Journey Through The Past: Selections from Neil Young's Discography Show # 814

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.

Coming Up on Revolution Rock in February 2020!

It’s February which means that throughout this month Revolution Rock will devote each episode that airs in February to theme based programming. Dave and co-host Adam have special programming lined up ranging from jazz, punk, post-punk, garage, country, folk and surf. This year’s themed month programming starts off on February 1st with a program focusing on Black History Month that will feature a mix of music from Louis Armstrong, Andre Williams and a variety of other artists from different genres. This episode will also feature a guest host, Graeme Sylvio of CJAM FM’s Sylvio & Soul program. Revolution Rock airs every Saturday from 7-9 PM on CJAM 99.1 FM in Windsor/Detroit. It can be streamed via cjam.ca and be downloaded via the very same website afterwards.

What Is This Thing Called Swing: Revolution Rock Celebrates Black History Month
Saturday February, 1st, 2020
7-9 PM EST
CJAM 99.1 FM (www.cjam.ca)

Born in New Orleans in August of 1901, Louis Armstrong was a jazz trumpeter and an influential figure in jazz music. His career spanned five decades in which Armstrong would be part of different and important eras of jazz music. In addition to his musical abilities on trumpet, Louis Armstrong was also a vocalist, composer and actor. He was one of the first African American entertainers to cross the gap in racially divided America at the time, being accepted by both white and black audiences. Armstrong generally remained neutral when it came to politics, which often resulted in criticism, however, in 1957 he did speak out during a conflict in Little Rock, Arkansas where he stood up for school desegregation. Also nicknamed “Satchmo”, “Satch” and “Pops”, Armstrong had a very distinct voice. His voice was usually defined by its rich, gravelly tone. The vocal style that he used also incorporated skat singing, which he was skilled at. Armstrong had a very unique ability to bend lyrics and melody in song when singing. Louis Armstrong appeared in a large amount of films such as Pennies From Heaven (1936), in the 1956 musical High Society where he did a duet with Bing Crosby, The Five Pennies (1959) and Paris Blues in 1961, which also starred Paul Newman. Some of the songs that he was known for were “What A Wonderful World”, “Hello Dolly”, “Jeepers Creepers” and “When You’re Smiling”. Armstrong also collaborated with legendary pianist and bandleader Earl “Fatha” Hines, Ella Fitzgerald, Bing Crosby and Duke Ellington. Louis Armstrong’s influence went beyond jazz, resulting in fans calling him one of the first great jazz soloists. He was an influence on soloists in every genre of American popular music. This episode will feature a set of music by Louis Armstrong, music from Andre Williams, Jimi Hendrix, Bo Diddley, Junior Wells and more artists in celebration of Black History Month. The program will also feature guest host Graeme Sylvio of CJAM FM’s Sylvio & Soul program.


Journey Through The Past: Selections from Neil Young's Discography
Saturday February, 8th, 2020
7-9 PM EST
CJAM 99.1 FM (www.cjam.ca)

Neil Young is an influential musician/songwriter from Canada. He has played with Buffalo Springfield, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, his backing band Crazy Horse, The Stray Gators, Pearl Jam and numerous others. Young has been called the “Godfather of Grunge” by many, the music that he has created has ranged from folk and country to rock, hard rock and noise rock. He even put out rockabilly and synth rock album. His catalogue is vast and there are numerous live albums in addition to the music he created with others and as a solo artist. The Neil Young Archives Volume One was first released as a box set in 2009, but has since become available online as a streaming subscription service featuring a plethora of unreleased material. Some of his best known songs are “Cinnamon Girl”, “Down By The River”, “Old Man”, “Heart of Gold”, “The Needle and the Damage Done”, “Cortez The Killer”, “Rockin’ in the Free World”, there are too many to name. In 1972, Neil Young found critical and commercial success with Harvest. The albums that followed this (Time Fades Away (1973), On The Beach (1974), and Tonight’s The Night (1975)) are referred to as Young’s Ditch Trilogy. Neil Young released Everybody’s Rockin’ in 1983 a rockabilly album and Trans (1982), which explored music with synthesizers and electronic based sounds. In the 80s, Young experimented heavily with his sound. Young has also been involved in film, directing several films such as Journey Through The Past (1974), Human Highway (1982), Greendale (2003) and the documentary CSNY/Déjà Vu in 2008. Young continues to release music, most recently putting out the album Colorado with Crazy Horse. This episode will feature deep cuts and other selections from Neil Young's vast discography.

Rockin’ With Bloodshot Bill: The Music of Bloodshot Bill and Other Selections
Saturday February, 15th, 2020
7-9 PM EST
CJAM 99.1 FM (www.cjam.ca)

Bloodshot Bill emerged out of Montreal around 1998. Starting out as a drummer, Bloodshot Bill began performing with just a guitar and stomp board. Bloodshot Bill often tours and performs as a one man band featuring, guitar, a bass drum, hi-hat and reverb soaked vocals. Live as a one-man band he provides the audience with his own brand of rockabilly music that is unlike any other, while at the same time drawing on the past. He once said that his influences range from early country and rock and roll records to what he refers to as his “holy trinity” of influences "Hasil Adkins, Charlie Feathers, and Link Wray.” Since starting out, Bloodshot Bill has released numerous records on different labels, recorded and collaborated with artists such as King Khan (as The Tandoori Knights and The Bollywood Argyles), Mark Sultan (The Ding Dongs), Deke Dickerson, Shannon Shaw, Jon Spencer and many others. In 2019, he released Come Get Your Love Right Now via Goner Records, Hang Ten With Bloodshot Bill (a surf EP) on Hi-Tide Recordings, an EP of music with legendary rockabilly/roots rock musician Deke Dickerson called The Bad Biscuit EP, a single with The Tandoori Knights (featuring King Khan), and a single with Japan’s the 5.6.7.8’s called My Little Muck Muck. He has also performed all over the US, Canada and parts of Europe. In addition to all this, Bloodshot Bill has performed with the bands The Hubcaps, The Hick-Ups, The Televionaires and Reverend Horton Heat. This episode will feature an interview with Bloodshot Bill in addition to music from Bloodshot Bill’s ever expanding, still potent and prolific catalogue of music.

The Stooges Fun House 50th Anniversary
Saturday February 22nd, 2020
7-9 PM EST
CJAM 99.1 FM (www.cjam.ca)

When it was originally released in July of 1970, Fun House stood out as an album different from its predecessor and from other music at the time. It still does. Produced by Don Gallucci who played keyboards on The Kingsmen’s garage classic “Louie, Louie”, Fun House brought a new sense of groove and intensity to the music of The Stooges. As for influences, the sounds of Howlin’ Wolf and James Brown influenced part of the sound that the band was going for on this album. The band also added Saxophonist Steve MacKay to Fun House and he is found on the album’s second side as the band also pull in free Jazz influences into their dynamic, and especially during the chaotic sonic assault that ends the album “L.A. Blues”. Fun House was named after the band’s house and rehearsal space that they lived in back in Michigan, the album’s songs developed through being played live. Although he initially deemed the band “unrecordable”, Gallucci’s intention was to capture The Stooges live in the studio to try and get down the energy they projected live on tape. The feeling he went for was captured and resulted from having the band perform as if it were a live performance, removing all baffles and carpet from the studio and by having Iggy record with them with a handheld microphone, which was unconventional at the time. The music pushed forward and has been described as capturing a sense of instant mayhem. Other words used to describe this album have been apocalyptic, chaotic, destructive, punk blues, proto-punk and garage meltdown. The album would go on to influence punk and alternative music in the years that followed, setting a blueprint and growing in stature. It has a depth and influence that challenged rock conventions. For an album that was virtually ignored by the mainstream following its initial release, Fun House, now 50 years later is revered and identified as a cult classic. This episode will feature all of the songs from 1970’s Fun House album, plus selections from the 1970: The Complete Fun House Sessions box set and a few other surprises.


Revolution Surf 2020: Intergalactic Instrumentals
Saturday February 29th, 2020
7-9 PM EST
CJAM 99.1 FM (www.cjam.ca)

For the 14th annual Revolution Surf special, the program will focus on intergalactic instrumental themed songs, or in other words surf music with a space theme. One of the first surf/instrumental based songs to have a space or sci-fi theme was the song “Telstar” by The Tornados. Not to be confused with the US band of the same name (spelled “Tornadoes”), this band was from the UK and worked together with producer Joe Meek in the early 60s. Meek wrote and produced the song for The Tornados, utilizing new, pioneering production techniques that created distinctive, and “space age” futuristic sounds. With its use of keyboards and the Clavioline, “Telstar”, which was named after a telecommunications satellite that went into orbit on July 10th, 1962, became an immediate hit when released in August of 1962. In the UK the song was at #1 on the UK singles charts for 25 weeks and #1 in on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. The Tornados were also the first British group to have a number one single in the US. Since then there has been a plethora songs and surf/instrumental bands that have named themselves based on space or sci-fi themes. In 1964, instrumental band The Ventures released their album Ventures in Space. The album explored more experimentation within the band’s classic sound and was influenced by Joe Meek’s space age production style. There has been countless bands with space inspired names such as Man or Astro-Man? who formed in the early 90s, The Metalunas in the 2000’s, and numerous bands with songs falling under this theme such as The Surfaris, The Marketts, Davie Allan & The Arrows, The Challengers, Messer Chups, Luau or Die, and so many others. On February 29th, take a journey into a world of intergalactic surf and instrumental music for Revolution Surf 2020. The show will also feature guest hosts Brady of CJAM FM’s Music From Planet Earth, Carley of CJAM FM’s Everything’s No Good and Derk Brigante of Surf Rock Radio’s The Surfphony of Derstruciton 2000.

Neil Young's Ditch Trilogy & Show # 392

Following the large commercial and critical success of Neil Young’s 1972 release Harvest, which charted at number one across the country, not only in Canada, but the US, the UK and other places, Neil Young’s music went into a transitional period. While the success of Harvest and the song “Heart of Gold” in particular did very well and brought Young success, there were a few other factors that would add to his personal situation, changing his outlook on music and the world.

While preparing for a tour in support of Harvest, Crazy Horse guitarist (of Neil Young’s backing band) Danny Whitten was fired from the band due to his inability to function properly in band rehearsals due to his drug use, shortly after he was found dead of a drug overdose. The vicious combination of success and loss changed something in Neil and it subsequently resulted in a series of three albums that at the time were not commercially or critically successful, often referred to as “The Ditch Trilogy”. The situation at the time can be best described by Neil Young himself as written in the linear notes to his 1977 compilation album Decade when discussing the song “Heart of Gold”:

“This song put me in the middle of the road. Travelling there soon became a bore so I headed for the ditch. A rougher ride but I saw more interesting people there."

It was also from this quote in which Neil’s next three albums (Time Fades Away, On The Beach, and Tonight’s The Night) were given the title of The Ditch Trilogy. In addition to this a few months after the death of Danny Whitten friend and roadie Bruce Berry passed away in a similar fashion. Young’s next release was the live album Time Fades Away that was released in 1973. This album was not like other live albums in many ways for one, it was a live album composed of previously unreleased material, which was unheard of at the time. Time Fades Away was recorded directly from the soundboard onto a 16 track Quad 8 CompuMix, which was the first digital mixing soundboard. This was done at the request of Young, producer David Briggs was strongly against this method. As a result of this unorthodox recording approach (a proper master tape was never made) the album features a muddy sounding mix. Time Fades Away was released on Vinyl, Cassette and 8 Track tape in October of 1973. Neil Young has been very outspoken as his dissatisfaction with this album. He has stated that it is his “worst release”, as a result Time Fades Away has never been released on CD. In 1995 a CD release was planned and test pressings were even made, but it was shelved and not released. Recently, it has been stated that it will be released on Neil Young’s second volume of his Archives Box Set along with Time Fades Away II. Young has been quoted from Guitar World in 2009 as saying about Time Fades Away II “It's a completely different thing, with completely different songs”

Time Fades Away was a sign of things to come musically for Neil Young, while Time Fades Away ventured into different music territory, his following two releases would continue the trend of being recorded live, but in the studio. Neil Young recorded the album Tonight’s The Night next in 1973. The album was inspired by the deaths of Crazy Horse guitarist Danny Whitten and Young friend/roadie Bruce Berry. For the album Neil Young put together a new backing group known as The Santa Monica Flyers, which was a band featuring the rhythm section of Crazy Horse and Nils Lofgren on guitar. The albums title track “Tonight’s The Night” mentions Bruce Berry by name and the track “Come On Baby Let’s Go Downtown” features vocals and guitar from Danny Whitten (the song was a live recording from 1970). The album is known for featuring darker subject matter and for its raw, often crude production style. The album was recorded live with no overdubs and was meant to capture the band in the moment, with or without mistakes. Neil had this to say of the production values in Shakey: A Neil Young Biography:

"I’ve made records where you analyze everything you do 3,000 times and it’s perfect. I’m sick of it. I want to make a record that’s totally stark naked. Raw. I don’t wanna fix any of it. I don’t care if it’s totally out of tune, man, let’s play. Fuck it…. I like the idea of capturing something. Record something that happened. I’m a musician. I don’t wanna sit there and build a record. I built a couple of records. Big deal. Tonight’s the Night doesn’t care. And that makes you feel good about it. There’s no pretense."

Despite being recorded in 1973, Tonight’s The Night’s released was delayed Young’s record label, it would be two years (1975) before it finally saw its release. In the meantime during the delay of this release Neil Young recorded what would be his 1974 release On The Beach.

As opposed to the two previous recordings made in the trilogy, On The Beach was a more upbeat and melodic album. The album was recorded in a similar method as Tonight’s The Night and lyrically addressed more universal themes such as the collapse of the 60s Folk values and counter culture as well as addressing the underbelly of seedy California lifestyles. While The Ditch Trilogy is known for addressing darker and at time haunting themes lyrically and musically, the song “Walk On” which opens the On The Beach album is perhaps one of the most positive, yet cynical outlooks on life. The song can be seen as a sense of closure for this period stressing the need to move on and keep living. On The Beach was released in July of 1974, and despite being the third album recorded in The Ditch Trilogy, it was released second with Tonight’s The Night following in 1975.

The initial releases of the three aforementioned albums in The Ditch Trilogy are known for their haunting brilliance. At the time of their release they were for the most part negatively received commercially and critically, but are now seen as very important recordings in the career of Neil Young. In addition to this, these albums are seen as the key to understanding Neil Young’s body of work as an artist and can be seen as an ultimate artistic expression. The Ditch Trilogy shows an artist amidst overwhelming success and loss, expanding creatively, musically and lyrically, finding a voice.

Ditch Trilogy Play List:

1. Tonight’s The Night (Tonight's The Night 1975)
2. Time Fades Away (Time Fades Away 1973)
3. Walk On (On The Beach 1974)
4. World On A String (Tonight's The Night 1975)
5. The Bridge (Time Fades Away 1973)
6. For The Turnstiles (On The Beach 1974)
7. Yonder Stands The Sinner (Time Fades Away 1973)
8. Last Trip To Tulsa (Live) (Time Fades Away B-Side 1973)
9. Don’t Be Denied (Time Fades Away 1973)
10. Last Dance (Time Fades Away 1973)
11. Lookout Joe (Tonight's The Night 1975)
12. Mellow My Mind (Tonight's The Night 1975)
13. Revolution Blues (On The Beach 1974)
14. Vampire Blues (On The Beach 1974)
15. Ambulance Blues (On the Beach 1974)
16. Come On Baby Let’s Go Downtown (Tonight's The Night 1975)
17. Tonight’s The Night Part II (Tonight's The Night 1975)

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for February 21. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.

Coming Up On Revolution Rock In February 2012!

Last February Revolution Rock hosted a series of special programming, and this year will be no different. Starting on February 7th Revolution Rock will celebrate Black History Month by playing a mix of Soul, R&B, Jazz, Funk and Blues. The remaining weeks will also feature a different type of program each week until February 28th, where I will coincide the month’s worth of programming with my annual Surf Rock show.

 Revolution Rock Celebrates Black History Month

February 7th, 2012

10:30 AM – Noon

CJAM 99.1 FM (cjam.ca)

To celebrate Black History Month, Revolution Rock will feature a variety of obscure Soul and R&B cuts as well as some Jazz, Funk, Reggae and Blues tracks.  This year's program focuses on Otis Redding's 1966 album The Soul Album. 

Hey! The Gruesomes Radio Feature

February 14th, 2012

10:30 AM – Noon

CJAM 99.1 FM (cjam.ca)

This Valentines Day Revolution Rock will have an entire show focusing on the 80s Montreal Canadian Garage Rock group The Gruesomes. Expect to hear music from the bands catalogue, solo projects, live recordings and more!  This show also features a corresponding post with an exclusive interview from Gerry Alvarez and John Davis of The Gruesomes!

Neil Young’s Ditch Trilogy Radio Feature

February 21st, 2012

10:30 AM – Noon

CJAM 99.1 FM (cjam.ca)

On February 21st, Revolution Rock will host a program focusing on Neil Young’s Ditch Trilogy. Often seen by fans of Neil’s being albums of haunting brilliance, expect to hear music from the albums Time Fades Away (1973), On The Beach (1974) and Tonight’s The Night (1975), which constitute the Ditch Trilogy.

6th Annual Revolution Surf

February 28th, 2012

10:30 AM – Noon

CJAM 99.1 FM (cjam.ca)

This February 28th will mark my 6th annual Surf program on CJAM 99.1 FM. Shows in the past have focused on new and old Surf bands and focus on one particular artist within the Surf genre, this year will be no different. This year's program will feature several recordings from a variety of influential UK instrumental Surf groups. The program will also feature a special segment with Derk Brigante formerly of CJAM’s Surfphony of Derstruction.

Journey Through The Past...The Neil Young Story and Archives Special...Show # 253

On June 2nd, 2009 Neil Young released Archives Volume 1. The set which comes in three formats (CD, DVD and Blu-Ray) chronicles Young's career from 1963-1972. This is a collection featuring previously unreleased material, alternate mixes and material previously found on Young's albums that has been in the works since 1989. The CD version of the box set contains 8 CD's, while the DVD and Blu-Ray sets have 10 discs. Also the DVD & Blu-Ray sets have previously unreleased live footage and bonus material not found on the CD version. Since the set only covers 1963-1972, that is what my profile on Neil Young will cover.

Born in Toronto, Ontario in 1945, Neil Young was the son of writer Scott Young and Edna Ragland. He spent his early childhood in Toronto, but grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Where the family relocated. One Neil Young's first groups were The Squires. Young formed the group while in high school. The instrumental, surf inspired group recorded a series of demos at the time. "The Sultan" was a local favourite. Another song Young recorded with The Squires was "I Wonder". The song is an early version of what was later to become "Don't Cry No Tears" on Zuma in 1975. During this time Neil would also play acoustically at local folk clubs. Eventually he would meet Stephen stills and Joni Mitchell. Neil Young would leave The Squires and in 1965 go on a tour as solo act. While playing in Toronto 1966, he met Mynah Birds. Fronted by Rick James, Young joined the group and they recorded an album for the Motown Record label. When Rick James was arrested, the group broke up and Neil Young relocated to Los Angeles to find sucess with bassist Barry Palmer. Once they got to Los Angeles, Young met musician and friend Stephen Stills and they formed the group Buffalo Springfield.

Buffalo Springfield's first self titled album was released in 1967. The album produced a hit for the band called "For What It's Worth". The band played a mix of Country, Psychedelic, Folk and Rock. Neil Young and Stephen Stills both played lead guitar. Despite their success, the band had constant arguments. Barry Palmer would be arrested and deported, which did not help matters. Buffalo Springfield Again was released in November 1967. The album contained the Neil Young composition "Mr. Soul". The heavy rock song had a riff similar to The Rolling Stones "Satisfaction" and was a minor hit. Neil Young also contributed two other songs to the album ("Expecting To Fly" and "Broken Arrow"), but they were recorded without Buffalo Springfield as a backing band. They were recorded and intended for a Neil Young solo album. While recording this album tensions rose again amongst the group and after recording one more album (due to contract obligations), Buffalo Springfield split up. Last Time Around featured recordings previously made that year (1968). The album featured two more Young compositions "I Am A Child" and "On The Way Home". After this album, Neil Young acquired band manager Elliot Roberts (who still currently manages Young) and signed a solo record deal to Reprise Records.


Neil Young's first solo album (which was self titled) was released on November 12, 1968. The date also coincided with his 23rd Birthday. The album did not do very well, it received mixed reviews. It does despite the bad reviews, contain a few good songs most importantly "The Loner". Neil Young put together a different backing band for his second album. Collecting musicians Danny Whitten (guitar), Billy Talbot (bass) and Ralph Molina (drums), Neil Young put together a band that at the time were known as The Rockets. Changing their name to Crazy Horse, the band recorded with Neil Young for two weeks to complete the album known as Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere. This album features some of Neil's best known songs. "Cinnamon Girl", "Down By The River", and "Cowgirl In The Sand". These songs showed off his style and were apparently were written when Neil Young had a 103 °F fever. The album featured long jams, heavy rock songs and folk/rock based recordings. This album went to # 34 on the Billboard Pop Album charts.

Next up Neil Young joined the group Crosby, Stills & Nash. The band who had already released an album asked Neil to join the group as a sideman. Instead Neil became a full member and the group became known as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. They recorded one album together titled Deja Vu. Released in 1970, Neil Young fell into the same argumentative disagreements as when he was in Buffalo Springfield. Neil Young is not featured on all of the tracks, but the album does have some songs written by Neil. The album itself went to #1 on the Billboard 200 Album charts. Shortly after the album was released, Neil Young wrote the song "Ohio", which was written about the Kent State Massacre in May 1970. It was recorded fast and released as a single soon afterwards. The song went to #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.

After The Gold Rush was also released in 1970. The album featured musicians such as Stephen Stills and Greg Reeves (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young bassist). When Neil began working on the album, the sessions did feature Crazy Horse. Due to a variety of factors, one being guitarist Danny Whitten's health problems, the band changed around a bit. The album did include some songs with Crazy Horse ("When You Dance I Can Really Love", "I Believe In You", and "Oh Lonesome Me"). The album is a mix of hard rock with folk and country, it also went to %8 on the Billboard Top Pop Album charts. After The Gold Rush has some great songs on it such as "Southern Man" (A song about racism in the south), "Don't Let It Bring You Down", and "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" (#33 on the Hot 100 charts).


By 1971, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young had broken up and Crazy Horse signed a record deal. Neil also embarked on a solo tour the same year, assembling a band of Country musicians to back him that would be known as The Stray Gators. Harvest would be the album he recorded with The Gators and it would be a huge success for Neil Young. The album, which was a Country/Rock album went to number one on the Billboard 200 charts. The single "Heart of Gold" would immediately become a number one hit. Other songs on Harvest are the song "Old Man" and "The Needle and The Damage Done". The song was written about the turmoils of Heroin addiction and how it destroys so many people. The song was inspired by Crazy Horse guitar player Danny Whitten, who was addicted to it at the time (he would later pass away due to an overdose). Also the song featured on Harvest, was actually taken from a live recording in 1971 at Massey Hall.

At this point Neil began working on the follow up to Harvest with Crazy Horse, but it would be halted by the passing of Crazy Horse guitarist Danny Whitten. A soundtrack to the Neil Young directed film would come next titled Journey Through The Past. Neil would continue recording and making music. His next three albums are referred to as his "Ditch Trilogy". They are referred to this name because of Neil's reaction after the success of "Heart of Gold". This quote from Neil Young about the song describes the titles origin:

"This song put me in the middle of the road. Travelling there soon became a bore so I headed for the ditch. A rougher ride but I saw more interesting people there."

The three albums in the trilogy are Time Fades Away (1973), On The Beach (1974) and Tonight's The Night (1975). Neil Young's story does not end there, he still continues to record and release music. Most recently he released an album titled Fork in the Road. The Archives box set ends in 1972 and that is where this post will end. There is the promise of future volumes of the Archives series.

Neil Young Play List:

1. Mr. Soul (Buffalo Springfield)
2. Sell Out (Buffalo Springfield)(Previously Unreleased)
3. Down To The Wire (Neil Young)
4. Sugar Mountain (Neil Young)(Previously Unreleased Demo Version)
5. The Rent is Always Due (Neil Young)(Previously Unreleased)
6. I Am A Child (Buffalo Springfield)
7. Kahuna Sunset (Buffalo Springfield)
8. Aurora (The Squires)
9. I Wonder (The Squires)(Previously Unreleased)
10. Mustang (The Squires)(Previously Unreleased)
11. The Loner (Neil Young)
12. Everybody Knows This is Nowhere (With Crazy Horse)
13. Cowgirl In The Sand (With Crazy Horse)
14. See The Sky About To Rain (Live Massey Hall 1971)
15. Down By The River (Live Massey Hall 1971)
16. Everybody's Alone (With Crazy Horse)(Previously Unreleased)
17. Dance, Dance, Dance (With Crazy Horse)(Previously Unreleased)
18. When You Dance, I Can Really Love (With Crazy Horse)
19. Don't Let It Bring You Down (Neil Young)
20. Tell Me Why (Neil Young)
21. Cripple Creek Fairy (Neil Young)
22. Harvest (Neil Young & The Stray Gators)
23. Wonderin' (Live Filmore East 1970 - With Crazy Horse)
24. Come On Baby Let's Go Downtown (Live Filmore East 1970 - With Crazy Horse)

To download this week's show visit the CJAM archives and select the files 10:00 AM and 11:00 AM on June, 16th 2009.

Neil Young Annouces Archive Project...Show # 195

Neil Young announced this week that he will finally be releasing his much anticipated Chronicles/Archives project. He is planning on releasing a 10 disc set on Blu-Ray disc only. This archive project has been in the works for many, many years (since the 80's). Young said that he wants this to be released on Blu-Ray so that listeners will also have visuals as they listen to the music. The 10 disc set is said to be comprised of unreleased Neil Young material ranging from 1963-1972. For more information on this release visit:

Neil Young rocks Java One
Neil Young to release Blu-Ray Archive
Billboard

In other news Revolution Rock is quickly approaching its 200th show. To celebrate this I will be doing a series of specialty shows focusing on certain bands. The shows will be on the bands Teenage Head, Pointed Sticks, Buzzcocks, The Kinks, and The D4. Next week will be a show focusing on the Canadian band Teenage Head. If you have any requests for Teenage Head or any of the above mentioned bands, leave a comment and I will play them on the corresponding shows.

Songs Played:

1. Beastie Boys - Remote Control
2. Big Audio Dynamite - Contact
3. Undertones - Here Comes The Summer
4. The Shades - New Clientele
5. The Jam - Set the House Ablaze
6. Locusts Have No King - Trench Song
7. Lou Reed - Hangin' Round
8. The Cigarettes - They're Back Again, Here They Come
9. The Strokes - You Only Live Once
10. Demics - New York City
11. LI 150's - Destiny
12. Gruesomes - Hey
13. Spiral Scratch - England's Burning, 81
14. Talking Heads - Who Is It? (1975 CBS Demo)
15. XTC - Statue of Liberty
16. Iggy Pop - Five Foot One
17. Magazine - Boredom (BBC Session)
18. Joe Strummer - Slant Six
19. The Saints - Church of Indifference
20. Richard Hell & The Voidoids - I Can Only Give You Everything
21. Bob Dylan - One More Weekend
22. Bob Dylan - I Wanna Be Your Lover
23. Neil Young - Song X

Young Videos:

Blu-Ray Archive Preview
Don't Let It Bring You Down (Live 1971 BBC Studios)
Mr.Soul (Live)