Neil Young – On the Beach. Reprise 1974.

By 1973 Neil Young was one of the biggest names in popular music. After the global success of Harvest in 1971, and the CSNY album Deja Vu the year before, he could do no wrong. But those close to him knew that this did not sit well with Young, from an artistic perspective, and he let the press know that, yes he had the fame, wealth and comfort but this was not why he was here. Then in 1972, two deaths happened that turned Young’s world upside-down. On the eve of a tour with Crazy Horse, Danny Whitten, the band’s second guitarist who Young traded licks with on stage, overdosed on heroin and died. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Bruce Berry, a long serving roadie for Young, also OD’d on heroin. A double kick in the teeth that Young never quite recovered from.

And so began a phase in Young’s career known as ‘The Ditch Trilogy’. “Heart of Gold put me firmly in the middle of the road, which began to bore me, so i headed straight for the ditch. There’s more interesting people there!” The 3 albums that made the trilogy were ‘Time fades Away’, a live album culled from the US tour of ’73, featuring all new songs at the time; ‘On the Beach’ and ‘Tonight’s the Night’.

‘On the Beach’ was recorded at Young’s ranch in California using a selection of session men and guests [members of The Band alongside David Crosby and Graham Nash]. It’s a collection of songs referencing alienation, broken relationships, President Nixon, and his old band CSNY. ‘Revolution Blues’ was written with the cult leader/murderer Charles Manson in mind, and how he signalled the death of the free spirit of the 60s. ‘Vampire blues’ derides the Oil industry in America, while ‘For the Turnstiles’ is critical of his own industry of music. It seems Young was unsatisfied with everything by 1973.

The album closer is ‘Ambulance Blues’; a sprawling acoustic piece that references many subjects and takes on a dreamlike, cinematic feel to it’s lyrics, using metaphor to conceal the more obvious moments contained therein. Historical places from his past [‘Proud Isabella, they tore you down’] was an address he stayed at with Rick James in the mid 60s;  ‘companions who were lost in crystal canyons’ [CSNY’s ongoing inactivity due to apathy and drug use]. It’s a devastating piece of music and a far cry from the past glories of ‘Harvest’.

The album was deleted from the shelves in the early 80s and remained unavailable for over 30 years, until in 2003, after a petition was signed by over 5,000 of Young’s fans, it was re-released onto CD for Reprise records.

On the Beach remains a favourite with nearly all of Neil Young’s fanbase, however, it might not be a good place to start if you’re just getting into his music!

9.5/10