# Neil Young – the artist whose music has given me the most pleasure **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [December 9, 2024, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-young-the-artist-whose-music-has-given-me-the-most-pleasure/1011394 "2024-12-09T12:27:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-young-the-artist-whose-music-has-given-me-the-most-pleasure/1011394/1 "2024-12-09T12:27:22Z")
This was a bit of a revelation, and it occurred to me just yesterday. Music has been a part of my life since the summer of 1971 when I discovered AM radio. I’ve had many favorites over the years, with the Beatles and Dylan usually alternating between number 1 and number 2. Neil always hovered nearby, as did several others (Elvis Costello, Paul Simon, Richard Thompson, John Prine). The Beatles were more innovative. Dylan’s poetry is unequaled. The others, and many more, obviously have their strengths and appeal. But there is something organic to Young’s music that, to me, resonates. There is an authenticity that fits into my musical soul like a key in a lock. Even Neil’s vocals, which are often criticized, are so perfect for his music. I listened to “Cinnamon Girl” for the millionth time yesterday, and it felt as fresh as it did 50 years ago. It got me good. It is Neil Young’s music that has given me the most pleasure. mmm ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-young-the-artist-whose-music-has-given-me-the-most-pleasure/1011394/2 "2024-12-09T12:43:06Z")
Neil Young is a quality musician. 🕶 Although there are other categories (e.g. the Who for rock), I think James Taylor (especially ‘Fire and Rain’) has given me the most pleasure. ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-young-the-artist-whose-music-has-given-me-the-most-pleasure/1011394/3 "2024-12-09T14:43:32Z")
Neil Young has said that, upon the release of “Cinnamon Girl,” he and his friends just sat around listening to it all night. You are in good company. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-young-the-artist-whose-music-has-given-me-the-most-pleasure/1011394/4 "2024-12-09T15:14:12Z")
“Rust Never Sleeps” is possibly the first new music album I bought right when it came out. I was 14. Played the hell out of that record. I’ve probably covered more Neil Young songs on guitar than any other musician. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-young-the-artist-whose-music-has-given-me-the-most-pleasure/1011394/5 "2024-12-09T16:11:25Z")
_After the Gold Rush_ was one of two albums I first got. Been to a lot of concerts including _Rust Never Sleeps_. Got **Mrs. FtG** (a.k.a. my Cinnamon Girl) into him right away. He’s comes up a lot when she’s exercising. _[Winterlong](https://youtu.be/RV6r66n3TFI)_ was on the other day. One of my all time favorites and not as well known as it should be. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-young-the-artist-whose-music-has-given-me-the-most-pleasure/1011394/6 "2024-12-09T16:14:46Z")
I love “Winterlong”. Alas, I’ve never seen him in concert. mmm ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-young-the-artist-whose-music-has-given-me-the-most-pleasure/1011394/7 "2024-12-09T16:35:07Z")
Not a huge fan but I’ve seen him three times, all quite memorable shows: 1978 at the Cow Palace (where scenes from Live Rust were filmed), the first Bridge School Concert in 1986(with CSNY, Robin Williams, Tom Petty, Nils Lofgren and Bruce Springsteen) and at The Saddle Rack in San Jose in 1984 (had a table right in front of the stage and got some fairly decent pics) [![](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51855864667_3e0452dec1_c.jpg) ](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51855864667_3e0452dec1_c.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Coriolanus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coriolanus/32/18769_2.png) [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-young-the-artist-whose-music-has-given-me-the-most-pleasure/1011394/8 "2024-12-09T16:50:34Z")
My brothers had “Harvest”, “After the Gold Rush” and the triple-album “Decade” I had CSN&Y “Deja vu” and the 12 year old me rode my bike and was one of the first to buy “Rust Never Sleeps” (The opening chords to “Hey hey. my my” would knock my mom’s waterford crystal off the shelf two floors above) - and who the hell is Johnny Rotten? The King is gone but he’s not forgotten. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-young-the-artist-whose-music-has-given-me-the-most-pleasure/1011394/9 "2024-12-09T16:58:56Z")
I’m in the habit of using miserably dark winter late afternoon/early evening to catch up with all those albums I really should have listened to but never did. And so, in the last week or so, I (coincidentally) listened to a Neil Young album for the first time - two, in fact, Harvest and After The Goldrush; and yes, I enjoyed both and am very pleased that I listened to them. Now, here’s a curiosity: over the years, the music Roxy Music has given me much pleasure. One of their songs that I particularly love is A Song For Europe. Here it is. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/auOBhaXEDvA/maxresdefault.jpg "A Song For Europe") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auOBhaXEDvA) Remind you of anything? How about [https://youtu.be/pMRcFpIn49o?feature=shared&1](https://youtu.be/pMRcFpIn49o?feature=shared&1) Which predates A Song For Europe by a year or so., I had one of those moments when I heard the Neil Young song - I know that - What? What? Fer Chrissakes, what is it… j ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-young-the-artist-whose-music-has-given-me-the-most-pleasure/1011394/10 "2024-12-09T17:04:09Z")
We saw him live at the Barclays Center auditorium in Brooklyn a couple years ago and were blown away by “Walk Like a Giant”. Went home and immediately purchased the album. He’s totally still got it, not just playing his greatest hits from yesteryear. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Ub1qw2MmVOM/hqdefault.jpg "Neil Young with Crazy Horse: Walk Like A Giant (extended version)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ub1qw2MmVOM) ---
**Author:** ![Coriolanus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coriolanus/32/18769_2.png) [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-young-the-artist-whose-music-has-given-me-the-most-pleasure/1011394/11 "2024-12-09T17:07:10Z")
I’d not heard the Roxy Music song, and that’s a bit of a “deep cut” from Harvest, yet that’s a strong resemblance. Donald Fagen did admit he and Walter had been listening to Keith Jarrett who now has some cash and a credit for the song “Gaucho” which sounds a lot like his “Long As You Know You’re Living Yours”. I read something about how Paul McCartney wasn’t sure if he was ripping someone else’s melody for “Yesterday” and was like, after a month nobody claimed it… ---
**Author:** ![Coriolanus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coriolanus/32/18769_2.png) [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-young-the-artist-whose-music-has-given-me-the-most-pleasure/1011394/12 "2024-12-09T17:09:49Z")
NVM Rust Never Sleeps ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-young-the-artist-whose-music-has-given-me-the-most-pleasure/1011394/13 "2024-12-09T17:13:21Z")
If you haven’t seen it, check out this version “Old Man” from the Jimmy Fallon show. It’s an awesome, sublime performance that links old and young together: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/H6otmy3DAK8/maxresdefault.jpg "Two Neil Youngs Sing "Old Man"") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6otmy3DAK8) ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-young-the-artist-whose-music-has-given-me-the-most-pleasure/1011394/14 "2024-12-09T19:08:34Z")
I first listened to AM radio in 1963 and got hooked pre-Beatles. By 1967 I was ready for Buffalo Springfield. They were special. I played Stills’ “For What It’s Worth” a million times but also Young’s “On the Way Home” a million times. Loved it. Hated when they broke up, but Crosby, Stills, and Nash put out what even arch curmudgeon/asshole Robert Christgau called a perfect record. Then Young joined and for I while I liked “Deja Vu” even better. And those first few solo albums of his were wonders. Over the years, my tastes changed and so did his. I realized Young had destroyed the magic of CSN and that “Crosby, Stills, and Nash” was infinitely the better album. While I like many of Young’s later songs, his determination to be an outsider meant that my Venn diagram and his no longer overlapped as completely as the early days. Probably my loss. He’s still an all time great. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2024, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-young-the-artist-whose-music-has-given-me-the-most-pleasure/1011394/15 "2024-12-10T00:27:24Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > _After the Gold Rush_ was one of two albums I first got. Talk about a fun coincidence: I was watching a [video](https://youtu.be/ZXJkGPlDrtg) from Skylabs Audio about vintage turntables and started to skip thru it when what did my eyes espy but a pic of _AtGR_ being put on a turntable. Been there, done that? ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2024, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-young-the-artist-whose-music-has-given-me-the-most-pleasure/1011394/16 "2024-12-10T01:16:15Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > I realized Young had destroyed the magic of CSN and that “Crosby, Stills, and Nash” was infinitely the better album. Agreed. I played that lp to death. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2024, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-young-the-artist-whose-music-has-given-me-the-most-pleasure/1011394/17 "2024-12-10T01:28:50Z")
Have never been a huge fan, but have only listened to a few of his songs. A few month’s ago, someone in another thread mentioned how much he liked the albums _Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere_ and _After the Gold Rush_. It piqued my interest, so I purchased them. Have been playing them quite a bit while I’m working in the barn. Many of them are what I would classify as “Sing-Alongs.” The music is… O.K., but I don’t find it all that interesting. I’d rather listen to other stuff, TBH. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2024, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-young-the-artist-whose-music-has-given-me-the-most-pleasure/1011394/18 "2024-12-10T01:37:25Z")
I like Neil Young, but he sure doesn’t seem to like his fans. or maybe, with success. I’m not sure. Take his comments on the success of Harvest. " They put me in the middle of the road. Traveling there soon became a bore so I headed for the ditch." The next studio album was Tonight’s The Night, so take that for what it’s worth. I heard a comment that Rust Never Sleeps was deliberately conceived in two sides. One with the “good songs” and one with trash, as an insult to his audience. I can see it, but the trouble is, I can’t remember which side was supposed to be which! ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2024, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-young-the-artist-whose-music-has-given-me-the-most-pleasure/1011394/19 "2024-12-10T05:28:16Z")
I like Young well enough, but he’s far from the artist who has given me the most pleasure (that would be Fraser/Guthrie/Raymonde). As an aside, I also wouldn’t call a lot of his best songs “pleasant”. That’s not a criticism, mind you. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2024, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-young-the-artist-whose-music-has-given-me-the-most-pleasure/1011394/20 "2024-12-10T17:08:36Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > The music is… O.K., but I don’t find it all that interesting. I’d rather listen to other stuff, TBH. Fair enough. There are plenty of very popular artists whose music I think is…O.K. There is something about Young’s music that just owns me. mmm [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-young-the-artist-whose-music-has-given-me-the-most-pleasure/1011394.md?page=2)