What Happens When a Beloved Rock Star Gets Fed Up? | Neil Young's 1974 On the Beach Album | The Atlantic

Neil Young's On The Beach - 1974
 (Click photo to enlarge)

 

Last year, we shared the news that Neil Young is planning a 50th anniversary edition of the album On The Beach. 

And here we are in 2024 -- and while no 50th anniversary edition details as of yet --  we did get news on Neil Young Archives Vol. III, a 17 CD BOX SET.

Nevertheless, the tributes to Neil Young's 1974 masterpiece continue to roll in.  Here's the latest: What Happens When a Beloved Rock Star Gets Fed Up? | Neil Young was never more paranoid or pessimistic than with 1974’s On the Beach—for good reason | The Atlantic by Elizabeth Nelson. (thanks Bob G.!)

By the year of On the Beach’s release, rock and roll had become big business, and the American concert landscape was changing as a result. 

Bob Dylan and the Band had reconvened on their multimillion-grossing run of dates, and CSNY, too, had begun to sell out stadiums and arenas on what came to be known, by dint of its excess, as the Doom Tour. In time, messianic pop singers would create grotesque carbon footprints in the interest of advancing their brands. Young and his band were fueled by a combination of potent fried weed and honey, called “honey slides”—and the creeping paranoia that accompanies getting too stoned matches the mood of the album’s closing songs.

Young sounds confused but resolute.

On the almost seven-minute title track,he makes suggestions, seemingly to himself: “Get out of town, think I’ll get out of town,” in a way that makes you think as a listener, He’s never going to get out of town. “Motion Pictures”—an elegy for his estranged partner, the actor Carrie Snodgress—is about Young embracing the beauty of nature, as the people around him are captivated by their television sets. “All those people, they think they’ve got it made,” he sings. “I wouldn’t buy, sell, borrow, or trade / Anything I have to be like one of them.” He sings: “I’d rather start all over again.”

Full article @  What Happens When a Beloved Rock Star Gets Fed Up? | Neil Young was never more paranoid or pessimistic than with 1974’s On the Beach—for good reason | The Atlantic by Elizabeth Nelson. 

More on Neil Young's 1974 masterpiece album On The Beach ...

Rare "On The Beach" Poster with Neil facing camera

 (Click photo to enlarge)

 

More on Neil Young's "Ditch Trilogy/Quadrilogy".

Neil Young's "Ditch Quadrilogy" (see Neil Young's "Ditch Quadrilogy" Re-Re-Release is Finally Coming! Official Release Series Discs 5-8 (4CD): May 12, 2017 Release)

 

"The Drought" & "On The Beach"(see The Surrealism of Neil Young's "On The Beach" Album )

 

Also, see:

• On The Beach Album by Neil Young: A 50 Year Old Masterpiece  
• Comment of the Moment: 50th Anniversary Edition of Neil Young's On The Beach Album Planned 
• The Essentials: On the Beach by Neil Young | The Old Grey Cat
• "Time Fades Away", "Tonight’s the Night" & "On the Beach": The Beautiful, Enduring Gloom of Neil Young's Ditch Trilogy
  
• The Surrealism of Neil Young's "On The Beach" Album
  
• Tattoo of the Moment: "On The Beach Face" Neil Young's Album Cover
• On The Beach: 45 Years Later, Still Neil Young’s "Most Beautiful (and Most Depressing) Album")
• Nick Cave and His Favorite Neil Young "Hiding Song": "On the Beach"
  

 

Neil Young On The Beach: Reflecting on Reflections 

(See  On The Beach: 45 Years Later, Still Neil Young’s "Most Beautiful (and Most Depressing) Album")

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34+ Minutes "Tonight's the Night" by Neil Young & The Santa Monica Flyers on November 20, 1973

"Tonight's the Night"Neil Young & The Santa Monica Flyers   - November 20, 1973 (Click photo to enlarge)

 

Here is a full breakdown of the song "Tonight's the Night" -- that lasted 34 minutes and 53 seconds -- by Neil Young & The Santa Monica Flyers on November 20, 1973. 

Excerpted from Recliner Notes by Scott Bunn, it's a long post, but gives an opportunity to tell the whole story of that part of Neil's career.

On November 20, 1973 at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago, Illinois, Neil Young and his backing band The Santa Monica Flyers performed a rendition of “Tonight’s the Night” for 34 minutes and 53 seconds. That night in Chicago was the penultimate concert of the tour which had started in Toronto on October 29, moved on to Great Britain for seven performances, and then returned to the United States for five shows. The setlists for these concerts were dominated by a group of songs that Young and The Santa Monica Flyers — a band name adopted for this tour only — had recorded in Los Angeles in August and September of the same year, but which had not yet been released to the public. The centerpiece song for the tour was “Tonight’s the Night,” which was regularly performed twice and sometimes even three times a night. After hearing a batch of unfamiliar songs during this tour, restless audiences would clap enthusiastically when Young would say, “Here’s a song you know,” and then he would begin playing “Tonight’s the Night” all over again. 

On that November night in Chicago, Young and the band had already played “Tonight’s the Night” along with three other as-yet unreleased songs from the same recording sessions. The rest of the show consisted of an array of songs, ranging from his work with Crazy Horse to Buffalo Springfield to Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (CSNY) and his solo releases. Only one song was played that night from Harvest, Young’s smash hit album from the year before. The concert was not without incident. As recounted in Shakey: Neil Young’s Biography by Jimmy McDonough, Young apparently got fed up with commentary from the audience and yelled:

“Shut up! Some of you people are fucked! You all scream out so much, why don’t you stay home and listen to yourself talk. There’s a lotta things you can say up here if you don’t have to fight your way through a buncha editors that are just yellin’ to hear their own voices.”

The final song of the evening was a reprise of “Tonight’s the Night.” Lasting nearly as long as an episode of prestige television, the performance is equal parts punk, glam, dirtbag, roadhouse, and no wave. This rendition “Tonight’s the Night” is an exhausting yet exhilarating document of an artist who produces a rejoinder to the audience members, a wake for friends who left too soon, and a celebration of simply being alive.

Full article and  34 minutes + "Tonight's the Night" on Recliner Notes by Scott Bunn.

More on Neil Young's song and album "Tonight's the Night",  the tragedy of the "Ditch" trilogy and the legends of Bruce Berry and Danny Whitten.

The Ditch Trilogy

Albums by Neil Young

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Comment of the Moment: 50th Anniversary Edition of Neil Young's On The Beach Album Planned

Neil Young's On The Beach - 1974
 (Click photo to enlarge) 

Yesterday, we shared the news that Neil Young is planning a 50th anniversary edition of the album On The Beach.

Our Comment of the Moment on 50th Anniversary Edition of Neil Young's On The Beach Album Planned by Richie Cruz:

Please leave On The Beach as it is, always was, and hopefully always will be. No extra songs, no outtakes, no filler, none of that garbage.

You released a perfect album in 1974, nothing can improve on that. Anything you add takes away from the masterpiece, which is often the case when artists cash in on some meaningless anniversary crap. If anything was left off the original, there's a reason. What was originally released was perfect.

I know I'm probably a lone wolf on the subject, but I've always believed you're okay being a lone wolf most of the time as well. I know the Neil Young of 1974 would think this is a bad idea, I'm hoping the Neil Young of 2023 still feels the same. Please leave On The Beach as it was meant to be. 

Hope you think about it.

Ok, got it Richie and we hear your passion for perfection.  We tend to agree not to mess with the original release. But...

How about the outtakes, demos, etc be on a separate disc? Maybe include the OTB poster? And prints from the OTB photo session?  Along with proper vinyl reprinting to include the umbrella design inside jacket.

Rare "On The Beach" Poster with Neil facing camera

 (Click photo to enlarge)

 

More on Neil Young's "Ditch Trilogy/Quadrilogy".

Neil Young's "Ditch Quadrilogy" (see Neil Young's "Ditch Quadrilogy" Re-Re-Release is Finally Coming! Official Release Series Discs 5-8 (4CD): May 12, 2017 Release)

 

"The Drought" & "On The Beach"(see The Surrealism of Neil Young's "On The Beach" Album )

 

Also, see:

• The Essentials: On the Beach by Neil Young | The Old Grey Cat
• "Time Fades Away", "Tonight’s the Night" & "On the Beach": The Beautiful, Enduring Gloom of Neil Young's Ditch Trilogy
  
• The Surrealism of Neil Young's "On The Beach" Album
  
• Tattoo of the Moment: "On The Beach Face" Neil Young's Album Cover
• On The Beach: 45 Years Later, Still Neil Young’s "Most Beautiful (and Most Depressing) Album")
• Nick Cave and His Favorite Neil Young "Hiding Song": "On the Beach"
  

 

Neil Young On The Beach: Reflecting on Reflections 

(See  On The Beach: 45 Years Later, Still Neil Young’s "Most Beautiful (and Most Depressing) Album")

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50th Anniversary Edition of Neil Young's On The Beach Album Planned

Rare "On The Beach" Poster with Neil facing camera (Click photo to enlarge) 

A 50th anniversary edition of Neil Young's On The Beach album is being planned, per a recent Letter to Editor on Neil Young Archives.

"Yes. we will be having a ‘50th’ On the beach. i am getting right on it."

Letter to Editor | Neil Young Archives

 

In 2022, we posted on The Essentials: On the Beach by Neil Young | The Old Grey Cat where the album OTB is considered to be the critical link in Neil Young's "Ditch Trilogy/Quadrilogy".

We sense a surge in relevance of On the Beach to the these times in which we live.  The parallels between the 1970's and today are unmistakable to all but those  asleep and unaware of the pending Big Shift.

More on Neil Young's "Ditch Trilogy/Quadrilogy".

Neil Young's "Ditch Quadrilogy" (see Neil Young's "Ditch Quadrilogy" Re-Re-Release is Finally Coming! Official Release Series Discs 5-8 (4CD): May 12, 2017 Release)

 

Also, see:

• The Essentials: On the Beach by Neil Young | The Old Grey Cat
• "Time Fades Away", "Tonight’s the Night" & "On the Beach": The Beautiful, Enduring Gloom of Neil Young's Ditch Trilogy
  
• The Surrealism of Neil Young's "On The Beach" Album
  
• Tattoo of the Moment: "On The Beach Face" Neil Young's Album Cover
• On The Beach: 45 Years Later, Still Neil Young’s "Most Beautiful (and Most Depressing) Album")
• Nick Cave and His Favorite Neil Young "Hiding Song": "On the Beach"
  

 

Neil Young On The Beach: Reflecting on Reflections 

(See  On The Beach: 45 Years Later, Still Neil Young’s "Most Beautiful (and Most Depressing) Album")

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Comment of the Moment: Neil Young - Alone Together With The Loner

Neil Young
Illustration by Mike Faille, from Kiim Kong photo
(Click photo to enlarge)  

The Loner.

Neil Young has many, many nicknames like "Shakey", "Mr. Soul", "Godfather of Grunge", etc.  And then there is "The Loner".  

In the film "Harvest Time"  (see ANALYSIS: What "Harvest Time" Reveals About Neil Young), a side of  Neil Young is seen -- yet unseen -- that many fans identify with in a comfortingly relatable manner.  As in, literally, see the lonely boy out on the weekend trying to make it pay.

Neil Young's Harvest Time Film

(see ANALYSIS: What "Harvest Time" Reveals About Neil Young)

 

In listening to Neil Young's extensive lyrics, the theme of "loneliness" quite often hovers about many of his songs.  A theme which is very prevalent, pervasive and persistent over the decades.  Thus, the TW Comment of the Moment on ANALYSIS: What "Harvest Time" Reveals About Neil Young by Dionys:

The Loner Alone, a Lonesome List 

• Bad Fog Of Loneliness
• Campaigner (“I am a lonely visitor”)
• Everybody’s Alone
• Four Strong Winds (“Four strong winds that blow lonely…”)
• Give Me Strength (“The lonely man I make myself to be”)
• Hard Luck Stories (“Now she’s gone and you’re alone…”)
• Harvest (…and was some black face in a lonely place…)
• Hello, Lonely Woman
• Hold Back the Tears (Single life really has its fine points…”)
• Like An Inca (There’s a bridge I have to cross alone…”)
• Lotta Love (“Cause my heart needs relating not solitude”)
• Mellow My Mind (”lonesome whistle on a railroad track”)
• Misfits (“On the Needles Highway there is a lone red rider…”)
• Oh, Lonesome Me
• Out on the Weekend (“See the lonely boy out on the weekend”)
• Roll Another Number (“though I long to see that lonesome hippie smile”)
• Sample and Hold (“But not the lonely one…”)
• Sunny Inside (From now on I ain’t scared of lonely nights...”)
• Tell Me Why (”I am lonely but you can free me)
• The Loner
• The Losing End (When You’re On) (“Before I wandered off alone”)
• There Goes My Babe
• The Wayward Wind (“In a lonely shack by the railroad track…”)
• Too Lonely
• When You Dance I Can Really Love (While the lonely mingle with circumstance”)
• When Your Lonely Heart Breaks
• Will to Love (“But I won’t turn back with this lonely tide)
• Wonderin’ (I am wondering if I’ll be alone”)

Sure I missed out on a few songlines

UPDATE:

+ Down By The River ("It's so hard for me staying here all alone..") (Thanks Abner!)

+ Old Man  (live alone in a paradise) and (but I'm all alone at last) (Thanks Nobody knows!)

+ Last Trip to Tulsa (Sure it's not a case of being lonely we have here...)

+Music Arcade - ("Have you ever felt all alone") (Thanks Sancho!)

Thanks Dionys, Abner, Nobody Knows, Sancho & Still Young and everyone on the thread.

Step aside, open wide.

And the ultimate irony here is that watching Neil in "Harvest Time" write the song “Out on the Weekend” -- apparently spontaneously -- while happily laughing away and surrounded by friends and lovers is most incongruously surreal.

You folks out there make us feel never alone as long we have friends digging the music.

More on ANALYSIS: What "Harvest Time" Reveals About Neil Young.

 

Neil Young Gets Back “Out on the Weekend”

(see ANALYSIS: What "Harvest Time" Reveals About Neil Young)

 

 

More on Comment of The Moment: "Alabama" & Neil Young's "Harvest Time" Film. 

 

Also, see Neil Young's Ditch Trilogy -- Or is it a Quadrilogy? Or Quintology?

 

Neil Young's "Ditch Quadrilogy":
"Time Fades Away", "Tonight’s the Night", "On the Beach" & "ZUMA"  

  "Alabama" & Neil Young's "Harvest Time" FilmNeil Young - Sept 10, 1971
Photo by Joel Bernstein

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ANALYSIS: What Harvest Time Reveals About Neil Young | Rock and Roll Globe

 

Neil Young's Harvest Time Film

 

Here is a highly recommended analysis of the just released documentary presenting a fuller look at the landmark album  "What Harvest Time Reveals About Neil Young | Rock and Roll Globe" by Pat Daly:

Neil Young acolytes, notably loyal and reliably obsessive, took the Decade blurb and constructed a parable that is now part of the gospel according to Neil freaks. The three records that followed Harvest – Time Fades Away, Tonight’s The Night, and On the Beach – are now enshrined as “The Ditch Trilogy.”  

The one slight problem here is that Harvest is every bit as ditchy as the records that followed, maybe ditchier. 

It starts with what could be the bleakest, most depressive utterance of Neil Young’s career, which is saying something. “Out On the Weekend” surveys the inner life of its lonely protagonist, who is getting ready to abandon his present circumstances, and just “pack it in.” He “can’t relate to joy.” It is foreign to him. He’d explain it, but his depression has rendered him incapable of speech. “He can’t begin to say.”

Surely the middle of the road beckons as the record goes on, and the ride is uphill from here, right? Well, kind of. The two songs that give Harvest its mainstream reputation – “Heart of Gold” and “Old Man” – are testaments to want, yearning, and more loneliness. 

The former is about the search for love, by all accounts futile to date, and time is running out on our 24-year-old artiste. Inability to articulate persists. “It’s these expressions I never give, that keep me searching for a heart of gold – but I’m getting old.” 

The picture painted in “Old Man” is not much rosier. Love has not been kind to our lonely boy, and he sorely needs someone to love him the whole day through. His lyric does not exude optimism. “Love lost, such a cost. Give me things that won’t get lost.”

These three numbers – can I propose we refer to them henceforth as The Loneliness Trilogy? – constitute less than a third of the album. The rest of the album surely must contain the soothing “Sweet Baby James”-ish folk pop that explain its mellow reputation and enduring popularity. 

A few quick notes on this highly recommended analysis. First, we rustie grains don't really like the label "obsessive" and prefer "passionate" instead. Second, here at TW, we have been a major proponent of the “The Ditch Trilogy” theory.  In fact, this  “The Ditch Trilogy” theory has been expanded to a  quadrilogy, or possibly even a quintology.

Neil Young's "Ditch Quadrilogy":
"Time Fades Away", "Tonight’s the Night", "On the Beach" & "ZUMA"

 

Last point, on this analysis is the stream of consciousness composition of “Out on the Weekend” which rivals anything from the much ballyhooed Peter Jackson documentary "The Beatles: Get Back" scenes. The ever so elusive "The Muse" is seen in full force display on her majestic, creative, channeling journey. So, get back to that John & Paul, literally and figuratively.

 

 

Neil Young Gets Back “Out on the Weekend”

 

Full analysis @ "What Harvest Time Reveals About Neil Young | Rock and Roll Globe" by Pat Daly. 

 

More on Comment of The Moment: "Alabama" & Neil Young's "Harvest Time" Film.

  "Alabama" & Neil Young's "Harvest Time" FilmNeil Young - Sept 10, 1971
Photo by Joel Bernstein

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Comment of the Moment: The Essentials - On the Beach by Neil Young

Rare "On The Beach" Poster with Neil facing camera (Click photo to enlarge) 

Recently, we posted on The Essentials: On the Beach by Neil Young | The Old Grey Cat where the album OTB is the critical link in Neil Young's "Ditch Trilogy/Quadrilogy".

Here is Comment of the Moment by Kevin D. in Morro Bay:

"The Essentials" well said Old Grey Cat and another great article by our favorite cat. 

On The Beach was the third maybe fourth Neil album I bought after the triple play of EKTIN, AGT and Harvest. To say it was a surprise was an under statement. 

Truth be told after that initial triple play I was more than a little confused lets say after my first play of this wonderful album. With each listen I got deeper into it and for me it truly is an essential album. One of the first things I remember noticing when I bought the album second hand around 1975 or so was the pattern from the underside of the umbrella is on the inside of the record cover (not gate fold) but the back side of the actual record cover normally cardboard. Nice touch! 

All the folks I played it too never gave it to much thought as their view was it was a downer to listen to. To each their own the more I played the more I agreed with Rusty Kershaw's comment on the inner sleeve - " there is good music in this album". 

As the years went by I also invested in the DVD-A which saves my album from too much abuse. With the gallery scrolling and the music playing and a brew by my side - life is good. No honey slides necessary but always an option. 

So take advantage of this time before the mother load of Harvest 50 comes out in December and follow the Old Grey Cat's advice and give this album a spin, you won't regret it. 

Kevin D. in Morro Bay 

Thanks for the thoughts here  Kevin! 

We sense a surge in relevance of On the Beach to the these times in which we live.  The parallels between the 1970's and today are unmistakable to all but those  asleep and unaware of the pending Big Shift.

More on Neil Young's "Ditch Trilogy/Quadrilogy".

Neil Young's "Ditch Quadrilogy" (see Neil Young's "Ditch Quadrilogy" Re-Re-Release is Finally Coming! Official Release Series Discs 5-8 (4CD): May 12, 2017 Release)

 

Also, see:

• The Essentials: On the Beach by Neil Young | The Old Grey Cat
• "Time Fades Away", "Tonight’s the Night" & "On the Beach": The Beautiful, Enduring Gloom of Neil Young's Ditch Trilogy
  
• The Surrealism of Neil Young's "On The Beach" Album
  
• Tattoo of the Moment: "On The Beach Face" Neil Young's Album Cover
• On The Beach: 45 Years Later, Still Neil Young’s "Most Beautiful (and Most Depressing) Album")
• Nick Cave and His Favorite Neil Young "Hiding Song": "On the Beach"
  

 

Neil Young On The Beach: Reflecting on Reflections (See  On The Beach: 45 Years Later, Still Neil Young’s "Most Beautiful (and Most Depressing) Album")

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UPDATED: The Mystery of Neil Young's "Florida" Finally Solved

1st Edition of Tonight's the Night 

Photo from Bill White Collection

 

In July 2020, we shared a posting on The Mystery of Neil Young's "Florida" Finally Solved.

 

The posting detailed how with the release of Neil Young's "lost '70's" album "Homegrown", one of the biggest mysteries of it's replacement -- "Tonight's the Night" -- is now resolved.

The post has been updated to include a photo from the Bill White Collection of a 1st Edition of the Tonight's the Night album package with the (in)famous "Hello Waterface" screed as well as a loopy indy news article in Dutch (of all things) printed on the little folded insert. Also, included is the transcript of what we only now know is "Florida" printed on a faded backdrop of the "On The Beach" sleeve insert. 

(Thanks Bill!)

For more, see The Mystery of Neil Young's "Florida" Finally Solved.

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The Mystery of Neil Young's "Florida" Finally Solved

"Tonight's the Night" Album Liner Notes w/ "Florida" Story
w/ "On The Beach" Overlay + Roy Orbison Photo

Now, with the recent release of Neil Young's "lost '70's" album "Homegrown", one of the biggest mysteries of it's replacement -- "Tonight's the Night" -- is beginning to finally be resolved with the "Florida" track.

"Homegrown: Never Known to Fail" by Neil Young
(See reviews @ 1st THOUGHTS: Neil Young's New Album 'Homegrown')
Neil Young's Ditch Trilogy -- consisting of the mid 1970's albums "Time Fades Away", "Tonight’s the Night" & "On the Beach" -- is well documented as containing the "missing link" to the Rosetta Stone of understanding his entire body of work over the decades.

And now -- at long last -- Neil Young's unreleased album "Homegrown" -- which was recorded in 1974 and 1975 -- is the "one that got away", Neil writes on NYA. At the time, Neil considered "Homegrown" to be "too personal and frank" to be released and chose to release the album "Tonight's The Night", instead.

"Florida" Lyrics by Neil Young

First, one of the most bizarre aspects of the "Tonight's the Night" album is the liner insert (see top image). The cryptically strange "On The Beach" album overlay has the story of a Florida town - presumably Miami Beach - and some odd happenings. Along with a photo of Roy Orbison, the meaning and significance of the story has long remained a mystery to Neil fans -- and the subject of much idle speculation. (Here is a transcription of the "Tonight's The Night" album liner notes.)

1st Edition of Tonight's the Night 

Photo from Bill White Collection

 

"Florida" is like a stream of consciousness fever dream/nightmare. And after reading the TTN liner notes for 45 years now, we had no idea what was going on other than "Man, Neil must've been really stoned. Or he's a very vivid dreamer. Or both."

Gliders?
Tall buildings?
A couple?
A baby in a red blanket?
A photo of Roy Orbinson?

Roy Orbinson
Detail of "Tonight's the Night" Album Liner Notes w/ "Florida" Story

But "Florida" all now makes sense in the context of its placement between the songs "Mexico" and "Kansas" on the album "Homegrown". Essentially, the song's lyrics analysis of "Florida" is that the song/poem/spoken word track is indirectly about Neil, Carrie Snodgress, and their son Zeke.

Carrie Snodgress
(See more on Carrie & Neil)

Snodgress was perhaps best-known for her role as a frustrated homemaker caught between a domineering husband and a self-absorbed lover in 1970's "Diary of a Mad Housewife." She was nominated for an Academy Award and won two Golden Globe awards for best leading actress and new star of the year.

Despite critical acclaim for her role in "Housewife," Snodgress turned her back on Hollywood in 1971 to live with boyfriend Neil Young on his northern California 15,000-acre ranch called "Broken Arrow" and care for their son, Zeke, who was born with cerebral palsy.

Neil Young recorded several songs which reference Snodgress. The most well song is "A Man Needs A Maid" from the album "Harvest" containing the lines:

"I fell in love with the actress She was playing a part I could understand"

Back to the "Florida"/"Tonight's the Night" album liner notes mystery. Again, the couple with the baby are Carrie and Neil with Zeke. And Carrie wants custody of Zeke so she takes the baby and says "he's mine". And Neil protests.

In the context of "Florida"'s placement between the songs "Mexico" and "Kansas" on the album "Homegrown", Neil sings "Daddy is a travelin' man" as the coda on song "Mexico" as a response to Zeke being better off with his mother rather than a musician on the road.

Then we look at the lyrics for the song "Kansas":

Kansas
"I feel like I just woke up
From a bad dream

...

Hold on, baby, hold on
We can go gliding through the air
Far from the tears you've cried"

In "Kansas", Neil wakes up from a "bad dream". Then, the lyrics of "gliding" references back to the glider soaring around between buildings, plus the 'baby'.

So, we'll stop here without digging any deeper in the symbolism and metaphors and leave that for another day.

Carrie Snodgress - Vogue Magazine, ~1971
(Also, see more on Carrie, Neil:& Zeke - Interview in People Weekly, Sept 26, 1983)

w/ Zeke Young
2015 Bridge School Benefit Concerts

Also, see the Dutch translation of the other liner notes on the "Tonight's The Night" album.

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UPDATE

"Florida"
via Letters To Editor| NYA

In yet another one of those stunning synchronicities that have followed us all our lifetimes, no sooner than we posted this analysis last night then a comment appears below letting us know that the above letter was just published on "Florida" where Neil confirms our dream thesis analysis. (Thanks Greyrider!)

boom, drop the mic. well, future proves past, yet again ... just sayin' ...

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Comment of the Moment: Neil Young's Ditch Trilogy/Quadrilogy/Quintology/Sextology In Light of "Homegrown" Release: What Might Have Been?

Neil Young's "Ditch Quadrilogy":
"Time Fades Away", "Tonight’s the Night", "On the Beach" & "ZUMA"
Now with Neil Young's album "Homegrown" finally released after 45 years in the vaults, how does this impact the chronology of those cherished mid 1970's albums period known as "The Ditch Trilogy"?

Here is the Comment of the Moment on Neil Young's Ditch Trilogy/Quadrilogy/Quintology/Sextology In Light of "Homegrown" Release: What Might Have Been? by the always formidable (D.) Ian Kertis; The Metamorphic Rocker:

For me, Homegrown clearly sounds--and feels--like a meeting point between Harvest on On the Beach.

In fact, I think Homegrown sounds more like OtB than OtB sounds like either TtN or TFA. Although TFA and TtN have a certain anguish and ragged edge in common musically speaking, the "ditch" classification is very loose and tenuous--if not artificial-- for me, at least in the straightforward sense that the classic trilogy of albums don't sound or feel too much alike for my ears (and Zuma is its own beast entirely, imho).

Each of these records just has its own musical identity and sensibility, such that it's never made that much sense in my mind to put certain albums into unified groupings, rank or otherwise quantify and compare them. In other words, "It's all one song".

Fwiw, however, it's possible we now have an alternative or parallel Ditch trilogy to consider: Tuscaloosa, Roxy, and Homegrown. That Tuscaloosa and Roxy offer counterparts to TFA and TtN respectively seems self-evident to me, and I'd argue that Homegrown offers essentially the mood of OtB with a seasoning of Harvest sound thanks to the Gators.

So perhaps an even more intriguing question would be, how do the last trio of NYA releases illuminate, echo, or counterpoint their "twins" classic catalogue? Also, how might Songs for Judy and Hitchhiker play into--or deconstruct--the ditch narrative? And of course, don't forget to enjoy and connect with the music, regardless of the mythos, as we chase our tails through the maze of Neil.

"Only real in the way I feel from day to day."

~Ian

Thanks Ian for sharing your thoughts here as your long view insights are most enjoyable to ponder. Right, what about Tuscaloosa and Roxy in the pantheon? Essential chapters? Or merely live concert versions of established classic songs in the canon?

"ROXY TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT LIVE" TUSCALOOSA

Folks know that we here at TW regard the live concert experience to be paramount and far more essential than the albums themselves. We've long argued that the songs in concert are more powerful and effective than what was captured in the studio.

Neil Young's Ditch Trilogy
"Time Fades Away", "Tonight’s the Night" & "On the Beach"

More on Neil Young's Ditch Trilogy/Quadrilogy/Quintology/Sextology In Light of "Homegrown" Release: What Might Have Been?

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Neil Young 's Ditch Trilogy/Quadrilogy/Quintology/Sextology In Light of "Homegrown" Release: What Might Have Been?

Neil Young's Ditch Trilogy
"Time Fades Away", "Tonight’s the Night" & "On the Beach"

Neil Young's Ditch Trilogy -- consisting of the mid 1970's albums "Time Fades Away", "Tonight’s the Night" & "On the Beach" -- is well documented as containing the "missing link" to the Rosetta Stone of understanding his entire body of work over the decades.

"Homegrown: Never Known to Fail" by Neil Young
(See reviews @ 1st THOUGHTS: Neil Young's New Album 'Homegrown')
And now -- at long last -- Neil Young's unreleased album "Homegrown" -- which was recorded in 1974 and 1975 -- is the "one that got away", Neil writes on NYA. At the time, Neil considered "Homegrown" to be "too personal and frank" to be released and chose to release the album "Tonight's The Night", instead. The Homegrown album has been described by Neil as “the missing link between Harvest, Comes A Time, Old Ways and Harvest Moon”.

Neil Young's comments on 'Homegrown'
(See PREVIEW TRACK: "Try" from Homegrown Album by Neil Young )

Neil Young wrote in 2019:

“I apologize.

This album Homegrown should have been there for you a couple of years after Harvest. It’s the sad side of a love affair. The damage done. The heartache. I just couldn’t listen to it. I wanted to move on.

“So I kept it to myself, hidden away in the vault, on the shelf, in the back of my mind.

But I should have shared it. It’s actually beautiful. That’s why I made it in the first place.

“Sometimes life hurts. You know what I mean. This is the one that got away."

In the often quoted hand written liner notes of Decade, Neil writes: " 'Heart of Gold' put me in the middle of the road. Traveling there soon became a bore so I headed for the ditch." Hence, the origin of the "Ditch" term -- which is sometimes also referred to as the "Doom" period or "The Wilderness Years".

The mid-1970's period was a very tumultuous time in Neil Young's life, as has been well documented. The success of the album Harvest collided with the implosion of Young's relationship with actress Carrie Snodgress and their son Zeke's physical disabilities. Along with the challenges of being in the supergroup Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, the death of his Crazy Horse guitar player and friend Danny Whitten, Young suffered from near debilitating back pain, so it's a wonder he recorded any albums at all during the period.

So Neil Young's mid 1970's albums period? The Ditch Trilogy/Quadrilogy/Quintology/Sextology in light of "Homegrown" release in 2020?

Neil Young's "Ditch Quadrilogy":
"Time Fades Away", "Tonight’s the Night", "On the Beach" & "ZUMA"
Some argue that there's actually no trilogy whatsoever and that the “ditch era was only made up of two albums; one jumping in, the other climbing out with "On the Beach".

Others argue for the "Ditch Quadrilogy" to include "ZUMA". Yet others argue for the "Ditch Quintology" with "Harvest - Time Fades Away - Tonight's the Night - On the Beach - Zuma.....Harvest being the prologue that leads to the Ditch. And Zuma serves as the light at the end of the tunnel."

As mentioned above, we have made our case before on Neil Young's Ditch Trilogy being the key to the Rosetta Stone of understanding his musical career. But we also expanded the argument in 2017 Neil Young's "Ditch Quadrilogy" Re-Re-Release is Finally Coming! Official Release Series Discs 5-8 (4CD): May 12 Release.

Lastly (but not really), an intriguing comment by kahunasunset who suggests that once Homegrown is released, maybe it'll really be a "Ditch Sextology"?!

Also, see more on the origin of the expression "Ditch Trilogy" as applied to Neil Young's 3 albums "Time Fades Away", "Tonight’s the Night" & "On the Beach". Also, see Neil Young's Ditch Trilogy -- Or is it a Quadrilogy? Or Quintology?.

Also, see The Beautiful, Enduring Gloom of Neil Young's Ditch Trilogy | PandoraMusic.

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So how about this for a thought exercise rusties?

Suppose Neil DID release Homegrown back in 1975 and NOT Tonight's The Night. Fast fwd to today and imagine Neil releasing the "unreleased" Tonight's The Night in 2020 instead.

What would folks think today of TTN? How would Neil's career arc have changed if he gave the public what they expected w/ Homegrown in 1975.

Here's a comment by Dan on the question:

I don’t actually think Neil’s career arc would have been any different had he released Homegrown instead of Tonight’s the Night back in the day.

Perhaps the fans arc would have been different, but I think Neil would have been right where he is now regardless. How his work is consumed by his fans has never been a concern for him, so we would have still gotten the same records we got.

Our perceptions might be different but not his.

Thanks Dan! Others? discuss.

"Though my problems are meaningless, that don't make them go away."

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On The Beach: 45 Years Later, Still Neil Young’s "Most Beautiful (and Most Depressing) Album"

"On The Beach" Ad with Neil Young Facing Camera
45 years ago -- on July 16, 1974 -- Neil Young released his fifth studio album, the essential 'On The Beach'.

From An Ode to ‘On the Beach,’ Neil Young’s Most Beautiful (and Most Depressing) Album | VICE by Hilary Pollack:

Forty-five years after its release, Neil Young's melancholic search for meaning in a chaotic world feels more relatable than ever.

"On the Beach", which turns 45 this week, managed to transcend that pessimism, and lives on as a not-so-cult favorite among critics and fans alike.

As just observed above, many Neil Young fans discover that "On the Beach is the greatest album I've ever heard".

Neil Young: On The Beach, Malibu
Photo: Henry Diltz, 1975

But -- as Neil - himself puts it on notes for Album of the Week | NYA there are reservations and consequences about darkness:

On the Beach: Album of the Week | NYA

Over the years here on TW, we've explored The Surrealism of Neil Young's "On The Beach" Album, with its cover considered to be one of his most creative and intriguing designs (by the late Gary Burden) of his vast catalog.

Gary Burden
In an exclusive interview on Human Highway.org with Gary Burden of R.Twerk & Co., the artist, art director, and designer talks about his journey along the Human Highway. Here's an interesting snippet:

Q: Besides the archives, a favorite Neil album design of yours?

Gary Burden: My favorite album cover that I have made, ever, is Neil Young’s “On the Beach.” This cover is loaded with information! From the styles of clothing and objects to the Coors can to the headline of the newspaper of the day of the photo shoot.

My final “gift” to the viewer/consumer was printing the tacky floral designs inside the sleeve.

That one blew the mind of the record company. Not in a good way!

(Complete interview on Human Highway.org with Gary Burden.)

"The Drought" & "On The Beach"
The Surrealism of Neil Young's "On The Beach" Album
"On The Beach" -- the final link of Neil Young's Ditch Trilogy -- is considered by many fans to be one of his best and their most favorite of all Neil Young album covers and artwork. Designed by Gary Burden, photographed by Bob Seideman, and graphic lettering by Rick Griffin, the cover is quite enigmatic with a Cadillac car fin jutting from the sand like a crashed rocket being buried by time. A shoeless Neil stares out into the ocean near a forlorn potted palm. A jaunty yellow beach umbrella matches Neil's jacket. The yellow theme is even continued with a Coors beer can on the table. Inside the album, things become even more crpytic with the album's liner notes. Fans have poured over Rusty Kershaw's strange handwritten note for clues and meaning often to no avail. Apparently, the recording sessions' heavy use of Honey Slides took a toll ... possibly to the creative sides' benefit?

Rusty Kershaw

From Rusty & Doug Kershaw: The Cajun Way | Cocaine and Rhinestones by Tyler Mahan Coe:

So, the inside scoop with On the Beach is, even if you don’t see his name listed as playing something on a particular song, even if he’s not listed as a producer of anything, Rusty Kershaw is all over everything except those first two songs because he has everyone bombed on honey slides the entire time they’re making this album. Julie Kershaw’s cooking this stuff up by the pound. Ben Keith says, 20 minutes after eating a honey slide, you start forgetting where you are, which, remember, is the very thing Neil Young wants to do at this exact point in his life. Elliott Roberts, Neil’s manager, says, “People passed out. The stuff was like much worse than heroin. Much heavier. Rusty would pour it down your throat and within 10 minutes you were catatonic.” If you haven’t figured out where this is headed, these sessions go way off the rails. Musicians are switched over to instruments they barely know how to play. The shortest song to come out of this is four minutes and four seconds long. The longest and, arguably, best song is nearly nine minutes. Keep in mind, everyone may be losing their shit on honey slides but, for Rusty Kershaw, this is just Monday. Or, who ever even cares what day it is, man? He’s used to this and, as a result, in much better condition than anyone else to take creative control. And that is exactly what he does. If you think I’m playing this up to tell a good story, Neil Young’s own roadie, Willie Hinds, once said On the Beach is Rusty Kershaw’s album, not Neil Young’s.

"Time Fades Away", "Tonight’s the Night" & "On the Beach"
The Beautiful, Enduring Gloom of Neil Young's Ditch Trilogy

Neil Young's Ditch Trilogy -- consisting of "Time Fades Away", "Tonight’s the Night" & "On the Beach" -- is well documented as containing the "missing link" to the Rosetta Stone of understanding his entire body of work over the decades.

Neil Young's Ditch Trilogy -- consisting of "Time Fades Away", "Tonight’s the Night" &

Anyone recall the 1959 film "On The Beach"?

Poster for film "On The Beach"

With Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Fred Astaire and Tony Perkins in starring roles and direction by Stanley Kramer, the film "On The Beach" is based on Nevil Shute's 1957 novel on the aftermath of nuclear war.

Fascinating how the film and album have similar trajectories. On the album, Neil Young sings as if he's devising his exit plan the entire time because he knows the destructive nature of the muse which is anlagous to the theme of the novel and film. And this post apocalyptic world view was presaged by "After The Goldrush" -- but that's another story.

The vibe of the album is bleakly dark ("Burn outs stub their toes on garbage pails/ Waitresses are cryin' in the rain"), resigned ("Though my problems are meaningless/ That don't make 'em go away"), sometimes apocalyptic ("The world is turning/ I hope it don't turn away", and the Manson line: "But I hate them worse than lepers/ And I'll kill them in their cars".) Neil's psyche in music and lyrics reveals a man going through transformation via his art.


"Out here on the beach, but those seagulls are still out of reach"
In 2003, it seemed that an official release was near when four of the "Missing 6" Neil Young albums surfaced. (On The Beach, one of the four albums released after a long hiatus, was also the subject of a fan's petition drive which would eventually gather over 5,000 signatures from the Neil Young Internet fan community Rust and Human Highway.)

Image from Under the Rusted Moon

Shirt of the Moment: On The Beach
Niecette Kristen On The Beach
Virginia Beach, VA - August 2016

On The Beach? Or On The Couch?
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie On The Beach
(On The Beach by Neil Young Album Cover)

10 Albums 'On The Beach' | Under The Rusted Moon
(Click photo to enlarge)

On The Beach with Thrasher's Wheat Radio
Author Dave Zimmer

via DeVORE FIDELITY

Rick Carlisle at Orpheus Records w/ On The Beach vinyl
Ain't Got No Blu-Ray DVD: Spin The Black CircleMore on Neil Young On The Beach reviews.

Also, see more on the origin of the expression "Ditch Trilogy" as applied to Neil Young's 3 albums "Time Fades Away", "Tonight’s the Night" & "On the Beach".


"On the Beach": Neil Young and Promise of the Real - Antwerpen, Belgium, July 10, 2019

TODAY IN ALBUM HISTORY: #NeilYoung released his fifth studio album 'On The Beach' 45 years ago on July 16, 1974 | Discover where it ranks in our Neil Young readers' poll here: https://t.co/Zv7PktyL2E pic.twitter.com/oZekGEOQQi

— Albumism (@Albumism) July 16, 2019

One of my all all time favorite albums was released 45 years ago today. On the Beach by Neil Young. A stone cold classic @NeilYoungNYA pic.twitter.com/QZaaw9iHcg

— Peter Duddy (@duddy_peter) July 19, 2019

Neil Young - Live at The Bottom Line - 1974/05/16, NYC, NY

Pushed It Over The End (AKA Citizen Kane Jr. Blues): 0:42 - 6:26
Long May You Run: 7:38 - 11:47
Greensleeves: 12:03 - 13:55
Ambulance Blues: 15:00 - 23:08
Helpless: 24:17 - 29:20
Revolution Blues: 30:50 - 34:28
On The Beach: 35:05 - 40:26
Roll Another Number: 41:30 - 44:11
Motion Pictures: 49:15 - 53:10
Pardon My Heart: 54:38 - 58:39
Dance Dance Dance: 59:18 - 1:01:58

“Motion Pictures (For Carrie),” is a song about actress Carrie Snodgress.

“I think I was starting to realize what a fucked-up life I had chosen for myself with Carrie,” Young told Jimmy McDonough in the 2002 biography Shakey. “So I was outta there.”

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