Neil Young On the Beach (50th Anniversary) LP (Clear Vinyl)

Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of All Time - Rated 311/500!

On the Beach became a very special moment in the musical history of Neil Young. It was his fifth studio album, and was recorded with a stellar range of musicians, including Crazy Horse's rhythm section Billy Talbot (bass) and Ralph Molina (drums), along with other key players Ben Keith, Tim Drummond, Levon Helm (The Band), Rick Danko (The Band), Rusty Kershaw, David Crosby, Graham Nash and George Whitsell (The Rockets). Sessions were held at Young's Broken Arrow Ranch in Northern California and Sunset Sound in Hollywood, and there was a definite feeling of expanding elements of musical styles being added to the playbook. The songs range from "See the Sky About to Rain" to "Ambulance Blues," and explore the evolving counterculture in the 1970s in ways which had not been done. This was Young at his most adventurous, and pointed to several new musical directions for him, yet to be defined. This 50th anniversary limited edition of On the Beach will be pressed on clear vinyl, with "50" added to the front cover to mark the passage of time.

...On the Beach was savage and, ultimately, triumphant. 'I'm a vampire, babe,' Young sang, and he proceeded to take bites out of various subjects: threatening the lives of the stars who lived in L.A.'s Laurel Canyon ('Revolution Blues'; answering back to Lynyrd Skynyrd, whose 'Sweet Home Alabama' had taken him to task for his criticisms of the South in 'Southern Man' and 'Alabama' ('Walk On'); and rejecting the critics ('Ambulance Blues'). But the barbs were mixed with humor and even affection, as Young seemed to be emerging from the grief and self-abuse that had plagued him for two years...he was saying goodbye to despair, not being overwhelmed by it.