musicinsight's Full Review: Rust Never Sleeps by Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Neil Young is an entertainer who follows his heart without worrying about the consequences. Originally famous for his work with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Neil "went solo" in 1969, and quickly established a successful career as a rock/folk performer. Young never bothered playing it safe to help his career; his releases explored rockabilly, country and electronic music. Rust Never Sleeps gave equal billing to Neil's quiet, folk-based acoustic music and to his all-out-rocking, crunching guitar anthems. Recorded live, but not promoted as a "live" album, Rust Never Sleeps was an artistic triumph and a commercial success.
The Calm
The album's opening track, My My, Hey Hey (Out Of The Blue), deserves special consideration for two reasons. Firstly, it is an absolute classic, with a gorgeous, stripped-down melody played on solo acoustic guitar. Neil's message is a testament to the power and longevity of rock-n-roll: "Rock and roll is here to stay
It's better to burn out
Than to fade away"
This song is also notable in that it provides a benchmark with which to compare the album's second, rockier side. An alternate version, Hey Hey, My My (Into The Black), appears as the album's fiery closing track. More on this later.
Next up is Thrasher, another impeccably crafted acoustic number, with Neil and his guitar telling the story of a man who grows tired of his safe, secure life and heads out to find adventure: "It was then I knew I'd had enough,
Burned my credit card for fuel
Headed out to where the pavement turns to sand
...
How I lost my friends I still don't understand."
Many fans have speculated that Thrasher is a capsule documentary of Neil's disillusionment with Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, and his exit for a solo career.
This release's lyrics are often poignant, but still manage to have playful, nonsensical or even surreal moments. Ride My Llama is a light-hearted, playful acoustic number without any kind of serious message. Pocahontas, on the other hand, has some very grim moments. It tells of the massacre of the native people of North America at the hands of the white Europeans. Like Thrasher, the lyrics are pure poetry: "They killed us in our tepee
And they cut our women down
They might have left some babies
Cryin' on the ground
But the firesticks
and the wagons come
And the night falls
on the setting sun."
The main character's narrative takes a surreal turn, and ends with a fantasy featuring Pocahontas and Marlon Brando(!).
The Storm
Powderfinger opens the heavy, electric half of the album with the tragic tale of a young man in the wrong place at the wrong time. It's melody is simple and strong, but powerfully transmitted by Neil and his band, Crazy Horse.
Welfare Mothers is a decidedly non-politically-correct tune with one simple message: "Welfare mothers make better lovers". It continues with the full-on, distorted style established by Powderfinger.
Sedan Delivery is a slightly surreal song about bringing things to people's doors. While the other songs on this side are heavy rockers, this song was thrash before the term "thrash" existed. Neil turns up a notch to bring the album's tone to a fever pitch in preparation for the final song...
My My, Hey Hey is heavy. Really heavy. It's the same melody as the opening tune, but with a powerhouse, steroidal sound. Crazy Horse provides a raging, thumping support to Neil's vocals. This song not only says, but also proves that "It's better to burn out than to fade away." And the album ends with an absolute wailfest of a guitar solo. Heavy.
Rust Never Sleeps, like March, comes in like a lamb and goes out like a lion. It balances Neil Young's ability to create delicate solo acoustic numbers and all out rockers. The lyrics veer between disposable pop fun and heartrending poetry. This album will appeal to fans of quiet, singer-songwriterly ballads as well as those who like their music hard. Anyone who calls themselves a Neil Young fan had better run out and get this one before someone finds out.
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.