Neil Young - On The Beach

idk about these results. i think "revolution blues" is one of the weaker tracks, along with "see the sky about to rain"

"walk on" probably one of the best songs ever by anybody, that would've been my vote

the rest are top-tier neil, with possibly the exception of "vampire blues" which has great lyrics but, insofar as its more or less a genre exercise, for me functions as a bit of funky levity before the devastating closing trio of tracks

also "vampire blues" guitar solo v underrated, it's so creepy and garbled, a complete subversion of what you'd expect from "blues rock"

Young's electric piano in "See the Sky About to Rain"

.......

I know it was easily available on vinyl, but it was a huge fuckin' deal in my circle when Young reissued it in 2003.

I love "Vampire Blues" but that may also be related to having actually seen him do a very rare live performance of it a few years back. I do think it works perfectly in the context of the album in terms of sound and feel.

xp yeah i love that wurlitzer / steel guitar combo

yeah, not gonna tolerate any 'see the sky' slander. inevitably the first song i played the few times i've sat in front of an actual wurly

it's not slander, it's an excellent song that's on a record full of perfect songs

I know it was easily available on vinyl, but it was a huge fuckin' deal in my circle when Young reissued it in 2003.

― TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, June 25, 2020 7:45 PM (two hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

Yeah, this getting reissued that year was my gateway into NY. Read lots of press around then about this masterpiece was getting rereleased. Thankfully, this was around the time you could still buy used vinyl copies of albums like that at record stores for just a few bucks.

There's gotta be a Bernie Sanders cover out there somewhere.

I saw it today but don't remember where

Am7 has never sounded better than the opening chords of On the Beach

Is there a bad song on this record? I don't think so. I guess See the Sky About to Rain is the weakest, but it's still pretty enjoyable and works in the flow of the record.

in terms of being furthest off the overall vibe of the record, “Walk On” is fairly singular in mood.

eternally grateful that I saw him jam that one live

I would agree with the results of this poll that "Vampire Blues" is the weakest song, but it's still pretty good and is a nice modest closer for side one before we begin the slow healing process of side two.
"See the Sky" is generalized melancholy against the specific melancholy or bitterness of the other songs.

"see the sky" is beautiful. i can't really be objective about any of neil's ballads from this era because they all hit me where i live.

ok, maybe not "a man needs a maid"

Walk On and See the Sky sound great together.

huge fan of see the sky, my fav on side 1

In this week's edition of "what was the last 'classic album' you got and were knocked out by?", I found a $4 copy of OTB at my local record store over the weekend. I was vaguely aware of it's classic status, but i've never owned any Neil Young, so I figured this might be a good entry point. And now I'm having to restrain myself from just playing it on a repeat loop and completely wearing it out in the first week.
Favorite details:
- the title track sounds like it's gonna be a standard I-IV-V 12-bar blues, but instead of the V, it goes somewhere else (to the III?), and it creates this sublime little oasis in the chord progression
- Rick Danko's bass on Revolution Blues
- "Remember your guard dog? Well, I'm afraid that he's gone. It was such a drag to hear him whining all night long. Aaa-ooooo"
- when i spotted a pattern inside the record sleeve, and then realized it was the beach umbrella pattern. Did other records do this trick?

If Revolution Blues is my north star, where do I go next? (does that mean I need to get into The Band? i'm not sure if i'm ready for that)

I got my copy of this for $1 thirty years ago, when it was still unavailable.
The title track is a minor blues that goes to the relative major instead of the fifth.
I remember another LP that had the credits printed on the inside of the jacket, but I forget what it was.
I feel that Time Fades Away is the companion to this record if you haven't heard that. The Band don't have a lot of stuff that sounds or feels like "Revolution Blues"; maybe try "Just Another Whistle Stop" ("Police siren, flashing light, and I wonder who went down tonight").

I feel like if you love On the Beach (as I do), Tonight's the Night makes a nice companion piece.

Yeah, The 'Ditch Trilogy' (Time Fades Away, Tonight's The Night, and On The Beach) is a must. Also make sure to check out Zuma and Homegrown!

If Revolution Blues is my north star, where do I go next?

As the others say, Murky Neil = Time Fades Away and Tonight's the Night. And when you're ready to open the window, go immediately to Zuma.

Time Fades doesn't do it for me on the same level. Love Zuma though.

Zuma's my favorite Neil Young album.

Ditto.

I would go for this order next, but they are all terrific and worth hearing in whatever order ends up working for you:

Zuma
Tonight's the Night
Time Fades Away
Homegrown

As far as The Band, I don't think you're going to find anything with that kind of angry drive to it (i.e. ala Revolution Blues). I like the Band but there's sometimes a bit of an earnest, wholesome family entertainment vibe to them that puts me off. Def not writing songs about hating celebrities on dune buggies and shooting dogs out of spite.

The other LP I was trying to remember, with credits printed inside the sleeve, was No New York.

Steely Dan has several misanthropic blues in the spirit of "Revolution Blues", maybe try "Black Friday".

A great song, but of course Steely Dan doesn't have Neil's ramshackle feel, if that is part of the attraction.

the Band dont have a lot of songs that sound like revolution blues in terms of dark edgy feel, but just in terms of dankos lunatic basslines they have plenty where he goes off in a similar style

"w.s. walcott's medicine show" has a similar ramshackle groove with a fun danko bassline. obv the mood is more old-timey fun than strung-out desparation

It's true; in the context of "Revolution Blues", the bass and drums communicate a very different feeling than they do on Robertson's songs, although the actual playing is not that different.

Al Schmitt, who produced side two of OTB, just died.

see this thread about to rain

He also worked a lot with the Jefferson Airplane.

how many more nights can i get whisky soaked to this record? cos it's literally all i seem to do anymore

what, no honey slides?

whoa that water has tequila in it!

haha, and two industrial boxes of fritos and cigarettes put out in the carpet, according to the shakey biography

As far as The Band,
Def not writing songs about ... shooting dogs out of spite.

Indeed, my interpretation has always been that they wrote (a) song (partially) about balking at shooting a dog!

(Wait a minute Chester, you know I'm a peaceful man)

As far as The Band, I don't think you're going to find anything with that kind of angry drive to it (i.e. ala Revolution Blues).

Think this is about as close as you're gonna get — recorded just a couple months before On The Beach. Pretty vicious.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLP85S1PRC0

I wish Neil Young had covered "On the Beach":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yXVufG5oV0

the boz scaggs on the beach cover from a couple years ago was surprisingly pretty great

Chris Rea or Neil's?

Neil's, from Boz's Out of the Blues album.

the definitive reading of neil’s on the beach is, of course, mick hucknall’s

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

If the implication is that Simply Red is capable of neutering that song, they're not, it still slays. You just can't keep that song down.

(not stop sure about the guitar solo though -- it kinda makes a good case, by way of contrast, for the genius of neil's soloing on the original)