Neil Young song draft

[Erik]

I do not remember why I could not play in the original draft 9 years ago. Had to be work or some other bad stuff going on.

Sorry I missed it.

It was a good time. I don't recall if you gave a reason for declining at the time or just didn't respond.

[Erik]

My first 5 picks would be in my top 10. Johnny picked it right before me in the 6th round.

Johnny sniped me quite a few times in that draft.

[Erik]

26. Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, 1969)
There's a reason that quite a few of my musician friends have covered this. It sounds incredibly fun so I figure it must be incredibly fun to play. It's got country-rock and hard-rock elements to appeal to all sides of Neil's fanbase, and it's a great example of how in the pocket Crazy Horse can be. And the lyrics are about escaping drudgery, who can't identify with that?

[Erik]

25. The Loner (Neil Young, 1969)
The first song with lyrics on Neil's first solo album, this sublime hard rocker announced he had arrived. Building on the Mr. Soul template but incorporating strings like Expecting to Fly, this is a grand summation of the talents Neil had displayed up to this point. The lyrics hint at the kind of internal torment that would become his stock in trade. It made the transition to the stage seamlessly when Neil started gigging with Crazy Horse later in the year, and has produced many memorable live moments since.

[Erik]

24. Ambulance Blues (On the Beach, 1974)
You could probably write a dissertation about the lyrics of this song. I wouldn't be surprised if someone has. Against a folk-guitar backdrop lifted from Bert Jansch's "Needle of Death," Neil gives us 8 minutes of roundabout thoughts on CSNY ("you're all just p---ing in the wind"), his folkie days in Toronto ("the riverboat was rocking in the rain"), Richard Nixon ("I never knew a man who could tell so many lies/He had a different story for every set of eyes"), and who knows what else. You can interpret it however you want, but Neil even tells us upfront: "It's hard to say the meaning of this song." As with many things Neil, it's not really the destination that matters, it's the journey.

[Erik]

23. Danger Bird (Zuma, 1975)
Zuma was Neil's return to rocking in the way he did before the "ditch" period, but it also represented a great leap forward. On this, the second track, and the long guitar epic on side 2 that you may have heard of, Neil takes his guitar to places we hadn't heard before. Danger Bird is an intense slow burn, grinding along and then exploding with harmonies and guitar outbursts just at the right time. The vocal interplay with Crazy Horse, where people sing different things at the same time, was unusual for him, especially for a long jam.
Lou Reed said it better than I can. Neil's guitar playing on this song "makes me cry, it is the best I have heard in my life. The guy is a spectacular guitarist, those melodies are so marvelous, so calculated, constructed note to note… he must have killed to get those notes. It puts my hairs on end."
The live version on Year of the Horse, recorded more than 20 years after the Zuma recording, is every bit as spectacular.

[Mithrandir]

23. Danger Bird (Zuma, 1975)
Zuma was Neil's return to rocking in the way he did before the "ditch" period, but it also represented a great leap forward. On this, the second track, and the long guitar epic on side 2 that you may have heard of, Neil takes his guitar to places we hadn't heard before. Danger Bird is an intense slow burn, grinding along and then exploding with harmonies and guitar outbursts just at the right time. The vocal interplay with Crazy Horse, where people sing different things at the same time, was unusual for him, especially for a long jam.
Lou Reed said it better than I can. Neil's guitar playing on this song "makes me cry, it is the best I have heard in my life. The guy is a spectacular guitarist, those melodies are so marvelous, so calculated, constructed note to note… he must have killed to get those notes. It puts my hairs on end."
The live version on Year of the Horse, recorded more than 20 years after the Zuma recording, is every bit as spectacular.

I took this in the draft! Agree with Lou about the guitar work.

[Erik]

I took this in the draft! Agree with Lou about the guitar work.

We're now at the point where most people's high picks from the draft are showing up.

[Erik]

22. Only Love Can Break Your Heart (After the Gold Rush, 1970)
I first heard this at Live Aid during the awkward CSNY reunion, and it's been a favorite ever since. This was Neil's first top 40 hit as a solo artist, and it's easy to tell why. The lilting acoustic arrangement and strong harmonies are the same stuff that made people go gaga over CSNY. This may or may not have been written for Graham Nash after his breakup with Joni Mitchell; apparently Neil can't remember anymore.

[Erik]

21. Cinnamon Girl (Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, 1969)
We have now reached my top tier of Neil songs. These 21 have probably all been my #1 at one time or another. Cinnamon Girl is essential to Neil's evolution. It is the template for the stomping, no nonsense hard rock style that Neil would perform with Crazy Horse for 50 years (and hopefully more once the pandemic ends). It has a riff you just can't get out of your head, and not just because it's a staple of "classic rock radio," whatever that means. The soaring bridge is exhilarating on every listen. And the little breakdown at the end shows there's more to this band/sound than the 4/4 grind.

[chancellor]

#7 on RS''s top 100...proving once again your list is wayyyyy better.

[Erik]

#7 on RS''s top 100...proving once again your list is wayyyyy better.

There are many, many things I vehemently disagree with on their list. That's not one of them.

[Erik]

Here's what my list looks like vs. RS's as we head into the top 20. There is one song in my top 20 that didn't make their list. So far 2 of their top 10 have shown up on my list. Another 2 will be between 20 and 11, and the other 6 are also in my top 10.

101. Lookout Joe (RS unranked)
100. Ramada Inn (RS #47)
99. Look Out for My Love (RS #55)
98. Get Back to the Country (RS unranked)
97. Homefires (RS unranked)
96. This Old Guitar (RS unranked)
95. Slip Away (RS #86)
94. This Note's for You (RS #42)
93. Mansion on the Hill (RS unranked)
92. Grey Riders (RS unranked)
91. Motion Pictures (for Carrie) (RS unranked)
90. Downtown (RS unranked)
89. White Line (RS unranked)
88. Ride My Llama (RS unranked)
87. Windward Passage (RS unranked)
86. Albuquerque (RS #39)
85. Everybody's Alone (RS unranked)
84. I've Been Waiting for You (RS unranked)
83. Winterlong (RS #45)
82. Sail Away (RS unranked)
81. Vacancy (RS unranked)
80. When You Dance I Can Really Love (RS #83)
79. Lotta Love (RS unranked)
78. I Believe in You (RS unranked)
77. Through My Sails (RS unranked)
76. LA (RS #74)
75. Goin' Back (RS unranked)
74. Crime in the City (Sixty to Zero) (RS #82)
73. From Hank to Hendrix (RS #20)
72. Drive Back (RS #76)
71. World on a String (RS #65)
70. Sea of Madness (RS unranked)
69. Razor Love (RS #60)
68. On the Way Home (RS #46)
67. Long May You Run (RS #32)
66. Like an Inca (RS unranked)
65. Interstate (RS unranked)
64. Days That Used to Be (RS unranked)
63. New Mama (RS unranked)
62. Wrecking Ball (RS unranked)
61. Shots (RS unranked)
60. Scenery (RS unranked)
59. Live to Ride (RS unranked)
58. Prisoners of Rock 'N' Roll (RS #87)
57. Come on Baby Let's Go Downtown (RS unranked)
56. Too Far Gone (RS #48)
55. Natural Beauty (RS unranked)
54. Unknown Legend (RS unranked)
53. Comes a Time (RS #51)
52. Broken Arrow (RS #23)
51. No Hidden Path (RS unranked)
50. Heart of Gold (RS #2)
49. Roll Another Number (for the Road) (RS #54)
48. Last Dance (RS unranked)
47. Welfare Mothers (RS unranked)
46. Pushed It Over the End (RS #61)
45. Harvest Moon (RS #37)
44. Don't Be Denied (RS #38)
43. Pardon My Heart (RS unranked)
42. Time Fades Away (RS unranked)
41. Change Your Mind (RS #40)
40. Love and Only Love (RS unranked)
39. Don't Cry No Tears (RS #21)
38. Mr. Soul (RS #35)
37. Tell Me Why (RS #75)
36. The Needle and the Damage Done (RS #13)
35. Birds (RS unranked)
34. Silver and Gold (RS #78)
33. Expecting to Fly (RS #15)
32. Sedan Delivery (RS #30)
31. Love to Burn (RS #91)
30. Words (Between the Lines of Age) (RS #64)
29. Walk On (RS unranked)
28. Ordinary People (RS #78)
27. War of Man (RS unranked)
26. Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (RS #72)
25. The Loner (RS #41)
24. Ambulance Blues (RS #33)
23. Danger Bird (RS #24)
22. Only Love Can Break Your Heart (RS #26)
21. Cinnamon Girl (RS #7)

[chancellor]

There are many, many things I vehemently disagree with on their list. That's not one of them.

I don't vehemently disagree, just think your ranking is a lot closer to correct.

[Erik]

I don't vehemently disagree, just think your ranking is a lot closer to correct.

Yeah. If your views on the top 20 are similar to mine, then CG's ranking makes perfect sense. The differences between my top 25 or so are pretty marginal, though.