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Rating: The year was 1979, when Neil Young and his Crazy Horse (Frank "Pancho" Sampedro on guitars, Billy Talbot on bass, and Ralph Molina on drums) recorded "Rust Never Sleeps", one of the masterpieces by the Canadian singer-songwriter. The decision to record the album live was probably made to achieve a more "alive" sound: any artist performing live gains much more spontaneity compared to a normal studio album, which, with few exceptions, is a "colder" work. The album exclusively contains new material; none of the songs here appeared on any of his previous LPs. The only flaw of the record, in my opinion, was the removal of the audience's background noise (applause, whistles, and various shouts), which wasn't even done properly: in some tracks (for example, the first one, My My Hey Hey) you can distinctly hear people applauding, towards the beginning. Note also the period when the album was released: right in those years, the Punk phenomenon literally "exploded" in England and the USA, making everyone believe that "rock was dead, and punk was In". Not many musicians or bands of the time, (except the old rock dinosaurs still active, like Pink Floyd) created rock absolutely devoid of punk influences (Dire Straits first and foremost, followed by the reggae-rock of the Police). An album, therefore, completely against the grain, out of fashion at the time. But Young doesn't care at all about the fashions and customs that are in vogue at that moment: courageously, he decides to release the LP. And success is immediate.
It is divided into two sides: one acoustic, with Neil on vocals, guitar, and harmonica (only here and there supported by Sampedro's rhythm guitar) and the other electric, almost garage-rock, composed of furious strumming and maximum distortion on Hey Hey My My.
Side A opens with My My Hey Hey, a nostalgic ballad that refuses to surrender, which still gives us hope in rock: "The King is gone but he's not forgotten" (referring to Elvis, of course). The following "Thrasher" is also very beautiful, melancholic but at the same time, it leaves a sense of hope to the listener's ears, as does the subsequent "Ride My Lama". "Pocahontas" talks about the famous Native American girl and denounces the abuses the settlers committed against these people: the music is beautiful, a touch of innocence shines through the notes. Closing the first part of the album is done by "Sail Away", where there is also a drum accompaniment, and joining Young is the talented vocalist Nicolette Larson.
Side B begins with the rocking "Powderfinger", rhythmic and very "garage" style: Neil's electric guitar refrain is beautiful, almost as if it were conversing with him. "Welfare Mothers" is another distorted and cheerful rock piece, with a catchy chorus, a statement that also applies to the penultimate "Sedan Delivery", the only difference being that the latter is much faster. To beautifully close the album, comes Hey Hey My My: the electric version of its sister My My Hey Hey is the hardest and roughest song of the entire work (I prefer it to the acoustic version: this electric one gives more emphasis to the lyrics, more emotional charge).
In short, an album with which Neil Young wants to give us a lesson: Rock'n'Roll Will Never Die...
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
03 The Needle And The Damage Done (00:00)
I caught you knockin' at my cellar door
I love you, baby, can I have some more
Ooh, ooh, the damage done.
I hit the city and I lost my band
I watched the needle take another man
Gone, gone, the damage done.
I sing the song because I love the man
I know that some of you don't understand
Milk-blood to keep from running out.
I've seen the needle and the damage done
A little part of it in everyone
But every junkie's like a settin' sun.
05 Sugar Mountain (00:00)
Oh, to live on Sugar Mountain
With the barkers and the colored balloons,
You can't be twenty on Sugar Mountain
Though you're thinking that you're leaving there too soon,
You're leaving there too soon.
It's so noisy at the fair
But all your friends are there
And the candy floss your head
And your mother and your dad.
Oh, to live on Sugar Mountain
With the barkers and the colored balloons,
You can't be twenty on Sugar Mountain
Though you're thinking that you're leaving there too soon,
You're leaving there too soon.
There's a girl just down the aisle,
Oh, to turn and see her smile.
You can hear the words she wrote
As you read the hidden note.
Oh, to live on Sugar Mountain
With the barkers and the colored balloons,
You can't be twenty on Sugar Mountain
Though you're thinking that you're leaving there too soon,
You're leaving there too soon.
Now you're underneath the stairs
And you're givin' back some glares
To the people who you met
And it's your first cigarette.
Oh, to live on Sugar Mountain
With the barkers and the colored balloons,
You can't be twenty on Sugar Mountain
Though you're thinking that you're leaving there too soon,
You're leaving there too soon.
Now you say you're leavin' home
'Cause you want to be alone.
Ain't it funny how you feel
When you're findin' out it's real?
Oh, to live on Sugar Mountain
With the barkers and the colored balloons,
You can't be twenty on Sugar Mountain
Though you're thinking that you're leaving there too soon,
You're leaving there too soon.
Oh, to live on Sugar Mountain
with the barkers and the colored balloons,
You can't be twenty on Sugar Mountain
Though you're thinking that you're leaving there too soon,
You're leaving there too soon.
12 The Loner (00:00)
He's a perfect stranger,
Like a cross of himself and a fox.
He's a feeling arranger
And a changer of the ways he talks.
He's the unforeseen danger
The keeper of the key to the locks.
Know when you see him,
Nothing can free him.
Step aside, open wide,
It's the loner.
If you see him in the subway,
He'll be down at the end of the car.
Watching you move
Until he knows he knows who you are.
When you get off at your station alone,
He'll know that you are.
Know when you see him,
Nothing can free him.
Step aside, open wide,
It's the loner.
There was a woman he knew
About a year or so ago.
She had something that he needed
And he pleaded with her not to go.
On the day that she left,
He died, but it did not show.
Know when you see him,
Nothing can free him.
Step aside, open wide,
It's the loner.
17 Like A Hurricane (00:00)
Once I thought I saw you in a crowded hazy bar,
Dancing on the light from star to star.
Far across the moonbeam I know that's who you are,
I saw your brown eyes turning once to fire.
You are like a hurricane
There's calm in your eye.
And I'm gettin' blown away
To somewhere safer where the feeling stays.
I want to love you but I'm getting blown away.
I am just a dreamer, but you are just a dream,
You could have been anyone to me.
Before that moment you touched my lips
That perfect feeling when time just slips
Away between us on our foggy trip.
You are like a hurricane
There's calm in your eye.
And I'm gettin' blown away
To somewhere safer where the feeling stays.
I want to love you but I'm getting blown away.
You are just a dreamer, and I am just a dream.
You could have been anyone to me.
Before that moment you touched my lips
That perfect feeling when time just slips
Away between us on our foggy trip.
You are like a hurricane
There's calm in your eye.
And I'm gettin' blown away
To somewhere safer where the feeling stays.
I want to love you but I'm getting blown away.
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