After releasing 1981’s underrated Re-ac-tor with Crazy Horse, Neil Young’s contract ended with Reprise Records. He had been with the label since 1968 and had released thirteen albums with them. The first album that he released on Geffen was 1982’s Trans. The album confused some listeners. It also really bothered his record label. The album was synth rock and electronic based, influenced by bands such as Kraftwerk and featured songs with vocoder vocals. The album itself Young said was about communication and reflected his attempts to communicate with his son Ben, who had been born with cerebral palsy and was unable to speak. The next album that Neil Young recorded for Geffen was a country based record called Old Ways. The label rejected the album and wanted a rock record from Neil Young. He delivered Everybody’s Rockin’.
This album was a rock album, but not the standard kind of rock album that Young had been known for at the time. It was a 50’s rock, rockabilly and doo wop inspired album. The 1983 album was a mix of rockabilly covers and originals. It is also his shortest album. Apparently two more tracks were intended for this release (“Get Gone” and “Don’t Take Your Love Away From Me”), but additional recording session were cancelled and the album was released the way we have it now. These two songs would appear in live form on Young’s compilation album Lucky Thirteen, along with other songs that didn’t make several of the albums from this time period in 1993. The album featured two singles, “Wonderin'” and “Cry Cry Cry”, both Young originals. “Wonderin’” had been performed in live shows and had been around since the 70s, but was reworked for this album. These songs also marked a first for Young, music videos were made for them. They received little airplay on MTV.
The band put together for this album was The Shocking Pinks. They went on a tour, but the result of everything from this album was mixed reviews and confusion. However, the album as Young has said that the songs had little depth and were all “surface” songs, echoing a simpler time in music. He was also going against the grain of what he was known for challenging expectations of what others thought of him. “Payola Blues” despite previous statements of lack of depth, shows a moment of depth on this album or at least some deeper context to what he was dealing with at the time with lyrics such as “Listen to me Mr. D.J./Hear what I've got to say/If a man is making music/They ought to let his record play” and “No matter what I do I’ll never hear my record on the radio”, the song provided insight into the internal workings of being an artist, expectations of artists and ideas of artistic freedom all set against a 50’s rock musical backdrop. There’s even back up choruses of “Cash-a-wala-wala” in a doo wop style hammering the message home.
Of the covers “Mystery Train”, “Rainin’ In My Heart” and Jimmy Reed’s “Bright Lights, Big City” aren’t terrible at all. In fact, they are pretty authentic covers. But, all of this coupled with Young’s desire to not do what was expected of him rubbed people the wrong way. Although this album gets a bad rap and it is not the strongest in Neil Young’s catalog, it isn’t as bad as claims of it are. Everybody’s Rockin’ was so hated by his label that Young was sued by them for making “uncommercial music” that was “unrepresentative of himself”. Young counter sued and the matter eventually was settled and Geffen did apologize publicly. Old Ways followed in 1985, however these three albums and all of the albums that were released during his Geffen years delved into experimentation and challenged preconceived conceptions of what type of musician he was. Even if he was trolling his label throughout these early 80s albums, Neil Young proved he could be himself any way that he wanted, challenging what it means to have artistic control.
Neil Young Playlist:
1. Neil Young With Crazy Horse - Sedan Delivery (Rust Never Sleeps - Reprise - 1979)
2. Neil Young With Crazy Horse - White Line (Ragged Glory - 1990)
3. Neil Young With Crazy Horse- Everybody Knows This is Nowhere (Everybody Knows This is Nowhere - Reprise - 1969)
4. Neil Young With Crazy Horse - Lookin' for Love (Zuma - Reprise - 1975)
5. Neil Young With Crazy Horse - Think of Me (Colorado - Reprise - 2019)
6. Neil Young With Crazy Horse - Sleeps with Angels (Sleeps with Angels - Reprise - 1994)
7. Neil Young - Tell Me Why (After the Gold Rush - Reprise - 1970)
8. Neil Young - L.A. (Time Fades Away - Reprise - 1973)
9. Neil Young - Vampire Blues (On the Beach - Reprise - 1974)
10. Neil Young & The Santa Monica Flyers - World On A String (Tonight's the Night - Reprise - 1975)
11. Neil Young - Hitchhiker (Le Noise - Reprise - 2010)
12. Neil Young - Winterlong (Decade - Reprise - 1977)
13. Neil Young With Crazy Horse - Opera Star (Re-act-or - Reprise - 1981)
14. Neil Young - Computer Cowboy (Trans - Geffen - 1982)
15. Neil Young & The Shocking Pinks - Wonderin' (Everybody's Rockin' - Geffen - 1983)
16. Neil Young - Wonderin' (The Archives Vol. 1 1963–1972 - Reprise - 2009)
17. Neil Young - Pressure (Landing on Water - Geffen - 1986)
18. Neil Young - I've Been Waiting for You (Neil Young - Reprise - 1968)
19. Neil Young - Human Highway (Comes a Time - Reprise - 1978)
20. Neil Young With The Stray Gators - Harvest (Harvest - Reprise - 1972)
21. Neil Young With The Stray Gators - Journey Through the Past (The Archives Vol. 1 1963–1972 - Reprise - 2009/Inherent Vice (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) - Nonesuch Records - 2014)
22. Neil Young - Powder Finger (The Hitchhiker - Reprise - 2017)
23. Neil Young With The Stray Gators - Old King (Harvest Moon - Reprise - 1992)
24. Neil Young With Crazy Horse - Like a Hurricane (American Stars n' Bars - Reprise - 1977)
To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for February 8.
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