Did I miss "Time Fades Away"? Or was that not included because it was live? I'd have included it since it was all new material. Even though Neil apparently doesn't like it I think it's top 10.
I love Time Fades Away . What a punk move by Neil to spit on his extraordinary commercial success of Harvest by releasing a ragged , soulful , all new songs live album . Don't Be Denied , indeed !!
Wow, that was amazing. I grew up on Neil Young and I've never heard anyone comb through a catalogue as vast as his with such pointed accuracy. In fact, every video that I've seen of yours has been deep and remarkably thorough . I don't know how you do it but please keep on keepin' on.
i love "angry world" off of "fork in the road" but have never heard the whole record. "captain kennedy" IS good. i didn't know it. i enjoyed "a letter home" but haven't reached for it since the 2nd listen. @@classicalbum
I'm glad to see Ragged Glory so high. That's a great album. Only time I saw Neil Young and Crazy Horse live. Personally I think Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere should be top 3 but that's mho.
It was pretty depressing to realize how many of these albums I purchased, played once or twice, shelved, and have never listened to again. David Briggs is definitely missed.
That may be because Neil has not produced a decent album in roughly 25 years, so anything more recent is a POS, no matter what slavish fans and delusional critics might say.
Monumental task to rate Uncle Neils catalogue...bravo! great job. I definitely would have Mirror Ball in his top 10 and agree that Psychedelic Pill is a latter day masterpiece.
My Top 10: 1. On the Beach 2. Zuma 3. Rust Never Sleeps 4. After the Gold Rush 5. Comes a Time 6. Harvest 7. Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere 8. Sleeps with Angels 9. Neil Young 1st Album 10. Tonight’s the Night
LOL, I have 10 Neil Young album's, inc. the first two, bought "way back when First Released {Value ? LOL} * are in the top 10 with # 15 & # 20 as well. Seem's I made the right decision when I stopped buying 'ol Neil. PS. In the last few year's I've taken to listening to Steven Still's a lot more & only bother with Neil's first 2 releases..... I'm 75 & British.
Funny thing: Neil Young is absolutely one of my favorite artists ever, but I’m pretty unfamiliar with a good chunk of his catalog. I’ve listened to some of it, but it it doesn’t stick in my head. I’m talking about a lot of the 80’s and newer stuff, I just don’t have the patience to weed through all the mediocre stuff to get to the good stuff. Now 60’s and 70’s Neil, that’s a whole other story…some of the greatest albums of all time, barely a misstep with any of those. His first album and Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere are way higher for me than the rankings here…Nowhere is easily my #1, the debut might be my #2. Last Trip Tulsa is easily one of the greatest songs he ever wrote, look deeply into those (at face value) cryptic lyrics for the devastating meaning.
I love your reviews, always engaging and with a great sense of subtle humour. Easy to enjoy chilling with one of your long discography retrospectives. This one I was looking forward to and it delivered! Great work!
Your a brave man to take on that discography. .... well done 👏 Only comment from my side is that I would rank Trans a lot higher. It's certainly intriguing, risk-taking and has more than a few gems!
No ranking for Homegrown or Toast? Or did I miss them? While Chrome Dreams 11 is not brilliant no mention of Ordinary People one of his greatest songs.
That's a lot of listening! Another American channel, Tastes Like Music, (formerly known as Listogrophy) did a survey of Young's albums and one of the three guys said basically that after that experience he didn't want to hear another Neil Young album for probably another couple of years. Your listing is a fair and balanced one. I've loved Neil Young's writing since Buffalo Springfield, but I agree that in the last couple of decades, he really needed an edit function - and then a buff and a polish. Instead of 20 mediocre to bad albums he could have ten amazing ones. I think you're also correct that losing David Briggs as another set of ears he trusted was a big loss for Young. Excellent survey!
Great list, I agree with most of it. It is interesting that some of the newer records that I haven't heard come up high. But one thing I strongly disagree with, "Are You Passionate" is actually a very good album. I've never understood why this gets dragged down the drain, it's in my top fifteen albums for sure.
As a fan of Gold Rush and Harvest, and a much lesser fan of the rest, I think you did a remarkable analysis. The terms "churning them out" and "lo-fi" was spot on for the majority of his catalog, IMHO. The fact that you put yourself through this ordeal is very impressive. Nice job.
If Zuma doesn't come in the top three I'm unsubscribing ;) [Later...] OK I'll let you off. Should be joint first, I guess. Danger Bird is perhaps Young's sonically most interesting experiment and Barstool Blues is his most searingly personal examination of his own life and relationships, it's a masterpiece. "Once there was a friend of mine...". In Shakey, Neil Young expert Jimmy McDonough holds this song in high regard, saying, "If God asked for a definition of beauty, I'd play him 'Barstool Blues'". Lou Reed considered the guitar playing on Danger Bird to be the best he had ever heard, stating "It makes me cry, it is the best I have heard in my life. The guy is a spectacular guitarist, those melodies are so marvelous, so calculated, constructed note to note… he must have killed to get those notes. It puts my hairs on end!”
Hey!!!…check out Neil’s newest masterpiece Chevrolet. There’s a FABULOUS 17-minute version currently on TH-cam. It’s the old Neil Young we all love. Highly recommended. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
My Opinion: Mirrorball and Sleeps w/ Angels should be much higher. Living Wit War should be lower. And, I just don't get the fascination with On The Beach. You say it's "underrated", but yours is the 2nd list I've seen ranking it top-5.
My top 10 in no particular order: Comes a Time, Harvest Moon, Freedom, After the Gold Rush, Ragged Glory, Harvest, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, Zuma, On the Beach, Tonight's the Night. Honorable mention: Rust Never Sleeps, Prairie Wind, American Stars and Bars.
Trans, Are you passionate, Comes a Time, Rust never sleeps would be much higher on my list. I would drop the imho anyway overrated Harvest and Tonight‘s the Night (the recently released live album is much better!) and also Zuma a bit down. Still an interesting list and some great statements about certain albums.
I never agreed with a commentator more. Brief as the assessments were he was articulate & accurate. I was never a huge Neil Young fan but I listened to his material & for me, the majority of his best material was early on. As time went by the first listen to new stuff dwindled. Neil saturates his output & seems oblivious to good marketing. These reviews were thorough, fair & well done. One suggestion for Neil from a former entertainment PR person -- don't alienate your audience if they pay for tickets & CDs. That's your livelihood & you're getting older. Play the music & leave the politics at home. You are a musician first, not a lecturer or a pundit. It's really rather simple.
Excellent work. Neil is so frustrating but is truly one of the best of all when he is on form. What a mammoth task. I will be checking out some of the more recent ones on the back of this. Your top ten was pretty much perfect. Keep up the amazing work.
Listening to 43 Neil Young albums critically sure sounds like work to me. And an exercise in patience and forbearance given his self righteousness. Although Time Fades Away was recorded live, it was an album of new songs and think it could’ve been included in the rankings. Tonight’s the Night is my fave. I would’ve ranked Everybody Knows higher, Harvest lower. I enjoyed the video and appreciate the time and effort put into it and will check out Psychedelic Pill. Cheers
Thank you for so much work! To put Trans over Landing on Water and This Notes for You is a suprise to say the least. The lovely Homegrown, the biographically important A journey through the past, the hypnotic Dead Man and the great Eldorado are missing. Time fades away is not a mere livealbum, for all the songs on it were new (similar to Rust never sleeps). In my opinion his best record, that has grown a lot over the years.
I thought this was a great half hour run-down of Neil's exceptional career. I particularly enjoyed seeing the love given to Ragged Glory, which on certain days is my favorite NY album.
This is an extremely difficult task to accomplish - well done! I'm surprised "Are You Passionate" ended up so low and the debut within the top 10. I remember, I liked "Are you Passionate" pretty much when it came out, but I must confess - didn't listen to it for some years. Some of my favorites are: Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, Zuma, On the Beach and from the later ones - Psychedelic Pill.
"Ain't got no t-bone"... I loved Neil's work before he became insane... "...Got mashed potatoes..." Seriously? If he was ever serious about the environment, he should've stopped playing big, electric shows and only played acoustics permanently...which he didn't and never will. He could act as big a lefty as possible, but he always went after that capitalist dollar. There's a word for that lifestyle.
Yes he should just play acoustic guitar. Hes a folk singer not a rocker. I dont like the lefty stuff but he may grow out of it ? :-)How about a top 10 of Young songs? Or top20 of CSNY's solo albums?
He's getting lazy in his old age - when I did this 3 years ago he still only had 43 albums. Of course, I was even lazier - I only gave each record a 3 word review.
My ranking of the one I know. On The Beach Tonight’s The Night Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere Time Fades Away Sleeps With Angel Trans Neil Young Rust Never Sleeps Comes A Time Zuma After The Gold Rush Ragged Glory Silver & Gold Greendale American Stars ’n Bars Harvest Broken Arrow Landing On Water Freedom Re-ac-tor Hawks & Doves Life Mirror Ball Psychedelic Pill Living With War Are You Passionate? Chrome Dreams II The Visitor Colorado
@@PhilSmithRHR i love Trans. Completely understand Neil’s state of mind doing it. Love its groove. The Kraftwerk grammar. Maybe it’s easier for a European like me to apprehend this kind of music even though American hip-hop pioneers were already heavily influenced by European electronic music. Can’t get enough of Computer Cowboy and the juggernaut that is Sample And Hold. The last time I saw Neil live in 2019 I was very lucky to see him perform Like An Inca. What a riff!
Well done sir ! A daunting task indeed. The run that he had from his debut album up to and including Zuma was remarkable. He had a lot of undeserved bad reviews for the post Harvest releases of Time Fades Away, On The Beach and Tonight's The Night. They were and still are right up there as some of his best.
Great list and comments, as always. Placing Hawks & Doves would be difficult for me: I absolutely love Side 1, and often skip Side 2. As an aside: I highly recommend Neil's Bottom Line 1974 concert (if you can track it down).
Makes you realise how poor Neil Young's quality control is/was at times. You get the impression he just 'dashed off' a lot of albums, justifying the approach as a search for spontaneity.
Enjoyed that and I agree with most of your rankings except that I would rate “Everybody Knows This is Nowhere” much higher. I grew up with that album, “Goldrush”, “Harvest” and I love it - The Euphoiric “Cinnamon Girl”, the dark “Down By The River” and the wonderful meandering “Cowgirl In The Sand” are still some of his best songs. What a musician.
Great list Barry. I like Broken Arrow more than you. I also quite enjoy Are You Passionate, although it’s over long and lacking variety. Brilliant top twenty. I would put Sleeps With Angels higher. I agree Colorado, Barn and Psychedelic Pill are all worth a listen, especially PP. Agree about Ramada Inn. Sometimes I think Tonight’s The Night is the greatest rock album of all time.
Good job on a tough assignment. Pretty much agree with the rankings at least for the albums I know. Though I would have put Harvest Moon up in the top ten however. Nice job!
Awesome job, he was all over the map in a stellar career, but I so loved him with Crazy Horse, saw that combo a bunch of times, amongst the best jamming hard rock shows I ever saw. Great stuff and very nice list, about halfway through all those albums are worth a listen and many classic works. Another forever musician, Peace! 🎵🎸🎤🎹🎶
An excellent breakdown and ranking of Neil’s discography. Not an easy task considering the depth of it. And there are several of those I’m unfamiliar with but I’ve really grown to love that “ Mirrorball “ piece of 1995. A perfectly fitting collaboration with PJ. However like most, I do prefer his older material. So your top is tough to argue with. Thanks for the awesome review of this walking, living legend.
Yes, Mirror Ball with Pearl Jam was dope, what a killer album! Scenery is a devastating tune, Peace and Love & Through Your Hatred Down are also bangers.
I enjoy This Notes...more than most. It might be because I saw Neil and the horns perform it live. There is an existing live album from that tour that is worth checking out.
I've become a big fan of live shows from the Landing On Water tour. Better versions of Water songs rubbing shoulders with original live versions of songs that wound up on Life and great live versions of Trans songs and Neil classics.
Mirrorball... there's an EP which accompanies this album, called Merkinball. It's by Pearl Jam and Neil Young, only two songs but it has the brilliant I Got ID. with Neil doing lead guitar and Eddie Vedder doing rhythm guitar. I wonder if Pearl Jam ever does this live because it is so cool.
Great video/review, as always. Even with the misses and medicorities, Neil Young's catalogue and prolific output is astounding. Not even including the massive high quality material that was unreleased at the time.
Give you props for sticking with NY and his considerable output this century which has maybe flown under the radar of many, myself included although I did buy a couple of his live from the vaults releases in the 00s. Will need to check out some of his better new stuff. He was completely written off in the 80s and came back strongly with a few sterling releases although Broken Arrow in 96 sounded to me like a guy out of creative juice so I lost interest.
I think Landing On Water is one of his best. That "sterile" production is just right for the claustrophobic feel. Play it very loud, on headphones, and the emotional content is huge. Interesting list though. My top 3 are in the top 10, which is a high degree of agreement really, but the main thing is you have something interesting to say about each album.
I like Neil Young, and I don't care about Neil Young. For me, After the Gold Rush, Harvest, Buffalo Springfield (debut) and Crosby Stills Nash and Young Deja Vu is all the Neil Young a person needs.
Your comments on Landing on Water are spot on. So many 60s and 70s artist were trying to fit in with 80s productions. These albums often contain good songs but it's hard to listen to them. It reminded me of when these artist were trying disco in the late 70s It makes them look desperate I heard Neil perform some of the Landing tracks on concert with basic instruments and they were pretty damn good
Nice job! That was a huge catalog to tackle. Always interesting to see your take on a catalog. Been a fan since the Buffalo Springfield days. All his albums are worthy of a listen, although as he’s aged, the quality of his output has declined imo. Still, when I put on a NY record I feel like I’m sitting with an old friend who has walked with me through almost all my life. He immediately makes me feel good, even listening to his mediocre albums.
I enjoyed your reviews of the albums, some I agree with, some I don't, but all in all I think you have a pretty good understanding of the artist and this was an enjoyable listen.
I must be an oddball.I thought if you like an artist, you buy all their albums.I know all of Neil's catalog.Same with Dylan, Stones, Beatles,Who,Kinks.It's been a bit brutal for Neil since mid '90's to present.I'd have to put This Notes For You a bit higher,and American Stars n Bars.Will To Love may be my favorite song of his.Good job taking the time to review these 43.The Ditch Trilogy are awesome.
How awesome is "Will to Love," along with its high energy counterpart "Like a Hurricane?" Adore "American Stars n Bars" - even the short, almost throwaway "Homegrown" is terrific.
I agree with other comments that Time Fades Away should be considered. If you were to include it in your list, where would you rank it? Great list overall.
EVERYBODY KNOWS THIS IS NOWHERE changes between #1 and #2 with AFTER THE GOLDRUSH, don't care about CINNAMON GIRL or DOWN BY THE RIVER, #3 HARVEST, my favorite Neil song is RUNNING DRY, but he has BIRDS, WHEN YOU DANCE, DON'T LET IT BRING YOU DOWN, so many songs on my top 3, don't see the same on ZUMA or ON THE BEACH.
I saw Neil with the international harvesters in 83. It was an awesome show. Did alot of acoustic country stuff then kicked into electric with an awesome lengthy Down bt the River.
I think it's been established that Roger Waters only wrote the words to Breathe, whereas Gilmour wrote the chords/music of the verses and Wright added the chords to the 'For long you live...' chorus...or whatever you want to call it...
What does "Ragged Glory" have that "Life" doesn't? Never understood why that LP is always ranked so low. Think both "Everybody Knows this is Nowhere" and "On The Beach" should be higher (the latter being my favorite) but to each their own.
Churns out a album in less time than it does us mere mortals to crimp out a turd ! Absolutely spot on . Great undertaking to tackle all his albums …..Well done 😎👍Cheers
The first Rutles album was recorded in 20 minutes; the second took even longer. On the Beach for me, an album I don’t think I will ever tire of revisiting.
I own about 300 CD's, I can't find anymore great albums than that, some people have 3,000 CD's, but not 300 great ones, I mean albums you can play straight thru, start to finish.
I love all Neil's albums EXCEPT - Everybody's Rockin'. My top 10 - 10 - Sleeps With Angels 09 - Le Noise 08 - After The Goldrush 07 - Silver And Gold 06 - This Note's For You 05 - Rust Never Sleeps 04 - Prairie Wind 03 - Are You Passionate ? 02 - Broken Arrow 01 - Greendale Notable others - 11 - Harvest Moon 14 - Comes A Time 15 - Zuma 16 - On The Beach 18 - Harvest 22 - Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere 24 - American Stars 'n Bars 27 - Tonight's The Night Note - I was too lazy to type out complete list
Never was a big fan. I only own 2 albums, "After the Goldrush" and "Harvest". The former I like much more than the latter. I barely know the rest, so this may help me to give at least the rest of the top 10 another chance.
Neil Young is the only artist I can think of who appeared on 20 albums in succession that were all good, great, or brilliant. 1966 Buffalo Springfield 1967 Buffalo Springfield Again 1968 Last Time Around 1968 Neil Young 1969 Everybody Knows This is ….. 1970 Deja Vu 1970 After The Goldrush 1971 Four Way Street 1972 Harvest 1973 Time Fades Away 1974 On The Beach 1975 Tonight’s The Night 1975 Zuma 1976 Long May You Run 1977 American Stars ‘N’ Bars 1978 Comes A Time 1979 Rust Never Sleeps 1980 Live Rust 1980 Hawks & Doves 1981 Re-ac-tor
So glad you put On the Beach high up on the list. I remember hearing that as a 17 yo kid....blew me away then, still great now...mellow, haunting at times....so well written.
Really, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (Cinnamon Girl, Down by the River, Cowgirl in the Sand) all the way down at position 9 with Freedom & Ragged Glory rated higher?? Put down the pipe, dude.
This was a real slug fest and i applaud the dedication. Shame you avoided Weld which in my opinion is his best and bravest album ( although Arc is a trudge). I love the fact that Neil Young never sold out like most of his Sixties peers.
I would rank ’Sleeps with Angels’ and ’Trans’ higher than in the video while better than Zuma I consider ’Harvest’, ’On the Beach’ and ’Tonight’s the Night’.
Sadly, Neil has lived long enough for me to fall out of love with him, but he is still the guy who gave us *Tonight's the Night*, one of the greatest albums of all time, IMO. The post Harvest Moon work is mostly garbage and would populate the bottom of my list. Even the more crappy earlier albums had a certain sense of integrity, which he no longer owns. My favorite show was his one man band set followed by the Pink Flamingos. That is, ironically, also when the love affair ended for me. I don't regret it. "Down on Pain Street disappointment lurks"
"As he tends to churn out an album in less time than it takes us mere mortals to crimp off a turd" hilarious and frighteningly accurate, Neil Young seems to have little time for quality control which is a great shame as he has shown he has the ability to create "timeless" albums and songs. When he wishes to.
What a Herculean effort. When Neil is good, he is very good, but when he's bad, he's very bad. While Crazy Horse is rightly praised for albums such as Zuma Beach and Everyone Knows This Is Nowhere, they can be awful too. Ralph Molina's drumming can be monotonous and boring. It is the main reason I find Greendale to be unlistenable (plus the songs are terrible). I have all of Neil's albums. Your video has inspired me to revisit some of them that I've not listened to in years.
Did I miss "Time Fades Away"? Or was that not included because it was live? I'd have included it since it was all new material. Even though Neil apparently doesn't like it I think it's top 10.
I love Time Fades Away . What a punk move by Neil to spit on his extraordinary commercial success of Harvest by releasing a ragged , soulful , all new songs live album . Don't Be Denied , indeed !!
Wow, that was amazing. I grew up on Neil Young and I've never heard anyone comb through a catalogue as vast as his with such pointed accuracy. In fact, every video that I've seen of yours has been deep and remarkably thorough . I don't know how you do it but please keep on keepin' on.
Wow, thank you!... I'm just a bit obsessed with music
@@classicalbumLol aren’t we all! Probably why we vibe with your work so well. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us
i love "angry world" off of "fork in the road" but have never heard the whole record. "captain kennedy" IS good. i didn't know it. i enjoyed "a letter home" but haven't reached for it since the 2nd listen. @@classicalbum
I'm glad to see Ragged Glory so high. That's a great album. Only time I saw Neil Young and Crazy Horse live. Personally I think Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere should be top 3 but that's mho.
It was pretty depressing to realize how many of these albums I purchased, played once or twice, shelved, and have never listened to again. David Briggs is definitely missed.
That may be because Neil has not produced a decent album in roughly 25 years, so anything more recent is a POS, no matter what slavish fans and delusional critics might say.
Sleeps With Angels is an underrated classic!
Monumental task to rate Uncle Neils catalogue...bravo! great job. I definitely would have Mirror Ball in his top 10 and agree that Psychedelic Pill is a latter day masterpiece.
My Top 10:
1. On the Beach
2. Zuma
3. Rust Never Sleeps
4. After the Gold Rush
5. Comes a Time
6. Harvest
7. Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
8. Sleeps with Angels
9. Neil Young 1st Album
10. Tonight’s the Night
Good list. I was quite pleased that most of the NY albums I randomly bought back in the 90s and 00s were in the top half of this video's rankings.
LOL, I have 10 Neil Young album's, inc. the first two, bought "way back when First Released {Value ? LOL} * are in the top 10 with # 15 & # 20 as well. Seem's I made the right decision when I stopped buying 'ol Neil. PS. In the last few year's I've taken to listening to Steven Still's a lot more & only bother with Neil's first 2 releases..... I'm 75 & British.
Funny thing: Neil Young is absolutely one of my favorite artists ever, but I’m pretty unfamiliar with a good chunk of his catalog. I’ve listened to some of it, but it it doesn’t stick in my head. I’m talking about a lot of the 80’s and newer stuff, I just don’t have the patience to weed through all the mediocre stuff to get to the good stuff. Now 60’s and 70’s Neil, that’s a whole other story…some of the greatest albums of all time, barely a misstep with any of those. His first album and Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere are way higher for me than the rankings here…Nowhere is easily my #1, the debut might be my #2. Last Trip Tulsa is easily one of the greatest songs he ever wrote, look deeply into those (at face value) cryptic lyrics for the devastating meaning.
I love your reviews, always engaging and with a great sense of subtle humour. Easy to enjoy chilling with one of your long discography retrospectives. This one I was looking forward to and it delivered! Great work!
Your a brave man to take on that discography. .... well done 👏
Only comment from my side is that I would rank Trans a lot higher. It's certainly intriguing, risk-taking and has more than a few gems!
No ranking for Homegrown or Toast? Or did I miss them?
While Chrome Dreams 11 is not brilliant no mention of Ordinary People one of his greatest songs.
That's a lot of listening! Another American channel, Tastes Like Music, (formerly known as Listogrophy) did a survey of Young's albums and one of the three guys said basically that after that experience he didn't want to hear another Neil Young album for probably another couple of years.
Your listing is a fair and balanced one. I've loved Neil Young's writing since Buffalo Springfield, but I agree that in the last couple of decades, he really needed an edit function - and then a buff and a polish. Instead of 20 mediocre to bad albums he could have ten amazing ones. I think you're also correct that losing David Briggs as another set of ears he trusted was a big loss for Young.
Excellent survey!
So glad that ‘After The Gold Rush’ made number 1. Loved this album since it first came out.
I'm with you mostly, but I think Chrome Dreams II is a damn good album, and should be higher on the list.
Great list, I agree with most of it. It is interesting that some of the newer records that I haven't heard come up high. But one thing I strongly disagree with, "Are You Passionate" is actually a very good album. I've never understood why this gets dragged down the drain, it's in my top fifteen albums for sure.
As a fan of Gold Rush and Harvest, and a much lesser fan of the rest, I think you did a remarkable analysis. The terms "churning them out" and "lo-fi" was spot on for the majority of his catalog, IMHO. The fact that you put yourself through this ordeal is very impressive. Nice job.
If Zuma doesn't come in the top three I'm unsubscribing ;) [Later...] OK I'll let you off. Should be joint first, I guess. Danger Bird is perhaps Young's sonically most interesting experiment and Barstool Blues is his most searingly personal examination of his own life and relationships, it's a masterpiece. "Once there was a friend of mine...". In Shakey, Neil Young expert Jimmy McDonough holds this song in high regard, saying, "If God asked for a definition of beauty, I'd play him 'Barstool Blues'". Lou Reed considered the guitar playing on Danger Bird to be the best he had ever heard, stating "It makes me cry, it is the best I have heard in my life. The guy is a spectacular guitarist, those melodies are so marvelous, so calculated, constructed note to note… he must have killed to get those notes. It puts my hairs on end!”
I like his new song 'hey hey my my, get your vaccine shot or you will die'
never heard of you Never heard any of your songs
Hey!!!…check out Neil’s newest masterpiece Chevrolet. There’s a FABULOUS 17-minute version currently on TH-cam. It’s the old Neil Young we all love. Highly recommended.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
My Opinion: Mirrorball and Sleeps w/ Angels should be much higher. Living Wit War should be lower.
And, I just don't get the fascination with On The Beach. You say it's "underrated", but yours is the 2nd list I've seen ranking it top-5.
My top 10 in no particular order: Comes a Time, Harvest Moon, Freedom, After the Gold Rush, Ragged Glory, Harvest, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, Zuma, On the Beach, Tonight's the Night. Honorable mention: Rust Never Sleeps, Prairie Wind, American Stars and Bars.
Curious why you omitted Time Fades Away? It's live, but as with Rust Never Sleeps, it;s all previously unreleased songs.
Trans, Are you passionate, Comes a Time, Rust never sleeps would be much higher on my list. I would drop the imho anyway overrated Harvest and Tonight‘s the Night (the recently released live album is much better!) and also Zuma a bit down. Still an interesting list and some great statements about certain albums.
Good stuff. I'd rank "Chrome Dreams II" higher, but that's my only quibble.
Zuma at #2? Ahead of Harvest and Everybody Knows? I don't hear that. Maybe I'll give it another listen.
Excellent undertaking. I'd move Sleeps with Angels into the Top 5, though.
I never agreed with a commentator more. Brief as the assessments were he was articulate & accurate.
I was never a huge Neil Young fan but I listened to his material & for me, the majority of his best material was early on. As time went by the first listen to new stuff dwindled.
Neil saturates his output & seems oblivious to good marketing. These reviews were thorough, fair & well done.
One suggestion for Neil from a former entertainment PR person -- don't alienate your audience if they pay for tickets & CDs. That's your livelihood & you're getting older. Play the music & leave the politics at home. You are a musician first, not a lecturer or a pundit. It's really rather simple.
Niel Young is the male alternate to a very down Debbie Downer. What a sad soul he is.
never heard of you Never heard any of your songs. you sure know alot about being a debbie downer though.
Just wanted to say that if you have heard all Neil Young and Grateful Dead studio albums you have good music taste.
Maybe you like Moondog also?
Excellent work. Neil is so frustrating but is truly one of the best of all when he is on form. What a mammoth task. I will be checking out some of the more recent ones on the back of this. Your top ten was pretty much perfect. Keep up the amazing work.
I love "Time Fades Away" so much. Great list. Thx
Glad you enjoyed!
I’ve never understood why anyone loves Harvest Moon. That album overrated as hell.
Listening to 43 Neil Young albums critically sure sounds like work to me. And an exercise in patience and forbearance given his self righteousness. Although Time Fades Away was recorded live, it was an album of new songs and think it could’ve been included in the rankings. Tonight’s the Night is my fave. I would’ve ranked Everybody Knows higher, Harvest lower. I enjoyed the video and appreciate the time and effort put into it and will check out Psychedelic Pill. Cheers
I included Time Fades Away but not Long May You Run. And Time Fades Away was one of the very, very best.
Thank you for so much work! To put Trans over Landing on Water and This Notes for You is a suprise to say the least. The lovely Homegrown, the biographically important A journey through the past, the hypnotic Dead Man and the great Eldorado are missing. Time fades away is not a mere livealbum, for all the songs on it were new (similar to Rust never sleeps). In my opinion his best record, that has grown a lot over the years.
My opinion on Trans has shifted over the years, I like it now. It's really his only 80s album (except Freedom of course) that I listen to.
Haha about "Everybody's Rocking". Geffen complained he wanted a Neil Young album and he got one? Bought for a quid from Woolies in Lowestoft.
I would have ranked chrome dreams ii higher. Quite a good album.
Ha ha! When you said "Zuma," I thought you said "Zoomer"!
Amazing video. Great work as usual. I missed the album covers for an easy identification of some albums I’m not so familiar with.
Neil the Legend! Huge fan here! Cheers from Canada great video as always
Thanks for watching!
I thought this was a great half hour run-down of Neil's exceptional career. I particularly enjoyed seeing the love given to Ragged Glory, which on certain days is my favorite NY album.
Agree - that's a great album. My Top 5 is After the Goldrush, Harvest, Rust Never Sleeps, Freedom and Ragged Glory in no particular order.
You left out Time Fades Away 1973 not that it's a great LP
On the Beach should be higher. It might even be his masterpiece on top of the list.
This is an extremely difficult task to accomplish - well done! I'm surprised "Are You Passionate" ended up so low and the debut within the top 10. I remember, I liked "Are you Passionate" pretty much when it came out, but I must confess - didn't listen to it for some years. Some of my favorites are: Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, Zuma, On the Beach and from the later ones - Psychedelic Pill.
"Ain't got no t-bone"...
I loved Neil's work before he became insane...
"...Got mashed potatoes..."
Seriously?
If he was ever serious about the environment, he should've stopped playing big, electric shows and only played acoustics permanently...which he didn't and never will. He could act as big a lefty as possible, but he always went after that capitalist dollar. There's a word for that lifestyle.
Yes he should just play acoustic guitar. Hes a folk singer not a rocker. I dont like the lefty stuff but he may grow out of it ? :-)How about a top 10 of Young songs? Or top20 of CSNY's solo albums?
never heard of you Never heard any of your songs .
@@artvallejos1460 LOL
He's getting lazy in his old age - when I did this 3 years ago he still only had 43 albums. Of course, I was even lazier - I only gave each record a 3 word review.
My ranking of the one I know.
On The Beach
Tonight’s The Night
Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
Time Fades Away
Sleeps With Angel
Trans
Neil Young
Rust Never Sleeps
Comes A Time
Zuma
After The Gold Rush
Ragged Glory
Silver & Gold
Greendale
American Stars ’n Bars
Harvest
Broken Arrow
Landing On Water
Freedom
Re-ac-tor
Hawks & Doves
Life
Mirror Ball
Psychedelic Pill
Living With War
Are You Passionate?
Chrome Dreams II
The Visitor
Colorado
Trans will be a controversial number five but that’s a brilliant top four!
@@PhilSmithRHR i love Trans. Completely understand Neil’s state of mind doing it. Love its groove. The Kraftwerk grammar. Maybe it’s easier for a European like me to apprehend this kind of music even though American hip-hop pioneers were already heavily influenced by European electronic music. Can’t get enough of Computer Cowboy and the juggernaut that is Sample And Hold. The last time I saw Neil live in 2019 I was very lucky to see him perform Like An Inca. What a riff!
Trans -- silly album, I like "Everybody's Rockin"
Well done sir ! A daunting task indeed. The run that he had from his debut album up to and including Zuma was remarkable. He had a lot of undeserved bad reviews for the post Harvest releases of Time Fades Away, On The Beach and Tonight's The Night. They were and still are right up there as some of his best.
Thanks for listening
Neil! Love the man
I like that he just keeps doing different stuff and has given us a giant catalog of whatever he wants. Keep cranking em out Neil.
Great list and comments, as always. Placing Hawks & Doves would be difficult for me: I absolutely love Side 1, and often skip Side 2. As an aside: I highly recommend Neil's Bottom Line 1974 concert (if you can track it down).
Makes you realise how poor Neil Young's quality control is/was at times. You get the impression he just 'dashed off' a lot of albums, justifying the approach as a search for spontaneity.
I hear you, even his dash off albums outlive others best albums
Enjoyed that and I agree with most of your rankings except that I would rate “Everybody Knows This is Nowhere” much higher. I grew up with that album, “Goldrush”, “Harvest” and I love it - The Euphoiric “Cinnamon Girl”, the dark “Down By The River” and the wonderful meandering “Cowgirl In The Sand” are still some of his best songs. What a musician.
Great list Barry. I like Broken Arrow more than you. I also quite enjoy Are You Passionate, although it’s over long and lacking variety.
Brilliant top twenty. I would put Sleeps With Angels higher. I agree Colorado, Barn and Psychedelic Pill are all worth a listen, especially PP. Agree about Ramada Inn.
Sometimes I think Tonight’s The Night is the greatest rock album of all time.
I have Broken Arrow on tape and find it ok as long as you don't analyse it too much.
Good job on a tough assignment. Pretty much agree with the rankings at least for the albums I know. Though I would have put Harvest Moon up in the top ten however. Nice job!
Awesome job, he was all over the map in a stellar career, but I so loved him with Crazy Horse, saw that combo a bunch of times, amongst the best jamming hard rock shows I ever saw. Great stuff and very nice list, about halfway through all those albums are worth a listen and many classic works. Another forever musician, Peace! 🎵🎸🎤🎹🎶
Wish we’d gotten a full length follow up of Neil backed up by Rosas and Cromwell. I think El Dorado is A++++
Impossible to do really because you'll end up comparing apples to bananas. But there are a few shockers, I admit
An excellent breakdown and ranking of Neil’s discography. Not an easy task considering the depth of it.
And there are several of those I’m unfamiliar with but I’ve really grown to love that “ Mirrorball “ piece of 1995. A perfectly fitting collaboration with PJ. However like most, I do prefer his older material. So your top is tough to argue with. Thanks for the awesome review of this walking, living legend.
Yes, Mirror Ball with Pearl Jam was dope, what a killer album! Scenery is a devastating tune, Peace and Love & Through Your Hatred Down are also bangers.
@@vicprovost2561 it ought to be classified as a classic album, but is massively overlooked.
I enjoy This Notes...more than most. It might be because I saw Neil and the horns perform it live. There is an existing live album from that tour that is worth checking out.
You spelled his name wrong on his eponymous debut "Neil Young" #10.
I've become a big fan of live shows from the Landing On Water tour. Better versions of Water songs rubbing shoulders with original live versions of songs that wound up on Life and great live versions of Trans songs and Neil classics.
There's a long live version of Down By the River that blows me away, wonder which one it was!
A brave effort. Neil’s guitar tones on ‘are you passionate’ are wonderful, just turn it up a bit
On the beach,rust never sleeps,zuma,tonight’s the night,harvest. My top 5
Mirrorball... there's an EP which accompanies this album, called Merkinball. It's by Pearl Jam and Neil Young, only two songs but it has the brilliant I Got ID. with Neil doing lead guitar and Eddie Vedder doing rhythm guitar. I wonder if Pearl Jam ever does this live because it is so cool.
Great video/review, as always.
Even with the misses and medicorities,
Neil Young's catalogue and prolific output is astounding.
Not even including the massive high quality material that was unreleased at the time.
yeah I could agree with After the Goldrush.
The two symphony tracks on Harvest are always out-of-place to my ear; otherwise a perfect album
Give you props for sticking with NY and his considerable output this century which has maybe flown under the radar of many, myself included although I did buy a couple of his live from the vaults releases in the 00s. Will need to check out some of his better new stuff. He was completely written off in the 80s and came back strongly with a few sterling releases although Broken Arrow in 96 sounded to me like a guy out of creative juice so I lost interest.
I kind of like Hawks & Doves
I think Landing On Water is one of his best. That "sterile" production is just right for the claustrophobic feel. Play it very loud, on headphones, and the emotional content is huge.
Interesting list though. My top 3 are in the top 10, which is a high degree of agreement really, but the main thing is you have something interesting to say about each album.
But the drums…
@@jmdavison62 I know what you mean, but it works for me.
I like Neil Young, and I don't care about Neil Young. For me, After the Gold Rush, Harvest, Buffalo Springfield (debut) and Crosby Stills Nash and Young Deja Vu is all the Neil Young a person needs.
Your comments on Landing on Water are spot on. So many 60s and 70s artist were trying to fit in with 80s productions. These albums often contain good songs but it's hard to listen to them.
It reminded me of when these artist were trying disco in the late 70s
It makes them look desperate
I heard Neil perform some of the Landing tracks on concert with basic instruments and they were pretty damn good
Nice job! That was a huge catalog to tackle. Always interesting to see your take on a catalog. Been a fan since the Buffalo Springfield days. All his albums are worthy of a listen, although as he’s aged, the quality of his output has declined imo. Still, when I put on a NY record I feel like I’m sitting with an old friend who has walked with me through almost all my life. He immediately makes me feel good, even listening to his mediocre albums.
I enjoyed your reviews of the albums, some I agree with, some I don't, but all in all I think you have a pretty good understanding of the artist and this was an enjoyable listen.
I appreciate that!
I must be an oddball.I thought if you like an artist, you buy all their albums.I know all of Neil's catalog.Same with Dylan, Stones, Beatles,Who,Kinks.It's been a bit brutal for Neil since mid '90's to present.I'd have to put This Notes For You a bit higher,and American Stars n Bars.Will To Love may be my favorite song of his.Good job taking the time to review these 43.The Ditch Trilogy are awesome.
How awesome is "Will to Love," along with its high energy counterpart "Like a Hurricane?" Adore "American Stars n Bars" - even the short, almost throwaway "Homegrown" is terrific.
Great overview. I have finally took a chance on Trans after avoiding it for years.
I agree with other comments that Time Fades Away should be considered. If you were to include it in your list, where would you rank it? Great list overall.
Great rundown of Mr Young's studio albums. My Top 5:
1) On the Beach
2) After the Goldrush
3) Everybody Knows This is Nowhere
4) Harvest
5) Zuma
EVERYBODY KNOWS THIS IS NOWHERE changes between #1 and #2 with AFTER THE GOLDRUSH, don't care about CINNAMON GIRL or DOWN BY THE RIVER, #3 HARVEST, my favorite Neil song is RUNNING DRY, but he has BIRDS, WHEN YOU DANCE, DON'T LET IT BRING YOU DOWN, so many songs on my top 3, don't see the same on ZUMA or ON THE BEACH.
I saw Neil with the international harvesters in 83. It was an awesome show. Did alot of acoustic country stuff then kicked into electric with an awesome lengthy Down bt the River.
We saw it too. Chicago suburb - outdoor venue called Poplar Creek. Afer an itermission, came out with the Shocking Pinks bit. That was a surprise.
I think it's been established that Roger Waters only wrote the words to Breathe, whereas Gilmour wrote the chords/music of the verses and Wright added the chords to the 'For long you live...' chorus...or whatever you want to call it...
What does "Ragged Glory" have that "Life" doesn't? Never understood why that LP is always ranked so low. Think both "Everybody Knows this is Nowhere" and "On The Beach" should be higher (the latter being my favorite) but to each their own.
If we all had the same taste, life would be homogenised.
Churns out a album in less time than it does us mere mortals to crimp out a turd ! Absolutely spot on . Great undertaking to tackle all his albums …..Well done 😎👍Cheers
The first Rutles album was recorded in 20 minutes; the second took even longer.
On the Beach for me, an album I don’t think I will ever tire of revisiting.
I own about 300 CD's, I can't find anymore great albums than that, some people have 3,000 CD's, but not 300 great ones, I mean albums you can play straight thru, start to finish.
Old ways is top ten
My favorites would be:
1. Harvest
2. After The Gold Rush
3.; American Stars & Bars
4. Rust Never Sleeps
5. Time Fades Away
I love all Neil's albums EXCEPT - Everybody's Rockin'. My top 10 -
10 - Sleeps With Angels
09 - Le Noise
08 - After The Goldrush
07 - Silver And Gold
06 - This Note's For You
05 - Rust Never Sleeps
04 - Prairie Wind
03 - Are You Passionate ?
02 - Broken Arrow
01 - Greendale
Notable others -
11 - Harvest Moon
14 - Comes A Time
15 - Zuma
16 - On The Beach
18 - Harvest
22 - Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
24 - American Stars 'n Bars
27 - Tonight's The Night
Note - I was too lazy to type out complete list
Never was a big fan. I only own 2 albums, "After the Goldrush" and "Harvest". The former I like much more than the latter. I barely know the rest, so this may help me to give at least the rest of the top 10 another chance.
I've always regarded Reactor as a stinker and yet it's in the top half of the list. 😮
Neil Young is the only artist I can think of who appeared on 20 albums in succession that were all good, great, or brilliant.
1966 Buffalo Springfield
1967 Buffalo Springfield Again
1968 Last Time Around
1968 Neil Young
1969 Everybody Knows This is …..
1970 Deja Vu
1970 After The Goldrush
1971 Four Way Street
1972 Harvest
1973 Time Fades Away
1974 On The Beach
1975 Tonight’s The Night
1975 Zuma
1976 Long May You Run
1977 American Stars ‘N’ Bars
1978 Comes A Time
1979 Rust Never Sleeps
1980 Live Rust
1980 Hawks & Doves
1981 Re-ac-tor
I agree that After the Gold Rush" would be my number 1 choice. I enjoyed your ranking. I'm not much of a fan of Young(s) polictical albums. Take Care!
So glad you put On the Beach high up on the list. I remember hearing that as a 17 yo kid....blew me away then, still great now...mellow, haunting at times....so well written.
It's so good!
Whole album is fantastic but side two is my all time fave. So beautifully melancholy. Great cover photo too.
Heart of Gold was on After the Gold Rush, not Harvest
Heart Of Gold in on Harvest
Really, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (Cinnamon Girl, Down by the River, Cowgirl in the Sand) all the way down at position 9 with Freedom & Ragged Glory rated higher?? Put down the pipe, dude.
This was a real slug fest and i applaud the dedication. Shame you avoided Weld which in my opinion is his best and bravest album ( although Arc is a trudge). I love the fact that Neil Young never sold out like most of his Sixties peers.
I would rank ’Sleeps with Angels’ and ’Trans’ higher than in the video while better than Zuma I consider ’Harvest’, ’On the Beach’ and ’Tonight’s the Night’.
Sadly, Neil has lived long enough for me to fall out of love with him, but he is still the guy who gave us *Tonight's the Night*, one of the greatest albums of all time, IMO.
The post Harvest Moon work is mostly garbage and would populate the bottom of my list. Even the more crappy earlier albums had a certain sense of integrity, which he no longer owns.
My favorite show was his one man band set followed by the Pink Flamingos. That is, ironically, also when the love affair ended for me. I don't regret it.
"Down on Pain Street disappointment lurks"
"As he tends to churn out an album in less time than it takes us mere mortals to crimp off a turd" hilarious and frighteningly accurate, Neil Young seems to have little time for quality control which is a great shame as he has shown he has the ability to create "timeless" albums and songs. When he wishes to.
What a Herculean effort. When Neil is good, he is very good, but when he's bad, he's very bad. While Crazy Horse is rightly praised for albums such as Zuma Beach and Everyone Knows This Is Nowhere, they can be awful too. Ralph Molina's drumming can be monotonous and boring. It is the main reason I find Greendale to be unlistenable (plus the songs are terrible). I have all of Neil's albums. Your video has inspired me to revisit some of them that I've not listened to in years.