CD-Charts Position 1
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Zuma

by: Neil Young With Crazy Horse

Release Date June 28, 1993
I bought this album when it came out, on vinyl. Neil Young had been only partly known to me - i tended to think "acoustic" and "folky", which were not the kind of words i was into at that age. John Peel said that "nothing before had prepared him for the magnificence of Zuma" or words to that effect. As a keen JP listener and admirer, i thought I'd give it a go. Fabulous! It was as rock-y and discordant in places as you could wish. The guitaring was a revelation. Great songs, love-it-or-hate-it voice/singing - which i did love. The acoustic numbers and gentler tracks were great songs too, and perfect to sing when you were having a drink with your mates. "I've been looking for a lover, but I haven't met her yet - she'll be nothing like i picture ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 2
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After the Gold Rush

by: Neil Young

Release Date July 31, 1987
If you want to try the music of Neil Young then this is a good one to start with but beware, being a Neil Young fan is addictive and expensive although its also very rewarding. With over 30 solo albums to his name, plus being a part of Crosby, Nash, Stills and Young and Buffalo Springfield too, you've stumbled across one of the most prolific and brilliant singer-songwriters ever to grace our wonderful planet.

Released in 1970, this was Young's third solo album and the most succesful until the release of Harvest two years later. Many people class this as his best piece of work and its certainly his most complete studio album in my opinion.

The album went multi Platinum in the states and has appeared on a number of "greatest albums ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 3
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Tonight's the Night

by: Neil Young

Release Date June 28, 1993
I like a variety of music from country through to thrash metal. Enjoy listening to Roy Harper and Bob Dylan so I thought I would give Neil Young a try. Knew nothing about this album before I bought it but the gravely, drawn, folk/rock melodies are simply excellent. I definetly will be purchasing more.

CD-Charts Position 4
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On the Beach

by: Neil Young

Release Date July 14, 2003
Years ago, I bought 'Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere' on the recommendation of a trusted friend, who told me it was considered an idiosyncratic masterpiece in the vein of 'Astral Weeks,' though musically miles apart. Whereas I liked the album, I was never the biggest fan of extended musical jams, which 'Cowgirl In The Sand' and 'Down By The River' sounded like to me. In short, I couldn't love it, and I already knew 'Harvest,' 'After The Goldrush' and Youngs work with Buffalo Springfield particularly well. What I was looking for was that rare nugget that makes you fall in love with music all over again. Then, recently, I was drawn in by the effusive reviews of the reissued 'John, The Wolfking Of L.A.' by John Phillips, and it is a fairly consistent and good portrait of ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 5
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Harvest

by: Neil Young

Release Date April 27, 1984
This is one of those classic albums that everyone has to own, and it is a very special record.

There are so many brilliant songs on this album; personal favourites are Out On The Weekend, Heart Of Gold and Old Man, but every track is just as brilliant as the previous and next.

The overall feel is just mellow and relaxed in terms of musical arrangement and vocal delivery, but the lyrics are intense in their depths of heartfelt emotion.

It sounds too simple to be this good, with very modest and unassuming instruments and a harmonica, which adds to the feel of the heart of the American countryside/prairies.

This album may be 36 years old but it still sounds so fresh and is still relevant now.

CD-Charts Position 6
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Neil Young

by: Neil Young

Release Date June 01, 1989
Young kicked off his solo career with a very low key affair. The whole pace of the album is dictated to by the opening jaunty instrumental The Emperor of Wyoming which has a definite country feel to it. The key to the success of a first album is a positive answer to the question "will this artist improve?" With Young it was definitely a yes as you could hear the beginnings of the golden career that was to follow.

So this is a decent stab at things, but there was much better to follow. It includes some pseudo classical twiddly bits and, like on so many Young albums, the sum of the whole is slightly fractured, varying from the prettiness of "Here We Are in the Years," which for me is the outstanding track, to the rambling "The Last Trip to Tulsa" which at nine minutes is hugely too ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 7
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Rust Never Sleeps

by: Neil Young, Crazy Horse

Release Date June 28, 1993
'Rust Never Sleeps' is an intriguing,odd and at times excellent album with songs which must rank among Neil Young's finest.The album was recorded on the road during the 'Comes A Time' 1978 tour and it's a half acoustic,half electric affair.The majority of the tracks were either recorded in one take or live in concert but because the audience is omitted during the mix the album isn't 'live' but yearns to be.You will need to purchase the excellent 'Live Rust' to appreciate the actual tour concerts and includes four of the nine songs here.
'Rust Never Sleeps' however does contain some of Neil Young's strongest compositions.It begins with the acoustic 'My My Hey Hey' which is aimed at the music industry and 'Pocahontas' is one of Young's finest pieces of work,pitiful yet beautifully poignant,as is 'Ride ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 8
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Comes a Time

by: Neil Young

Release Date June 28, 1993
Neil emerged from the dark brilliance of his brooding mid-seventies period to make his most accessible album since Harvest. If he is mostly known for folk, country, and rock, this album is firmly rooted in the folk/country categories, which he does as well as anyone.

This is a very fine album that demonstrates that Young can still be deeply reflective whilst maintaining a mellow - though never bland - approach to the music. As well as a great couple of openers, look out for Four Strong Winds, a country standard that perfectly fits the tone of the album.

CD-Charts Position 9
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Ragged Glory

by: Neil Young

Release Date September 10, 1990
So it's fair to say that without Neil Young's "dirty" guitar sound, perhaps grunge may not have been what we know today. From Pearl Jam working extensively with the man to Kurt Cobain quoting him in his suicide note, Neil Young was a driving influence. So in 1990, after the somewhat low key release of Nirvana's "Bleach," it begins to look like a new breed of musician may be coming out of Seattle, perhaps the torch is going to be passed on, and what Young started will be taken to its logical conclusion? Then Neil Young and Crazy Horse strike out with an album that proves that they not only influenced this scene, they can define it too. An album from a band in its third decade that just screams to be recognised as a contemporary of the likes of Nirvana, Pearl Jam, or anyone else you think of when you hear the word "grunge."

CD-Charts Position 10
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Freedom

by: Neil Young

Release Date October 09, 1989
Neil always had a very inconstant talent, alternating pearls like Zuma or On the Beach (his masterpiece) to average stuff like Long May you Run and Re Ac Tor to ugly recordings like Old Ways or Everybody's Rocking. This represents his return to form after his delirious ventures into electronics, rockabilly and soul music. The record features an anthem like "rocking in the free world", still sung by Pearl Jam and many others, and gems like Eldorado or Crime in the City. Not all the album is so good though, as is typical of Neil, there are some forgettable songs like Too far Gone or The ways of love, but overall it's a good recording and one of his best since the milestones of the seventies. The sound is, in the good songs, very basic, as it's often the case with his best recordings, and the lyrics can be good (rocking in the free world ... Read More: