Neil Young - Tonight's the Night [Vinyl]

By 1975 Young had written some of the most enduring anthems in rock history. But from the slow, tension-building piano opening of "Tonight's the Night," he downshifts into darkness and Crazy Horse's folk-country melodies take on a guttural hum that would eventually speak to generations of punk and grunge musicians. Inspired by the overdose deaths of two of Young's friends, roadie Bruce Berry and guitarist Danny Whitten, the title track (and its closing reprise) is a hypnotic cry of "why?" Even the relative party songs, "Come On Baby Let's Go Downtown" and "Roll Another Number," fit the album's bus-to-nowhere resignation. --Steve Knopper Amazon.com essential recording

JAPAN REMASTERED VERSION AVAILABLE

A while back, Warner Brothers Japan re-released 12 Neil Young titles. The surprise was that remastered content appeared for the first time on most of them.

The titles & WB-Japan catalog numbers are:

Neil Young WPCR-75086
Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere WPCR-75087
After The Gold Rush WPCR-75088
Harvest WPCR-75089
On The Beach WPCR-75090
Tonight's The Night WPCR-75091
Zuma WPCR-75092
Long May You Run WPCR-75093
American Stars n' Bars WPCR-75094
Comes A Time WPCR-75095
Rust Never Sleeps WPCR-75096
Live Rust WPCR-75097

I picked up most of these, A/B'd them, and found them to be superior to the domestics. However, having purchased the domestic 2002 remasters of "Beach" and "Stars n Bars", I declined the Japan versions of those two titles.

Unfortunately, while the Japan version is remastered, Live Rust is not restored to the original LP's running form, and remains still the bastardized version.

If you own the U.S. versions, and you're a NY fan, I would seriously consider replacing them with these. June 18, 2008

The Real Deal

Raw Neil Young from the height of the 70's. If you listened to it on vinyl you'll remember how real it felt at the time. Neil sort of fades in and out vocally as if he's distracted, preoccupied, wasted. Heavy druggie music that simply is what it is. A classic well worth having but it isn't for everyone. It's damn good though! June 12, 2008

Neil Young At His Most Depressing Best

All of the criticisms of this album/CD are accurate and I still think that it is a worthwhile addition to any collection. The vinyl album record cover had a spooky pic of Crazy Horse with each band mamber identified by name with no image of anyone standing in the spot labeled "Danny Whitten", and so the journey into addiction, death, reclusion, introversion, and depression begins. It appears that Young himself was experiencing his own personal trauma of the events of those days and it shows. You may not like the questions. You may not like the answers. But, you may grow to like the music, "late at night when the people were gone..." which is probably both the best time and the worst time to listen to Tonight's the Night. June 9, 2008

Beauty in the Ugly Side of Life

Tonight's the Night is not an easy album to love. It comes from a dark, ugly place of human existence known only as 'the bottom', a place only a few of us have ever really been and where none of us want to linger. It's also where Neil was when he made it. Still wracked with guilt over the overdose death of Crazy Horse member Danny Whitten, a death he blamed himself for, Neil took refuge in booze, drugs, and music. The result of that witches brew is Tonight's the Night. This drunken, stoned, and grieving record is sloppy, sounds horrible, and is as raw as a tooth ache. It's also one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard. It's Neil at his most heartfelt, as he tries to come to terms with his part in Danny's death, who's lead vocals on Come On baby Let's Go Downtown take on the haunting feel of a voice from beyond the grave. The song stands as a reminder that you may go downtown, but one day you may not come back. The fact that Danny didn't come back, and Neil's struggle to come to terms with it all, drives the album. We see a snapshot of an artist who's seen the top of the mountain, sold millions of records, and paid a terrible price for it all. Survivor guilt, combined with rock star fame and a misguided attempt to drink, smoke, and drug it all go away make for a truly remarkable record. One that's worthy of the lofty rating of five stars.

Tonight's the Night isn't a happy, cheery album. It's not something to cuddle with your girlfriend to, or play as background music at your holiday party. But when it's 3 AM and all the whiskey in the world can't make you feel and better about the way things are, put on Tonight's the Night. It may not make things better, but at least your misery will have company. November 20, 2007

The Emperor of Wyoming's New Clothes

This album's reputation is legendary, no doubt. But is it really as good as everyone says it is? Not really. The songs are, for the most part, mediocre, especially in light of Young's first four solo albums, "Deja Vu" and Buffalo Springfield. The playing is inept and lifeless and the singing is abysmal. Young's voice is strained and off-key for most of the album which does nothing to enhance material that isn't very good to start with.

You don't even get very many original songs...."Tonight's the Night" is played twice for no apparent reason and "Borrowed Tune" is the Rolling Stones "Lady Jane" with new lyrics--bad ones. The Stones, bizarrely, aren't credited as co-composers.

Some of the material was not even intended for this project. The best track, "Come on Baby Let's go Downtown" was recorded years earlier at a Crazy Horse concert....This track has taken it's rightful place now on the excellent "Live at Fillmore" record. The second best track, "New Mama" was intended for CSNY's "Human Highway" album. I'm grateful that this song found a home somehere--too bad it had to be here!

The rest of the album, 9 tracks in all, are wretched.

The reputation of this album is utterly without foundation. It seems to have gained a solid reputation BECAUSE it's so bad...as if "bad" is really good in this case. The album is rated highly because everyone, Neil Young included, SAYS it's good---you just have to "understand it". If you don't get it, you're not cool...something like that.

If you ask me, this "Emperor of Wyoming" has no clothes. It's about time someone finally pointed it out! October 15, 2007

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