Wow, that was amazing. I grew up on Neil Young and I've never heard anyone comb through a catalogue as vast as his with such pointed accuracy. In fact, every video that I've seen of yours has been deep and remarkably thorough . I don't know how you do it but please keep on keepin' on.
i love "angry world" off of "fork in the road" but have never heard the whole record. "captain kennedy" IS good. i didn't know it. i enjoyed "a letter home" but haven't reached for it since the 2nd listen. @@classicalbum
My Top 10: 1. On the Beach 2. Zuma 3. Rust Never Sleeps 4. After the Gold Rush 5. Comes a Time 6. Harvest 7. Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere 8. Sleeps with Angels 9. Neil Young 1st Album 10. Tonight’s the Night
I'm glad to see Ragged Glory so high. That's a great album. Only time I saw Neil Young and Crazy Horse live. Personally I think Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere should be top 3 but that's mho.
I love your reviews, always engaging and with a great sense of subtle humour. Easy to enjoy chilling with one of your long discography retrospectives. This one I was looking forward to and it delivered! Great work!
Monumental task to rate Uncle Neils catalogue...bravo! great job. I definitely would have Mirror Ball in his top 10 and agree that Psychedelic Pill is a latter day masterpiece.
It was pretty depressing to realize how many of these albums I purchased, played once or twice, shelved, and have never listened to again. David Briggs is definitely missed.
That may be because Neil has not produced a decent album in roughly 25 years, so anything more recent is a POS, no matter what slavish fans and delusional critics might say.
As a fan of Gold Rush and Harvest, and a much lesser fan of the rest, I think you did a remarkable analysis. The terms "churning them out" and "lo-fi" was spot on for the majority of his catalog, IMHO. The fact that you put yourself through this ordeal is very impressive. Nice job.
That's a lot of listening! Another American channel, Tastes Like Music, (formerly known as Listogrophy) did a survey of Young's albums and one of the three guys said basically that after that experience he didn't want to hear another Neil Young album for probably another couple of years. Your listing is a fair and balanced one. I've loved Neil Young's writing since Buffalo Springfield, but I agree that in the last couple of decades, he really needed an edit function - and then a buff and a polish. Instead of 20 mediocre to bad albums he could have ten amazing ones. I think you're also correct that losing David Briggs as another set of ears he trusted was a big loss for Young. Excellent survey!
Excellent work. Neil is so frustrating but is truly one of the best of all when he is on form. What a mammoth task. I will be checking out some of the more recent ones on the back of this. Your top ten was pretty much perfect. Keep up the amazing work.
I enjoyed your reviews of the albums, some I agree with, some I don't, but all in all I think you have a pretty good understanding of the artist and this was an enjoyable listen.
Well done sir ! A daunting task indeed. The run that he had from his debut album up to and including Zuma was remarkable. He had a lot of undeserved bad reviews for the post Harvest releases of Time Fades Away, On The Beach and Tonight's The Night. They were and still are right up there as some of his best.
This is an extremely difficult task to accomplish - well done! I'm surprised "Are You Passionate" ended up so low and the debut within the top 10. I remember, I liked "Are you Passionate" pretty much when it came out, but I must confess - didn't listen to it for some years. Some of my favorites are: Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, Zuma, On the Beach and from the later ones - Psychedelic Pill.
Your a brave man to take on that discography. .... well done 👏 Only comment from my side is that I would rank Trans a lot higher. It's certainly intriguing, risk-taking and has more than a few gems!
This review/analysis is better than about 2/3 of Neil Young's catalog. I own 7 of his records (2 are live), play them often, and think he's a genius. I have completely forgotten that most of these records exist (I'm 72) but loved listening to you dissect them. Bravo!
Awesome job, he was all over the map in a stellar career, but I so loved him with Crazy Horse, saw that combo a bunch of times, amongst the best jamming hard rock shows I ever saw. Great stuff and very nice list, about halfway through all those albums are worth a listen and many classic works. Another forever musician, Peace! 🎵🎸🎤🎹🎶
Great video/review, as always. Even with the misses and medicorities, Neil Young's catalogue and prolific output is astounding. Not even including the massive high quality material that was unreleased at the time.
So glad you put On the Beach high up on the list. I remember hearing that as a 17 yo kid....blew me away then, still great now...mellow, haunting at times....so well written.
Thank you for so much work! To put Trans over Landing on Water and This Notes for You is a suprise to say the least. The lovely Homegrown, the biographically important A journey through the past, the hypnotic Dead Man and the great Eldorado are missing. Time fades away is not a mere livealbum, for all the songs on it were new (similar to Rust never sleeps). In my opinion his best record, that has grown a lot over the years.
My top 10 in no particular order: Comes a Time, Harvest Moon, Freedom, After the Gold Rush, Ragged Glory, Harvest, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, Zuma, On the Beach, Tonight's the Night. Honorable mention: Rust Never Sleeps, Prairie Wind, American Stars and Bars.
Thank you for all these pointers! Never knew where to go with Neil Young after the well known ones. This makes me want to dig in again and your analysis here will really help guide to the good stuff.
Great list, I agree with most of it. It is interesting that some of the newer records that I haven't heard come up high. But one thing I strongly disagree with, "Are You Passionate" is actually a very good album. I've never understood why this gets dragged down the drain, it's in my top fifteen albums for sure.
Good job on a tough assignment. Pretty much agree with the rankings at least for the albums I know. Though I would have put Harvest Moon up in the top ten however. Nice job!
Did I miss "Time Fades Away"? Or was that not included because it was live? I'd have included it since it was all new material. Even though Neil apparently doesn't like it I think it's top 10.
I love Time Fades Away . What a punk move by Neil to spit on his extraordinary commercial success of Harvest by releasing a ragged , soulful , all new songs live album . Don't Be Denied , indeed !!
This was awesome! Thanks for taking on such a daunting task. Very succinct and thoughtful breakdown. I largely track with most of your evaluations, give or take a few titles, of course. And the dry wit always an added bonus. Love the channel 🤘🏼😎
An excellent breakdown and ranking of Neil’s discography. Not an easy task considering the depth of it. And there are several of those I’m unfamiliar with but I’ve really grown to love that “ Mirrorball “ piece of 1995. A perfectly fitting collaboration with PJ. However like most, I do prefer his older material. So your top is tough to argue with. Thanks for the awesome review of this walking, living legend.
Yes, Mirror Ball with Pearl Jam was dope, what a killer album! Scenery is a devastating tune, Peace and Love & Through Your Hatred Down are also bangers.
I thought this was a great half hour run-down of Neil's exceptional career. I particularly enjoyed seeing the love given to Ragged Glory, which on certain days is my favorite NY album.
Churns out a album in less time than it does us mere mortals to crimp out a turd ! Absolutely spot on . Great undertaking to tackle all his albums …..Well done 😎👍Cheers
The first Rutles album was recorded in 20 minutes; the second took even longer. On the Beach for me, an album I don’t think I will ever tire of revisiting.
Funny thing: Neil Young is absolutely one of my favorite artists ever, but I’m pretty unfamiliar with a good chunk of his catalog. I’ve listened to some of it, but it it doesn’t stick in my head. I’m talking about a lot of the 80’s and newer stuff, I just don’t have the patience to weed through all the mediocre stuff to get to the good stuff. Now 60’s and 70’s Neil, that’s a whole other story…some of the greatest albums of all time, barely a misstep with any of those. His first album and Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere are way higher for me than the rankings here…Nowhere is easily my #1, the debut might be my #2. Last Trip Tulsa is easily one of the greatest songs he ever wrote, look deeply into those (at face value) cryptic lyrics for the devastating meaning.
Enjoyed that and I agree with most of your rankings except that I would rate “Everybody Knows This is Nowhere” much higher. I grew up with that album, “Goldrush”, “Harvest” and I love it - The Euphoiric “Cinnamon Girl”, the dark “Down By The River” and the wonderful meandering “Cowgirl In The Sand” are still some of his best songs. What a musician.
I saw Neil with the international harvesters in 83. It was an awesome show. Did alot of acoustic country stuff then kicked into electric with an awesome lengthy Down bt the River.
A fair assessment of his catalog. I rate a things a bit different but that is purely down to personal taste. The top 15 are all worth listening to, and hte bottom 25 all have moments worth hearing. Neil is relentless. When he is gone we will have a wide catalog to revisit and admire.
Your comments on Landing on Water are spot on. So many 60s and 70s artist were trying to fit in with 80s productions. These albums often contain good songs but it's hard to listen to them. It reminded me of when these artist were trying disco in the late 70s It makes them look desperate I heard Neil perform some of the Landing tracks on concert with basic instruments and they were pretty damn good
Brilliant work, Barry, with spot on descriptions, some very funny. Neil Young is my favourite artist and I found this very enjoyable and entertaining, thank you!
Nice job! That was a huge catalog to tackle. Always interesting to see your take on a catalog. Been a fan since the Buffalo Springfield days. All his albums are worthy of a listen, although as he’s aged, the quality of his output has declined imo. Still, when I put on a NY record I feel like I’m sitting with an old friend who has walked with me through almost all my life. He immediately makes me feel good, even listening to his mediocre albums.
Listening to 43 Neil Young albums critically sure sounds like work to me. And an exercise in patience and forbearance given his self righteousness. Although Time Fades Away was recorded live, it was an album of new songs and think it could’ve been included in the rankings. Tonight’s the Night is my fave. I would’ve ranked Everybody Knows higher, Harvest lower. I enjoyed the video and appreciate the time and effort put into it and will check out Psychedelic Pill. Cheers
Great list and comments, as always. Placing Hawks & Doves would be difficult for me: I absolutely love Side 1, and often skip Side 2. As an aside: I highly recommend Neil's Bottom Line 1974 concert (if you can track it down).
I enjoy This Notes...more than most. It might be because I saw Neil and the horns perform it live. There is an existing live album from that tour that is worth checking out.
Great video, I was a little surprised by the low placement of this note's for you however. I always thought it was much better than most of his other 80s output and I'd rank it closer to freedom and ragged glory.
New subscriber, and watched a few of the worst to best videos and they all been very interesting and informative. This one takes the cake though as Neil has been churning albums for decades and you knew all 43 studio albums. Great effort.👍
I never agreed with a commentator more. Brief as the assessments were he was articulate & accurate. I was never a huge Neil Young fan but I listened to his material & for me, the majority of his best material was early on. As time went by the first listen to new stuff dwindled. Neil saturates his output & seems oblivious to good marketing. These reviews were thorough, fair & well done. One suggestion for Neil from a former entertainment PR person -- don't alienate your audience if they pay for tickets & CDs. That's your livelihood & you're getting older. Play the music & leave the politics at home. You are a musician first, not a lecturer or a pundit. It's really rather simple.
Not played NY for while so this will be a listening task seeing I own 14 of the albums featured ( glad I own all 3 of your top 3, and further 3 in your top 10)
I'm impressed you could get through the entire oeuvre! We agree on much, but I love his first "ornate" album. I wish he had a few more of these approaches in his gigantic catalog. It's still the songs that make this enjoyable listening -- I don't feel they get overwhelmed by the backing. I guess I'm probably one of the few who also loves James Taylor's Apple album for the same reasons. The songs are strong regardless of all the filigrees attached to them!
Well done Barry. Great list if a tad harsh on some of my very favourite albums. Of coarse we all have different ears. Ragged Glory is my personal favourite but I absolutely love Mirror Ball. The one album that people are always surprised is in my top ten Young albums is This notes for you! I know, I can’t help it I just adore it and the double live album from it. Glad you like Psychedelic Pill though, when it was released I left it on the turntable for months.
Mirrorball... there's an EP which accompanies this album, called Merkinball. It's by Pearl Jam and Neil Young, only two songs but it has the brilliant I Got ID. with Neil doing lead guitar and Eddie Vedder doing rhythm guitar. I wonder if Pearl Jam ever does this live because it is so cool.
i had no idea he has so many freaking albums…i could always take or leave him, his voice grates on me and after two or three songs i’m usually done & i don’t think i’ve heard a note of anything he’s done past the 70’s (also his catalog is not available on Spotify so that doesn’t help). as usual though your video is interesting and very well done.
Well done. I can't comment on your rankings in their totality, as I have never undertaken the task of listening to Neil's complete catalog. I commend you for that achievement, as well. The brisk, concise, and inciteful performance is remarkable. (FWIW, my favorite Neil Young album is Rust Never Sleeps).
I don't agree with all of your rankings but I love your opinions nonetheless. You make me go back and listen to these albums again, and with that, I thank you. Love the channel.
Impressive job as always. I don’t agree on every point, but what fun would that be, lol. I do agree with the majority of your top 10 picks, though, not necessarily in that order, with my top 10 showing up all near the top of the list. You do the “album critic” thing better than so many before you imo.👨🏻
Great overview! I'm not a big Neil Young fan (especially his later stuff) but I certainly agree with your #1 pick. After The Gold Rush" is not just the best of Neil's albums, It's one of the best albums of all time in my opinion. "Birds" is so hauntingly beautiful. Sad, but beautiful.
I went to the theatres to see that Ted Demme film Heart of Gold in which Neil plays all of Prairie Wind. It's where my wife and I first heard the entire album together for the first time. To this day, it stands as one of the greatest theatre experiences I've ever had and the album holds a very special place within me.
Enjoyed this rundown. There is a lot to digest here and a hundred reviewers would come up with a hundred different lists. I used to buy every release when they came out but then in the 00's I fell off the train after a few in a row that I didn't care for. I went to a concert where he played a lot of "Tonight's the Night" and it's about the only show I've left early at. I know lots of fans love it but it's just too dark and brooding for me. This coming from someone who quite liked "Sleeps With Angels", which you compared it to. I would have ranked "Harvest Moon" higher. I think it's a gorgeous album with a lot of well written songs. Agree with your assessment of "Chrome Dreams II" but "Ordinary People" is a killer track. I have a soft spot for "Old Ways" for personal reasons. My favorite track on that is "Misfits", which may be IMHO one of the weirdest songs he's ever released. Interesting that you rate several of his very recent releases pretty high. I've heard some of that material but will have to go back and listen more. Thank you for doing this!
I love all Neil's albums EXCEPT - Everybody's Rockin'. My top 10 - 10 - Sleeps With Angels 09 - Le Noise 08 - After The Goldrush 07 - Silver And Gold 06 - This Note's For You 05 - Rust Never Sleeps 04 - Prairie Wind 03 - Are You Passionate ? 02 - Broken Arrow 01 - Greendale Notable others - 11 - Harvest Moon 14 - Comes A Time 15 - Zuma 16 - On The Beach 18 - Harvest 22 - Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere 24 - American Stars 'n Bars 27 - Tonight's The Night Note - I was too lazy to type out complete list
I think Landing On Water is one of his best. That "sterile" production is just right for the claustrophobic feel. Play it very loud, on headphones, and the emotional content is huge. Interesting list though. My top 3 are in the top 10, which is a high degree of agreement really, but the main thing is you have something interesting to say about each album.
A summary of his archive releases plus his collaborations (e.g. Noise & Flowers and International Harvesters) and film soundtracks, such as Paradox would be interesting. I love albums such as Live at Massey Hall.
Brilliant hard to argue with any of your placings except for his latest crazy horse offerings. Only because I haven't given them much attention but I will now. Thank you
I must be an oddball.I thought if you like an artist, you buy all their albums.I know all of Neil's catalog.Same with Dylan, Stones, Beatles,Who,Kinks.It's been a bit brutal for Neil since mid '90's to present.I'd have to put This Notes For You a bit higher,and American Stars n Bars.Will To Love may be my favorite song of his.Good job taking the time to review these 43.The Ditch Trilogy are awesome.
How awesome is "Will to Love," along with its high energy counterpart "Like a Hurricane?" Adore "American Stars n Bars" - even the short, almost throwaway "Homegrown" is terrific.
Good video ... nice and snappy (too many ranking videos are far too long and lose the viewer) ... Neil's latter day material is pretty uninspiring ... but his catalogue has some wonderful / spectacular material in it ... Zuma near the top gets a big tick ... my "go to" for NY is actually Live Rust 'cause it brings so many classics together - albeit in a live setting ... love side 1 of Rust Never Sleeps + Powderfinger ... only quibble (for mr anyway) re list is that I have This Note's For You as another "go to" ... just works for me ... the live shows with the Blue Notes are a blast ... Thanks again ... CMcG, Aberdeen, Scotland
I agree with other comments that Time Fades Away should be considered. If you were to include it in your list, where would you rank it? Great list overall.
Whenever I play Southern Man (last track on After the goldrush), I find I can't be bothered listening to anything else. You've heard the best, forget the rest.
Great video, Barry!! I have to be honest... I have not heard a majority of his albums. I have "Harvest", "Harvest Moon" and "Silver & Gold" on vinyl, as well as "Decade" on CD, but sadly, that's it. It's not that I don't like Neil; the problem is that I like too many genres. I occasionally go down a huge Progressive Rock rabbit hole, and by the time I come up for air, many non-prog albums have passed me by. For a while I got heavily into Electronic Music (e.g., Klaus Schulze, Tangerine Dream, Tomita, Vangelis, and the like) and again... many great albums, and artists for that matter, passed me by. The good news is, I don't much care for too many contemporary bands, so I'm using this time of life to circle back and give the artists that passed me by, a completely new investigation. This has been far more rewarding than spending hours upon hours, week after week, trudging through heaping mounds of excremental refuge, only to 'potentially' find 1 album or 1 artist of any real excitement. It's very difficult, if not seemingly impossible, to get as excited for music coming out now vs. what was released back in our school-days... but I try. Neil is definitely someone that I used to really enjoy, and your ranking video (which I reproduced your order), will serve as an ideal guide to the sequence to which I will begin my new NY journey! Thanks, Barry!!!
Cool video. I broadly agree with your ranking, however i would have put Broken Arrow, Silver and Gold and Prairie Wind in my top 20. And On The Beach would be my No 1. Its interesting you have rated the latest 3 albums so high. I will have to give them another go to see if im missing something. Btw did you forget to mention Time Fades Away? Maybe i just missed that one. Anyways thanks, an interesting watch! Stuart
Thanks for this excellent video, always a pleasure. I'd love to hear a more detailed follow-up on the top 5, and mostly why Zuma is so high and above Harvest. Loved your thoughts on Change your Mind, but I thought you were a bit severe with Silver and Gold, Buffalo Springfield Again is a great tune. Now let's talk CSN and CSNY!! I wanna hear your thoughts on Daylight Again and American Dream 😅
Nicely done! Agree with all, but might have adjusted the final few to (last one my fav): NY (1st), Life, Live Rust, After the Gold..., Everybody Knows..., Zuma, & Harvest.
Very good! Now I know where to start since I've never bought any of his albums before and didn't know where to go. Have you ever done a review of the albums of Elvis Costello?
I really enjoyed this. I can listen to nearly all these with your thoughts in mind (agree or not I can reflect!) Can I just ask a quick question about an album I don’t have, is it Peace Train or Peace Trail? 2016, looks like a bagged lunch with some biro writing on it, is that the one?
@@classicalbum thank you for your reply. Despite ending up at the bottom end of your list its one of 4-5 I need to complete the fine review you gave us today!
I had the good fortune to see Neil Young and Crazy Horse three times during the 70's; the 'mini' Zuma Tour he did after touring Japan, and both of the Rust Never Sleeps shows at the LA Forum (before the album came out!). All rank near the top of my concert-going experiences. Your top 5 albums are exactly the same as mine, though like you, Zuma is often at #1.
Wow, that was amazing. I grew up on Neil Young and I've never heard anyone comb through a catalogue as vast as his with such pointed accuracy. In fact, every video that I've seen of yours has been deep and remarkably thorough . I don't know how you do it but please keep on keepin' on.
Wow, thank you!... I'm just a bit obsessed with music
@@classicalbumLol aren’t we all! Probably why we vibe with your work so well. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us
i love "angry world" off of "fork in the road" but have never heard the whole record. "captain kennedy" IS good. i didn't know it. i enjoyed "a letter home" but haven't reached for it since the 2nd listen. @@classicalbum
Excellent, my limey friend. You rock and rule the album reviews. 😊
Glad you like them!
Sleeps With Angels is an underrated classic!
My Top 10:
1. On the Beach
2. Zuma
3. Rust Never Sleeps
4. After the Gold Rush
5. Comes a Time
6. Harvest
7. Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
8. Sleeps with Angels
9. Neil Young 1st Album
10. Tonight’s the Night
Good list. I was quite pleased that most of the NY albums I randomly bought back in the 90s and 00s were in the top half of this video's rankings.
I'm glad to see Ragged Glory so high. That's a great album. Only time I saw Neil Young and Crazy Horse live. Personally I think Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere should be top 3 but that's mho.
I love your reviews, always engaging and with a great sense of subtle humour. Easy to enjoy chilling with one of your long discography retrospectives. This one I was looking forward to and it delivered! Great work!
I like that he just keeps doing different stuff and has given us a giant catalog of whatever he wants. Keep cranking em out Neil.
Monumental task to rate Uncle Neils catalogue...bravo! great job. I definitely would have Mirror Ball in his top 10 and agree that Psychedelic Pill is a latter day masterpiece.
It was pretty depressing to realize how many of these albums I purchased, played once or twice, shelved, and have never listened to again. David Briggs is definitely missed.
That may be because Neil has not produced a decent album in roughly 25 years, so anything more recent is a POS, no matter what slavish fans and delusional critics might say.
As a fan of Gold Rush and Harvest, and a much lesser fan of the rest, I think you did a remarkable analysis. The terms "churning them out" and "lo-fi" was spot on for the majority of his catalog, IMHO. The fact that you put yourself through this ordeal is very impressive. Nice job.
That's a lot of listening! Another American channel, Tastes Like Music, (formerly known as Listogrophy) did a survey of Young's albums and one of the three guys said basically that after that experience he didn't want to hear another Neil Young album for probably another couple of years.
Your listing is a fair and balanced one. I've loved Neil Young's writing since Buffalo Springfield, but I agree that in the last couple of decades, he really needed an edit function - and then a buff and a polish. Instead of 20 mediocre to bad albums he could have ten amazing ones. I think you're also correct that losing David Briggs as another set of ears he trusted was a big loss for Young.
Excellent survey!
Excellent work. Neil is so frustrating but is truly one of the best of all when he is on form. What a mammoth task. I will be checking out some of the more recent ones on the back of this. Your top ten was pretty much perfect. Keep up the amazing work.
What a legend you are for doing this in just half an hour while still saying something meaningful about each record.
Thank you.
So glad that ‘After The Gold Rush’ made number 1. Loved this album since it first came out.
I love "Time Fades Away" so much. Great list. Thx
Glad you enjoyed!
I enjoyed your reviews of the albums, some I agree with, some I don't, but all in all I think you have a pretty good understanding of the artist and this was an enjoyable listen.
I appreciate that!
Well done sir ! A daunting task indeed. The run that he had from his debut album up to and including Zuma was remarkable. He had a lot of undeserved bad reviews for the post Harvest releases of Time Fades Away, On The Beach and Tonight's The Night. They were and still are right up there as some of his best.
Thanks for listening
Neil the Legend! Huge fan here! Cheers from Canada great video as always
Thanks for watching!
This is an extremely difficult task to accomplish - well done! I'm surprised "Are You Passionate" ended up so low and the debut within the top 10. I remember, I liked "Are you Passionate" pretty much when it came out, but I must confess - didn't listen to it for some years. Some of my favorites are: Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, Zuma, On the Beach and from the later ones - Psychedelic Pill.
Your a brave man to take on that discography. .... well done 👏
Only comment from my side is that I would rank Trans a lot higher. It's certainly intriguing, risk-taking and has more than a few gems!
This review/analysis is better than about 2/3 of Neil Young's catalog. I own 7 of his records (2 are live), play them often, and think he's a genius. I have completely forgotten that most of these records exist (I'm 72) but loved listening to you dissect them. Bravo!
Amazing video. Great work as usual. I missed the album covers for an easy identification of some albums I’m not so familiar with.
Awesome job, he was all over the map in a stellar career, but I so loved him with Crazy Horse, saw that combo a bunch of times, amongst the best jamming hard rock shows I ever saw. Great stuff and very nice list, about halfway through all those albums are worth a listen and many classic works. Another forever musician, Peace! 🎵🎸🎤🎹🎶
Great video/review, as always.
Even with the misses and medicorities,
Neil Young's catalogue and prolific output is astounding.
Not even including the massive high quality material that was unreleased at the time.
So glad you put On the Beach high up on the list. I remember hearing that as a 17 yo kid....blew me away then, still great now...mellow, haunting at times....so well written.
It's so good!
Whole album is fantastic but side two is my all time fave. So beautifully melancholy. Great cover photo too.
A brave effort. Neil’s guitar tones on ‘are you passionate’ are wonderful, just turn it up a bit
On the beach,rust never sleeps,zuma,tonight’s the night,harvest. My top 5
Thank you for so much work! To put Trans over Landing on Water and This Notes for You is a suprise to say the least. The lovely Homegrown, the biographically important A journey through the past, the hypnotic Dead Man and the great Eldorado are missing. Time fades away is not a mere livealbum, for all the songs on it were new (similar to Rust never sleeps). In my opinion his best record, that has grown a lot over the years.
My opinion on Trans has shifted over the years, I like it now. It's really his only 80s album (except Freedom of course) that I listen to.
My top 10 in no particular order: Comes a Time, Harvest Moon, Freedom, After the Gold Rush, Ragged Glory, Harvest, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, Zuma, On the Beach, Tonight's the Night. Honorable mention: Rust Never Sleeps, Prairie Wind, American Stars and Bars.
Thank you for all these pointers! Never knew where to go with Neil Young after the well known ones. This makes me want to dig in again and your analysis here will really help guide to the good stuff.
Great list, I agree with most of it. It is interesting that some of the newer records that I haven't heard come up high. But one thing I strongly disagree with, "Are You Passionate" is actually a very good album. I've never understood why this gets dragged down the drain, it's in my top fifteen albums for sure.
Good job on a tough assignment. Pretty much agree with the rankings at least for the albums I know. Though I would have put Harvest Moon up in the top ten however. Nice job!
Did I miss "Time Fades Away"? Or was that not included because it was live? I'd have included it since it was all new material. Even though Neil apparently doesn't like it I think it's top 10.
I love Time Fades Away . What a punk move by Neil to spit on his extraordinary commercial success of Harvest by releasing a ragged , soulful , all new songs live album . Don't Be Denied , indeed !!
Time Fades Away would be in my top five Neil Young albums!
This was awesome! Thanks for taking on such a daunting task. Very succinct and thoughtful breakdown. I largely track with most of your evaluations, give or take a few titles, of course. And the dry wit always an added bonus. Love the channel 🤘🏼😎
An excellent breakdown and ranking of Neil’s discography. Not an easy task considering the depth of it.
And there are several of those I’m unfamiliar with but I’ve really grown to love that “ Mirrorball “ piece of 1995. A perfectly fitting collaboration with PJ. However like most, I do prefer his older material. So your top is tough to argue with. Thanks for the awesome review of this walking, living legend.
Yes, Mirror Ball with Pearl Jam was dope, what a killer album! Scenery is a devastating tune, Peace and Love & Through Your Hatred Down are also bangers.
@@vicprovost2561 it ought to be classified as a classic album, but is massively overlooked.
Great rundown of Mr Young's studio albums. My Top 5:
1) On the Beach
2) After the Goldrush
3) Everybody Knows This is Nowhere
4) Harvest
5) Zuma
I thought this was a great half hour run-down of Neil's exceptional career. I particularly enjoyed seeing the love given to Ragged Glory, which on certain days is my favorite NY album.
Agree - that's a great album. My Top 5 is After the Goldrush, Harvest, Rust Never Sleeps, Freedom and Ragged Glory in no particular order.
Churns out a album in less time than it does us mere mortals to crimp out a turd ! Absolutely spot on . Great undertaking to tackle all his albums …..Well done 😎👍Cheers
The first Rutles album was recorded in 20 minutes; the second took even longer.
On the Beach for me, an album I don’t think I will ever tire of revisiting.
Excellent undertaking. I'd move Sleeps with Angels into the Top 5, though.
Funny thing: Neil Young is absolutely one of my favorite artists ever, but I’m pretty unfamiliar with a good chunk of his catalog. I’ve listened to some of it, but it it doesn’t stick in my head. I’m talking about a lot of the 80’s and newer stuff, I just don’t have the patience to weed through all the mediocre stuff to get to the good stuff. Now 60’s and 70’s Neil, that’s a whole other story…some of the greatest albums of all time, barely a misstep with any of those. His first album and Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere are way higher for me than the rankings here…Nowhere is easily my #1, the debut might be my #2. Last Trip Tulsa is easily one of the greatest songs he ever wrote, look deeply into those (at face value) cryptic lyrics for the devastating meaning.
Enjoyed that and I agree with most of your rankings except that I would rate “Everybody Knows This is Nowhere” much higher. I grew up with that album, “Goldrush”, “Harvest” and I love it - The Euphoiric “Cinnamon Girl”, the dark “Down By The River” and the wonderful meandering “Cowgirl In The Sand” are still some of his best songs. What a musician.
I saw Neil with the international harvesters in 83. It was an awesome show. Did alot of acoustic country stuff then kicked into electric with an awesome lengthy Down bt the River.
We saw it too. Chicago suburb - outdoor venue called Poplar Creek. Afer an itermission, came out with the Shocking Pinks bit. That was a surprise.
A fair assessment of his catalog. I rate a things a bit different but that is purely down to personal taste. The top 15 are all worth listening to, and hte bottom 25 all have moments worth hearing. Neil is relentless. When he is gone we will have a wide catalog to revisit and admire.
Hello, good countdown amd a beautiful Grateful Dead shirt!
Your comments on Landing on Water are spot on. So many 60s and 70s artist were trying to fit in with 80s productions. These albums often contain good songs but it's hard to listen to them.
It reminded me of when these artist were trying disco in the late 70s
It makes them look desperate
I heard Neil perform some of the Landing tracks on concert with basic instruments and they were pretty damn good
Brilliant work, Barry, with spot on descriptions, some very funny. Neil Young is my favourite artist and I found this very enjoyable and entertaining, thank you!
Nice job! That was a huge catalog to tackle. Always interesting to see your take on a catalog. Been a fan since the Buffalo Springfield days. All his albums are worthy of a listen, although as he’s aged, the quality of his output has declined imo. Still, when I put on a NY record I feel like I’m sitting with an old friend who has walked with me through almost all my life. He immediately makes me feel good, even listening to his mediocre albums.
Listening to 43 Neil Young albums critically sure sounds like work to me. And an exercise in patience and forbearance given his self righteousness. Although Time Fades Away was recorded live, it was an album of new songs and think it could’ve been included in the rankings. Tonight’s the Night is my fave. I would’ve ranked Everybody Knows higher, Harvest lower. I enjoyed the video and appreciate the time and effort put into it and will check out Psychedelic Pill. Cheers
I included Time Fades Away but not Long May You Run. And Time Fades Away was one of the very, very best.
Great list and comments, as always. Placing Hawks & Doves would be difficult for me: I absolutely love Side 1, and often skip Side 2. As an aside: I highly recommend Neil's Bottom Line 1974 concert (if you can track it down).
I enjoy This Notes...more than most. It might be because I saw Neil and the horns perform it live. There is an existing live album from that tour that is worth checking out.
Great video, I was a little surprised by the low placement of this note's for you however. I always thought it was much better than most of his other 80s output and I'd rank it closer to freedom and ragged glory.
New subscriber, and watched a few of the worst to best videos and they all been very interesting and informative. This one takes the cake though as Neil has been churning albums for decades and you knew all 43 studio albums. Great effort.👍
I never agreed with a commentator more. Brief as the assessments were he was articulate & accurate.
I was never a huge Neil Young fan but I listened to his material & for me, the majority of his best material was early on. As time went by the first listen to new stuff dwindled.
Neil saturates his output & seems oblivious to good marketing. These reviews were thorough, fair & well done.
One suggestion for Neil from a former entertainment PR person -- don't alienate your audience if they pay for tickets & CDs. That's your livelihood & you're getting older. Play the music & leave the politics at home. You are a musician first, not a lecturer or a pundit. It's really rather simple.
I like his new song 'hey hey my my, get your vaccine shot or you will die'
never heard of you Never heard any of your songs
Wish we’d gotten a full length follow up of Neil backed up by Rosas and Cromwell. I think El Dorado is A++++
Rust never sleeps my pick.Such a raw sound on the electric side.Hey hey reminds me a bit of Rory Gallagers "Bad Penny" in its pure rawness of guitar.
Not played NY for while so this will be a listening task seeing I own 14 of the albums featured ( glad I own all 3 of your top 3, and further 3 in your top 10)
I'm impressed you could get through the entire oeuvre! We agree on much, but I love his first "ornate" album. I wish he had a few more of these approaches in his gigantic catalog. It's still the songs that make this enjoyable listening -- I don't feel they get overwhelmed by the backing. I guess I'm probably one of the few who also loves James Taylor's Apple album for the same reasons. The songs are strong regardless of all the filigrees attached to them!
Well done Barry. Great list if a tad harsh on some of my very favourite albums. Of coarse we all have different ears. Ragged Glory is my personal favourite but I absolutely love Mirror Ball. The one album that people are always surprised is in my top ten Young albums is This notes for you! I know, I can’t help it I just adore it and the double live album from it. Glad you like Psychedelic Pill though, when it was released I left it on the turntable for months.
Mirrorball... there's an EP which accompanies this album, called Merkinball. It's by Pearl Jam and Neil Young, only two songs but it has the brilliant I Got ID. with Neil doing lead guitar and Eddie Vedder doing rhythm guitar. I wonder if Pearl Jam ever does this live because it is so cool.
Great video. Thanks, Barry.
Very welcome
i had no idea he has so many freaking albums…i could always take or leave him, his voice grates on me and after two or three songs i’m usually done & i don’t think i’ve heard a note of anything he’s done past the 70’s (also his catalog is not available on Spotify so that doesn’t help). as usual though your video is interesting and very well done.
Well done. I can't comment on your rankings in their totality, as I have never undertaken the task of listening to Neil's complete catalog. I commend you for that achievement, as well. The brisk, concise, and inciteful performance is remarkable. (FWIW, my favorite Neil Young album is Rust Never Sleeps).
I don't agree with all of your rankings but I love your opinions nonetheless. You make me go back and listen to these albums again, and with that, I thank you. Love the channel.
Impressive job as always. I don’t agree on every point, but what fun would that be, lol. I do agree with the majority of your top 10 picks, though, not necessarily in that order, with my top 10 showing up all near the top of the list. You do the “album critic” thing better than so many before you imo.👨🏻
That couldn't have been easy to complete! Thank you!
You're welcome!
Great overview! I'm not a big Neil Young fan (especially his later stuff) but I certainly agree with your #1 pick. After The Gold Rush" is not just the best of Neil's albums, It's one of the best albums of all time in my opinion. "Birds" is so hauntingly beautiful. Sad, but beautiful.
Zappa put Goldrush in his top 5 albums of all time!!
It was very vindicating to learn that :)
I went to the theatres to see that Ted Demme film Heart of Gold in which Neil plays all of Prairie Wind. It's where my wife and I first heard the entire album together for the first time. To this day, it stands as one of the greatest theatre experiences I've ever had and the album holds a very special place within me.
Enjoyed this rundown. There is a lot to digest here and a hundred reviewers would come up with a hundred different lists. I used to buy every release when they came out but then in the 00's I fell off the train after a few in a row that I didn't care for. I went to a concert where he played a lot of "Tonight's the Night" and it's about the only show I've left early at. I know lots of fans love it but it's just too dark and brooding for me. This coming from someone who quite liked "Sleeps With Angels", which you compared it to. I would have ranked "Harvest Moon" higher. I think it's a gorgeous album with a lot of well written songs. Agree with your assessment of "Chrome Dreams II" but "Ordinary People" is a killer track. I have a soft spot for "Old Ways" for personal reasons. My favorite track on that is "Misfits", which may be IMHO one of the weirdest songs he's ever released. Interesting that you rate several of his very recent releases pretty high. I've heard some of that material but will have to go back and listen more. Thank you for doing this!
Thanks for that very interesting critique and hats off for tackling such a body of work 👏
No worries!
Neil! Love the man
I love all Neil's albums EXCEPT - Everybody's Rockin'. My top 10 -
10 - Sleeps With Angels
09 - Le Noise
08 - After The Goldrush
07 - Silver And Gold
06 - This Note's For You
05 - Rust Never Sleeps
04 - Prairie Wind
03 - Are You Passionate ?
02 - Broken Arrow
01 - Greendale
Notable others -
11 - Harvest Moon
14 - Comes A Time
15 - Zuma
16 - On The Beach
18 - Harvest
22 - Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
24 - American Stars 'n Bars
27 - Tonight's The Night
Note - I was too lazy to type out complete list
I agree whole heartedly with your rankings. Very nice work!!
I think Landing On Water is one of his best. That "sterile" production is just right for the claustrophobic feel. Play it very loud, on headphones, and the emotional content is huge.
Interesting list though. My top 3 are in the top 10, which is a high degree of agreement really, but the main thing is you have something interesting to say about each album.
But the drums…
@@jmdavison62 I know what you mean, but it works for me.
Just got back into neil young and starting collecting his vinyls found this very interesting
A summary of his archive releases plus his collaborations (e.g. Noise & Flowers and International Harvesters) and film soundtracks, such as Paradox would be interesting. I love albums such as Live at Massey Hall.
Brilliant hard to argue with any of your placings except for his latest crazy horse offerings. Only because I haven't given them much attention but I will now. Thank you
I must be an oddball.I thought if you like an artist, you buy all their albums.I know all of Neil's catalog.Same with Dylan, Stones, Beatles,Who,Kinks.It's been a bit brutal for Neil since mid '90's to present.I'd have to put This Notes For You a bit higher,and American Stars n Bars.Will To Love may be my favorite song of his.Good job taking the time to review these 43.The Ditch Trilogy are awesome.
How awesome is "Will to Love," along with its high energy counterpart "Like a Hurricane?" Adore "American Stars n Bars" - even the short, almost throwaway "Homegrown" is terrific.
Good video ... nice and snappy (too many ranking videos are far too long and lose the viewer) ... Neil's latter day material is pretty uninspiring ... but his catalogue has some wonderful / spectacular material in it ... Zuma near the top gets a big tick ... my "go to" for NY is actually Live Rust 'cause it brings so many classics together - albeit in a live setting ... love side 1 of Rust Never Sleeps + Powderfinger ... only quibble (for mr anyway) re list is that I have This Note's For You as another "go to" ... just works for me ... the live shows with the Blue Notes are a blast ... Thanks again ... CMcG, Aberdeen, Scotland
Barn and Colordo are I think very underrated. I enjoyed the Visitor very much too - Earth with PotR is a damn fine live set and very funny.
Terrific capsule summaries. Thanks.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I agree with other comments that Time Fades Away should be considered. If you were to include it in your list, where would you rank it? Great list overall.
Whenever I play Southern Man (last track on After the goldrush), I find I can't be bothered listening to anything else. You've heard the best, forget the rest.
Well done! I would move Greendale & This Notes for You in the Top 20. Same albums in the Top 5. Slightly different order, but that changes weekly!
Great video, Barry!! I have to be honest... I have not heard a majority of his albums. I have "Harvest", "Harvest Moon" and "Silver & Gold" on vinyl, as well as "Decade" on CD, but sadly, that's it. It's not that I don't like Neil; the problem is that I like too many genres. I occasionally go down a huge Progressive Rock rabbit hole, and by the time I come up for air, many non-prog albums have passed me by. For a while I got heavily into Electronic Music (e.g., Klaus Schulze, Tangerine Dream, Tomita, Vangelis, and the like) and again... many great albums, and artists for that matter, passed me by. The good news is, I don't much care for too many contemporary bands, so I'm using this time of life to circle back and give the artists that passed me by, a completely new investigation. This has been far more rewarding than spending hours upon hours, week after week, trudging through heaping mounds of excremental refuge, only to 'potentially' find 1 album or 1 artist of any real excitement. It's very difficult, if not seemingly impossible, to get as excited for music coming out now vs. what was released back in our school-days... but I try. Neil is definitely someone that I used to really enjoy, and your ranking video (which I reproduced your order), will serve as an ideal guide to the sequence to which I will begin my new NY journey! Thanks, Barry!!!
You have great taste... The same number one as I'd choose!
Yay, thank you!
Cool video. I broadly agree with your ranking, however i would have put Broken Arrow, Silver and Gold and Prairie Wind in my top 20. And On The Beach would be my No 1.
Its interesting you have rated the latest 3 albums so high. I will have to give them another go to see if im missing something. Btw did you forget to mention Time Fades Away? Maybe i just missed that one.
Anyways thanks, an interesting watch!
Stuart
Thanks for this excellent video, always a pleasure. I'd love to hear a more detailed follow-up on the top 5, and mostly why Zuma is so high and above Harvest.
Loved your thoughts on Change your Mind, but I thought you were a bit severe with Silver and Gold, Buffalo Springfield Again is a great tune.
Now let's talk CSN and CSNY!! I wanna hear your thoughts on Daylight Again and American Dream 😅
Nicely done! Agree with all, but might have adjusted the final few to (last one my fav): NY (1st), Life, Live Rust, After the Gold..., Everybody Knows..., Zuma, & Harvest.
A solid ranking, but I put "Everybodys Rockin' " in my top 5 lol. I'm surprised you included Rust Never Sleeps but not Time Fades Away.
Haha about "Everybody's Rocking". Geffen complained he wanted a Neil Young album and he got one? Bought for a quid from Woolies in Lowestoft.
I would have put ZUMA and MIRROR BALL higher in the ranking. But it's always great to hear about all these great records ! Thanks!
Very good! Now I know where to start since I've never bought any of his albums before and didn't know where to go. Have you ever done a review of the albums of Elvis Costello?
Great overview. I have finally took a chance on Trans after avoiding it for years.
I disagreed with a lot of your choices and found them humorous. 😂 Thanks for the laughs.
Everybodys Rocking is a fun album and the song "Wondering" alone is worth the cost of admission.
He’s on course to make 50 albums…incredible
Good stuff. I'd rank "Chrome Dreams II" higher, but that's my only quibble.
I really enjoyed this. I can listen to nearly all these with your thoughts in mind (agree or not I can reflect!)
Can I just ask a quick question about an album I don’t have, is it Peace Train or Peace Trail? 2016, looks like a bagged lunch with some biro writing on it, is that the one?
It is Peace Trail .... my mistake
@@classicalbum thank you for your reply. Despite ending up at the bottom end of your list its one of 4-5 I need to complete the fine review you gave us today!
I had the good fortune to see Neil Young and Crazy Horse three times during the 70's; the 'mini' Zuma Tour he did after touring Japan, and both of the Rust Never Sleeps shows at the LA Forum (before the album came out!). All rank near the top of my concert-going experiences. Your top 5 albums are exactly the same as mine, though like you, Zuma is often at #1.