POST NO. 9: VACATION (ON THE BEACH)


Okay, so I mostly chose Neil Young's classic 1974 album On the Beach for today's selection because that's where I'm headed: to the beach. I'll be on vacation for the next twelve days, so you won't be hearing from me for a while. For that, I apologize. But, this vacation is 28-plus years in the making. I'm due. I'll be spending a week on the "Crystal Coast" (as they call it) in North Carolina, and then a few days in the Smoky Mountains. Jealous yet?

But On the Beach is worth writing about regardless of my vacation plans. I'm often surprised by the number of music nuts -- even Neil Young fans -- who haven't heard this record. Possibly it's Young's other hits-laden '70s releases that have overshadowed On the Beach, but more likely On the Beach has been doomed to relative obscurity (along with several of Young's other late-'70s recordings) because it was out of print for ages. The fault lies squarely on Young's shoulders: his stubborn preference for 180 grams of virgin vinyl over 1s and 0s kept this gem off the shelves.

Thankfully, in 2003, Reprise Records finally got Young's okay to reissue the album on CD. And while I don't have Young's blessing, I'm going to share a song with you today. It's impossible to find a dud on this album, so I can't go wrong with choosing the record's opening song. Go ahead and pick up a copy of this today, before Young changes his mind again and pulls On the Beach from the shelves.

Neil Young - "Walk On"

Be sure to say "hi" to Neil, and if you're a vinyl junkie you can pick up his recent greatest hits album on LP.

3 Comments:

Blogger Hon Don Gerard said...

i heard tweedy is the neil young of his generation...

8/12/2005 1:17 PM  
Blogger greymatter said...

yeah, most definitely a great blog. CU is represented well by you, noiseboy!

I just picked up "on the beach" per your reccomendation... it's great. Thanks!

8/15/2005 12:18 PM  
Blogger Samantha said...

I LOVE this site of yours! Your choices are, well, choice. Please come home and give us more!

8/19/2005 6:45 PM  

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