#302 Neil Young, 'Tonight's the Night' (1975)

Previously #330

An album full of raw, emotional pain, ‘Tonight’s The Night’ was originally recorded in 1973 but was shelved as it was too painful at the time for Young to release. Instead, he released ‘On The Beach’ (#311) first, with this album would eventually coming out in 1975. The album covers the grief of the loss of two close friends of Neil Young’s to drugs; Danny Whitten, Crazy Horse guitarist, and Bruce Berry, roadie.

The title track is directly about Berry, even namechecking him. It’s a bit of a warts and all record. Crude recordings, not cleaned up in post. Just gives the record an even more human feel and it’s just filled with so much soul. You can almost hear the lump in Young’s throat on ‘Borrowed Time.’ ‘Come On Baby Let’s Go Downtown’ is a live recording from the Filmore East in NYC. Recorded in 1970, it’s a duet with the late Whitten. It’s a jarring listen, but an amazing record, one that’s often overlooked by me when listening to Neil Young. No real reason for that, because I’m very much a fan of this record.

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