With "Cowgirl in the Sand" Neil Young gave future rock stars a tour de force lesson in how to drop a screaming guitar solo while only using a few notes. Fire!
The Godfather of Grunge, Young gets his unique guitar tone by combining his standard Fender Deluxe Tweed amp with a device he calls the "Whizzer." The Whizzer can automatically set his "pots" to custom levels, giving his guitar that distinctive, distorted, loud, crunchy sound.
Neil Young didn't "do it again", he does it every single time. Neil Young is The MAN, how many times can I say it? Neil doesn't put out a song just to put out a song. He puts out a song that means something to him, it is a big effort to him, and bares a lot of who and what he is. He means it. And this particular song highlights his skill on the Guitar, it is riveting.
My favorite thing about Neil is that when he gets lost in those extended solos, he takes me with him to a special place. I would suggest anything from 'Live Rust" or him doing "Helpless" on The Last Waltz by The Band
Have you seen the strange Johnny Depp movie “Dead Man”. Neil has some epic guitar sequences in it. Apparently he watched the scenes and made the music up as he went along.
That's one of my favorite Neil Young songs. You seem to especially go for his rockers, so for your next Neil reaction, I suggest either "Cinnamon Girl", "Like a Hurricane", or "Powderfinger".
His guitar sounds like nobody else’s. The other guitarist is the tragically doomed Danny Whitten, the subject of Young’s “Needle and the Damage Done”. The first song on this album is great, “Cinnamon Girl”. Check out “Love To Burn”, from ‘Ragged Glory”, another great album with Crazy Horse 20 years later, and “Powderfinger” from ‘Rust Never Sleeps’. Thank you.
Neil had" Cinnamon Girl," "Down by the River," and "Cowgirl in the Sand" all on this album. I saw him live in the 70s, and he was so loud and long you were hypnotized by the spell, and the guitar put you into a trance-like dream. Great commentary, Biz; thanks for all the hard work.
This is a great song. The best live version might have come from their set at Fillmore East in 1970 (which was released in 2006). Fourteen-plus minutes of bliss.
May have been said before...I did not read all 152 comments before but...I have often and for a long time said that I think Neil would be plying his art on street corners for coins in his guitar case if that were the extent of fame his art took him to. Happily (I hope for him) his art has brought fame and fortune. Whatever the outcome, Neil is an artist as are those working with him. Congrats on getting off the street corner. I hope you and the lads are all doing or did very well
Neil is the man. So many great songs and this is one of the bangers. This is one of his most Crosby Stills Nash & Young-like songs, especially with the harmonies. And the simple yet great guitar solo is epic. FWIW there used to be a great cafe in my home town called Ruby in the Dust, named for a line in this song! If you haven't reacted to them yet, "Cinnamon Girl", "Helpless", and "Don't Let it Bring You Down" are three more classics to hit.
I love your reaction. When I was younger I played the whole album several times a week....sometimes twice a day. Another one you should check out is "Down By The River". Great music. Enjoy....
I had the privilege of seeing Neil Young & Crazy Horse live in 1976. The first set was Neil playing acoustic guitar, banjo and harmonica. The 2nd set he played with Crazy Horse and ripped the joint into pieces! I was 16 years old and I still remember it like it was yesterday. My brother still has his concert tshirt!
If you like the sound of the electric guitar, you cannot NOT like what Neil Young does with it. It's a sonic adventure, and note perfect at that. Listen to it several times, listen to the way he repeats the same note to augment the tension, goes up & down the scale for expressive effect, invents beautiful melodic fragments to accompany his lyrical sung melody. A one note musician, as some dare to dismiss him? He's a guitar genius who knows that too many notes is often counterproductive. Less is more, especially when it's so crunchy!
The first album I ever bought in 69. I played guitar with my mom's kitchen broom many times when no one was home on dad's huge RCA stereo console. Love Crazy Horse and still listen to there debut album offten
I heard a story on a rock station here near Toronto back in the late seventies. The DJ said that Neil and Jimi stole a pick -up truck together and went to Woodstock. My two favorites. Neil has a guitar strap with Jimi on it. You see it somewhere in a concert.
This song is so iconic ! This is from his first album “ Everybody knows this is nowhere “. It’s such a bloody good album!! Neil as an almost “ played down “ vibe but gets into such a grove .
Great choice. I think this is his best guitar jam song, but here are some competitors you should try out. You've already heard Southern Man which I think qualifies.: Like a Hurricane Pretty much everything on Ragged Glory but Love to Burn, Fuckin Up, Farmer John would be good starts.
If you liked this classic I'd highly suggest listening to Neil Young "Mansion On The Hill" great reaction man Cowgirl In The Sand is one of my favorites
Oh yeah, I'm 17 years old again and Cowgirl in the Sand is the last thing I hear before sleep catches up with me. Neil Young got me through high school in one piece. :-)
One of the greatest tragedies in music history was Danny Whitten dying so young. He and Neil had such amazing chemistry together in guitar duels like this and Down By The River. They could have done so much more...
YOU LIKE IT WHEN HE GOES OFFFFFF ON THOSE ELECTRIC RANTS??? LOL 😊PRETTY COOL HUH BIZ AND THEN NOBODYYYY PLAYS THE KINDA CHORDS THAT HE PLAYS IN, VERYYYYY UNIQUE TO SAY THE LEAST 😮👍
As with all Neil’s rockers there is usually an acoustic version.csn&y 4 way street double live album has a great acoustic version. Completely different song
I absolutely LOVE this song. The guitar work is some of the best that I have ever heard. All I can say is this.... If you have a good set of headphones put them on and listen to this track. Thanks for reacting to Neil........ Take care.
This is one of his greatest songs (but then, he has a lot of those doesn’t he). Neil LOVES playing with Crazy Horse. I’ve seen him many times over the years, and while he’s alway great, but his energy level is always higher when he’s with them. My favorite concert of his was in 1996 when he was with Crazy Horse at Irvine Meadows amphitheater, which now has a different name. He spent over 2 1/2 hours jumping up and down on the stage, jamming. They were hot that night. They had opening band that had a pretty good guitarist but the rest of the band was marginal. But then, before Neil came on, Patty Smith gave us a great concert. But I digress… You notice how Cowgirl In the Sand ended with a fade-out that left the band continuing to jam hard. That’s an indication of what you would get with them live. That jam could go on for 20 minutes or more, depending on how he and the band felt that night I think my favorite album of his is Le Noise. It’s a solo album where he jams hard, like he’s with Crazy Horse, but it’s just him. He plays and records the album in Daniel Lanois’s old house, using the house as a huge speaker/echo chamber. It’s noisy and hard. It has a great sound.
Jump forward a decade from this song and spin Neil & Crazy Horse performing "Powderfinger" live from the _Live Rust_ album. Seldom does distortion sound so beautiful.
Always loved this song since it came out. If you are learning guitar, the 2 chord guitar interludes are great to jam to and develop your ability to improvise solo phrasing ... P.S. It made me laugh watching your reaction when the actual song dropped like a bomb at the beginning. I've heard it 100's of times and still sit in anticipation of that. I knew that would get you !!
Cowgirl in the Sand, Down by the River and Cinnamon Girl all classics! This old man has been around and has made some great music.
Still have the vinyl I bought when it was first released. Pure genius!
Like a Hurricane, Powderfinger, Cortez the Killer too! Neil Young is incomparable
With "Cowgirl in the Sand" Neil Young gave future rock stars a tour de force lesson in how to drop a screaming guitar solo while only using a few notes. Fire!
The Godfather of Grunge, Young gets his unique guitar tone by combining his standard Fender Deluxe Tweed amp with a device he calls the "Whizzer." The Whizzer can automatically set his "pots" to custom levels, giving his guitar that distinctive, distorted, loud, crunchy sound.
O yes, crunchy he is. His softer stuff is good, but this is great
Thanks for that break down.
In this son yes..but he use a gretsch guitar too so many times
Neil Young didn't "do it again", he does it every single time. Neil Young is The MAN, how many times can I say it? Neil doesn't put out a song just to put out a song. He puts out a song that means something to him, it is a big effort to him, and bares a lot of who and what he is. He means it. And this particular song highlights his skill on the Guitar, it is riveting.
The songs Neil created with Crazy Horse are why he is sometimes called the "Godfather of Grunge".
Thats the first time I've heard that song, it's amazing what a fucking killer guitar solo.
Never too much Neil Young. As the years go by I appreciate him more. Innovator. He always brought it.
No one does 2 solo's more often, or better, than the Allman Brothers who are another incredible band.
My favorite thing about Neil is that when he gets lost in those extended solos, he takes me with him to a special place. I would suggest anything from 'Live Rust" or him doing "Helpless" on The Last Waltz by The Band
SAME. I’ve loved him since Harvest.
One of my favorite Neil Young songs. Great vocals, lead and rhythm guitar work.
Don't hear music like this anymore! Friggin fantabulous!
Have you seen the strange Johnny Depp movie “Dead Man”. Neil has some epic guitar sequences in it. Apparently he watched the scenes and made the music up as he went along.
All time favorite! He's on a different level!! ❤️
That's one of my favorite Neil Young songs. You seem to especially go for his rockers, so for your next Neil reaction, I suggest either "Cinnamon Girl", "Like a Hurricane", or "Powderfinger".
This is great. Listen to Neil Young at Red Rocks 2000. Cowgirl in the sand
2:16 outstanding guitar groove but just listen to those sweet vocals. And then the funk at 3:10 onwards. A perfect song
1 of the greatest talents the music industry has ever seen!!!!!
His guitar sounds like nobody else’s. The other guitarist is the tragically doomed Danny Whitten, the subject of Young’s “Needle and the Damage Done”. The first song on this album is great, “Cinnamon Girl”. Check out “Love To Burn”, from ‘Ragged Glory”, another great album with Crazy Horse 20 years later, and “Powderfinger” from ‘Rust Never Sleeps’. Thank you.
Greatest Song of All Time!!
I haven't started it but I know myself among others have championed this for you to listen to. Either way, I'm stoked. Here we go.
This is my absolute favorite by Nei Young , l was 10 yrs. old when this came out the whole album is fire love this!
Neil and Crazy Horse ,man...nothin' better !
Neil had" Cinnamon Girl," "Down by the River," and "Cowgirl in the Sand" all on this album. I saw him live in the 70s, and he was so
loud and long you were hypnotized by the spell, and the guitar put you into a trance-like dream. Great commentary, Biz; thanks for all
the hard work.
Exactly..like in trance!!
This is a great song. The best live version might have come from their set at Fillmore East in 1970 (which was released in 2006). Fourteen-plus minutes of bliss.
This song sold me on Neil Young.
OHHHHH YEAHH, THIS IS ONE OF THOSE 8-10 MIN. ELECTRIC GUITAR BANGERRRRS! 👍😊
Love this song and this album. I remember summer days with the window open, playing this album over and over a LONG time ago.
I've always loved the twang of the guitars on this song.
Danny Whitten on rhythm guitar just kills it .
That was Danny?
The great Neil Young and his underwater guitar ..Mr. Distortion
Nothing like the sound of Neil’s voice and old black.
May have been said before...I did not read all 152 comments before but...I have often and for a long time said that I think Neil would be plying his art on street corners for coins in his guitar case if that were the extent of fame his art took him to. Happily (I hope for him) his art has brought fame and fortune. Whatever the outcome, Neil is an artist as are those working with him. Congrats on getting off the street corner. I hope you and the lads are all doing or did very well
One of my sisters brought home this album when it first came out. This was the first song we listened to. We were in high school. It moves me still. ❤
Oh I bet it does !!! Great then and still.
same here, such excellent music we were blessed with ROCK ON 🤘
This is why he is known as the godfather of grunge...
M-y favorite song from Neil's best album. Very raw, THE CRAZY HORSE is THE BAND! I adore this disjointed sound, sloppy but powerful
Neil Young is a humble god
Sublime. Peace, love and bellbottoms from Canada.
Such a good song
Powderfinger. One of Neil's best
Neil is the man. So many great songs and this is one of the bangers. This is one of his most Crosby Stills Nash & Young-like songs, especially with the harmonies. And the simple yet great guitar solo is epic. FWIW there used to be a great cafe in my home town called Ruby in the Dust, named for a line in this song! If you haven't reacted to them yet, "Cinnamon Girl", "Helpless", and "Don't Let it Bring You Down" are three more classics to hit.
I'm 72, saw Neil live twice at Willie Nelson's July 4th picnics in the early '70's and then in Dallas with Crazy Horse in 1989. Legend!
If you love this , check out the live at Fillmore East version (1970) a mere 16 mins ( seems like 5) when you have your head phones on
Ambulance Blues Tired Eyes Tonight's the Night. That was grrreat!
I love your reaction. When I was younger I played the whole album several times a week....sometimes twice a day. Another one you should check out is "Down By The River". Great music. Enjoy....
I had the privilege of seeing Neil Young & Crazy Horse live in 1976. The first set was Neil playing acoustic guitar, banjo and harmonica. The 2nd set he played with Crazy Horse and ripped the joint into pieces! I was 16 years old and I still remember it like it was yesterday. My brother still has his concert tshirt!
Fun fact: when they were both quite young, Neil was in a band with Rick James. It was motown style band, in canada no less
Neil even signed with Motown.
It's a masterpiece.
If you like the sound of the electric guitar, you cannot NOT like what Neil Young does with it. It's a sonic adventure, and note perfect at that. Listen to it several times, listen to the way he repeats the same note to augment the tension, goes up & down the scale for expressive effect, invents beautiful melodic fragments to accompany his lyrical sung melody. A one note musician, as some dare to dismiss him? He's a guitar genius who knows that too many notes is often counterproductive. Less is more, especially when it's so crunchy!
Crosby stills and Nash were going on tour & needed a guitar player . The Neil Young song “ Expecting to Fly “ is why they added him .
Hitting on all cylinders biz 🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Man,you're on fire with much music I love!!❤
The first album I ever bought in 69. I played guitar with my mom's kitchen broom many times when no one was home on dad's huge RCA stereo console. Love Crazy Horse and still listen to there debut album offten
ah yes.the ole kitchen broom .
me too.
Neil Young recently released another Album with a reconstituted Crazy Horse. This song came out 54 years ago.
Thank You! I need to hear this song. A little of this and that on the strings!!!🙂✌🤟
I heard a story on a rock station here near Toronto back in the late seventies. The DJ said that Neil and Jimi stole a pick -up truck together and went to Woodstock. My two favorites. Neil has a guitar strap with Jimi on it. You see it somewhere in a concert.
Jimi and Neil had to fly in a helicopter together to get to Woodstock, after they stole the pick up.
Catch All Along the Watchtower from the Bob Dylan 30th Anniversary Concert
This song is so iconic ! This is from his first album “ Everybody knows this is nowhere “. It’s such a bloody good album!! Neil as an almost “ played down “ vibe but gets into such a grove .
Whether it's electric with crazy horse or solo with the acoustic, it's all soooo good! Thanx again for choosing music from my formative years!!
RIP Danny Whitten who was fundamental on guitar on this tune😅
Baaam! One of the great masterpieces from back in the day. Neil Young is talent personified.This whole album rocks.
Great choice. I think this is his best guitar jam song, but here are some competitors you should try out. You've already heard Southern Man which I think qualifies.:
Like a Hurricane
Pretty much everything on Ragged Glory but Love to Burn, Fuckin Up, Farmer John would be good starts.
If you liked this classic I'd highly suggest listening to Neil Young "Mansion On The Hill" great reaction man Cowgirl In The Sand is one of my favorites
Great to hear this!
From up here, ☝🏾, 🇨🇦, across the northern border, not to far from where i am now.
Great reaction.
Thank you
When a folk singer does rock.
If you really want to know Neil Young do this whole album. It's worth it.
Especially Down By The River
Especially, The Losing End.
ROCK.
ABOUT TIME with his GOOD ROCK
Check out Cowgirl In The Sand on acoustic guitar. It ROCKS.
Sooooo good. Guitar Heaven. Peace and Love from Canada. ❤
That was a beautiful song I never heard it before love Neil’s voice and guitar!
Once again a song from my youth. You are truly helping to keep great music alive! Keep on keeping on!
Neil Young with Crazy Horse - the greatest garage band ever! And I mean that in a very good way.
Oh yeah, I'm 17 years old again and Cowgirl in the Sand is the last thing I hear before sleep catches up with me. Neil Young got me through high school in one piece. :-)
One of the greatest tragedies in music history was Danny Whitten dying so young. He and Neil had such amazing chemistry together in guitar duels like this and Down By The River. They could have done so much more...
They got down on this one
I love turning up my Fender Amp and banging out the AM and F Chords on my Strat to this one, but my neighbors probably want to kill me when I do that!
My first exposure to "Cowgirl..." was the short acoustic version on CSNY's Four Way Street, so I was pretty stunned when I then heard the original.
Danny Whitten on the other guitar.
RIP Danny Whitten and Bruce Berry... Tonite's The Nite.
Bro, , this ol hippie shit kicker with you for the ride. Been fun, let's see where you go.
❤
Next up a short one, "Cinnamon Girl." You could also do another long one, "Crime In The City."
YOU LIKE IT WHEN HE GOES OFFFFFF ON THOSE ELECTRIC RANTS??? LOL 😊PRETTY COOL HUH BIZ AND THEN NOBODYYYY PLAYS THE KINDA CHORDS THAT HE PLAYS IN, VERYYYYY UNIQUE TO SAY THE LEAST 😮👍
As with all Neil’s rockers there is usually an acoustic version.csn&y 4 way street double live album has a great acoustic version. Completely different song
I absolutely LOVE this song. The guitar work is some of the best that I have ever heard. All I can say is this.... If you have a good set of headphones put them on and listen to this track. Thanks for reacting to Neil........ Take care.
You need to listen to “Cinnamon Girl “ and “ Down by the river “.
We’ll be turning Biz into a hippie yet.
That dog looks like he has seen some shit. The title track is a banger too!
Best tune he ever did and yeah I know he has a lot of great ones.
☮️💙💙💙🔥🔥😎
Have you tried Neil's Cinnamon Girl yet, one of my favorites when it came out.
Less of a jam like this one, but a real rocker.
If you were in a relationship with Neil you would be jealous of that guitar.
Hey Biz, checkout Neils "Like a Hurricane"
Do DOWN BY THE RIVER!
now this is a song .....
I've been listening to this song for decades. I've come to the conclusion that this is what cannabis sounds like.
This is one of his greatest songs (but then, he has a lot of those doesn’t he). Neil LOVES playing with Crazy Horse. I’ve seen him many times over the years, and while he’s alway great, but his energy level is always higher when he’s with them. My favorite concert of his was in 1996 when he was with Crazy Horse at Irvine Meadows amphitheater, which now has a different name. He spent over 2 1/2 hours jumping up and down on the stage, jamming. They were hot that night. They had opening band that had a pretty good guitarist but the rest of the band was marginal. But then, before Neil came on, Patty Smith gave us a great concert. But I digress…
You notice how Cowgirl In the Sand ended with a fade-out that left the band continuing to jam hard. That’s an indication of what you would get with them live. That jam could go on for 20 minutes or more, depending on how he and the band felt that night
I think my favorite album of his is Le Noise. It’s a solo album where he jams hard, like he’s with Crazy Horse, but it’s just him. He plays and records the album in Daniel Lanois’s old house, using the house as a huge speaker/echo chamber. It’s noisy and hard. It has a great sound.
Jump forward a decade from this song and spin Neil & Crazy Horse performing "Powderfinger" live from the _Live Rust_ album. Seldom does distortion sound so beautiful.
Nope this is way better
Out On The Weekend. ROCKS.
Gosh dammit. Whose the bassist? Reminds me of Sabbath bass. Amazing
Always loved this song since it came out. If you are learning guitar, the 2 chord guitar interludes are great to jam to and develop your ability to improvise solo phrasing ... P.S. It made me laugh watching your reaction when the actual song dropped like a bomb at the beginning. I've heard it 100's of times and still sit in anticipation of that. I knew that would get you !!
If u like this. Listen to southern man, like a hurricane,and down by the river.
Kinda sounds like 'Babe , I'm going to leave you" on the intro
Everyone knew this was nowhere, and decided to stay.