A World of Constant Strangers: The Neil Young Results Thread

"Alabama" placed 76th; because it's played so less frequently on the hard-rock station here, I prefer it right now (but realize Neil's going over ground he already covered). Suddenly, I want to defend both songs...

http://phildellio.tripod.com/neil64.jpg

^^ a good song I always forget about

They're both pretty lame. "Crime int he City" is really cool, though. The bass on that is buried but nuts.

maybe the only successful song with non-trad Neil instrumental flourishes in his catalog.

WOAH! Guess I was wrong about "Ordinary People" being the preferred Blue Notes jam. Voted for this, totally didn't expect it to place.

too low! (even tho I coudnt afford it many points)

"Crime in the City" is one of the very few instances where I prefer the non-Crazy Horse version to the Crazy Horse version. And I looove the Crazy Horse version.

voted for that crime in the city. love the freedom version, love the weld version, but the best version is the 20-minute live version.

Great song, yet another that I just couldn't find room for. Agreed that the epic live take is the best too.

yeah I think I specified on my ballot that I was voting for one of the bootleg versions, and all my boots have come courtesy of doomandgloom

I immediately gravitated to the two ballads I love on Freedom, so except for the hit and "On Broadway," the truth is that I don't remember much else.

is it too late to add "Wish I never put the hose down...wish I never got POLLED" to the thread title?

I voted both Southern Man and Alabama highly - they rock imo. The intro riff on Alabama especially. I don't get the hate, but then I ain't from round these parts.

1. A++ for the images, clemenza

2. Hey, I made a difference: voted for 75, 74 and 73 (and three others so far)

3. Countdown's going by real fast. I think I'll come back tomorrow and do the comments thing then.

yeah the images are great, very neil

Thanks. I initially read that as "Hey, I made a difference: voted in 75, 74, and 73"...I thought you were re-living the Nixon meltdown.

http://phildellio.tripod.com/neil63.jpg

That's somebody who lives just down the road from Neil's Broken Arrow ranch. I don't know, I've just never been a big fan of this song...very arty.

My very last cut. Surpised it is this low, but I think we'll see more BS to come...

it's kind of hilarious he ended a bunch of shows with "A Day in The Life" when he had this in his bag

Meant in a good way, of course. (xpost)

xp it's pretty? beautiful, heartfelt lyrics that i can only imagine neil young pulling off? the pet shop boys do it?

I'd really love that to have happened. Could imagine that slotting nicely at the end of 'Behaviour'.

i love "Broken Arrow" - def arty as hell but beautiful and the non-song parts move pretty quickly

It really did happen--the PSB have done an excellent cover of "Philadelphia."

xp! the pet shop boys do it, for real

I have no use for Buffalo Springfield. Try and try and try and yuck.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbamhAYwyJ4

woah way too low! Thought this would be more of a crowd-pleaser...

"Broken Arrow" is my first to place so far. Have always loved the cut-up nature. And its beauty.

xxpost
Why didn't I know about this until now!

Listening to 'Philadelphia' now, never even knew it existed before today (haven't seen the film either). It's lovely.

broken arrow is flawed, has some nice moments, but not the masterpiece it wants to be. funny to think if it had been a big hit or something, and neil had spent the rest of his career doing five minute orchestral song suites.

That PSB version of Phildelphia is excellent.

wow I thought the PSB thing was a joke!

No one's asked, but I meant to mention that I haven't bothered posting first-place votes because so many ballots--half or more, I would guess--were unranked. I'll try to do that at the end, when I post the full list.

Something tells me that no matter what, Neil was always going to NOT spend the rest of his career doing anything with any consistency or regularity, hit or no hit. Into the ditch...

I will say that I like "Broken Arrow" more than Stills' even longer "Bluebird"--it's been a while, but a lot more, I think.

It's funny how Neil juvenalia is full of ornate Sgt. Pepperisms before he heads off to the garage at the ranch to mature

http://phildellio.tripod.com/neil62.jpg

If I was going with Ornate Neil, I'd pick about half of the solo debut and "Expecting To Fly" over "Broken Arrow." It's an endearing failure, but I feel like he's done more with those ideas in other songs.

Aaaaaaand I just realized I missed a couple of the most obvious songs. Oh, Lex.

I'm referring to the really long "Bluebird" on the early-'70s anthology--seems the original was just over four minutes.

"Harvest" = my #17.

If I was going with Ornate Neil, I'd pick about half of the solo debut and "Expecting To Fly" over "Broken Arrow." It's an endearing failure, but I feel like he's done more with those ideas in other songs.

yeah i'd agree with this (well maybe not HALF of the solo debut), though everything from the '60s on Decade is gorgeous IMO.

my biggest problem with CSNY and Buffalo is that Decade cherry-picked the Neil stuff so well that the other guys are at a serious disadvantage. decent countryish number followed by GENIUS GODHEAD I'VE KNOWN SINCE MIDDLE SCHOOL followed by some little hippie thing...

La Lechera left me her ballot so I would like to note she voted for "Harvest"

Well, I think the other guys were at a serious disadvantage anyway just by virtue of not being Neil Young, but yeah, that definitely factors in.

Didn't realize Harvest was the biggest-selling LP of '72. I knew it'd be up there, but I would have thought Exile, Paul Simon, a Carpenters LP, Carole King's Music, something else. Like the title song a whole lot.

http://phildellio.tripod.com/neil61.jpg