Neil Young - 80

Four years ago, I wrote in these spaces of my eighty favorite Bob Dylan songs on the occasion of his 80^th birthday. Four years later, I’m going to give the same treatment to Neil Young, I started to like his music during my freshman year in college. Most of the people in my dorm had the same classes so we all took our exams together. Our tests would often be in the evenings. One guy on my floor was a Neil Young fan, and before every exam he would play Like a Hurricane from Live Rust. It stuck with me ever since. My first Neil Young concert was a solo acoustic show at McNichols Arena in Denver, January 1983. The next time I saw him was with Crazy Horse at Arco Arena in Sacramento. It was January 1991, and specifically it was the night Desert Storm started. The show started with Jimi Hendrix’s version of the Star-Spangled Banner while one of the roadies was hoisting a giant microphone stand that was adorned with a large yellow ribbon. I saw him one final time with Crazy Horse in Virginia in 1996. Since then he has been target-fixated on saving the planet, and he started to preach. I have no use for preaching, but I can enjoy what came before.

Like that Dylan blog from four years. I’ll list my Top 10, then the remainder in the order they were recorded. This list is heavily weighted toward the 1970s [and for good reason]:

1.      Down By The River [NY & Crazy Horse, Everybody Knows This is Nowhere, 1969]

2.      Cinnamon Girl [NY & Crazy Horse, Everybody Knows This is Nowhere, 1969]

3.      When You Dance I Can Really Love [NY & Crazy Horse, After the Gold Rush, 1970]

4.      Ohio [CSNY, single, 1970]

5.      The Needle & The Damage Done [NY, Harvest, 1972]

6.      Revolution Blues [NY, On the Beach, 1974]

7.      Like A Hurricane [NY & Crazy Horse, American Stars ‘n’ Bars, 1977]

8.      Cortez The Killer [NY & Crazy Horse, Zuma, 1976]

9.      Powderfinger [NY & Crazy Horse, Rust Never Sleeps, 1979]

10.    Rockin’ in the Free World [NY, Freedom, 1989]

The rest:

1.      Down to the Wire [Buffalo Springfield, Decade, 1977 (recorded 1967)]

2.      Mr. Soul [Buffalo Springfield, Buffalo Springfield Again, 1967]

3.      Broken Arrow [Buffalo Springfield, Buffalo Springfield Again, 1967]

4.      Expecting to Fly [Buffalo Springfield, Buffalo Springfield Again, 1967]

5.      I Am a Child  [Buffalo Springfield, Last Time Around, 1968]

6.      Sugar Mountain [NY, Decade, 1977 (recorded 1968)]

7.      The Loner [NY, Neil Young, 1968]

8.      I’ve Been Waiting for You [NY, Neil Young, 1968]

9.      The Old Laughing Lady [NY, Neil Young, 1968]

10.  Tell Me Why [NY, After the Gold Rush, 1970]

11.  After the Gold Rush [NY, After the Gold Rush, 1970]

12.  Only Love Can Break Your Heart [NY, After the Gold Rush, 1970]

13.  Don’t Let It Bring You Down [NY, After the Gold Rush, 1970]

14.  Southern Man [NY & Crazy Horse, After the Gold Rush, 1970]

15.  Birds [NY, After the Gold Rush, 1970]

16.  Nowadays Clancy Can’t Even Sing [NY, Carnegie Hall 1970, 2021]

17.  Flying on the Ground is Wrong [NY, Carnegie Hall 1970, 2021]

18.  On The Way Home [NY, Live at Massey Hall 1971, 2009]

19.  Out On The Weekend [NY, Harvest, 1972]

20.  A Man Needs A Maid [NY, Harvest, 1972]

21.  Old Man [NY, Harvest, 1972]

22.  Alabama [NY, Harvest, 1972]

23.  Soldier [NY, Decade, 1977 (recorded 1972)]

24.  Walk On [NY, On the Beach, 1974]

25.  For the Turnstiles [NY, On the Beach, 1974]

26.  On the Beach [NY, On the Beach, 1974]

27.  Ambulance Blues [NY, On the Beach, 1974]

28.  Tonight’s The Night [NY, Tonight’s the Night, 1975 (recorded 1973)]

29.  New Mama [NY, Tonight’s the Night, 1975 (recorded 1973)]

30.  Albuquerque [NY, Tonight’s the Night, 1975 (recorded 1973)]

31.  Lookout Joe [NY, Tonight’s the Night, 1975 (recorded 1973)]

32.  Tonight’s the Night Part II [NY, Tonight’s the Night, 1975 (recorded 1973)]

33.  Vacancy [NY, Homegrown, 2020 (recorded 1975)]

34.  Barstool Blues [NY & Crazy Horse, Zuma, 1976]

35.  Don’t Cry No Tears [NY & Crazy Horse, Zuma, 1976]

36.  Winterlong [NY & Crazy Horse, Decade, 1977 (recorded 1975)]

37.  Fontainebleau [The Stills-Young Band, Long May You Run, 1976]

38.  Goin’ Back [NY, Comes a Time, 1978]

39.  Comes a Time [NY, Comes a Time, 1978]

40.  Look Out for My Love [NY & Crazy Horse, Comes a Time, 1978]

41.  Lotta Love [NY & Crazy Horse, Comes a Time, 1978]

42.  My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue) [NY, Rust Never Sleeps, 1979]

43.  Thrasher [NY, Rust Never Sleeps, 1979]

44.  Sedan Delivery [NY & Crazy Horse, Rust Never Sleeps, 1979]

45.  Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black) [NY & Crazy Horse, Rust Never Sleeps, 1979]

46.  Southern Pacific [NY & Crazy Horse, Re-ac-tor, 1981]

47.  This Note’s For You [NY, This Note’s For You, 1988]

48.  Crime In The City (Sixty To Zero Part I) [NY, Freedom, 1989]

49.  Eldorado [NY, Freedom, 1989]

50.  On Broadway [NY, Freedom, 1989]

51.  Too Far Gone [NY, Freedom, 1989]

52.  White Line [NY & Crazy Horse, Ragged Glory, 1990]

53.  F*!#In' Up [NY & Crazy Horse, Ragged Glory, 1990]

54.  Love and Only Love [NY & Crazy Horse, Ragged Glory, 1990]

55.  Unknown Legend [NY, Harvest Moon, 1992]

56.  From Hank to Hendrix  [[NY, Harvest Moon, 1992]

57.  War of Man [NY, Harvest Moon, 1992]

58.  All Along the Watchtower [Live] [NY, “Bobfest,” 1992]

59.  Driveby [NY & Crazy Horse, Sleeps With Angels, 1994]

60.  Change Your Mind [NY & Crazy Horse, Sleeps With Angels, 1994]

61.  Blue Eden [NY & Crazy Horse, Sleeps With Angels, 1994]

62.  Safeway Cart [NY & Crazy Horse, Sleeps With Angels, 1994]

63.  Act Of Love [NY, Mirror Ball, 1995]

64.  Peace And Love [NY, Mirror Ball, 1995]

65.  Big Time [NY & Crazy Horse, Broken Arrow, 1996]

66.  Slip Away [NY & Crazy Horse, Broken Arrow, 1996]

67.  Goin’ Home [NY & Crazy Horse, Are You Passionate?, 2002]

68.  No Wonder [NY, Prairie Wind, 2005]

69.  Psychedelic Pill [NY & Crazy Horse, Psychedelic Pill, 2012]

70.  Walk Like a Giant [NY & Crazy Horse, Psychedelic Pill, 2012]

Happy Birthday, Neil!