The Neil Young album he likes the least: “The worst record I ever made”
Fans can always count on Neil Young to be forthcoming. One of the greatest strengths of the Canadian legend has always been his frank self-criticism. This has led to a long and celebrated career that has seen the former CSNY man retain influence when so many of his generation have faded into obscurity.
With nearly 50 studio albums under his belt—a staggering achievement by any measure—Young has far surpassed the output of many artists who struggle to produce even five records. However, such a prolific career hasn’t been without its lows. As someone whose personal life has often mirrored the tumultuous nature of his music, Young has inevitably produced albums that he now views as reflections of darker periods in his life. These records serve not only as creative experiments but also as stark reminders of the challenges and hardships that shaped them.
As Young has always been open about what works for him and doesn’t, he’s named 1973’s first album in the ‘Ditch Trilogy’, Time Fades Away, the predecessor of On the Beach, as the album he likes the least. Not only is he not proud of it musically, but it reminds him of a particularly difficult and depressing time.
While considered a fully-fledged record, Time Fades Away is a live album. Save for a small handful of tracks, it was recorded during the arduous tour for Young’s previous studio album, 1972’s Harvest. Featuring a new backing band, The Stray Gators, and occurring just after Crazy Horse guitarist Danny Whitten’s tragic death from diazepam and alcohol poisoning in November of the same year, several factors went against it.
The album not only marked a departure from Crazy Horse but also reflected Neil Young’s heartbreak as he grappled with the death of a close friend who had been slated to join his new backing band. Compounding the emotional strain were the group’s exorbitant wage demands, the audience’s mixed reactions to the new, harder-edged material—a stark contrast to the laid-back acoustic sound of Harvest—and Young’s own struggles with heavy drinking, all of which shaped this turbulent chapter in his career.
Across this mammoth 62-show tour run, other elements, such as Young developing a new predilection for Tequila, him lambasting band members after shows, cancelling soundchecks at the last minute, and being forced to use a Gibson Flying V, which kept going out of tune because his trusty Old Black Les Paul had broken, added to the mess. Things became so horrific during the last leg of the tour that Young’s drinking and strained voice led to him developing a severe throat infection. He hired David Crosby and Graham Nash from his other outfit, CSNY, to help steer the ship, which the Gators members, and particularly pianist Jack Nitzsche, took exception to.
Following Harvest’s number-one success, things couldn’t have been much different. Put it this way: Young wasn’t even playing the classics. For some reason, he chose to play unreleased material.
There’s no wonder Time Fades Away prompts ill-feeling in Young. “I felt like a product, and I had this band of all-star musicians that couldn’t even look at each other,” Young said in a 1987 interview. “It was a total joke.”
In that same interview, he dubbed it “my least favourite record” and “the worst record I ever made”.
Ever the realist, Young noted that the record is “great” because it acts as a documentary of what he was going through at the time. However, looking beyond that cynical point, he didn’t have the right band and was playing and recording all these unknown songs. It was an incredibly uncomfortable time, and it shouldn’t have been given that he’d only just released Harvest.
