whoever voted for vampire blues:why?maybe because you don't like the rest of the album so much?
― Zeno, Wednesday, 27 May 2009 23:08 (fourteen years ago) link
there's no accounting for taste? just the same I expected you to be more stoic about this, zeno.
― 鬼の手 (Edward III), Wednesday, 27 May 2009 23:16 (fourteen years ago) link
i am stoic about it, just curios.i mean, this song is so different than the rest of the album, it makes me wonder if whoever voted for it, really likes only that song.(regardless, i think Vampire blues is boring)
― Zeno, Wednesday, 27 May 2009 23:27 (fourteen years ago) link
Vampire Blues is demented and hilarious and perfectly placed - this shuffling little quirky song before the slab of intensity that is side 2. it's pretty adorable really.
― jesus is the man (jabba hands), Wednesday, 27 May 2009 23:33 (fourteen years ago) link
Yeah, gives the whole thing this extra dimension and character. kinda can't imagine the rec w/o it.
― bear, bear, bear, Wednesday, 27 May 2009 23:43 (fourteen years ago) link
only got around to listening to this album this month. def. one of his best. title track is th best for me. the line "i need a crowd of people but i cant face them day to day" is hitting the spot for me.
top 5 neil just for the helluvit
after the gold rusheverybody knows this is nowhereon the beachrust never sleepsharvest
― the Chinese firewall of the heart (Michael B), Friday, 21 January 2011 19:53 (thirteen years ago) link
I expected you to be more stoic about this, zeno.
― 鬼の手 (Edward III), Wednesday, May 27, 2009 7:16 PM (1 year ago) Bookmark
lolling @ self is bad form but
― children of the church planters (Edward III), Friday, 21 January 2011 19:59 (thirteen years ago) link
ooh baby that's hard to changei can't tell them how to feelsome get stonedsome get strangesooner or laterit all gets realwalk on
― smang a goon (get it on) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, 25 January 2011 21:18 (thirteen years ago) link
haters gonna hate!
― Trip Maker, Tuesday, 25 January 2011 21:32 (thirteen years ago) link
ha, chorus'd play great to that gif
― bear, bear, bear, Tuesday, 25 January 2011 21:37 (thirteen years ago) link
http://www.stylebubble.co.uk/.a/6a00e5508e95a988330120a51e163d970c-800wi
― ex-heroin addict tricycle (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 25 January 2011 21:40 (thirteen years ago) link
Perfect album. Second side is justly celebrated, but my favorite moment is when the turbulence of "Revolution Blues" dies down and the first notes of "For the Turnstiles" are plucked out on banjo
― some hills are never seen (Drugs A. Money), Tuesday, 25 January 2011 21:54 (thirteen years ago) link
can never decide if this or tonight's the night is the best neil
they're both perfect basically
― ciderpress, Tuesday, 25 January 2011 21:56 (thirteen years ago) link
in this land of conditions i am not above suspicion
― ciderpress, Tuesday, 25 January 2011 21:59 (thirteen years ago) link
all the bush league battersare left to die on the diamondin the stands the hometown scattersfor the turnstiles
― some hills are never seen (Drugs A. Money), Tuesday, 25 January 2011 22:02 (thirteen years ago) link
This album is so, so good. I heard it for the first time only a couple months ago. Neil Young was always one of those classic rock guys in the canon who I sort of respected but didn't really feel strongly about - until I heard this album. The mood is so perfectly expressed.
― o. nate, Friday, 28 January 2011 01:41 (thirteen years ago) link
Used to prefer After The Goldrush to this, but these days? Definitely OTB. Don't know if I mentioned this upthread, but this album reminds me very clearly of a time about 6 or 7 years ago, working on a tiny commercial estate in a small town, and going to a sandwich shop in my lunchbreak, looking out the window and watching the rain drizzle down while the cars rolled past. It's not an important memory, in fact it's rather mundane, but On The Beach fit the situation perfectly.
― Bernard V. O'Hare (dog latin), Friday, 28 January 2011 12:08 (thirteen years ago) link
I would like to see Vampire Blues played in Breaking Bad in a scene where Walt takes a long monotonous drive through the desert.
― Matt DC, Friday, 28 January 2011 12:55 (thirteen years ago) link
you know what is surprisingly good? neil playing "Ambulance Blues" with REM at one of those Bridge benefit things in the late 90s.
The thing I especially love about this version is the way he changes the Nixon verse into a Clinton/Lewinsky verse. Totally in the moment, totally great.
― clemenza, Friday, 28 January 2011 13:05 (thirteen years ago) link
whenever discussion of this album comes up, i feel it is my duty to point people in the direction of this bootleg: http://gratefulbreed.blogspot.com/2011/01/neil-young-citizen-cane-junior-blues-05.html
― tylerw, Friday, 28 January 2011 17:22 (thirteen years ago) link
Is that the one where Neil talks about "honey slides"? Great set if so.
― one pretty obvious guy in the obvious (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Friday, 28 January 2011 17:28 (thirteen years ago) link
yeah, it's the bottom line 1974 show, where he debuts a bunch of on the beach
― tylerw, Friday, 28 January 2011 17:30 (thirteen years ago) link
Okay, thats what I thought after glancing at the tracklist. I think I originally got that from your blog. Such a great, great set.
― one pretty obvious guy in the obvious (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Friday, 28 January 2011 17:33 (thirteen years ago) link
DAMN DAMN DAMN good album. First time I heard it was last week. It was halfway through a 2-week tour and we were exhausted and it was a hot summer night and we were driving through Virginia or something. I found this cassette at a thrift store that had this dubbed from vinyl, and it was a little slower than what is on the remasters, so it ended up sounding even heavier. Plus yeah we were pretty buzzed, so it really hit the spot.
Woulda voted for "Ambulance Blues" slightly over "Motion Pictures".
― Telephoneface (Adam Bruneau), Saturday, 6 August 2011 01:13 (twelve years ago) link
nice that someone is discovering this record. if i made a 10 favorite albums ever list, this would be near the top
― tylerw, Saturday, 6 August 2011 01:51 (twelve years ago) link
Unbelievable album for a drive in the middle of nowhere. Heard it while driving through Utah two months ago and it was religious.
― Mark, Saturday, 6 August 2011 02:41 (twelve years ago) link
Next time you drive around fucked up to this record, please don't do it in my neck of the woods.
― Naive Teen Idol, Saturday, 6 August 2011 03:20 (twelve years ago) link
Let's assume the driver was not high.
― Mark, Saturday, 6 August 2011 04:49 (twelve years ago) link
This album sounds so good when you're sick in bed.
― Mucho! Macho! Honcho!: Turn Off The Dark (C. Grisso/McCain), Saturday, 6 August 2011 05:53 (twelve years ago) link
& when yer sick in the head, tbh
― one dis leads to another (ian), Saturday, 6 August 2011 19:54 (twelve years ago) link
Some dissent: compared to the albums in close proximity, I don't think this is nearly as good as Tonight's the Night or Zuma, and I'd also take Time Fades Away over it. "Ambulance Blues" is a masterpiece, and there are a few good weird ones if you're in the right mood. I think there are three songs that are among his most mediocre of the decade. Maybe his greatest album cover, though.
― clemenza, Sunday, 7 August 2011 12:09 (twelve years ago) link
I was not driving.
― Telephoneface (Adam Bruneau), Sunday, 7 August 2011 12:52 (twelve years ago) link
I don't think this is nearly as good as Tonight's the Night or Zuma
Agree with this
― R. Stornoway (Tom D.), Sunday, 7 August 2011 14:41 (twelve years ago) link
me too. plus i've always felt it's the weakest of the doom trilogy. 'time fades away' is still underrated
― reggie (qualmsley), Sunday, 7 August 2011 15:22 (twelve years ago) link
Sorta agree -- the 2nd side is a complete masterpiece, first side has a couple that I might skip if I wasn't listening on vinyl. Tonight's the Night is quite a bit better IMO.
― Mark, Sunday, 7 August 2011 15:56 (twelve years ago) link
"I went to the radio interview/But I ended up alone at the microphone"
Love that line. Probably my favorite of his, such a great image.
The mood/vibe of the title track is just incredible. It takes you somewhere else, far away.
― Johnny Hotcox, Tuesday, 15 November 2011 01:25 (twelve years ago) link
I love when this thread is revived when I need this album the most & don't even realize it.
― Euler, Tuesday, 15 November 2011 04:46 (twelve years ago) link
OTM. I was telling someone how much I love this only on Sunday night and then this. I think this album is my favourite of Young's but it's not an every day record - only special occasions.
― Glo-Vember (dog latin), Tuesday, 15 November 2011 10:11 (twelve years ago) link
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.
― tylerw, Tuesday, 15 November 2011 16:30 (twelve years ago) link
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.
― overfaded aeropostale bootcuts I have owned (Sufjan Grafton), Saturday, 20 October 2012 20:29 (eleven years ago) link
Best side 2 in the history of rock and roll
― If Assholes Could Fly This Place Would Be An Airport, Sunday, 21 October 2012 00:09 (eleven years ago) link
otm. "Motion Pictures" vs. "Ambulance Blues" for me but they sort of feel like two sides of the same song.
― Emperor Cos Dashit (Adam Bruneau), Sunday, 21 October 2012 00:23 (eleven years ago) link
Reactor was side 2 of the tape i had this on, so those records kind of go together for me.
― Emperor Cos Dashit (Adam Bruneau), Sunday, 21 October 2012 00:25 (eleven years ago) link
"Got Mash Potatoes/Ain't Got No Motion Pictures"
― 50 Shades of Greil (C. Grisso/McCain), Sunday, 21 October 2012 00:32 (eleven years ago) link
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?
― overfaded aeropostale bootcuts I have owned (Sufjan Grafton), Sunday, 21 October 2012 00:42 (eleven years ago) link
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
― down w/ obana...he is the reson were in dept (Z S), Sunday, 21 October 2012 00:54 (eleven years ago) link
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.
― overfaded aeropostale bootcuts I have owned (Sufjan Grafton), Sunday, 21 October 2012 02:08 (eleven years ago) link
i also want to give a shoutout to the foot taps on For the Turnstiles
― overfaded aeropostale bootcuts I have owned (Sufjan Grafton), Sunday, 21 October 2012 02:09 (eleven years ago) link
you definitely need time fades away. might be third place in the ditch trilogy but it's a masterpiece too.
― tylerw, Sunday, 21 October 2012 02:13 (eleven years ago) link
it has taken over for On the Beach as my new vinyl white whale
― overfaded aeropostale bootcuts I have owned (Sufjan Grafton), Sunday, 21 October 2012 02:25 (eleven years ago) link