The Be Good Tanyas covering an obscure Neil Young tune...
"On the Beach" is one of my favorite Neil Young albums. The album is very, very dark but it fit my mood at the time (that time bein' 1974), given that I was getting over a disastrous love affair. Here's what The Wiki has to say about "On the Beach:"
You can reallyThe Tube O' You continues to amaze. I fully expected to strike out when searching for this tune... but no, not even, and we're definitely impressed. The Tanyas did a very credible job on the tune but while we're on about it... here's Neil's original version:
Learn a lot that way
It will change you
In the middle of the day.
Though your confidence
May be shattered,
It doesn't matter.
"On the Beach" is one of my favorite Neil Young albums. The album is very, very dark but it fit my mood at the time (that time bein' 1974), given that I was getting over a disastrous love affair. Here's what The Wiki has to say about "On the Beach:"
While the original Rolling Stone review described it as "One of the most despairing albums of the decade", later critics such as Allmusic’s William Ruhlmann used the benefit of hindsight to conclude that Young "[w]as saying goodbye to despair, not being overwhelmed by it". The despair of Tonight's the Night, communicated through intentional underproduction and lyrical pessimism, gives way to a more polished album that is still pessimistic but to a lesser degree.One could say that "Dark Were Us" at that particular point in time but like Neil we were sayin' good-bye to despair, not embracing it. One year later we were head over heels in love and had the world by the ass.
Much like Tonight's the Night, On the Beach was not a commercial success at the time of its release but over time attained a high regard from fans and critics alike.
My dad blessed me with a 1971 Karmann Ghia that year. It fit the oil embargo gas prices, and my leaving for college dorm life. I remember the first 8-track I bought was Lynyrd Skynyrd - if you don't ask me no questions, I won't tell you no lie. Anyway, it was a pretty happy beat to me at the time, and happy beats was in. The Nuns didn't approve of rock music at our graduation though, but it was a different era...
ReplyDeleteAh, 8-tracks. I never had one but my friends did. I learned some new and inventive curse words and terms when their players ate tape, a rather frequent occurrence. My SN2 has a Karmann Ghia as we speak. They are cool lil cars!
DeleteI liked Neil Young well enough but couldn't listen to him at all for about 6 years and I'm still a little hesitant. Something dire ALWAYS happened after I heard him on the radio. Really dire. So I stopped for awhile. He's better now though.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't listen to Neil for a few years following my divorce, given as how he was a shared favorite between the ex- and me. All those memories... 23 years worth... in the songs were just too damned painful. But like you say, he's better now. ;-)
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