November 13, 2019 Playlist

"Tonight's The Night" by Neil Young (1975)
CLASSIC ALBUM OF THE WEEK
Neil Young "Tonight's The Night"  1975 (Canada) 
Neil Young turned 74 years old this week. Believe it or not, after 600 CAOTWs there are still some incredibly classic albums yet to be inducted and this is one of them! Neil Young has always been famous for being the master of "bummer vibes" - very few in the history of music have been as good at making listeners happy by expressing sadness. Tonight's The Night is Neil's biggest bummer of them all, the final installment of the so-called "ditch trilogy" of cathartically depressing masterpieces he made in reaction to becoming a superstar in the early 70's with CSNY and his big hit album Harvest (1972). The songs here were inspired by specific dreadful events, including the overdose deaths of Crazy Horse member Danny Whitten and CSNY roadie Bruce Berry (memorialized in the title track) plus a gruesome drug deal murder that shook the gentle hippiefolk of Laurel Canyon where Neil lived at the time. But "critics say" it all adds up to the ultimate statement about the dissolution of hippie idealism in the increasingly cynical 1970's. Musically, it's probably the greatest "drunk rock" album of all time: Neil and his band (Ralph & Billy from the defunct-at-the-time Crazy Horse plus Ben Keith on pedal steel and Nils Lofgren on lead guitar while Neil mostly plays piano) sound totalllly waaaaysted on every song, which you can think of as brilliant method acting for an album whose main theme is basically drug addiction. I can't think of any other album by anyone that really compares to this one. Like the author himself, Tonight's The Night is unique.
(N) = New Release
   
Artist Song Album Year Country
The Grateful DeadMountains Of The MoonAoxmoxoa1969USA
Buffalo SpringfieldFlying On The Ground Is Wrong (Neil Young)Buffalo Springfield1966USA/Canada
The Mothers Of InventionI'm Not SatisfiedCruising With Ruben And The Jets1968USA
Moby GrapeIndifferenceMoby Grape1967USA
Kevin AyersSong For Insane TimesJoy Of A Toy1969UK
Bobby JamesonWorld War Threebonus track on CD reissue of
"Songs Of Protest And Anti-Protest" by "Chris Lucey"		c. 1965USA
 
 
Neil YoungSpeakin' OutTonight's The Night
 CLASSIC ALBUM OF THE WEEK		rec. 1973, rel. 1975Canada
Neil YoungTired EyesTonight's The Night
 CLASSIC ALBUM OF THE WEEK		rec. 1973, rel. 1975Canada
Neil YoungTonight's The Night (part two)Tonight's The Night
 CLASSIC ALBUM OF THE WEEK		rec. 1973, rel. 1975Canada
Crosby Stills Nash & YoungSea Of Madness (live)Woodstock 2 (sequel to the motion picture soundrack)rec. 1969, rel. 1971USA/UK/Canada
Neil Young & Crazy HorseLike A HurricaneAmerican Stars And Bars1977Canada/USA
   
 
Cass McCombs Prayer For Another DayTip Of The Sphere (N)2019 (Anti-)USA
Taras Bulba Rising Lazarus BluesOne (N)2019 (Riot Season)UK
Kim Gordon EarthquakeNo Home Record (N)2019 (Matador)USA
Ariel Pink Unwritten LawOdditties Sodomies Vol. 2 (N)rec. 1996-2003 (2019 Mexican Summer)USA
Royal Trux (Ariel Pink remix) White StuffPink Stuff EP (N)2019 (Fat Possum)USA
   
 
ORB Space Between The PlanetsThe Space Between (N)2019 (Flightless)Australia
House Of Lud Open Wide O Earth, And Receive UsBlud (N)2019 (self release)USA
Kungens Män Hårt Som BenHårt Som Ben (N)2019 (Riot Season)Sweden
Beyond Captain Orca! A Tab In The Orca (live)2019/07/17 - Nectar (N)2019 (self release)USA
Santana Blue SkiesAfrica Speaks (N)2019 (Concord)USA/Mexico
   
 
Mahavishnu OrchestraVital TransformationThe Inner Mounting Flame1971UK/USA/Ireland
/Czech./Panama
Sonny & Linda SharrockApolloParadise1975USA
James Blood UlmerSee-throughAre You Glad You Live In America?1980USA
The Stark RealityThe Old Prospector (Hoagy Camichael)Acting, Thinking, Feeling (box set)rec. 1970USA
Gabor SzaboSophisticated WheelsJazz Raga1966USA/Hungary
   
 
Grant GreenAin't It Funky Now (James Brown)Green Is Beautiful1970USA
      
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