barstool blues > lookin for a love > don't cry no tears > danger bird > through my sails > cortez the killer > drive back > pardon my heart > stupid girl
x-post yah but i mainly thought it was for people who liked the album
― matt p (Matt P), Sunday, 25 January 2009 12:18 (fifteen years ago) link
i mean it's probably neil's most consistent album imo, so i just get a little exasperated when people are like omg cortez the killer because they've heard decade
― matt p (Matt P), Sunday, 25 January 2009 12:24 (fifteen years ago) link
'like a hurricane' on an american stars n bars poll i can understand.
― matt p (Matt P), Sunday, 25 January 2009 12:25 (fifteen years ago) link
Barstool Blues
― kornrulez6969, Sunday, 25 January 2009 15:50 (fifteen years ago) link
neil's most consistent album
― alex in mainhattan, Sunday, 25 January 2009 15:57 (fifteen years ago) link
"harvest"
― alex in mainhattan, Sunday, 25 January 2009 15:58 (fifteen years ago) link
I dunno, this might be my favorite Neil record, but yeah, it's definitely not as consistent as others. Maybe if it was all Crazy Horse, it'd be a little more so. But throwing "Pardon My Heart" and "Through My Sails" (which are both great) make it a little more piecemeal than some others. I voted for "Barstool Blues" an insanely wonderful three minutes. Goes to show that Neil can be at his best when he's concise, too. But no need to get upset about people voting for "Cortez" -- that is an incredible piece of music.
― tylerw, Sunday, 25 January 2009 17:00 (fifteen years ago) link
Danger Bird- heavy, man
― WARS OF ARMAGEDDON (Karaoke Version) (Sparkle Motion), Sunday, 25 January 2009 17:10 (fifteen years ago) link
honestly, i would vote "Barstool Blues" over "Cortez" anyway
― crackers is biters (M@tt He1ges0n), Sunday, 25 January 2009 17:40 (fifteen years ago) link
This album is so awesome that even the CSNY blandness of "Through the Sails" works in context. "Drive Back" is my choice, for that RIFF. Nothing like this was hitting the Billboard Top 40 album chart in '75.
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Sunday, 25 January 2009 18:56 (fifteen years ago) link
barstool blues.next.
― Zeno, Sunday, 25 January 2009 19:31 (fifteen years ago) link
one of the best sounding records i own. um, on vinyl that is. i've never heard the cd. just so fuckin' beautiful. i love the whole thing.
― scott seward, Sunday, 25 January 2009 19:39 (fifteen years ago) link
gonna get a dog, name her zuma.
― i like to fart and i am crazy (gbx), Sunday, 25 January 2009 19:42 (fifteen years ago) link
"Don't Cry No Tears". Haven't we done this before?
― Euler, Sunday, 25 January 2009 22:22 (fifteen years ago) link
This is probably the Neil album that best showcases his ability as a guitarist, gorgeous production too. Went for 'Danger Bird'.
― Gavin in Leeds, Sunday, 25 January 2009 22:57 (fifteen years ago) link
barstool blues
I'm guessing bb and cortez will be 1 and 2
― iatee, Sunday, 25 January 2009 23:02 (fifteen years ago) link
Wow, I was just playing this yesterday and wondering what I would pick in a poll. And "Danger Bird" it is. This my favourite NY album.
― Vicious Cop Kills Gentle Fool (Tom D.), Monday, 26 January 2009 11:34 (fifteen years ago) link
Must load into ipod tonight, but probably danger bird.
― Dear Tacos, how are you? I am fine. The weather is nice. I miss yo (Oilyrags), Monday, 26 January 2009 16:52 (fifteen years ago) link
Yes! a Danger Bird rally. Really though there are no losers on this fine album. On any given day I could pick just about anything. Oh yeah, Pardon My Heart-- what a great ballad.
― WARS OF ARMAGEDDON (Karaoke Version) (Sparkle Motion), Monday, 26 January 2009 16:58 (fifteen years ago) link
Lou Reed famously praised the guitar on "Danger Bird."
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Monday, 26 January 2009 16:59 (fifteen years ago) link
This is pretty solid throughout.
― Bill Magill, Monday, 26 January 2009 17:05 (fifteen years ago) link
voting Pardon My Heart...Barstool Blues may be better, but for me it's reeeal close...it might be one of Young's best ballads...the way those Neil argues with those "You've-brought-it-all-on" call and response vocals, the way he argues with the song itself, the end where he loves the girl for the moments they have or haven't shared...it paints a very clear and detailed pciture of the path to closure after a relationship breaks down...(made all the more astonishing by being dropped into the middle of the cheeseburger paradise that is Zuma)...shows exactly why Neil is one of the best songwriters around.
― seppuku toothbrush (Drugs A. Money), Monday, 26 January 2009 17:17 (fifteen years ago) link
"Danger Bird" juuuuuuuuust barely over "Barstool Blues".
― jon /via/ chi 2.0, Monday, 26 January 2009 17:19 (fifteen years ago) link
oh man this is a good album
― tylerw, Monday, 26 January 2009 17:21 (fifteen years ago) link
saw him on sat night and tbh Cortez was the highlight of the show, with this repeated 'dancing across the water' refrain at the end....total chills down the spine. it's not normally my favourite on here (any one of the run from Pardon My Heart thru Barstool Blues usually is) but i might have to vote for it just for that performance.
― dugong.jpg (jabba hands), Wednesday, 28 January 2009 03:12 (fifteen years ago) link
After relistening, I have come to the conclusion that my first impulse was correct - sometimes the obvious thing is the right thing, and just comes dancing across the water right at you.
― Dear Tacos, how are you? I am fine. The weather is nice. I miss yo (Oilyrags), Thursday, 29 January 2009 17:29 (fifteen years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.
― System, Friday, 30 January 2009 00:01 (fifteen years ago) link
This is damn tough- I'll start with songs I wouldn't vote for: Stupid Girl, Drive Back, and Through My Sails (though I do dig these three as well.)
I guess I'll go with Lookin' for a Love just because it's a beautiful country-rock number and I'm afraid it won't get many votes.
― ColinO, Friday, 30 January 2009 18:14 (fifteen years ago) link
I can't believe anyone would consider Harvest better than this- for one thing, most of the best versions of the songs on Harvest are found elsewhere: specifically, A Man Needs a Maid/Heart of Gold and Old Man from Massey Hall. If I want to hear mellow Neil it's usually Massey Hall or Live at Sugar Mountain or the second half of On the Beach.
x-post to Alex
― ColinO, Friday, 30 January 2009 18:25 (fifteen years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.
― System, Saturday, 31 January 2009 00:01 (fifteen years ago) link
Cortex the Killer is a tremendous guitar epic the likes of which Neil Young hasn't played in years.
― Dan Landings, Saturday, 31 January 2009 01:06 (fifteen years ago) link
Cortez is what I actually meant!
This is perhaps the wrong thread to revive but I can't find a better one for it. So anyway: any views on the Ducks? I listened to a show from here. "Your Time Will Come Around" and "Hold On Boys" seem to be Ducks originals, and are excellent; the latter in particular would have fit right in on Zuma. Also check out "Windward Pass", an 8+ minute instrumental with Neil in full liftoff throughout---but I think I also hear synths in the background, giving the song a beachy ambience suiting the song's title (a very Santa Cruz sound). It's gorgeous.
― begs the question, when is enough enough (Euler), Wednesday, 24 February 2010 15:39 (fourteen years ago) link
it's an interesting little sidetrip, for sure. Neil's material is obviously head and shoulders above the other songwriters' stuff, but it's still cool to hear him play the role of a guitarist in a band -- he's a bit more versatile than you might think! The Ducks seem like an attempt to get some of the spirit of Buffalo Springfield going ... It is kinda too bad they didn't make a record, probably would've been cool. Wonder if they ever did any studio recordings?
― tylerw, Wednesday, 24 February 2010 16:10 (fourteen years ago) link
Yeah, I mean, I love Moby Grape, but "Mr. Soul" here just tears. Also: do you know if any of the three songs I mentioned were Neil's, or if not, whose were they?
Neil calls "Comes A Time" a Ducks original on the show too, which was interesting, at any rate.
― begs the question, when is enough enough (Euler), Wednesday, 24 February 2010 16:14 (fourteen years ago) link
some funny details on their wiki page:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ducks
this recording is great, had never heard of this before.
― mizzell, Wednesday, 24 February 2010 16:15 (fourteen years ago) link
ha, kind of a cool little history there. I guess even if there aren't any studio recordings, Neil probably has at least a gig or two recorded in sbd quality in the archives. all of the circulating recordings are audience, right?
― tylerw, Wednesday, 24 February 2010 16:23 (fourteen years ago) link
acc. to the Wiki page (and the related Thrasher's Wheat page), fans at the shows said they saw mobile recording units at some of the shows. So there's likely something in the archive.
― begs the question, when is enough enough (Euler), Wednesday, 24 February 2010 16:34 (fourteen years ago) link
the duck calls in the crowd of this show is pretty hilar.
― mizzell, Wednesday, 24 February 2010 21:27 (fourteen years ago) link
The band focused on topics such as trucks, girls and bars.
lol
― Wrinkles, I'll see you on the other side (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 24 February 2010 21:34 (fourteen years ago) link
weird I don't remember any mention of this in Shakey but maybe I'm just forgettin
think it's sorta glossed over in a page or two ... wonder if they played Hey Hey My My? Blackburn is the co-writer ...
― tylerw, Wednesday, 24 February 2010 21:35 (fourteen years ago) link
oh to be in santa cruz in the summer of 77http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6e/Ducks000.jpg/220px-Ducks000.jpg
― tylerw, Wednesday, 24 February 2010 21:36 (fourteen years ago) link
man the Bernstein Tapes are my new favorite Neil thing ever...recorded during the Zuma tour in 1976, these are acoustic/piano versions of Neil's best heartbreakers. I mean check this setlist out:
1. Campaigner (Boston, 26th)2. Old Laughing Lady (Atlanta, 24th)3. Human Highway (Madison, 14th)4. Tell Me Why (Chicago, 15th)5. After The Goldrush (Houston, 11th)6. Harvest (Boston, 22nd)7. Mr. Soul (New York City, 20th)8. Here We Are In The Years (Atlanta, 24th)9. Journey Through The Past (Boston, 22nd)10. Heart Of Gold (Fort Worth, 10th)11. A Man Needs A Maid (New York City, 20th)12. White Line (Fort Worth, 10th)13. Give Me Strength (New York City, 20th)14. No One Seems To Know (Boulder, 7th)15. Mellow My Mind (New York City, 20th)16. Too Far Gone (Boulder, 6th)17. Needle And The Damage Done (Atlanta, 24th)18. Pocahontas (Atlanta, 24th)19. Roll Another Number (Boston, 22nd)20. Losing End (Atlanta, 24th)21. Love Is A Rose (Houston, 11th)22. Sugar Mountain (Atlanta, 24th)
They're recorded from different nights so no single night was the dark night of the soul it might appear. The sound is great: these are soundboards I think. man the "Journey Through The Past" is the saddest thing ever. "A Man Needs A Maid" has a massive synth or organ accompaniment (it's a bit distorted, so could just be organ) that kinda sounds like some lost OMD album closer.
― Euler, Sunday, 18 July 2010 19:57 (thirteen years ago) link
is this an official release??
― not everything is a campfire (ian), Sunday, 18 July 2010 19:58 (thirteen years ago) link
no, it's a boot, but it's easily findable...man this would make a sweet "bootleg series" type thing, just press this boot as it is & it would be epic.
― Euler, Sunday, 18 July 2010 20:01 (thirteen years ago) link
it's a bootleg, but put together by an associate of Young's. pretty easily found on the net, i think. it is an amazing listen -- some of the dialogues are really out there. acoustic version of "white line" is killer.
― tylerw, Sunday, 18 July 2010 20:04 (thirteen years ago) link
dunno if this link still works, but ... http://rootstrata.com/rootblog/?p=1991
― tylerw, Sunday, 18 July 2010 20:06 (thirteen years ago) link
The opening "Campaigner" has me on the floor. On another thread about Neil someone said that Neil's secret weapon is his sense of melody, and this "Campaigner" makes it so stark, so clear. "Human Highway" too.
― Euler, Sunday, 18 July 2010 20:08 (thirteen years ago) link
oh and "give me strength"! one of the top ten never-released Neil songs. i guess "no one seem to know" would fit in there, too. it is just crazy how, when so many of his songwriting peers at that time were just floundering, Neil was hitting peak after peak.
― tylerw, Sunday, 18 July 2010 20:10 (thirteen years ago) link
I tend to skip "Cortez...," yeah.
― So who you gonna call? The martini police (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 24 March 2021 00:45 (three years ago) link
I don't object in principle to Neil playing three chords endlessly, but the song itself has to mean something to me.
― Halfway there but for you, Wednesday, 24 March 2021 00:52 (three years ago) link
If you don’t like the slow jams are you even listening to Neil Young?
― weird woman in a bar (La Lechera), Wednesday, 24 March 2021 00:57 (three years ago) link
"On the Beach" is more my speed.
― Halfway there but for you, Wednesday, 24 March 2021 01:00 (three years ago) link
also, technically it's three chords i guess but they are turned into quite the maze
― John Cooper of Christian rock band Skillet (map), Wednesday, 24 March 2021 01:01 (three years ago) link
"Cortez" means everything to me, though I might have trouble explaining why.
― clemenza, Wednesday, 24 March 2021 01:03 (three years ago) link
Neil's slow ones are spookier than his quickies: "Running Dry (Requiem for the Rockets)," my god
― So who you gonna call? The martini police (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 24 March 2021 01:04 (three years ago) link
Not enough electric guitar.
― Duncan Disorderly (Tom D.), Wednesday, 24 March 2021 01:22 (three years ago) link
Attempting to duplicate the atmosphere described in Shakey, two buddies and I about fifteen years ago tried the recipe for honey sliders at my place: honey, a little butter, lots of weed in a frying pan at low heat. We spooned the coagulated shit. It tasted like burned spaghetti. For fifteen minutes we condemned our stupidity. Then...holy shit. We couldn't move. The nicest low-hanging buzz.
― So who you gonna call? The martini police (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 24 March 2021 01:30 (three years ago) link
I've been wondering if these archival releases will uncover a hitherto-unknown full reggae version of Cortez he laid down and then forgot about.
― a sad robot dancing alone in the corner of a suburban disco (Matt #2), Wednesday, 24 March 2021 01:41 (three years ago) link
now I imagine Tonight-era Bowie covering it in a reggae version.
― So who you gonna call? The martini police (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 24 March 2021 01:41 (three years ago) link
Plus marimbas.
― Halfway there but for you, Wednesday, 24 March 2021 01:45 (three years ago) link
he came dancin' across da watah mahn
― So who you gonna call? The martini police (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 24 March 2021 01:47 (three years ago) link
Maybe as a duet with Iggy?
― Halfway there but for you, Wednesday, 24 March 2021 01:50 (three years ago) link
Iggy from "Taxi" maybe.
― Duncan Disorderly (Tom D.), Wednesday, 24 March 2021 01:54 (three years ago) link
A calypso version, even
― a sad robot dancing alone in the corner of a suburban disco (Matt #2), Wednesday, 24 March 2021 01:55 (three years ago) link
Guys, I'm going to bed soon, dreamlessly, I hope.
― So who you gonna call? The martini police (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 24 March 2021 01:57 (three years ago) link
― Halfway there but for you, Tuesday, March 23, 2021 8:00 PM (two hours ago) bookmarkflaglink
so three chords is boring, but four chords is totally cool
― voodoo chili, Wednesday, 24 March 2021 03:37 (three years ago) link
i personally don’t think the number of chords correlated to the quality of a song, but i digress
― voodoo chili, Wednesday, 24 March 2021 03:38 (three years ago) link
I said I don't object to three chords.
― Halfway there but for you, Wednesday, 24 March 2021 04:13 (three years ago) link
"Cowgirl in the Sand" and "Change Your Mind" are based around the same two chords, but I find the latter more meaningful as a song, as a lyric and performance.
― Halfway there but for you, Wednesday, 24 March 2021 04:19 (three years ago) link
cowgirl in the sand has way more than two chords?
― voodoo chili, Wednesday, 24 March 2021 04:34 (three years ago) link
Yeah the bridge/chorus has at least 5 iirc
― Western® with Bacon Flavor, Wednesday, 24 March 2021 10:54 (three years ago) link
Yes, but at least half of each song is jamming on the same two chords.
― Halfway there but for you, Wednesday, 24 March 2021 12:11 (three years ago) link
They can’t all be “Roadrunner”!
― Western® with Bacon Flavor, Wednesday, 24 March 2021 12:13 (three years ago) link
counting the number of chords used in a song strikes me as the absolute worst way to engage with music
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 24 March 2021 13:27 (three years ago) link
I still can't remember whenOr how I lost my way
― voodoo chili, Wednesday, 24 March 2021 13:50 (three years ago) link
dume is def my favorite disc on archives 2 so far. never loved danger bird but at the same time a 7 minute doper jam fits so well right there in the 2nd slot, especially balancing out cortez at the end. the dume version of powderfinger probably works as a good replacement
― nobody like my rap (One Eye Open), Wednesday, 24 March 2021 14:08 (three years ago) link
Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), my point was that the quality of Neil's songs isn't consistent with how many chords they have.
― Halfway there but for you, Wednesday, 24 March 2021 14:22 (three years ago) link
for real though, i remember the first time i heard "cortez," i thought the extended intro was like slowly pulling back layers of an onion or something, it was almost bewildering in its meandering raggedness, but obviously the feeling of the thing has a pretty direct and strong trajectory like almost everything neil did in the classic years.
― John Cooper of Christian rock band Skillet (map), Wednesday, 24 March 2021 14:47 (three years ago) link
One thing that can be said in favour of songs based around a limited set of chords is that the form is highly conducive to improvised lead work. (John McLaughlin would doubtless disagree, but whatevs)
― I Advance Masked (Vast Halo), Wednesday, 24 March 2021 14:59 (three years ago) link
https://dangerousminds.net/content/uploads/images/made/content/uploads/images/neil_young_zuma_1975_465_240_int.jpg
― an icon of a worried-looking, long-haired, bespectacled man (C. Grisso/McCain), Wednesday, 31 August 2022 02:59 (one year ago) link
The best album ever.
― Malevolent Arugula (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 31 August 2022 09:22 (one year ago) link
The best beach ever.
― henry s, Wednesday, 31 August 2022 15:32 (one year ago) link
Santa Monica Beach is the location chosen by photographer Bob Seidemann for the cover of Neil Young's fifth album, “On The Beach ” which was released in 1974.
― Halfway there but for you, Wednesday, 31 August 2022 16:14 (one year ago) link
why the hell would you do that when zuma is like 10 miles down the road, lol. pure laziness? some money thing?
― (grim) pump track (wales) (map), Wednesday, 31 August 2022 16:27 (one year ago) link
On the Beach is a different album from Zuma
― Josefa, Wednesday, 31 August 2022 17:25 (one year ago) link
Only 70s Neil album I'm all that bothered about (and maybe Rust) and what is surely now one of my favourite album billboards.
― you can see me from westbury white horse, Wednesday, 31 August 2022 19:54 (one year ago) link
― Josefa, Wednesday, August 31, 2022 6:25 PM (two hours ago) bookmarkflaglink
jesus, what a brain fart lol
― (grim) pump track (wales) (map), Wednesday, 31 August 2022 20:13 (one year ago) link
James Mazzeo, the Zuma (and other Neil projects) artist, passed away recently: http://neilyoungnews.thrasherswheat.org/2022/08/james-mazzeo-1944-2022.html
― tylerw, Wednesday, 31 August 2022 20:23 (one year ago) link
Wow, that Zuma drawing looks great in color.
― henry s, Wednesday, 31 August 2022 20:36 (one year ago) link
RIP "Sandy" Mazzeo, one of the standout supporting players in Shakey
― an icon of a worried-looking, long-haired, bespectacled man (C. Grisso/McCain), Thursday, 1 September 2022 00:15 (one year ago) link