk-rock elder statesman. But back in the day he could rock with the best of them-first with Buffalo Springfield and then the various combinations with Crosby, Stills and Nash.
So what makes Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere special? Easy. Young on lead vocals and guitar and the band play the kind of acid-inspired rock that has withstood the test of time. That is not true for most of the work of that era. Some Jefferson
Airplane, some The Who yes but most of it is rather grating on the ear these days. And the aging of this reviewer is only one of the factors for that belief. Neil and the guys knew how to work the riffs as they related to any particular song. Take, for example, Down By The River, it is simply powerful without being overdone. Or the title song mentioned above, for that matter.
I think that Young, as experienced musician by that point in his career, had something in the back of his mind about doing music for the long haul. The quality of this album reflects that decision. Look, electricity will take virtually anything that an instrument has to offer. The history of rock and roll proves that. If you want to get a slice of what the best use of that electricity was like when men and women played rock and roll for keeps listen here.
Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, Neil Young With Crazy Horse, Reprise Records, 1970
I have mentioned elsewhere in this space that, on any given night in the 1960’s, Jim Morrison and the Doors were pound for pound the best rock and roll band in the world. I would stand by that remark as a general proposition but only add that for quality over the long haul the Rolling Stones would edge the Doors out. However, somewhere, somehow into this mix one must place Neil Young’s work with Crazy Horse in the early 1970’s. Young himself has gone through many transformations including grunge bandleader and lately sort of a soulful folk-rock elder statesman. But back in the day he could rock with the best of them-first with Buffalo Springfield and then the various combinations with Crosby, Stills and Nash.
So what makes Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere special? Easy. Young on lead vocals and guitar and the band play the kind of acid-inspired rock that has withstood the test of time. That is not true for most of the work of that era. Some Jefferson
Airplane, some The Who yes but most of it is rather grating on the ear these days. And the aging of this reviewer is only one of the factors for that belief. Neil and the guys knew how to work the riffs as they related to any particular song. Take, for example, Down By The River, it is simply powerful without being overdone. Or the title song mentioned above, for that matter.
I think that Young, as experienced musician by that point in his career, had something in the back of his mind about doing music for the long haul. The quality of this album reflects that decision. Look, electricity will take virtually anything that an instrument has to offer. The history of rock and roll proves that. If you want to get a slice of what the best use of that electricity was like when men and women played rock and roll for keeps listen here.
Music From A Folk/Rock Elder Statesman
ReplyDeleteCD REVIEW
After The Gold Rush, Neil Young And Crazy Horse, Warner Brothers Records, 1970
I have previously mentioned the name Neil Young in this space in connection with his early career as a heavy rock presence with his band Crazy Horse on the album “Every Body Knows This Is Nowhere”. I noted there that Neil Yong had had many incantations and seemed to have lately taken up the role of folk/ rock elder statesman with some success. In short, through Young’s varied career it has been hard to type him. That brings us to the CD under review that kind of makes that point more succinctly that I could on my own.
This album is from the same period and with the same band as “Every Body” mentioned above but it is far less a rock classic than it is and a more diverse reflection of Young’s talents and interest. Yes, “Southern Man” ranks right up there with “Down By The River” and other efforts but there are also classic country tunes like “Oh Lonesome Me’ and “Tell Me Why or the folkie “Cripple Creek Ferry” and “Till The Morning Comes”. See what I mean? Folk, rock, country-the only part that seems to be pure fact is that he is an elder statesman of ….music. Listen on.