The one album Neil Young thought no one should hear
There are precious few musicians who could manage to have the same career that Neil Young did in his prime.
He remains one of the greatest songwriters that the world ever spat out, and yet he has been second to only Bob Dylan for being someone who marched to the beat of their own drum every single time they made a record. That may have led to some records being phenomenal and others being outright trash, but even at his lowest points, Young was always going to give his audience the most authentic side of himself.
This is one of the biggest double-edged swords that most artists have to manage throughout their careers. Anyone would have been perfectly happy to see Young out there playing his hits up to the present day, but he was never that kind of artist. He would much rather play what suited him at the time, and while that did occasionally line up with the times, he wasn’t interested in going in that direction.
That might be why records like Landing on Water sounded so scattershot when he reached the 1980s, but you could never say that he was dishonest in making those records. He was one to take massive swings, but even when working on some of his classics, there are pieces that are more than a little bit rough around the edges when looking at the finer details. There are more than a few blemished recordings, but that’s practically a compliment to his work.
The rootsy nature of Young’s greatest songs lends themselves better to being played on acoustics than trying to overwhelm the mix with a lot of extra parts. After all, that’s half the reason why American Dream with Crosby, Stills, and Nash sounds so grating to the ears today, so Young figured that the best way to get in everyone’s good graces was to set up a couple of microphones and play what was in his heart.
Most audiences wouldn’t have had a problem with that, but what’s in Young’s heart can be a bit difficult to listen to now and again. Tonight’s the Night is by far one of the greatest records that he ever made, but it exists in the same realm as a record like John Lennon’s Plastic Ono Band. Both have elements of beauty to them, but they aren’t going to leave you without a few emotional scars as they try to process trauma.
Young had a lot to get off his chest, and while he had a more radio-friendly record in Homegrown, he was going to make sure that everyone got the darker side of him, saying, “I already had another new album called Homegrown in the can. The cover was finished and everything. [laughs] Ah, but they’ll never hear that one. Not because Homegrown wasn’t as good. A lot of people would probably say that it’s better. [But] I took Tonight’s the Night because of its overall strength in performance and feeling. The theme may be a little depressing, but the general feeling is much more elevating than Homegrown.”
And since both albums are open to the public now that it is officially released, it’s a lot easier to get Young’s perspective on both records. Yes, Tonight’s the Night is a much harsher recording than what Homegrown was, but since he had come off the tragedy of losing Danny Whitten, Homegrown was never going to be the kind of record that perfectly encapsulated that era of his career.
He could have made fantastic happy songs, but Young was practically holding him together on every track of Tonight’s the Night and wanted to let the audience share in his pain. While good music doesn’t always need this kind of kick to it, the fact that Young was able to open himself up this much and still hold onto his artistry is half the reason why people still hold him up as one of the greatest in the world.
