Neil Young and Crazy Horse, "Ragged Glory"

Neil Young and Crazy Horse
"Ragged Glory"
Reprise (1990)
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die

You're more likely to hear about Neil Young the folk hero because, well, folk is more hip than rock. As we established when looking at his album "Rust Never Sleeps" however, Young's biggest influence on future music was his electric guitar playing. The songwriter, when working with backing band Crazy Horse of course, preferred a lo-fi form of shredding, filled with distortion. Grunge guitar heroes like J. Mascis (Dinosaur Jr.), Kim Thayil (Soundgarden) and Jerry Cantrell (Alice in Chains) all derived from his approach. It's only fair that the "godfather of grunge" got a chance to release his own grunge album.

"Ragged Glory" was released in 1990, following the grunge era's sludgiest moments but prior to the mainstream breakthrough of Nirvana's "Nevermind" and Pearl Jam's "Ten." Young suffered his roughest decade from a critical standpoint during the '80s, partially because of his desire to constantly adjust his style (Geffen Records sued Young for $3.3 million because, according to the label, his music was "non-commercial" and "musically uncharacteristic"). Fortunately, the raw sound that Young embraced in the late '70s with Crazy Horse was just coming to popular fruition in 1990.

"Ragged Glory" follows the recording approach of "Rust Never Sleeps" closely, by design or not, which helps ensure the quality of the end result. "Rust" was recorded live during the ensemble's tour, taking studio hijinks out of the picture. "Glory" wasn't recorded live, but the band did jam together in a storage facility belonging to Reprise, rather than record instrumental parts individually. In theory, Young could have adjusted the levels all he wanted following the recording, but he opted to leave what was as is. As a result, various instruments are muffled throughout, adding to the desired effect.

Furthering Young's signature style is that fact that Crazy Horse really isn't that good. Young had picked them up at a bar in Los Angeles during the '60s without any formal tryouts. Ralph Molina's drumming is as simple as it gets, and Frank Sampedro's guitar playing is just as rough as Young's. Of course, we can never assume that Young isn't actually an awful player himself, but most critics (including myself) like to believe that after playing for so long, his scratchy sound was by design.

The group opens with a pair of folkier tracks left over from the '70s ("Country Home" and "White Line"), but the album takes off with third track "F*!#in' Up." The song, which is only censored within the title, rocks both the lyrical and instrumental attitude of the burgeoning grunge scene. From there on out, the band rocks together with a combination of dirty guitars and Eagles-style backing harmonies, sometimes pushing past ten minutes during extended jams (see "Love and Only Love" for the most improv sections).

Young claimed on "Rust Never Sleeps" that "it's better to burn out than to fade away." He certainly never burned out (as many of his followers within the grunge movement did, unfortunately), but more importantly, he never faded away either. It's tough to do so when you make quality records like "Ragged Glory" 30 years into your career.

INTERESTING FACT: One track on "Ragged Glory" was not recorded in the instrument shed. Album closer "Mother Earth (Natural Anthem)" was recorded in the Hoosier Dome (now the RCA Dome).

Neil Young and Crazy Horse, "Rust Never Sleeps"

Neil Young and Crazy Horse
"Rust Never Sleeps"
Reprise (1979)
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die

Rare is the act that stays relevant years beyond its peak. There are many a classic rock band that have released one or several huge albums, but twenty or thirty years later, its releases don't get a second glance from the public. For every Tom Petty, there's a hundred Journeys. Neil Young wrestled with this idea more than most. Young first caught the public's attention during the mid-'60s with Buffalo Springfield, forged an acclaimed solo career, and had added his name to Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. By 1979, he was wondering what, if anything, could come next.

Young saw the rise of punk music during the '70s, and naturally drew contradictions between the wild abandon of the genre against his own style. Young appreciated the movement, but understood that he couldn't pull it off. The band Crazy Horse offered him an outlet away from his folkie ways. It offered Young an opportunity to play "extra-amplified" rock

"Rust in Peace," the collective's best known album, was largely recorded live. The tour was a peculiar one, featuring oversized amplifiers and crew members dressed like jawas, probably the influence of Young's new friend Mark Mothersbaugh, the ever forward thinking front man of DEVO.

To his credit, Young adjusted to the times without changing what he knew. "Sedan Delivery" is a dramatic jump in pace for him, but it's not trying to be punk. "Welfare Mothers" is significantly heavier than a typical Young joint, but it isn't Zepplinesque hard rock. Young's ability to make his own name with someone else's instrument is impressive, ending up being just as influential as his acoustic approach. His rough, scratchy soloing on the electric guitar on "Powderfinger" inspired J. Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. and a whole generation of Seattle guitarists, thereby earning Young the nickname "godfather of grunge."

As much credit as Young deserves for adjusting with the times, the acoustic first-half of the album is the highlight. During live shows, Young would play an acoustic set before being joined by Crazy Horse onstage, as presented here. Young opens with what would become one of his biggest songs, "My My, Hey Hey (Out of The Blue)." "My My" (which has an electric version titled "Into The Black" closing the album) is a track on which Young considers the question of his own relevance, and whether "burning out" or "fading away" was the better option. It's a sad and haunting song, especially considering events it inspired (see Interesting Fact), and Young is the center of attention with his guitar and harmonica. It stands as the best song in Young's repertoire in my opinion, and the following track, "Thrasher," about his falling out with CSNY, uses the same formula to similar success.

Young ultimately came to the conclusion that it was better to burn out than to fade away. He didn't suggest the even-better option however: to stay relevant for 50 years. Thanks to his ability to readjust his approach to music without reinventing himself, Young has neither burnt out nor faded away, putting him in elite company among those who have lived a full life in music.

INTERESTING FACT: The song "My My, Hey Hey (Into the Blue)" gained newfound attention when Kurt Cobain quoted the line "It's better to burn out than fade away" in his suicide note. Young was shocked by the news, and took to dedicating the song to Cobain while emphasizing the line "Once you're gone, you can't come back" when he plays it live." John Lennon famously objected to the line in question during an interview, saying he would much prefer to fade away than burn out.

"My My, Hey Hey (Into The Blue)"