One of the most despairing albums: how Neil Young’s ‘On the Beach’ went from derided to adored
“It’s a grower” has been the go-to cop-out for one-night stands and musicians who have made bad albums for decades. A lot of the time, it’s just an excuse and a means by which some can patch up mediocrity, but sometimes people are spot on, and the only thing an album needs before it becomes a classic is a bit of time. The perfect example of this is Neil Young’s On The Beach.
When Neil Young released Harvest, it was an instant classic, with a lot of light-hearted songs that listeners instantly found themselves drawn to. Tracks like ‘Heart of Gold’ and ‘Old Man’ were instant classics that cemented Neil Young as one of the most prolific musicians of the time. Subsequently, when he went on to release On The Beach afterwards, it came as a shock to everyone.
The album was so shocking because of how brooding it was. From the moment it started, the record set itself out as something quite depressing and sad throughout, with one of the songs, ‘Revolution Blues’, even recounting the time that Neil Young met Charles Manson.
Initially, people weren’t too keen on the album because it was so far removed from what they were used to Young producing. However, as time went on, it became clear that Young’s songwriting ability on the record was unlike anything other musicians could achieve. Not to mention, his ability to set a tone was inspiring.
Many musicians refer to On the Beach as one of their best albums, not only because of how it has aged but because it was welcomed in Neil Young’s dark era when he released Time Fades Away and Tonight’s the Night. The funny thing is that On the Beach was written last out of those three albums, but the label released it first because it was the least depressing out of the three.
KT Tunstall shared the opinion of a lot of Neil Young fans when she said, “On the Beach is fucking amazing. The fact that he recorded Tonight’s the Night first but released it after, it’s like, what, you just had this one hanging around? And there’s that amazing line, ‘I need a crowd of people…’ He’s saying he needs a crowd, but he also needs to be alone.”
The album’s vinyl sold out and remains one of Young’s rarest LPs. Equally, the record wasn’t released on CD until 2003, when 5000 people signed a petition for it. On the Beach is the definition of a grower, as the Neil Young project that failed to take off originally is now considered one of his best. It just goes to show that a lot of the time, all an album needs to be considered good is time for people to actually listen to it and see where it fits in the modern musical landscape.
Listen to On the Beach by Neil Young below.
