On the Beach [Remaster] - Young, Neil (CD 2003)

Neil Young had a rocky relationship with the executives at Warner/Reprise. Neil was always trying to create music for himself that other people might want to hear. The execs were always trying to get him to create music for other people that they would want to hear (and buy).

Such is the case with many artists and recording labels, but in the case of Young v. Warner/Reprise, the differences lead to animosities which lead to atrocities. Okay, atrocities is a strong word, but there's no good reason that four of Young's notable works have been unavailable on CD until 2003. So, this review examines the recent first-time CD issue of Young's 1974 recording On The Beach.

On The Beach opens with the ambulatory "Walk On." It's a nice track about perseverance and sets a open mood for the disc.

Next, Young lays down some elegant Wurlitzer (yes, Wurlitzer) work on "See The Sky About To Rain."

"Revolution Blues" finds Young in a state of reflection. The music is good, but the lyrics are better.

I don't know how, but Neil and Ben Keith manage to work in the banjo and dobro-flavored "For The Turnstiles." Both "Walk On" and "Turnstiles" have long been available on the 1974 collection, Decade.

"Vampire Blues" follows, and it is a bit of a letdown musically in that it's plain. Most of the previous tracks feature an unexpected touch or texture. Maybe "Vampire Blues" is boring on purpose as Neil used it to express his contempt for what the "bloodsucking" record execs expected from him.

"On The Beach" now features Graham Nash on Wurlitzer, and it's a classic slow-burning Young track. Sounds and ideas build, yet they are released gently.

By now, it's apparent that Neil has created a gentle, introspective recording with a few rough points for emphasis. "Motion Picture (For Carrie)" is the most genteel track. Perhaps Young needed pause after the catharsis of Tonight's The Night.

On The Beach ends with the revelation of "Ambulance Blues." It is the longest track and stands as a nice summation of the rest of the album. Rusty Kershaw provides memorable pulls against the fiddle strings, and Neil adds harmonic balance with, what else, his harmonica. And On The Beach ends as easily as it began.

On The Beach is a rewarding listen. It may not contain the immediacy of Harvest, but it doesn't suffer from that album's overproduction (yes, I'm talking about the strings).

Another nice facet of On The Beach is that it clocks in at just under 40 minutes. Some buyers might think of the short timing as a rip-off, but it's a pleasure to hear a suite of songs as the artist intended to present them instead of merely filling up 75 minutes of a CD. If more of today's artists knew how to edit themselves, there would be a lot more high-quality recordings out there.