#407 Neil Young, 'Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere' (1969)

Previously #208

Enter Neil Young & Crazy Horse. This is the album that really kick started Neil Young’s solo career. Following the break up of Buffalo Springfield, Young released his solo debut, which received mixed reviews. This, his second record, followed just four short months later. He picked up 3 band members, which came to be known as Crazy Horse and delivered an album that is so good, that it’s almost criminal.

Four of the tracks on this record, ‘Cinnamon Girl,’ ‘Down By The River,’ ‘Cowgirl In The Sand’ and the title track all became mainstays in his set to this day. And incredibly all four of those songs were written on the same day while Young was in bed nursing a 39.5 degree fever. The album is filled with ripping one finger solos and top shelf musicianship from all involved. Each side of this LP ends with a 9-minute-plus extended jam, setting the tone for the rest of Neil Young’s career.

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