Cincinnati Babyhead

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Album : Neil Young and Crazy Horse – Rust Never Sleeps

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I wasn’t a huge fan of Neil’s’ back when. This album changed that. Something got through to me.

The first two cuts set the tone of the album for me. Had my attention. CB is a story guy and there were a lot of great images in ‘Thrasher’. ‘Llama’s’ lyrics caught my ear. ‘Pocahontas’ is just a great song. Neil was making CB a fan. Something about this music really moved me, vocals, lyrics, delivery. I was hearing it.

Neil

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Then ‘Powderfinger’ hits at the start of side two. Neil and Crazy Horse are plugged in and so is CB. A story song and a western to boot.

“Big Johns been drinking since the river took Mary Lou”

Love the riff and Neil’s guitar. One of my favorite Young songs. Great images everywhere. A cousin to The Bands ‘The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down’. The album takes a turn here. Same vibe just a different groove and a little more volume.

“Think of me as one you never figured”

Love that lyric.

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‘Welfare Mothers’, Neil puts words together and the boys jam. You know he played pool with some woman with varicose veins. He pulls out the big guitar and the big heavy strings for the last cut. “Kings gone but not forgotten” Good one Neil.

This album just clicked with me. A real good mix of songs. A whole different light after this. I started to pay attention. Dove into his music. A whole new attitude from me. Young and CH plugged in and so did I. Great record!

 

 

45 comments on “Album : Neil Young and Crazy Horse – Rust Never Sleeps”

  1. Tommy
    August 16, 2020

    Neil is the man who took me away from the AM radio as a kid and I still love him, warts and all

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • cincinnatibabyhead
      August 16, 2020

      I was just talking to your twin. I gave you ‘Welfare Mothers’ off the top of my head when I first tuned in. Whole different light from this album.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  2. Aphoristical
    August 16, 2020

    This is amazingly good – kind of the end of an era too, the last record in a great streak in the 1970s. He’s certainly had his moments since, but he just had so many good songs in the 1970s. This is my second favourite Neil (after Gold Rush).

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • cincinnatibabyhead
      August 16, 2020

      “Amazingly good”.Ill agree with that. He is so prolific and all over the map with his ideas I always find something in his music. But the light went on with this one. I could give ‘Gold Rush’ a listen right now.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  3. 2loud2oldmusic
    August 16, 2020

    Good stuff. I have still never fully gotten in to Neil. I think he is an acquired taste that I am still working on acquiring.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • cincinnatibabyhead
      August 16, 2020

      I know you like the heavier stuff. Side two Neil and the boys crank it up. Like I said, this album brought me to Neils music. Something in it that grabbed me.

      Like

      Reply
  4. deKE
    August 16, 2020

    Reading your review CB I think I need to get this now!

    Like

    Reply
  5. BuriedOnMars
    August 16, 2020

    A top tier Neil album, for sure. Live Rust is an excellent complement to this.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  6. hanspostcard
    August 16, 2020

    My favorite Neil album!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  7. hotfox63
    August 16, 2020

    A good album that shows both sides of Neil Young; the acoustic with harmonica, and the rock-oriented one, which culminates in the grunge version of “Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)”. “Rust Never Sleeps” is probably a perfect epitaph; but it can also be a call to action.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • cincinnatibabyhead
      August 16, 2020

      Agreed Fox
      On another note I’ve been listening to Hopkins. Really good. My friend the Grand agrees. Rich has a little Neil in him for sure. Thanks for that.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      • hotfox63
        August 17, 2020

        Yep, the earlier stuff from Rich Hopkins has definitely something from Neil Young and Crazy Horse. Next to his own songs Hopkins covered also MC5, Love and the Electric Prunes.

        Liked by 1 person

      • cincinnatibabyhead
        August 17, 2020

        I’m still listening to him.

        Liked by 1 person

  8. Jim S.
    August 16, 2020

    I’m a B-level Neil fan. By that I mean I dig his stuff, some more than others. I respect his values, think he’s a good songwriter, pretty much not a fan of his guitar playing. But I never really got into him to the level that other people did. I don’t even own any of his albums. I’ll listen to him on the radio if it isn’t something I’ve heard 10,000 times (“Cinnamon Girl,” “Heart of Gold,”). Some of his stuff I could listen to over and over and my Neil Six-Pack a while back was some of that.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • cincinnatibabyhead
      August 16, 2020

      This is the album that turned me. He’s no Chet Atkins or BB King but I do like his passion and his sound on the guitar. I like it clean but I do like it dirty sometimes. I always had him in the CSN thing which wasnt my bag. This opened up my ears.

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      • Jim S.
        August 16, 2020

        I suppose I should read my own posts sometimes. Two of my songs of the six-pack are from this album. Guess I should listen to the rest of it sometime. I do like Neil’s grunge. I can’t think of one other artist that goes from folkie to Metallica like Neil.

        Liked by 1 person

      • cincinnatibabyhead
        August 16, 2020

        I’m sure I dropped some insightful comments on your take (I’m good at that). I really like his out of control playing(If that’s what it is). Bruce and Fogerty do the same thing to my ear. I know a few off the radar that do that big swing thing.
        What about that American history thing I noted that both Neil and Robertson do. I always thought we were connected in a lot of ways. Await Doc’s input on this one.

        Like

      • Jim S.
        August 16, 2020

        I think sometimes outsiders to a country take a fresh look at it or see it in a way that natives don’t. That said, I can’t imagine I’d move to Canada and suddenly feel compelled to wriite somehing about indigenous people or Canada under British rule. Most of the histroy I know about Canada I got from Doug and Bob McKenzie.

        Liked by 1 person

      • cincinnatibabyhead
        August 16, 2020

        Doug and Bob would be as good as any.

        Like

      • Jim S.
        August 17, 2020

        Neil has lived here longer than he lived in the Great White North. Plus he’s now an American citizen. So he has a unique perspective. Robbie spent a fair amount of time in the Deep South and of course he had Levon to tap for stories.

        Liked by 1 person

      • cincinnatibabyhead
        August 17, 2020

        I think you’re absolutely right about soaking up the Levon vibe.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Jim S.
        August 18, 2020

        He shall be Levon

        Like

  9. Yeah, Another Blogger
    August 16, 2020

    I concur. This album is fabulous. I saw NY with Crazy Horse about eight years ago. Man, they took me to deep outer/inner places.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • cincinnatibabyhead
      August 16, 2020

      You see all the good shows. He took you beyond the beyond. I love that last bit. “Deep outer/inner places”. I’m going to use that on my Gal today. She wont know what hit her. Oh yeah, i know why you like Neil, because you are Neil. Later. I’m losing it already.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  10. christiansmusicmusings
    August 16, 2020

    “Wake up mama, there’s a white boat coming down the river…” “Powderfinger” has got to be one of the rock tunes with the best beginning – love this album, CB!

    My intro to Neil Young was a related live album: “Live Rust,” from November 1979, which was recorded during the fall 1978 Rust Never Sleeps tour. This one was a double LP and as such has more songs. It almost feels like a greatest hits compilation performed live.

    Initially, as an acoustic guitar player at the time, I was primarily drawn to Neil’s acoustic renditions. But it didn’t take me long to also embrace his rock/grungy side, which I now like as much as his acoustic songs.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • cincinnatibabyhead
      August 16, 2020

      I love his electric jams with CH
      Funny how two Canadians had that Civil War thing down in their songs. Young with ‘Powderfinger’ and Robertson with “Dixie”

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  11. 1537
    August 17, 2020

    Ragged Glory was my entry and I worked my way back to this a couple of years later. Powderfinger seems to have been on almost every single LP the man released!

    Absolutely love this one.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • cincinnatibabyhead
      August 17, 2020

      “Ragged” is another good one. The images in ‘Finger’ are pretty clear with me. Mini film.

      Like

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  12. Phil Strawn
    August 17, 2020

    Good album, great talent. I am watching a Doc called “Laurel Canyon”. It’s a 2 part from Epix, and it is great. The Buffalo Springfield is heavily featured as well as CSNY. Niel is a great guitar player and the footage of he and Stills counterpoint guitar playing on Mr. Sou and Bluebird is a joy to watch and hear. He remains one of my favorite artists from “back in the day.” Just for the record, ” the day” encompassed 1960-70. You are writing some good stuff CB, keep her up.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • cincinnatibabyhead
      August 17, 2020

      Im just starting to get into Stills (He’s in a Band called The Rides. Check it out).
      Just finished ‘Last Pic Show’. Love that Mac.

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  13. Phil Strawn
    August 18, 2020

    It’s based on McMurtry’s hometown of Archer City, not far from Wichita Falls. I’ll check out Stills. I don’t believe CSN is touring anymore. From what I read, Nash won’t be in the same room as Crosby. Too bad. That documentary shows Stills and Nash going nuts because of Crosby, even back then he must have been a huge pain.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • cincinnatibabyhead
      August 19, 2020

      I never listened to much CSN. I’m finding some good stuff with Stills, like I said.
      Yeah, Sam the Lion is a fave character.

      Like

      Reply
  14. dcw0731
    August 20, 2020

    Went and saw Young when they did this tour. It was bizarre, guys walking around in lab coats and what I think were the roadies walking around in these like Star Wars capes. There was something about everyone seeing rust or the band would look like rust by the end of the show (lab coat dudes).

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  15. badfinger20 (Max)
    October 4, 2020

    CB way back when…in the early eighties we were a band without a drummer. I didn’t know Neil’s music too well but a guy sent us a tape of him drumming to Rust Never Sleeps…he got the gig.
    I then went out and bought the album at a second hand record shop and have been a Neil fan ever since. Great album!

    Also…Neil is on my favorite guitarist list…he is not technical but much more important…he plays by feel and wails on the thing.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • cincinnatibabyhead
      October 4, 2020

      Cool story. Sounds like we both got hooked into Neil through this one.
      Neil , Bruce and Fogerty play the same way. I think you would agree.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      • badfinger20 (Max)
        October 4, 2020

        Yes I do agree. I love when they let their heart and feel lead the way

        Liked by 1 person

      • cincinnatibabyhead
        October 4, 2020

        You have a closer feel for that. I just know it’s a little rougher and not as smooth as others. But I like it Max.

        Like

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