Sunday, June 14, 2020

CoronaVinyl Day 89 (Singer-Songwriter): Everybody Knows This is Nowhere by Neil Young with Crazy Horse

For an explanation of CoronaVinyl, click here.
Yesterday's CoronaVinyl category was singer-songwriter, which I've always thought was an odd moniker.  It generally seems to refer to folk or softer rock/pop artists, but of course, there are many singers who also write their own songs, but who aren't considered "singer-songwriters."  What I do know is that Neil Young is considered a singer-songwriter, so that's good enough for me.

I have a few of his albums, and I'm going with his second solo studio album, 1969's Everybody Knows This is Nowhere, which he made with his now-longtime backing band Crazy Horse.  The album is what you'd expect from Neil Young.  It's kind of folk, kind of rock, kind of country, and the songs generally tell a good tale.  Though it only has seven songs, the album has several Neil Young classics, like "Cinnamon Girl," the title track, "Down By the River," and "Cowgirl in the Sand."  Later that year, Young would reunite with his former Buffalo Springfield band mate Stephen Stills, as well as David Crosby and Graham Nash, to make CSN into CSNY.  He continued to make solo music during his time in CSNY and has continued to do so over the nearly 50 years since then.

Favorite song from Side 1:  "Down By The River"
This could be my favorite Neil Young song.  At over nine minutes, it's definitely an epic.  It's a great song to just sit and listen to when you're trying to relax.  Until the chorus, when you're like, Why would he shoot his baby?  And why would he do that down by a river?

Favorite song from Side 2:  "Cowgirl in the Sand"
Apparently I'm a sucker for Young's long songs.  This one is over ten minutes long, which means that "Down By The River" and "Cowgirl in the Sand" basically take up half of the album's total running time.  But anyway, the song is great.

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