Neil Young - On The Beach

I know, so odd for him to make a bad self-destructive decision

LOL

Thanks for humoring me re: Time Fades Away talk.
I voted On The Beach in this poll.
When I saw Neil play solo in 99 (maybe? 98?) he played Ambulance Blues and it was awesome.

he was doing it on the 2007 tour too

Thanks for humoring me re: Time Fades Away talk.

It's a curious album!

time fades away is pretty easy to find on vinyl. also: not nearly as good as on the beach.

Taking Ambulance Blues, but everything works.

I've always felt some of Will Oldham's stuff -- mostly the Palace stuff around Viva Last Blues -- and especially Jason Molina of Songs: Ohia and Magnolia Electric Co.'s stuff really attempts to get the same loose two-chord vibe. It can get a bit wearing in huge doses, but I would think in terms of RIYL sort of thinking, On the Beach fans would feel a kinship to that stuff?

Any one else hear this? Or am I losing it?

No, there's a connection. It's weird though, I don't really like Oldham/Molina and their soundalikes that much, but I do love Ambulance Blues. It's probably my favorite NY song. It's the breezy little harmonica sections that break up the song that elevate it beyond the "loose two-chord vibe" imitations. It sounds so effortlessly perfect.

I had a beautiful taxi ride after a gig feeling very exhausted and traveling all the way across Rome very late at night and the cabdriver was listening to this album and hearing "on the beach" while watching the rain in a dark city was perfect.

Revolution Blues or the title track for me. Ambulance Blues and generally held in much awe -- I think it's a great track, but it's not my fave on this album. He played Ambulance throughout the 2007 tour.

erm and is

if you're bummed out enough and playing an acoustic there's a 75% chance you sound like on the beach

also keep those otb stories coming especially ones involving rain and rome

<<if you're bummed out enough and playing an acoustic there's a 75% chance you sound like on the beach>>

very true.

I like Oldham and Molina, but I can see why others would grow restless since it's only one facet of Young's attack and is nearly the entire approach from these other guys, especially Molina. That said, it's like a color I prefer, so I'm a sucker for it. For anyone looking to sample, I'd suggest Didn't It Rain or Ghost Tropic from Songs:Ohia. That's the stuff I like best. But it's definitely not for everyone.

there's also a 75% chance you sound like pink moon

venndiagram.jpg

i don't see any connection between this album and nick drake

mood, vibe

I don't see it either. acoustic guitars /= Nick Drake by default, Nick used pretty specific tunings and finger-picking styles

can I just say if you're bummed out enough and playing an acoustic gtr you will probably sound something like on the beach or pink moon and less like motorhead and leave it at that

haha sure

unless you are like premier league guitarist, you don't sound like pink moon

also keep those otb stories coming especially ones involving rain and rome

― 鬼の手 (Edward III),

No lie: My old vinyl copy sustained back-cover damage due to rain! It was being stored in a (burned-out) basement, directly below a partially opened window. (Vinyl was already in lousy shape anyways - bought it from a dollar bin back in the 80s.)

"Revolution Blues" for me.

I love the sound of Crosby's rhythm guitar on "Revolution Blues." Someone upthread praised the electric piano sound on "See The Sky About To Rain." I just love what Young's engineers got out of the instruments here.

^^
Fully agree. On The Beach (the song) has an amazing sonic feel to it. Fantastic bass sound as well.

Since reading the story behind it, On the Beach always makes me want to try a honey slide. The combination of weed and honey pretty much sums up the sound of the record.

A buddy and I tried these "slides" a few years ago, in blatant imitation of what we read in Shakey. It tasted like ass. For thirty minutes we felt nothing, then... wow. We couldn't move.

I assume "tasted like ass" is a negative. But was the "couldn't move" part a positive?

I had a friend who described angeldust as being unable to figure out your own name or how to walk across the street and that was his endorsement. I decided to skip it. That didn't sound like a good time to me. But then again, I can't even smoke weed since it makes me think the world is out to kill me. Maybe it is?

can we talk about the drumming on sky for a second?

I just love what Young's engineers got out of the instruments here.

Exactly. The instruments all coincide perfectly & stand alone beautifully as well.

can we talk about the drumming on sky for a second?

Oh yeah. I love that late-night stumbling, careening-forward drum vibe in the last 1:30 or so.

alright, if we're gonna talk about sound quality: gtr on "walk on". it's reason enough to track down the HDCD version of OTB. sometimes neil's audiophile nuttiness strikes me as o_O but moments like that I'm like ok ok I get it. the song itself is pretty slight but the sonics are magnifico.

the bridge of 'walk on' has some of my favourite ever neil guitar sounds

"Walk On" is a peculiar opener; doesn't he say something about this in the liner notes to Decade?

I came to this album pretty late in my Neil life so I tend to think of this as "Revolution Blues", on the one hand, and then the second side as a unit on the other.

I wish I had this album with me right now; I'd really like to hear "Motion Pictures" b/c I'm away from home and I'm deep inside myself right now.

well, i'm drunk

walk on is one of those songs. Those perfect kiss offs. I've never felt a real kiss that left such a salty acidic taste in my mouth.

i feel like this whole album is trapped in a squirming layer of ectoplasm. walk on.

tripmaker, et al, have at it

time fades away HDCD

for illustration purposes

walk on

for euler

motion pictures

thankig u

voted "ambulance blues" but already wishing i'd voted "motion pictures." not that you can really go wrong here.

now that you mention it, there is no wrong answer

thanks so much for "Motion Pictures", needed it badly tonight; the song is so exhausted, he makes the harmonica sound discrete rather than continuous, like it takes these massive steps rather flowing, like flowing would take too much energy and anyway I've got mine.

rather *than* flowing

It's funny, I've only ever owned the CD version of this, but always having thought of those last three tracks as a side-b epic trilogy (I read about the album before hearing it) I can't conceive of voting for them individually. My gut's saying Revolution Blues, but I'm gonna hold off on voting another day or two in case I decide I should have gone with Sky About To Rain.

I like that in all the talk of this album as being so down and rainy, I still can't think of it as anything but a positive force.

Terrific album, great thread too! I was so happy to find this on vinyl, half a year before the CD reissue as it later turned out... Still very happy with it as the I dig the artwork a lot. Upon hearing the CD I got the impression that the songs felt a bit slower then on the vinyl I bought, most evidently (to me anyway) in the case of "Walk On". Makes it a bit more upbeat, musically.

Anyway, my vote goes to "Sky About to Rain". Instruments, arrangement, the slightly restrained playing (as I perceive it) - it all adds up to this melancholic beauty of a song.

basically been listening to this on repeat since this thread started, thanks thread.

^

hehe, me too!

otm also about "see the sky about to rain" - my favourite bit of pedal steel guitar this side of m.ward.

Thanks, EdIII!

Eddie, you're a star!

a good T/S would be "on the beach" vs. the unreleased "chrome dreams"

or on the beach, tonight's the night, and time fades away