Neil Young - On The Beach

looking back on it, On The Beach is definitely what sent 14 year old me down the rabbit hole of music obsession. the fact that it wasn't on CD, the ominous artwork and of course, the incredible music all made me realize that I had to go out and find great music, it wasn't just going to show up on mtv or the radio or wherever. and also that i had to get a record player. thinking about it, it's amazing that neil young -- who was one of the biggest rock stars in the world when OTB was released -- was able to put out such a mysterious, strange record that sort of disappeared from the radar for so long. obviously hardcore fans loved it and it was easy to find in used record shops, but it's only been in the past decade or so that it's been hailed as one of his best, i think.

I snagged this from my local record store while the owner was cleaning it at the checkout counter. I've been trying to find it for 8 years (I don't like to buy used records online). This really is a great rainy October record. During Side A, I was convinced that ILX got it right with Revolution Blues. After hearing the title track, I now have my doubts. Now Ambulance Blues is playing. That's it. Tie-breaking vote for Ambulance Blues.

Best side 2 in the history of rock and roll

otm. "Motion Pictures" vs. "Ambulance Blues" for me but they sort of feel like two sides of the same song.

Reactor was side 2 of the tape i had this on, so those records kind of go together for me.

"Got Mash Potatoes/Ain't Got No Motion Pictures"

For the longest time, I thought that Zuma was the third album in the ditch trilogy. I've never even heard Time Fades Away. Is it as strong as On the Beach and Tonight's the Night?

Ambulance blues vs the title track imo. Motion Pictures is a standout track in Neil's catalog but the other two are v v innaresting man

tbh, the hardest part about rating Ambulance Blues above the title track is the lack of drums. The drums sound so good on the title track and revolution blues imo.

i also want to give a shoutout to the foot taps on For the Turnstiles

you definitely need time fades away. might be third place in the ditch trilogy but it's a masterpiece too.

it has taken over for On the Beach as my new vinyl white whale

I see it around a fair amount, seems like. My buddy has been looking for Zuma for years and can't find it.

I found Zuma at the same record store in town. I bought a Technics 1600 mk II and got Zuma thrown in for free! I think it was reissued in Europe. On the Beach is overdue for reissue imo. On the same day, I also got to see Kenny Loggins' turntable, which was in for repairs. Dude has a linear tracking turntable, fyi.

Actually, I had to pay for Zuma. I got Trans thrown in for free. I love that record too, tbh. I owe the ILX thread for even hearing Trans, though.

Zuma reissue on amazon for $17 in the US, fyfi.

"an ambulance can only go so fast" is a fucking DEVASTATING line

Kinda weird that "Revolution Blues" tied for 1st with this poll.

The drums, bass, and driving rhythm guitar on Revolution Blues are a highlight for me. I can live with it tied for 1st. The Laurel Canyon line is especially great, as Ed III noted above.

Sufjan: I found a vinyl copy of TFA at a garage sale about 10 years ago for nothing. It's in perfect shape and has the poster. I just put it away, since I of course already have it. If you're okay with paying postage, I'll send it out to you--use board e-mail, or click on my username. White-whale status sounds like you really want it.

oh wow, clemenza. you are awesome!

I used board e-mail. I got the captcha right the third time...for my third album of the ditch trilogy. The fates and such.

You need TFA - great album

On The Beach is also great because it reminds us of a time when Neil gave a shit about writing lyrics.

TGA is awesome and raucous and has Don't Be Denied on it

Back in March I was at Flea Market (to work a car show--Neil would approve) and was hitting up one of the record stores. I'd been browsing for awhile, not really finding much to be interested in when the owner comes up to me and drops about 50 lps into my empty arms, telling me he'd just got 'em in and that I'd probably find what I was looking for in there. Lo and behold, about halfway in, I find...Ralf and Florian by Kraftwerk. Also, just a few records later, a nice clean Time Fades Away w/the poster to replace my hissy, poster-less and falling apart sleeved copy at home. Together they were mine for $10.

i wonder if Homegrown is just as good as On The Beach. time will tell..i hope...

MAN, Ralf and Florian and Time Fades Away both need to be in my collection someday. I don't go out of my way to buy records too often, so I hope I get a similar opportunity at some point -- $10!

I came home from the lab tonight to find Time Fades Away on my doorstep (thanks again clemenza!). I'm listening to it now (on headphones since everyone is asleep). After the first side, I can tell that Yonder Stands The Sinner -> LA -> Love In Mind is gonna be a favorite run on side 1. I'd heard Love In Mind on Massey Hall, but wow at the other two, which I am hearing for the first time. Side 2 is awesome the whole way through. That riff in Last Dance is insane! "No, No, No." God this is awesome...and raucous, as Drugs says above.

On second listen, the title track is great, too. I think that I prefer the Massey Hall "Journey Through the Past," however.

John Barbata's drums are just nuts on TFA the song.

You need TFA - great album

On The Beach is also great because it reminds us of a time when Neil gave a shit about writing lyrics.

― If Assholes Could Fly This Place Would Be An Airport, Saturday, October 20, 2012 11:12 PM (1 week ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah it's kinda funny, over time neil lost interest in writing lyrics and dylan lost interest in writing music

(not that i don't like stuff they've both done recently, but you know what i mean)

maybe it's just because i'm not a big neil young fan in general, but the most salient characteristic of this album to me is its complete unremarkableness. it seems neither terrible nor great. i can never remember a single song 5 minutes later.

let the torrent of personal abuse and namecalling begin.

naw man neil is good vibes, i recommend listening to this around dusk, on vinyl, beer or other drink of choice in hand. cool if it's water or soda. weed? maybe. not necessary.

poop head

FOR THE TURNSTILES!!!!

*lights self on fire*

maybe it's just because i'm not a big neil young fan in general, but the most salient characteristic of this album to me is its complete unremarkableness. it seems neither terrible nor great. i can never remember a single song 5 minutes later.

i mean... you have a right to your opinion... and taste is taste... but... /cries/.

it's cool if you don't like it as long as you are ok with not being a good person.

[just kidding, it's ok]

fuck you Poliopolice, FUCK YOU

Self-professed non-fan declares Neil Young album "neither terrible nor great." Stay tuned to find out the album's "most salient characteristic."

God this is awesome...and raucous, as Drugs says above.

If there was a box of that tour -- like Miles' Cellar Door or Plugged Nickel boxes -- I'd lap that shit up.

who yells "LAST DANCE!" at the end of the song Last Dance? Lil Jon?

Love that.
LAST DAAANCE!!
Don't Be Denied is a pretty singular song in Neil's catalog, no?

I like to think "Hitchhiker" is "Don't Be Denied Pt. II: The Drug Years".

man, the next time i really want a record, i should pop onto a neil young thread, call it a white whale, and see if someone magically offers to send it to me!
lucky duck.

Top ten album of all time for me. Completely slays me

guess this is the point where I once more lament that the remastered HDCD of time fades away was never released

thank god it leaked, sounds fantastic

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y176/edwardiii/timefadesaway.png

poop head

FOR THE TURNSTILES!!!!

*lights self on fire*

― seasonal hugs (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, October 30, 2012 5:02 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

otmfm

I like to think "Hitchhiker" is "Don't Be Denied Pt. II: The Drug Years".

― 50 Shades of Greil (C. Grisso/McCain), Tuesday, October 30, 2012 9:39 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

you read this somewhere and forgot it, this is almost a direct quote from a Neil interview. let me see if I can dig this up.

didn't take long at all:

Q. But Don't Be Denied for example is one of your best songs. It's also your most openly autobiographical...

A. Yeah, certainly. It's one of them, anyway. The other one's called Hitch-Hiker. It's a contemporary of Don't Be Denied from 1975 and it was all about all the different drugs that I took. I started at the beginning and ran right through my years of drug usage up to that time, drawing parallels with other stuff. It's a very interesting song (laughs). Eventually I mutated it partly into a song called Like An Inca [on Trans]. Only the chorus lived, though all the verses were gone. Hitch-Hiker is now probably bootlegged 'cos I played it six or seven times on some acoustic tour I did in the '90s.

http://thrasherswheat.org/tfa/mojointerview1295pt2.htm

(interview from 95 btw)

direct quote is overstating my case, my bad.