Neil Young is set to headline Glastonbury – but some newcomers to his music are not sure where to start.
The legendary songwriter, 79, will headline the Pyramid Stage for the second time in his career later this year, and those who have not listened to Young’s work are turning to hardened fans for song recommendations. Asking for recommendations on where to begin in the Neil Young subreddit, one Glasto ticket holder has sought songs from Reddit.
Young had initially pulled out of performing at Glastonbury but was confirmed the next day, with a communications error leading the Harvest and After the Gold Rush creator to drop out and subsequently return to the lineup. Chic with Nile Rodgers and Rod Stewart have also been announced for the festival.
A post to the Neil Young subreddit reads: “Hi. As you will all know Neil’s headlining Glasto this year but I literally don’t have a clue to start with his music. It’s my first Glasto and I don’t wanna write the guy off for myself before giving his stuff a shot. I’m 20 so I’ve never heard of him till rumours of him at Glasto started. He’s just before my time that’s all. Any recommendations on where to start would be good. Thanks for any help.”
Fans of Young were quick to recommend some of his finest albums, but the top comment suggested diving into a now dated compilation album. They suggested: “I think Decade would be a pretty good place to start, it’s an older compilation but will give you a general taste for his music. For an indication of what he’s like as a live act, try Weld or Way Down In The Rust Bucket.”
Another wrote: “Honestly, start at Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (his second album, and the first one with his longtime band Crazy Horse) and keep going from there with After The Gold Rush, Harvest, Time Fades Away, On The Beach, and Tonight’s The Night. After that, Rust Never Sleeps (you can listen to the albums in between but Rust is the next ‘classic’ imo). If you want to hear him live and extremely loud, check out the live album Weld.”
The original poster then asked for it to be narrowed down to just three albums from the list above, with another user adding: “That’s a tough ask, but out of the list mentioned, maybe Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, Harvest and Rust Never Sleeps. Highly recommend giving all of those albums a chance, though, and I’d tack Zuma on there.”
Another response agreed, adding: “Hmmm I would go with the first three (Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, After The Gold Rush, and Harvest). At that point you’ll probably be hooked and will want to keep going haha. The albums are also all pretty short (under 45 min).”
But another choice made by some comments lower down the thread shined a light on an album which Young fans say “never gets enough love”. They wrote: “After the Gold Rush, Rust Never Sleeps, and Freedom are my favorite albums by him. He does both electric and acoustic equally well. You are in for a treat because he has a great rapport with the audience.”
Another user replied: “Freedom never gets enough love. It’s just unbelievable from beginning to end. I wish he’d play Crime in the City live more.” Other users also suggested Decade was a great place to start for a more general overview of his career.
They wrote: “For me, Decade will always be the best starting point. Especially from around track ten or so onwards. That said, the whole album paints a clear evolution of his artistry during those first ten years. Aside from that, I’d agree with Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, After the Goldrush, Harvest and Harvest Moon. I’d also definitely throw Ragged Glory into the mix too as a sign of his more gnarly, rock stuff (particularly Fuckin’ Up, Love and Only Love and Love to Burn). You have a lot of gems to discover!”
Discover more from Cult Following
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
