Neil Young – Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere Review

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There is a slim self-deprecation settling into Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere. For many, Neil Young and the Crazy Horse troupe who back him on this solo effort, this was somewhere. Memories are made in the best of albums, and for Young to tap into this he must extract himself from the intention of making Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere a record serving the purpose of nostalgia. Young has his hands firmly around songs which would become staples of his discography. The finest of his efforts to date are found in this release. Moving away from the Buffalo Springfield group and carving out his future through happenstance Crazy Horse collaborations and a gifted lyrical style, Young provides one of the finest records of an era rocked by war and disgrace.  

Rocking and recognisable opener Cinnamon Girl strikes with all the heart Young could muster. Dreamy hopes of an idyllic relationship though with the knowledge it would never come to life. It marks a sharp marriage between the distant lyrics and the hopeful output, the upbeat guitar work and sliding focus between the choked desperation of a partner worth singing of and the instrumentals which fill the gaps their absence provides. How much can be done with one note is shown in this first song before moving into the lighter flourishes of the title track Everybody Knows This is Nowhere. It features all the hopes and wonders of the first track without the biting realisation of never experiencing it. Follow on with the exceptional Round and Round and Down by the River double-bill.  

Young has this tender ability to impose as much detail and lust in the shortest of songs and the near-ten-minute effort which rounds off the A-Side. Moody and punchy instrumentals dominate Down by the River, and rightly so. It has such a wonderful flow to it, never ebbing from its spot of brilliant, shimmering highs. The Losing End puts Young back in the passenger seat of life – losing out on the highs and watching them flutter by. It feels like it should be a wounded song of desperation but Young has a wonderful ability to make the almost inevitable downfall feel like a welcome release. It is a time to mark change, as he did with the plunge into a solo career which would outshine his efforts with Buffalo Springfield. Whining strings come into play on Running Dry (Requiem for the War) and sound as though they were lifted from the battle-worn dunes.  

But such is the talent Young provides on the patches of perfection found in Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere. There is a rugged and rough appeal to this release. A sort of unrefined sparkle to it, the steely grimace of a man in pursuit of a new high. Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere is monumental not just for its hit tracks but for its understanding of pace and how naturally Young marks these changes. Incredible instrumental work rounds off the album as Cowgirl in the Sand links itself with Cinnamon Girl. There is a sense of unbridled faith in what is not there. Young hopes to fixate on his desire as a way of manifesting it, yet it never happens, he is doomed to play on in the hope of change.