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Countdown of my top 101 Neil Young songs. Now with entries 102-204, notable covers and other stuff (5 Viewers)
- Thread starter Pip's Invitation
- Start date
Big Blue Wrecking Crew
downsized
Broken Arrow is criminally underrated in my book. Recognizing Neil was doing a lot with the Horse at this time, so maybe it was too much of a good thing for folks to handle
But, if it ain't broke...Will be curious to see if some others from this gem show up in the countdown
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
It wasn’t Ragged Glory and it wasn’t Pearl Jam, so some folks may have decided not to bother.Broken Arrow is criminally underrated in my book. Recognizing Neil was doing a lot with the Horse at this time, so maybe it was too much of a good thing for folks to handle
Will be curious to see if some others from this gem show up in the countdown
Side 2 was an odd jumble of stuff, so that may not have helped either. To me it was closer in spirit to side 1 of Hawks and Doves than anything he’d done recently or was famous for.
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
94. This Note's for You (This Note's for You, 1988)
This song was Neil's first step back into the zeitgeist after having been irrelevant to pop culture for much of the '80s. The infamous award-winning music video is below. And yet it's a product of his '80s genre-hopping. The blues album to which it lent its title was more successful than most of his other '80s experiments, but, as with his country phase a few years before, the experiment worked much better live than in the studio, and many of the best songs from the period were played at the shows but didn't make the record. More on that later. Of those that did make the record, this one is the tightest of the bunch and sums up his "art above all else" ethos as well as anything.
The video. The song playing at the beginning is Bad News (Has Come to Town), one of many songs he worked up for the Bluenotes to perform in concert but didn't put on the album. It was actually written in 1974 and just barely missed my list: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSSvzCNBvlQ&feature=youtu.be
Live version from the Blue Note Cafe archival release, which is a much better showcase for the Bluenotes than the studio album: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h41wsU9GmqY. Sort of like how the best showcase for the International Harvesters is A Treasure, not Old Ways.
This song was Neil's first step back into the zeitgeist after having been irrelevant to pop culture for much of the '80s. The infamous award-winning music video is below. And yet it's a product of his '80s genre-hopping. The blues album to which it lent its title was more successful than most of his other '80s experiments, but, as with his country phase a few years before, the experiment worked much better live than in the studio, and many of the best songs from the period were played at the shows but didn't make the record. More on that later. Of those that did make the record, this one is the tightest of the bunch and sums up his "art above all else" ethos as well as anything.
The video. The song playing at the beginning is Bad News (Has Come to Town), one of many songs he worked up for the Bluenotes to perform in concert but didn't put on the album. It was actually written in 1974 and just barely missed my list: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSSvzCNBvlQ&feature=youtu.be
Live version from the Blue Note Cafe archival release, which is a much better showcase for the Bluenotes than the studio album: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h41wsU9GmqY. Sort of like how the best showcase for the International Harvesters is A Treasure, not Old Ways.
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Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
Thanks again! Do you mind if I share this elsewhere when the countdown is done (which won't be until September)?
lardonastick
Footballguy
So in for this. Love Neil.
skol asylum
Footballguy
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
93. Mansion on the Hill (Ragged Glory, 1990)
I wore the hell out of my copy of Ragged Glory in college and you'll be seeing plenty of it here. By the time I graduated (in 1993), the CD jewel case was held together with Scotch tape. This one is prime garage rock.
Video (in which Neil rises from the dead -- symbolic much?): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1WpgTzf8nk&feature=youtu.be
Live version from Weld: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWAmsNpTcUc
I wore the hell out of my copy of Ragged Glory in college and you'll be seeing plenty of it here. By the time I graduated (in 1993), the CD jewel case was held together with Scotch tape. This one is prime garage rock.
Video (in which Neil rises from the dead -- symbolic much?): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1WpgTzf8nk&feature=youtu.be
Live version from Weld: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWAmsNpTcUc
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
krista4
Footballguy
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
Given how much you hate saxophones, you definitely don't need to hear the rest of the This Note's for You album.I nearly turned this off early because of the sax and the cliched shadowy sax figure in the video, but then I learned what he was doing with it...OK, this was so clever all around.
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krista4
Footballguy
To be more clear, I don't hate saxophones; I hate a lot of their use in pop/rock songs.
Eephus
Footballguy
Eephus
Footballguy
Dr. Octopus
Footballguy
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
Neil doesn't do many covers and to my knowledge he has never covered Springsteen.I listened to this one over the weekend thinking it might be a Springsteen cover
However, he does have an unreleased song called "Born to Run." In the '70s he went on a kick of writing songs with the same titles as songs that already existed. Some of them will be in this countdown.
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
Yes, this was their best work since Rust Never Sleeps/Live Rust, and orders of magnitude better than their previous collaboration, Life.
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
jwb
Footballguy
krista4
Footballguy
Why so angry? Oh wait, is it Springsteen?
I could explain better. It would be like saying I don't like guitar, but really I just don't like needly-needly pointless guitar solos. Unfortunately in many pop or rock songs the sax isn't incorporated well into the music but seems "outside" it and added in the same pointless way, particularly in the 70s/80s, without moving the song along.
Clarence Clemons wouldn't qualify for this criticism at all. (But I don't like Bruce for other reasons.)
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Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
I stand corrected. He played Born in the USA at the Bruce Springsteen Musicares Gala in 2013. That's it, though.
skol asylum
Footballguy
Love Mansion on the Hill. Not so much This Notes for You.
My Neil Young listening history is really only centered on these CDs that i had in my collection back in college:
Decade (1977)
Tracklist
1-1–Buffalo SpringfieldDown To The Wire2:28
1-2–Buffalo SpringfieldBurned2:15
1-3–Buffalo SpringfieldMr. Soul2:50
1-4–Buffalo SpringfieldBroken Arrow6:13
1-5–Buffalo SpringfieldExpecting To Fly3:45
1-6–Neil YoungSugar Mountain5:41
1-7–Neil YoungI Am A Child2:20
1-8–Neil YoungThe Loner3:50
1-9–Neil YoungThe Old Laughing Lady5:37
1-10–Neil Young & Crazy HorseCinnamon Girl3:00
1-11–Neil Young & Crazy HorseDown By The River8:59
1-12–Neil Young & Crazy HorseCowgirl In The Sand10:02
1-13–Neil Young & Crazy HorseI Believe In You3:27
1-14–Neil Young & Crazy HorseAfter The Gold Rush3:45
1-15–Neil Young & Crazy HorseSouthern Man5:29
1-16–Crosby, Stills, Nash & YoungHelpless3:32
2-1–Crosby, Stills, Nash & YoungOhio2:58
2-2–Neil YoungSoldier2:28
2-3–Neil YoungOld Man3:22
2-4–Neil YoungA Man Needs A Maid4:00
2-5–Neil YoungHarvest3:09
2-6–Neil YoungHeart Of Gold3:06
2-7–Neil YoungStar Of Bethlehem2:43
2-8–Neil YoungThe Needle And The Damage Done2:05
2-9–Neil Young & Crazy HorseTonight's The Night (Part 1)4:41
2-10–Neil Young & Crazy HorseTired Eyes4:33
2-11–Neil YoungWalk On2:41
2-12–Neil YoungFor The Turnstiles3:01
2-13–Neil YoungWinterlong3:08
2-14–Neil YoungDeep Forbidden Lake3:41
2-15–Neil YoungLike A Hurricane8:17
2-16–Neil YoungLove Is A Rose2:16
2-17–Neil Young & Crazy HorseCortez The Killer7:51
2-18–The Stills-Young BandCampaigner3:30
2-19–The Stills-Young BandLong May You Run
Weld (Live with Crazy Horse)
Disc oneEdit
"Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)" (Young, Jeff Blackburn) – 5:42 (from Rust Never Sleeps)
"Crime in the City" – 6:32 (from Freedom)
"Blowin' in the Wind" (Bob Dylan) – 6:49
"Welfare Mothers" – 7:04 (from Rust Never Sleeps)
"Love to Burn" – 10:01 (from Ragged Glory)
"Cinnamon Girl" – 4:45 (from Everybody Knows This is Nowhere)
"Mansion on the Hill" – 6:14 (from Ragged Glory)
"####in' Up" – 7:09 [6] (from Ragged Glory)
Disc twoEdit
"Cortez the Killer" – 9:46 (from Zuma)
"Powderfinger" – 5:58 (from Rust Never Sleeps)
"Love and Only Love" – 9:17 (from Ragged Glory)
"Rockin' in the Free World" – 9:22 (from Freedom)
"Like a Hurricane" – 14:00 (from American Stars 'n' Bars)
"Farmer John" (Don Harris, Dewey Terry) – 5:00 (from Ragged Glory)
"Tonight's the Night" – 8:45 (from Tonight's the Night)
"Roll Another Number" – 5:19 (from Tonight's the Night)
Mirror Ball (with Pearl Jam)
All tracks are written by Neil Young, except "Peace and Love" by Young and Eddie Vedder.
No.TitleLength
1."Song X"4:40
2."Act of Love"4:54
3."I'm the Ocean"7:05
4."Big Green Country"5:08
5."Truth Be Known"4:39
6."Downtown"5:10
7."What Happened Yesterday"0:46
8."Peace and Love"7:02
9."Throw Your Hatred Down"5:45
10."Scenery"8:50
11."Fallen Angel"1:15
And I think I bought Silver & Gold but never really listened to it.
Or course there's a few other tracks here and there I'm familiar with.
My Neil Young listening history is really only centered on these CDs that i had in my collection back in college:
Decade (1977)
Tracklist
1-1–Buffalo SpringfieldDown To The Wire2:28
1-2–Buffalo SpringfieldBurned2:15
1-3–Buffalo SpringfieldMr. Soul2:50
1-4–Buffalo SpringfieldBroken Arrow6:13
1-5–Buffalo SpringfieldExpecting To Fly3:45
1-6–Neil YoungSugar Mountain5:41
1-7–Neil YoungI Am A Child2:20
1-8–Neil YoungThe Loner3:50
1-9–Neil YoungThe Old Laughing Lady5:37
1-10–Neil Young & Crazy HorseCinnamon Girl3:00
1-11–Neil Young & Crazy HorseDown By The River8:59
1-12–Neil Young & Crazy HorseCowgirl In The Sand10:02
1-13–Neil Young & Crazy HorseI Believe In You3:27
1-14–Neil Young & Crazy HorseAfter The Gold Rush3:45
1-15–Neil Young & Crazy HorseSouthern Man5:29
1-16–Crosby, Stills, Nash & YoungHelpless3:32
2-1–Crosby, Stills, Nash & YoungOhio2:58
2-2–Neil YoungSoldier2:28
2-3–Neil YoungOld Man3:22
2-4–Neil YoungA Man Needs A Maid4:00
2-5–Neil YoungHarvest3:09
2-6–Neil YoungHeart Of Gold3:06
2-7–Neil YoungStar Of Bethlehem2:43
2-8–Neil YoungThe Needle And The Damage Done2:05
2-9–Neil Young & Crazy HorseTonight's The Night (Part 1)4:41
2-10–Neil Young & Crazy HorseTired Eyes4:33
2-11–Neil YoungWalk On2:41
2-12–Neil YoungFor The Turnstiles3:01
2-13–Neil YoungWinterlong3:08
2-14–Neil YoungDeep Forbidden Lake3:41
2-15–Neil YoungLike A Hurricane8:17
2-16–Neil YoungLove Is A Rose2:16
2-17–Neil Young & Crazy HorseCortez The Killer7:51
2-18–The Stills-Young BandCampaigner3:30
2-19–The Stills-Young BandLong May You Run
Weld (Live with Crazy Horse)
Disc oneEdit
"Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)" (Young, Jeff Blackburn) – 5:42 (from Rust Never Sleeps)
"Crime in the City" – 6:32 (from Freedom)
"Blowin' in the Wind" (Bob Dylan) – 6:49
"Welfare Mothers" – 7:04 (from Rust Never Sleeps)
"Love to Burn" – 10:01 (from Ragged Glory)
"Cinnamon Girl" – 4:45 (from Everybody Knows This is Nowhere)
"Mansion on the Hill" – 6:14 (from Ragged Glory)
"####in' Up" – 7:09 [6] (from Ragged Glory)
Disc twoEdit
"Cortez the Killer" – 9:46 (from Zuma)
"Powderfinger" – 5:58 (from Rust Never Sleeps)
"Love and Only Love" – 9:17 (from Ragged Glory)
"Rockin' in the Free World" – 9:22 (from Freedom)
"Like a Hurricane" – 14:00 (from American Stars 'n' Bars)
"Farmer John" (Don Harris, Dewey Terry) – 5:00 (from Ragged Glory)
"Tonight's the Night" – 8:45 (from Tonight's the Night)
"Roll Another Number" – 5:19 (from Tonight's the Night)
Mirror Ball (with Pearl Jam)
All tracks are written by Neil Young, except "Peace and Love" by Young and Eddie Vedder.
No.TitleLength
1."Song X"4:40
2."Act of Love"4:54
3."I'm the Ocean"7:05
4."Big Green Country"5:08
5."Truth Be Known"4:39
6."Downtown"5:10
7."What Happened Yesterday"0:46
8."Peace and Love"7:02
9."Throw Your Hatred Down"5:45
10."Scenery"8:50
11."Fallen Angel"1:15
And I think I bought Silver & Gold but never really listened to it.
Or course there's a few other tracks here and there I'm familiar with.
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Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
@cap'n grunge If you only have a few discs to show someone the range of what Neil can do, Decade and Weld are good ones to have. And given your username I would have been shocked if you didn't have Mirror Ball!
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
92. Grey Riders (A Treasure, 2011; written and first performed in 1985)
As I said earlier, Neil's country phase in the mid-80s was marked by strange choices; a tour that worked far better than the album it supported, and a number of new songs that were left off the album that were better than those selected. Grey Riders illustrates both. It's a propulsive hoedown with some extremely evocative imagery in the lyrics. Powerful enough to be selected as the closer to 25 International Harvesters shows. But forgotten for Old Ways and never performed again after 1985. It saw the light of day in 2011 on the archival release A Treasure, which is essential.
A Treasure version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vYNVmuudGY&feature=youtu.be
As I said earlier, Neil's country phase in the mid-80s was marked by strange choices; a tour that worked far better than the album it supported, and a number of new songs that were left off the album that were better than those selected. Grey Riders illustrates both. It's a propulsive hoedown with some extremely evocative imagery in the lyrics. Powerful enough to be selected as the closer to 25 International Harvesters shows. But forgotten for Old Ways and never performed again after 1985. It saw the light of day in 2011 on the archival release A Treasure, which is essential.
A Treasure version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vYNVmuudGY&feature=youtu.be
Dr. Octopus
Footballguy
Never heard this one before but liked it a lot - some angry country music there.
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
Of the 35 songs on Decade, only 21 are on my list. My idea of Neil's greatest hits is a little different from what his idea was in 1976-77.
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
91. Motion Pictures (For Carrie) (On the Beach, 1974)
This is a sleepy little tune with surprisingly aware lyrics; the narrator is both suspicious that his partner is cheating on him (this was in fact happening to Neil when he wrote this) and that the trappings of success offer false hope. As with all of side 2 of On the Beach, it was recorded under the influence of honeyslides (google it).
Studio version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLi6stJrF5A&feature=youtu.be
It has only been performed live once. Luckily, it is on what may be Neil's most-circulated bootleg, a surprise set opening for Leon Redbone in May 1974. Aside from "Helpless" and one cover, his entire set was songs from On the Beach, which had not come out yet, and songs he had recently written that would show up on later albums (or not). Here, he explains honeyslides! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tscuMCFJsQY
This is a sleepy little tune with surprisingly aware lyrics; the narrator is both suspicious that his partner is cheating on him (this was in fact happening to Neil when he wrote this) and that the trappings of success offer false hope. As with all of side 2 of On the Beach, it was recorded under the influence of honeyslides (google it).
Studio version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLi6stJrF5A&feature=youtu.be
It has only been performed live once. Luckily, it is on what may be Neil's most-circulated bootleg, a surprise set opening for Leon Redbone in May 1974. Aside from "Helpless" and one cover, his entire set was songs from On the Beach, which had not come out yet, and songs he had recently written that would show up on later albums (or not). Here, he explains honeyslides! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tscuMCFJsQY
krista4
Footballguy
krista4
Footballguy
Beautiful. I loved what he did with his voice on the line "I'd rather start all over again." Must have been the honey slides!
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
Eephus
Footballguy
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
I wrote another epic screed for #46. That’s 3 in a row. The 40s seems to be where I put songs that I have a ton to say about.
And this comes on the heels of #50, which is going to be very controversial.
And this comes on the heels of #50, which is going to be very controversial.
Man of Constant Sorrow
Footballguy
Back. Gonna catch up tonight.
Looking good.
Looking good.
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
Oh, hey, here's one for @cap'n grunge.
90. Downtown (Mirror Ball, 1995)
Neil's collaboration with Pearl Jam should have been better than it was, but it produced some winners, including this one. Here, PJ serves Neil as well as Crazy Horse ever did.
Studio version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAfDScPFj0c&feature=youtu.be
Live version with PJ: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_O-lb0aB0MY
I was SO pissed that we didn't get a Neil/PJ US tour. They did shows in Seattle and San Francisco before an 11-date European tour, and that was it. It was that damn fight with Ticketmaster, wasn't it?
90. Downtown (Mirror Ball, 1995)
Neil's collaboration with Pearl Jam should have been better than it was, but it produced some winners, including this one. Here, PJ serves Neil as well as Crazy Horse ever did.
Studio version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAfDScPFj0c&feature=youtu.be
Live version with PJ: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_O-lb0aB0MY
I was SO pissed that we didn't get a Neil/PJ US tour. They did shows in Seattle and San Francisco before an 11-date European tour, and that was it. It was that damn fight with Ticketmaster, wasn't it?
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Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
@krista4 I've gotten to a point in your Beatles thread where you're agonizing over your rankings and making changes to a song's ranking after you posted your writeup. I've not done that and won't plan to. I sat down one day, made the list based on how I felt that day, and that was that, except for adding that one song last month after I heard it for the first time. Seems like my process resembles Neil's (songs and recordings are done quickly based on how he was feeling about it that day) and yours resembles the Beatles' (endless changes being made and a relentless quest for perfection).
However, I am struggling with whether to swap #49 and #48, not because of a change of heart ranking-wise, but because of narrative. After I did the write-ups, it became clear to me that #50 and #48 go together. #48 exists because of what happened with #50. But I didn't think about that stuff when I made the list -- I just went by what I was feeling that day. I probably won't change anything because I've already made the posts on Facebook and the other site, and the OCD aspect of me wouldn't be able to deal with the rankings being different in different places.
However, I am struggling with whether to swap #49 and #48, not because of a change of heart ranking-wise, but because of narrative. After I did the write-ups, it became clear to me that #50 and #48 go together. #48 exists because of what happened with #50. But I didn't think about that stuff when I made the list -- I just went by what I was feeling that day. I probably won't change anything because I've already made the posts on Facebook and the other site, and the OCD aspect of me wouldn't be able to deal with the rankings being different in different places.
jwb
Footballguy
I liked the album, but it didn't produce that one signature song. It might have helped if Eddie sang more - PJ's "sound" is Eddie more than anything. Without him, they are just another name in a long list of Neil's backing bands. Swap in the Horse or POTR on Mirror Ball, and you'll get essentially the same album.
skol asylum
Footballguy
krista4
Footballguy
I wouldn’t be able to handle having different rankings in different places, either. And I think once you made the 48/49 swap you could be tempted to re-look at others as well. My vote is don’t do it. Stick with your process.
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
The Horse is its own beast (pun sort of intended), so the sound would be somewhat different but the approach would be the same. The other part of what makes PJ's sound distinctive to me is Mike McCready's lead guitar bursts, and there was no room for that here. So yeah, we mainly got a more polished Crazy Horse album. It didn't help that all but the first two songs were written by Neil during the sessions (which were very short), so no thought was given into crafting something that could better take advantage of PJ's strengths.
But that's the thing, Neil doesn't play well with others. That is, he wants anything he works on to be 100% according to his vision. That's why his time in Buffalo Springfield and CSNY was so short. And the reason why he's had such a long relationship with the Horse is that they don't challenge him* on the creative side of things -- at least not since Danny Whitten died. They just do what he wants, and it works.
* -- there's a hilarious scene in the never-officially-released Muddy Track documentary of the 1986 tour with CH where they are struggling with the harmonies** on "Name of Love" (which eventually became a CSNY song) and Billy Talbot called a band meeting to hash it out. During the meeting, Billy learned that HE was the one screwing it up!
** -- despite their reputation as primitive bashers, the members of the Horse care deeply about their harmonies. They started out as a doo-*** group called Danny and the Memories. By the time Neil met them, they had learned to play instruments and renamed themselves The Rockets.
Eephus
Footballguy
I remember I was at the playground at with my daughter the day Neil filled in for Eddie Vedder at Pearl Jam's show in Golden Gate Park. When the winds were right, you could hear them pretty clearly.
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
89. White Line (Ragged Glory, 1990; written in 1974; first performed in 1975)
This song has a long, glorious history. Also known as "River of Pride," it was written in the 1974 batch of songs about a bad breakup and recorded for the abandoned Homegrown album. It begins by comparing the emotional burden of the relationship to a truckload, and then goes off into an extended musing on vehicles and travel, as Neil is wont to do. There may or may not be drug-related double entendres. Neil played it a few times with Crazy Horse in 1975 and 1976. One version from around that time turned up on the Songs for Judy archival release. Then it disappeared until 1990, when Neil and the Horse re-recorded it and put it on Ragged Glory. That version is another example of garage rock at its finest.
We finally got to hear the Homegrown version last month when that record became the latest release in Neil's Archives project. Recorded acoustic with just Neil and The Band's Robbie Robertson, it is a stunner and one of the highlights of the album.
We almost got yet another studio version. In 1999, Neil started working again with CSNY, and brought over three songs he had been working on for what would become Silver and Gold. All those songs were acoustic, and CSN wanted an electric Neil song on the album (which became Looking Forward). He worked up White Line for them, and after one take, the young engineer said "that sounds just as good as the version on Ragged Glory!" All of them, INCLUDING NEIL, had not remembered that this song was released 9 years before. A redundant White Line would have been better than the dreadful song Neil put in its place (Queen of the Mall).
Ragged Glory studio version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQhVYfjL0js&feature=youtu.be
Homegrown studio version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNKlOfT0Z1c
Songs for Judy version (live acoustic): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibMD8e8a-h4
Electric studio version recorded in 1976-ish for an abandoned album called Chrome Dreams. On the bootlegs it was identified as "River of Pride": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aaoi1_P8qY8
Electric live version with Crazy Horse from December 1975. It was definitely called "White Line" by this point because Neil says "hey, let's do White Line": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U930WE9FPJQ
Electric live version with Promise of the Real in 2015: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHFFOfb0VaU
A banjo version! The song's lone appearance on the 1999 solo acoustic tour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bk06cdUJdgc
Amazing how many versions of this song there are on Youtube since it has only been played live 9 times.
This song has a long, glorious history. Also known as "River of Pride," it was written in the 1974 batch of songs about a bad breakup and recorded for the abandoned Homegrown album. It begins by comparing the emotional burden of the relationship to a truckload, and then goes off into an extended musing on vehicles and travel, as Neil is wont to do. There may or may not be drug-related double entendres. Neil played it a few times with Crazy Horse in 1975 and 1976. One version from around that time turned up on the Songs for Judy archival release. Then it disappeared until 1990, when Neil and the Horse re-recorded it and put it on Ragged Glory. That version is another example of garage rock at its finest.
We finally got to hear the Homegrown version last month when that record became the latest release in Neil's Archives project. Recorded acoustic with just Neil and The Band's Robbie Robertson, it is a stunner and one of the highlights of the album.
We almost got yet another studio version. In 1999, Neil started working again with CSNY, and brought over three songs he had been working on for what would become Silver and Gold. All those songs were acoustic, and CSN wanted an electric Neil song on the album (which became Looking Forward). He worked up White Line for them, and after one take, the young engineer said "that sounds just as good as the version on Ragged Glory!" All of them, INCLUDING NEIL, had not remembered that this song was released 9 years before. A redundant White Line would have been better than the dreadful song Neil put in its place (Queen of the Mall).
Ragged Glory studio version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQhVYfjL0js&feature=youtu.be
Homegrown studio version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNKlOfT0Z1c
Songs for Judy version (live acoustic): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibMD8e8a-h4
Electric studio version recorded in 1976-ish for an abandoned album called Chrome Dreams. On the bootlegs it was identified as "River of Pride": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aaoi1_P8qY8
Electric live version with Crazy Horse from December 1975. It was definitely called "White Line" by this point because Neil says "hey, let's do White Line": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U930WE9FPJQ
Electric live version with Promise of the Real in 2015: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHFFOfb0VaU
A banjo version! The song's lone appearance on the 1999 solo acoustic tour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bk06cdUJdgc
Amazing how many versions of this song there are on Youtube since it has only been played live 9 times.
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
88. Ride My Llama (Rust Never Sleeps, 1979; written in 1975; first performed in 1978)
Rust Never Sleeps is peak Neil. How good is it? This song, with its keening melody and far-out sci-fi lyrics, would be one of the best on most albums. Here, it is an afterthought compared to what surrounds it. I have very strong feelings about this album, which I'll delve into later.
Like many songs Neil wrote in the mid-70s, this one has a twisted history of how it ended up where it did. It was written during the Zuma sessions and its lyrics inspired the title of an early version of that album (In My Neighborhood). Then it was recorded for the Hitchhiker sessions in 1976 -- an archival release of that abandoned effort came out recently. Then Neil dusted it off for 10 acoustic shows in 1978. One of these performances, with the audience noise stripped out, is what made it on Rust Never Sleeps. It has not been performed live since.
Rust Never Sleeps version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMC3DjAFQEs&feature=youtu.be
Hitchhiker version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcAGO7X9zok
Rust Never Sleeps is peak Neil. How good is it? This song, with its keening melody and far-out sci-fi lyrics, would be one of the best on most albums. Here, it is an afterthought compared to what surrounds it. I have very strong feelings about this album, which I'll delve into later.
Like many songs Neil wrote in the mid-70s, this one has a twisted history of how it ended up where it did. It was written during the Zuma sessions and its lyrics inspired the title of an early version of that album (In My Neighborhood). Then it was recorded for the Hitchhiker sessions in 1976 -- an archival release of that abandoned effort came out recently. Then Neil dusted it off for 10 acoustic shows in 1978. One of these performances, with the audience noise stripped out, is what made it on Rust Never Sleeps. It has not been performed live since.
Rust Never Sleeps version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMC3DjAFQEs&feature=youtu.be
Hitchhiker version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcAGO7X9zok
lardonastick
Footballguy
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
I have also been tracking my list against a list Rolling Stone made in 2014 of their 100 greatest Neil songs. As you might imagine, there is more similarity at the top than at the bottom.
101. Lookout Joe (RS unranked)
100. Ramada Inn (RS #47)
99. Look Out for My Love (RS #55)
98. Get Back to the Country (RS unranked)
97. Homefires (RS unranked)
96. This Old Guitar (RS unranked)
95. Slip Away (RS #86)
94. This Note's for You (RS #42)
93. Mansion on the Hill (RS unranked)
92. Grey Riders (RS unranked)
91. Motion Pictures (for Carrie) (RS unranked)
90. Downtown (RS unranked)
89. White Line (RS unranked)
88. Ride My Llama (RS unranked)
101. Lookout Joe (RS unranked)
100. Ramada Inn (RS #47)
99. Look Out for My Love (RS #55)
98. Get Back to the Country (RS unranked)
97. Homefires (RS unranked)
96. This Old Guitar (RS unranked)
95. Slip Away (RS #86)
94. This Note's for You (RS #42)
93. Mansion on the Hill (RS unranked)
92. Grey Riders (RS unranked)
91. Motion Pictures (for Carrie) (RS unranked)
90. Downtown (RS unranked)
89. White Line (RS unranked)
88. Ride My Llama (RS unranked)
Binky The Doormat
Footballguy
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
87. Windward Passage (unreleased; written and performed in 1977)
This may be the entry that you are least likely to have heard before, and it comes from very unusual circumstances. In the summer of 1977, Neil wanted to withdraw from the hustle and bustle of the music industry, so he combined with an aggregate of friends from the SoCal music scene (including former Moby Grape bassist Bob Mosley) to perform as The Ducks (not "Neil Young and The Ducks" as labeled on Youtube) in area bars. All four members contributed songs and vocals, and their sets included a couple of old Neil songs and a handful of new ones. All of the latter eventually ended up on Neil albums except this one, a groovy-as-hell instrumental that's sort of like psychedelicized surf rock. In a way, it was Neil returning to his roots, as his first band, The Squires, started out as an instrumental group influenced by surf rock and The Shadows. The song never resurfaced after the Ducks shows, which is a shame.
Only one performance, from a show in Santa Cruz in August 1977, is known to have been recorded: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtCpFlnyAo4&feature=youtu.be
This may be the entry that you are least likely to have heard before, and it comes from very unusual circumstances. In the summer of 1977, Neil wanted to withdraw from the hustle and bustle of the music industry, so he combined with an aggregate of friends from the SoCal music scene (including former Moby Grape bassist Bob Mosley) to perform as The Ducks (not "Neil Young and The Ducks" as labeled on Youtube) in area bars. All four members contributed songs and vocals, and their sets included a couple of old Neil songs and a handful of new ones. All of the latter eventually ended up on Neil albums except this one, a groovy-as-hell instrumental that's sort of like psychedelicized surf rock. In a way, it was Neil returning to his roots, as his first band, The Squires, started out as an instrumental group influenced by surf rock and The Shadows. The song never resurfaced after the Ducks shows, which is a shame.
Only one performance, from a show in Santa Cruz in August 1977, is known to have been recorded: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtCpFlnyAo4&feature=youtu.be
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Dr. Octopus
Footballguy
Shocked at Rolling Stone's ranking - if it was left off altogether I doubt many would push back.
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