So for those wanting to discover more, but unsure where to start: here’s a guide to the five best Neil Young albums.
Harvest (1972)
OK, this is very obvious and probably not his best album (see next entry), but it’s still the best place to start. It’s laid back, without losing any of its edge. For an album that seems to demand to be played on a hot summer’s night, while you sit out under the stars sipping a beer, it’s slightly claustrophobic; probably a result of Young’s recent fame.
But the songs: “Heart of Gold”, “Old Man”, “Alabama” and others are career highlights, as is “The Needle and the Damage Done”, one of rock’s first songs to deal with the fall out from 1960s drug culture.
After the Gold Rush (1970)
One of the albums that marked the arrival of the new decade with resigned weariness mixed with fear and paranoia (think John Lennon’s “Plastic Ono Band” without the primal screams or vicious guitar work).
Sounding like a natural extension of Young’s then-recent work with Crosby, Stills and Nash, the album is littered with classics such as “After the Gold Rush” and “Southern Man”. Then there’s the beautiful, glass-like fragility of “Only Love Can Break Your Heart.” Both lovely and terribly sad, often at the same moment, it’s also indispensable. Just like the album.
Decade (1966-1976)
One of rock’s great artist compilations. After the above two albums, if you’re at all unsure about delving deeper into Young’s catalogue, this is for you. It begins with tracks from Young’s Buffalo Springfield days, takes in some singles-only releases and finishes with some mid-seventies classics, including “Cortez the Killer” and “Like a Hurricane.”
Rust Never Sleeps (1979)
To be honest, pretty much anything Young released between his eponymous debut album in 1969 and 1975’s “Tonight’s the Night” is worth buying. After that, it all gets more difficult. “Rust Never Sleeps” is Young’s best album of the latter half of the seventies and is split between an acoustic and an electric side. It would be his most accessible release for a number of years.
“My My, Hey Hey” is up there with the Byrds’ “So You Wanna Be A Rock’n'Roll Star” and Billy Joel’s “The Entertainer” as one of the best satires/descriptions of the music industry.
Harvest Moon (1992)
A relatively late classic, Young’s last great album (so far). Seen as a follow-up to Harvest, the album mirrors its famous predecessor’s mellow tone, while moving a few steps into the shade. If Dylan’s 1997 “Time Out of Mind” is rock’s first (and best) album to deal with mortality, then Harvest Moon is rock’s best “forty-something/middle-age” album.
That’s not to say it’s depressing, it’s just where Young began to take on the grumpy old man mantle, but combined it with great tunes. The ten minute-plus closer, “Natural Beauty” is worth the admission on its own.
Summary
Neil Young has recorded many albums and the choice can certainly be confusing. Although no list is definitive, the above five albums should offer great starting points from where the listener can begin to explore Young's full body of work.
James Whitworth - I am a freelance writer, journalist and cartoonist. I have written for a wide range of publications and am currently writing a series of ...
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