Such is the astonishing weight of material he’s produced over the last 50 years, Neil Young is virtually a genre in his own right.The stats make for astonishing reading; since starting out on the road to solo stardom, he’s released 40 studio album s, eight live LPs, four soundtracks and a further 11 records as part of his Archives series.
Although it’s a rather reductive statement, Young’s work can be split broadly into two distinct categories – the plaintive Laurel Canyon acoustic troubadour material and his visceral output with Crazy Horse and various backing out fits featuring Neil wrestling with his trusty ‘Old Black’ Gibson Les Paul, ring o shards of feedback am id epic electric workouts.
GODFATHER OF GRUNGE
One of the most wilful singersongwriters of any era, Young has rarely compromised his singular artistic vision since going solo in 1968. He’s made albums that have defined genres and also been sued by his own record company for recording unrepresentative material.
Life as a Neil Young fan is never dull. Like many classic artists of his generation, the 80s weren’t particularly kind to Neil Young. After losing his way for much of that decade, his Lazaruslike return in the 90s as the so-called ‘Godfather of Grunge’ was all the more welcome and unexpected.
He’s not quite at the same level as Prince, whose unreleased material almost outweighs that officially available on record store racks, but in recent years Young has served up a steady stream of unheard work stretching back the entirety of his career, alongside freshly minted albums. His Archives series releases, that are part of an extensive ongoing campaign to fully explore his complete recorded output, are amongst the most intriguing of anything he’s put his name to. Their outstanding quality only adds to the Young myth – an unpredictable genius who squirrels away classic albums for decades and refuses to play the conventional record company game.
As Young’s back catalogue as a solo artist runs so deep, we’ve kept the main Top 40 countdown clear of his work as part of Buffalo Springfield or Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – you’ll see that the splendid Buffalo Springfield Again and Déjà Vu are recommended in one of our sidebars here. So let’s get lost in a life’s work that has rarely trodden the road more travelled.
AMERICANA (2012)
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Young reunited with Crazy Horse after a nine-year break to duff up a carefully selected bunch of campfire singalongs and return them to their protest-song roots. Oh Susannah is revisited in a Tim Rose style and Clementine rumbles darkly. Other highlights include Woody Guthrie’s This Land Is Your Land and a delicate Wayfarin’ Stranger. Hats off, too, for the bizarre cover of God Save The Queen. Not the Pistols’ version. You’re welcome, your madge…
Rarest 2013 Reprise £25 (single-sided)Latest Out of Press
PSYCHEDELIC PILL (2012)
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Essentially the soundtrack to his autobiography Waging Heavy Peace, few songwriters would have the balls to open an album with a 27-minute song. Driftin’ Back is indulgent; after all, such sybaritic tendencies worked for the Grateful Dead. The title track is suitably woozy, while the nigh-on 17-minute Ramada Inn became a controversial live mainstay at gigs throughout 2012 and 2013. If head-nodding mid-tempo Neil is your thing, then fill your boots.
Rarest 2012 Reprise £35 (3LP)Latest Out of Press
CHROME DREAMS II (2007)
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A sequel to the unreleased Chrome Dreams LP, the junked car on the cover here is apposite. Young unearths songs from across his previous 30 years that were thought to have been put out to pasture. While opener Beautiful Bluebird melodically evokes Harvest’s Out On The Weekend, this record is dominated by two epics, the 18-minute sprawl of the chugging Ordinary People and wriggling No Hidden Path. There are flashes of brilliance here, but they’re fleeting.
Rarest 2007 Reprise £75 (US import)Latest Out of Press
THIS NOTE’S FOR YOU (1988)
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Another 80s genre experiment on Geffen. Sitting outside Young’s usual comfort zone, this is a horn-filled excursion into blues, jazz and soul. Backed by 10-piece band The Bluenotes, it’s worth reassessment. The anti-consumerism title track gave corporate sell-outs like Michael Jackson the middle finger (“Ain’t singing for Pepsi, ain’t singing for Coke. This note’s for you!”). From the late-night jazz of Coupe De Ville to the blues rock of Life In The City, this is an intriguing outlier.
Rarest 1988 Reprise £10-£15Latest 2018 Reprise £15
YEAR OF THE HORSE (1997)
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One for the deep-cut aficionados. For the most part, this live album with Crazy Horse dispenses with the mainstream big-hitters of Neil’s career, instead opting to underline his status as the Godfather of Grunge. Amidst the Gibson-drenched carnage, there’s a bluesy take on Mr Soul that holds up well and a tender Human Highway. The driving 11-minute Slip Away and 13-minute Danger Bird are more representative, showcasing Crazy Horse’s trance-inducing drone rock.
Rarest 1997 Reprise £95Latest Out of Press