Neil Young and Crazy Horse Rust Never Sleeps Reprise Records (1979)
For an album with one of the most-quoted lyrics of this generation, Neil Young and Crazy Horse’s 1979 live album Rust Never Sleeps rarely flits across the radar when discussing influential albums. When Kurt Cobain ended his suicide note with “It’s better to burn out than to fade away,” a lyric from the album opener “My, My, Hey, Hey (Out of the Blue)," he was actually channeling Young’s own insecurities about becoming irrelevant in the face of a growing punk rock movement in music. The album, largely recorded at San Francisco’s Cow Palace, features two Neil Youngs: the first half of the album is Harvest Moon-era Young, a folksy storyteller with an acoustic guitar and an achy heart. On the second half, Young goes electric, banging out melodic proto-grunge riffs with the accompaniment of backing band Crazy Horse. In a move begging for an imaginary duel between Young’s two personas, Rust Never Sleeps ends with “Hey, Hey, My, My (Into the Black),” the opener’s noisier, darker evil twin. The schism showed the best of both Neils and, more importantly, reestablished Young as an enduring presence who could rely on talent alone to withstand a temperamental music climate.
Using Spotify? Listen to Rust Never Sleeps in its entirety right here.
“My, My, Hey, Hey (Out of the Blue)”
The opening riff on this track still gives me chills with every listen because I know what’s coming. Young’s drawn-out vocals, the occasional howl from the crowd, his mournful harmonica—it all makes the stunning live performance sound like a personal confession on a grand scale.
“Thrasher”
Young has always been a master storyteller, his talent no more evident than on “Thrasher,” a dense, image-laden allegory about his split with Crosby, Stills and Nash.
“Ride My Llama”
With a sparse guitar and Neil’s inimitable folk twang, “Ride My Llama” is probably the quietest track on the album. You’ll come for the elementary charm and stay for Neil’s adorable (Canadian?) pronunciation of the word ‘llama.’
“Pocahontas”
What starts out as a sweeping description of the Native American genocide evolves into a more intimate yearning for both Pocahontas and Hollywood, ending with an image so compelling it resonates into the next track: “Marlon Brando, Pocahontas and me.”
“Sail Away”
In the last song of the acoustic set, Young delivers an escapist maritime lullaby made even more serene by a slumbering drum beat and frequent collaborator Nicolette Larson’s soft backing vocals on the chorus.
“Powderfinger”
Young opens the noisier half of the album with the charged warning of “Look out, Mama / There’s a white boat comin’ up the river.” With Crazy Horse harmonizing over Young’s groovy electric guitar, the track moves away from folk simplicity to a fuller, layered composition.
“Welfare Mothers”
From displaced Native Americans to welfare mothers, Young likes to speak for the disenfranchised in way only Neil Young can—with the playful, Crazy Horse-backed chant, “Welfare mothers make better lovers!”
“Sedan Delivery”
With relentless tempo changes and Young’s alternation between a frenetic, high-energy delivery and his usual meandering refrains, “Sedan Delivery” is the most compressed, offbeat track on the album.
“Hey, Hey, My, My, (Into the Black)”
Hot damn, that guitar is more distorted than Rush Limbaugh’s view on [insert anything]! The grungy, stringy-haired counterpart to the album opener, “Hey, Hey, My, My” shows the grittier side of Neil and ends with the muted roar of a crowd that I will envy forever.
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Comments (1)
Nate Anderosn:
New Neil and Patti Smith on the 5th is perfection.
You can even check out Patti's explanation on the origin of her songs from Banga on her website. Yes.
Comments (1)